Mattoon Bagelfest Parade 2012

We started our Saturday with a walk uptown and enjoyed the two hour long Bagelfest Parade this morning! I can't put all of the pictures I took on here, but I will share some good ones with you.

The original Effingham Fire Department drove the "little fire trucks". It always seems they have way too much fun with these!

These little ladies looked too cute!

Buggy rides in the park were only $5.

There was a lot of advertising going on! The guys brought home lots of goodies and bagels too. I think the best things they passed out were all the popsicles and water bottles!

 We spent the afternoon at Peterson Park. The kids tried out a few of the rides, they highly recommend the Vortex ride. Calvin even played some darts and won a teddy bear.

We looked at all the vender booths. I even bought some bamboo shoots for my little lady bug planter.

Project TuTu

I learned that making a tutu is a fun weekend project!

Especially when it's done with a friend.

Finally a Rainy Sunday!

The garden is still growing. It's been a lot of work to keep all these plants from drying up and dieing. I might just be one of the few on our block who has green grass in the backyard. I got tired of walking on crunchy grass and pulled out the hose! Mother Nature has given us some relief today, with a few spurts of rain and a wonderful breeze. The pumpkin vines and gourd vines are gracefully climbing the fence and starting to flower. The gourd flowers look like they almost glow as the sun sets.

If you've never experienced the joy of accomplishing more than you can imagine, plant a garden.  ~Robert Brault

Good Stuff!

These last few weeks have been an adventure! We shared many fun filled days at the lake, I taught Nathan the basics of swimming, the kids learned how to skip stones on water (the important things!) We shared a lot of laughter and ice cream!

 The yummy double chocolate fudge cake with a strawberry flower, I made on our last day before returning home.

I'm glad we're home and jumping back into our normal routine. I've already started another bag and found an antique cabinet to hold all my paints and some card making supplies too!

I'm undecided if I'm going to paint it, so for now it has clear shelving liner to protect it from my daily use. Hobbes snuggled right up to it and got his power nap for the day.