Whee -- It's 83!

Well, the big event has come and gone ... Watermelon Day, 2006. And yes, this was the theme for the big day. Anyone questioning just what is this wonderful celebration? Well, 83 years ago, a guy near the town of Gaylord, KS (yes, Gaylord), grew a bunch of watermelon ... down by the river, again, yes, "down by the river". There were so many, he invited his family and friends down to the river to enjoy a picnic and watermelon on Labor Day. The day was such a success, the next year, he apparently grew more watermelon, and decided to invite the Gaylord and Cedar communities to join in the picnic/watermelon frolic ... thus began the tradition of Watermelon Day, in Gaylord, KS.

Now, why, on earth, do you ask, would we pack up our car, drive 5 hours west and north into the land of pretty much nothing for a weekend?? Well, my grandparents live in the Gaylord community, and this year, they were given a Watermelon Day award. We thought they were going to be crowned, but instead they received a plaque, and a nice set of accolades. This happened on Sunday evening, prior to the big day.

Also, we enjoyed music from a set of sisters, ages 17, 16, 15, and 12, named Alika, Danika, Janika, and Lanika. They are quite good, for their age, and are called "Eternity Focus." (they'll be recording in KC at the end of this month with a guy who recorded Mark Schultz' first album, as well as some things for Amy Grant). Anyway, the reason it is particularly special to me, is that when these girls were little bitty girls, I was in a singing group that sang in their church and around the community, and these girls would always come up to us afterward and ask for our autographs, tell us how they wanted to be a singing group someday too, and the whole nine-stars-in-the-eyes-yards. It was so neat to see that they had followed their dream, and are on their way to something bigger, to bring glory to God's name. An even more sweet moment, was as I was holding my little girl, she was singing along with the "big girls" on some of the songs, and I saw parts of history repeating -- for His glory! Tears soon followed, but I quickly recovered!

Okay, enough nostalgia for the moment. The Watermelon Day morn dawned clear and bright, and we headed off to the parade -- Erin's first, I think. She was amazed that the people on the floats threw candy, and although she had trouble spotting the pieces that dropped at her feet, she didn't miss the lone piece that didn't make it to the side of the route, but landed in the middle of the street. Zipping out to save it from certain squashing or horse poop, the Daring Erin rescued the lone root beer barrel, bringing the parade, more importantly, the red sports car she ran out in front of, to a small halt. Proud moment for us ... Grandpa G was at the front line with her, and I don't know what he was thinking, but turned around to the rest of us, smiled, and gave a thumbs up. I don't know ... Perhaps the most exciting moment was the passing of the horses, no, no, I think it was actually the fact that she got TWO packs of powdered donut gems, from the Gene's Heartland IGA grocery store float.

With the parade over, we picked our way through the horse trail (mmm, horse apples) and headed to the park, where the rest of the festivities take place. We hurried to get in line for the homemade icecream stand -- it usually goes fast, and once it's gone, ... My grandma (the tall lady with the white shirt w/ red collar) is the queen of the ice cream stand. She works it every year for the first shift. I was a bit disappointed in a the choices this year, as they ran out of my favorite, Oreo (aka: "oLeo", as the sign plainly states) before we got there, but I enjoyed some Strawberry. We then went to find a place to sit, because I guess it's not good to eat homemade ice cream standing up -- mom and dad rushed Erin to find a place in the bleachers. This was fun, because we got to watch everyone walk by, and I ran into several people from the community that I knew. Erin, however, soon bored of the people-watching, and spied a Nextel train giving rides to the kids. Boy, did she enjoy that. She even was scolded by the conductor for attempting to do "the wave" in the back car --TWICE!

Next, she wanted to play on the playground, so she and grandpa headed for the teeter totters. Well, this was all well and good, until Erin decided she wanted to get down, but Grandpa failed to hear that decision. She ended up on the ground, hitting bum first, it seems. Much wailing and many tears ensued. Once that was cleared up, she returned to the play area for the slide and merry-go-round. She avoided the teeter totters for the remainder of the day.
Okay, time for lunch and the watermelon! Grandpa got burgers for us from the food stand, and Erin and Daddy watched several men unload the watermelon from a grain truck and whack them open with large machete-type knives. She found this very stimulating, and I believe, secretly, thought she would make an excellent addition to the slicing team. Thankfully, they were fresh-out of knives. We sat on the cement in front of the bleachers to eat, where several young boys were enjoying a scuffle, kicking dirt onto my hunk of juicy, red watermelon.

After lunch, the next exciting activity began ... the kids races! My old PE teacher/BB Coach was the leader. I liked her in Jr. High, but was scared of her when I had her in Kindergarten ... I could sense a similar vibe coming from my daughter. We got Erin's name on the list, and waited for them to call her age category. However, the youngest level was 5-6 year olds. There were several kids under 5, so they let them race with the 5-6s ... which made for very even odds ... after the first few races, they added the 4 and under category, and even changed the races for them, due to their motor skill level. Erin has not had much experience racing, and what she has had has been only running. The most difficult race was the frog-hop, which she did complete, but in dead last among the 5-6 year olds, and the pseudo crab walk (hold onto your ankles while you walk to the other end of the field). The surprising race was the sack race. I was very nervous about this one, but she actually finished first!

By this point in the afternoon, we are all getting weary, so after one more hamburger for Erin, we headed back to the car to leave for home. Erin, clutching her prize (a purple "Grimace" beanie bear from McDonald's) and Avery sleeping again. Erin was asleep within 5 minutes of leaving Gaylord, and slept until we woke her for a potty break at Manhattan, which made it a nice trip for us. Avery also slept most of the trip home, until about 5 miles outside of Lawrence, when we had to stop for a food break.

There are many more small stories, but this is all I can handle typing for now. I hope the pictures upload so you, too, can enjoy Watermelon Day 2006!