We live in a Cool Town

We live in a town that has a small-town feeling but with big time pride. Our town(which will be referred to as XXX) is a family-friendly community that has a distinct cultural heritage. It's known as a town where people rely on family members, neighbors and churches to see them through the ups and downs of the agricultural economy. Although it's traditionally been pretty rural... mostly farming, it's really started to grow in the last couple of years. As a matter of fact, when we first moved here 5 years ago there was a bank that had a sign out front that read "Free Pig with the opening of a checking account." Being from Portland (population 2,137,565) my parents and I got a real kick of out of that!

So, this weekend our town, The City of XXX, wanted to say “thank you” to its residents who have helped the city become one of the fastest growing in the Valley. The city threw their inaugural Resident Appreciation Day.

Never wanting to pass up the opportunity for a party, free food and lots of fun, my neighbor, Jen, and I decided to take the kids to see what it was all about...

Karsyn, Cooper and Bryant waiting for the fun to begin.

Look at their faces... can you tell that I totally embarrassed them by taking a picture?

There was lots of fun to be had. Bryant especially liked watching these little girls do hip-hop tap dancing.
Apparently one of the things our town is known for (which I didn't know) is their traveling reptile exhibit. They had about 50 live snakes and other reptiles on display for the kids to enjoy. Oh... I hate snakes... but it true "boy" fashion, Bryant was fascinated by all the reptiles.

Below he is posing with a snapping turtle.
P.S. I want you to know that I am doing you a favor by not posting the picture of the giant Albino Python snake. It was as big around as my waist... and that is HUGE.

Of course, there was face paint for the kids. Just to torture me... Bryant got a spider on his face. Have I mentioned that I'm not too fond of spiders either?

Being invited to sit on the policeman's motorcycle was the highlight of Bryant's day.

The clowns were fun. This clown made Cooper and Bryant pirate swords (what was she thinking??)

Swords + boys + public place = Disaster

Every time I turned around, Bryant and Cooper were hiding in the plants jumping out trying to scare people with their swords. They were "imagining" they were in a jungle try to save people. Can you "imagine" the dirty looks they were getting from those same people they were trying to save?
Poor Cooper ended the day with a HUGE goose egg on his forehead. He and Bryant bonked heads while they were playing... and Cooper deffinitely got the worse of it.

And just to let you know... there were lots of activities for adults too. Lots of free give aways and some GREAT free food. Jen and I also got roped into a variety of things... everything from being Girl Scout leaders to hosting a Scentsational party.

Our town is so cool. We can hardly wait for next years Resident Appreciation Day!