And the Drum Roll, Please ...

*** I was so busy this weekend, I barely had time to grab the camera - I guess you take what you can get. We all had a hand in Elaina's fancy hairstyle !


And the lucky winners of this year's festival parade are Laura and Amie !!

Lucky winners, as in, chairing the entire parade ! (please note the sarcasm.)

Yesterday, my friend Amie and I received word that no one ad yet filled the position of organizing the grand parade scheduled for today at 2:00. It seems as though we got pushed into voulteering for that also. Last night, Eric and my dad helped to lay out the field with numbered markers for the line-up which eliminated one thing from our list today. All I have to say is that the parade went off without a hitch and with nearly 70 units in the line-up, we almost looked like we knew what we were doing. ( Even if we only got a 15 minute tutorial the night before. ) I think that when push comes to shove, the adreneline gets pumping and you just have to go, go, go. Thank God for dedicated friends who stick with you and lend a hand - Amie and Jessica were awesome !

So this year, I saw the whole parade as I released them from the waiting field in the line-up and waved them on with a friendly, "Have Fun and enjoy the parade! Thanks for coming." It was a challenge and I'm proud of the result. I made it home just in time to see the people from the parade route gathering their chairs and moving on. My mom and dad had Elaina decked out in 2 beaded necklaces thrown from political candidates and sucking on a chocolate lollipop. I was looking forward to her sticky, wet kiss all day long ! She apparently enjoyed the parade and got excited when she saw the horses coming down the street. It sounded like she had fun.

After the parade, I had some free time in which I was finally able to enjoy a little bit of the festival with my family until the next event. Next on the schedule was the canoe race, which Eric was in charge of. As the four of us stood on the edge of the water to cheer on our favorite team, I realized that we were standing in the middle of Elaina's very own fan club. Friends and neighbors of ours who oo'ed and ahh'ed over our little beauty and half of Nancy's (the babysitter) family. All of them paid Elaina plenty of attention and put on a smile on her face ! I was glad that my parents were able to meet even more of our friends and part of Nancy's family. (Unfortunately, Nancy was home baking cupcakes to sell at a fundraising booth.)

The day was finally winding down and my parents had to get on the road to meet my brother and S-I-L to pickup Colin. As if Elaina didn't wear them out enough, they were going in for Round 2, caring for Colin for almost a week. However, no complaints from the grandparents, they love those babies and do their best to spoil them both - they wouldn't have it any other way !

My final obligation for the day was just a one hour shift at the cookie stand. Since Eric was still working at the food stand, I had packed Elaina a bag full of toys to occupy her as she was going to join me. Not long after we settled in place, a friend of ours came by and offered to stroll Elaina around the park and enjoy some time playing with her. Nina siad that Elaina was so well behaved (not a surprise) and bounced like crazy to the music being played. She flirted and batted her eyes at everyone who gave her a compliment and was just an all around joy. Lucky for us - that's what we have been blessed with to have everyday !

After many long days, I was throwing in the towel. My work was done. I was headed home to play with my favorite one year old , give her a bath and hold her close. This is really what I enjoy the most. Our day was over and I was turning off the world around us. We snuggled in the recliner together, let the machine pick up the phone calls and Elaina and I were together again.