4th of July Kiddie Parade

Every year our town has a 4th of July Kiddie Parade, and all of the kids and their parents get decked out to walk around the square. This was the 71st year of the parade, and Henry's Grandpa actually walked in it himself as a child, many years ago! Neat, right? This morning was Henry's very first time participating. He wasn't too into it- he was hot and cranky (as you can tell in the photos), but overall I think he had a good time looking at all of the neat sights and listening to the band. We walked with our friends, and pulled our little decorated wagon up and around the square. There were so many great floats and we are absolutely inspired to go a little over the top next year and WIN something! After the parade all of the participants met in front of the courthouse for awards and ice cream, and then we headed on home so little Henry could finally take his nap.

Tomorrow morning is the actual 4th of July parade, which is one of my very favorite days ever. I've said it before and I'll say it again- small town living isn't for everyone, but it sure is for me! Today was awesome.

Our 1st Day of Summer

I'm an Autumn girl through and through, but there is something about summer that really gets me excited. Here in Arizona, even up here in Northern Arizona, June 20th doesn't feel like the first day of summer at all- it kind of hits somewhere in early May. But it's still a day to celebrate because really, why not? It's funny because when I was a student and later a teacher, summer always had such a feeling of freedom and always held such promise of adventure. I can still remember that excited feeling of signing yearbooks, teachers letting us act a little crazier than normal, and then that glorious, final bell at the end of the last school day. And even when I was a teacher myself, I can recall finishing my grades, closing up my room, and getting in my car, driving away with the windows down, looking ahead to a wide open summer. Well, that's kind of a romanticized version. In reality no matter how much I had loved the past year, I'd rush to turn my grades in as quickly as possible, literally run out of the school, throw off my confining, tattoo-covering cardigan, breathe out a huge sigh of relief I didn't have to deal with the occasional annoying student anymore, and get the hell out of there. And my windows were actually probably rolled up so no one would want to talk and slow me down. Truth.

But really, besides thinking back to that sweet post-school freedom, to me summer is about family and friends. We always seem to slow down a little more, want to take the long way home, make time for downtown walks and try to eat outside as much as possible. I love it. And since Wednesday was the first day of summer Henry and I decided to enjoy it with a little picnic with friends and ended the night downtown with Hank, eating Mexican food on a park bench and people watching for awhile. Perfect.

Happy summer!

The Best Kind of Saturday

This past weekend was wonderful. And it wasn't just Father's Day that made it so great- Saturday we had another fun family day that still has me smiling. It was our town's annual Tsunami on the Square, which is an all-ages, outdoor performing arts and culture festival. It's always so much fun and there is a ton to look at, which was great for Henry. There were people on stilts, people in costume, fire eaters, hula hoopers, and live music everywhere you turned. It was truly a visual treat for Henry, and he spent most of the day eyes wide, staring at everything around him. 

It's days like this that make me fall in love with this town all over again. When I was younger I always imagined myself living in a big city, people and culture and things to do at every turn. But I somehow ended up here, in this small town, and I couldn't imagine a better place to raise a family. It's not for everyone, but small town living is definitely for me.

Here are some photos from our day. And for those who asked on the last post and via Twitter, I use a Nikon D60 and almost always use my 35mm lens. I also tried out a friend's Photoshop action set on these images that I'll share more about later in the week. I might say this for awhile, but again, I am SO happy I'm been bringing my camera out and about. It makes me so much more excited to blog, and so much more inspired to stop and notice all the pretty little moments in life that are so easy to skim over. 

Here are some bits and pieces from our Saturday:
 

Our Weekend in Photos

The past few days were chock full of things to do, and I'm sitting here thinking back over all of it and feeling extra grateful that Hank doesn't work on weekends anymore. I love having Saturday and Sunday to do all of things we love- cook and enjoy great meals, take some downtown strolls, and this weekend we even got to enjoy the first ice cream cone of summer.

On Friday morning I hosted a playdate at our place, then Henry and I spent the rest of the afternoon doing things around the house and running a few errands between nap times. Later that night we met my friend Veronica, her husband Trevor, and their son Max (Henry's favorite buddy) for Mexican food. Saturday Henry and I met Veronica and Max for a long walk and a trip to our local Farmer's Market. It was such a beautiful morning and we had a great time soaking up the sun. I came home with some really, really delicious vegan spinach artichoke dip and a potato samosa for Hank. Later that afternoon I had a hair appointment, and I lightened up the dark hair I've had forever. It feels so nice to be rid of that harsh color, and I'm glad I finally did it! We also cut off a couple inches and I'm really happy with it, even though we still have to get a bit of the brassiness out next time. The rest of the day was full of family time, downtown walking, and some delicious treats. And today was more of the same- the Whiskey Row benefit was happening on the square so we spent a bit of the day checking it out and enjoying the pretty weather...and trying to ignore the wildfire smoke that is unfortunately filling the air.

On a side note, this is the first time I've really edited my photos outside of Picnik. Isn't that crazy? I have photoshop on our computer now and I'm still figuring it out, but I'm having fun making my photos look a lot better.  And I can't believe it took me so long! I want to go back through ALL of the photos I've ever posted and clean them up and make them look prettier. But that would take forever and be crazy, so I'm starting fresh from here. I'm really looking forward to taking a million photos this summer, so I hope you guys are ready for it!

Here are some snapshots from our weekend -