Buggy Days!

We had a super fun weekend at our hometown's annual arts and crafts festival... Buggy Days! If you're not familiar with Buggy Days, it's kind of a big deal. =) Barnesville was the Buggy Capital of the World back in the day. We made buggies for all kinds of famous people. So this is how we remember and celebrate and have a community homecoming.

I love it... I love the booths, food (even though we don't eat a ton of the food, the smells alone are worth it), buggies, seeing people we know and haven't seen in a while, catching up with old friends, and the parade of course. And this year was extra fun because it wasn't 100 degrees! Yay for a cooler, fall day! Boo for rain... because it eventually did... but we were back at my parents' house before it started to pour so the timing worked out almost perfect for us. 

The boys were very excited about Buggy Days and ended up having a really fun time. The very first thing they got to do was pick out a new toy courtesy of Granna. They both got new John Deere wooden trucks. They have played with those things non-stop all weekend. After purchasing toys we browsed booths with both sets of grandparents and let the boys play on the caboose in town.. big hit!

We ate lunch inside a restaurant because it would be almost impossible for the boys to eat sitting outside on a sidewalk somewhere (and we needed a bathroom), and then last minute decided to check out the kids area. Well, of course there was a line to get a wristband for the bouncies and train and all the fun stuff... and it started to rain... and there were lines for everything there once you finally got the wristbands. Sooo, we had to pass this year but decided the kids area may be where daddy and the big boys hang out next year. My kids have just never noticed it and never asked about it, so we weren't very prepared when Garrison and Austin both noticed the cute little train ride and then Garrison decided he wanted to play on the bouncies too. Thankfully he wasn't too disappointed.

After we struck out there, we ate funnel cakes under the bank drive-thru while it sprinkled and rained a little before heading down another street of booths... where my big boy decided to get his face painted... for the first time ever. He insisted I stand right beside him and hold his hand, so when I wanted a picture he grabbed Granna's hand instead. This was clearly a BIG deal. =)

 

So proud!

Shortly after it was time to head to our usual spot to watch the parade. And of course it started raining a little again. We still enjoyed it. Except for the loud firetrucks. They blew the horns and sounded the sirens one too many times. Poor baby didn't like it one bit.

After a potty break and settling back in, he was so worn out from all the fun, he fell asleep. Garrison did the exact same thing his first or second Buggy Days... and I'm pretty sure he was under an umbrella too. Precious.

We spent the afternoon hanging out at my parents' house, giving the boys a bath, watching football, and resting before they fed us a yummy supper and it was time for us to get on the road. For the first time in 8 years (since we got married and moved away), we turned Buggy Days into a day trip. We are trying so hard to make church here a priority that we just can't spend the night away all the time like we used to. And it's kind of nice because we don't have to worry about the packing and laundry and sleeping away from home. We miss our church in B'ville and even miss spending the night sometimes too (and are still praying we get to move back to the hometown), but this way is for the best. As long as we're here anyway. We're loving our Sunday School class and feeling more and more comfortable and at home at FBC Covington. God has been faithful as we've stepped out of our comfort zone and gone against what we "wanted" by forcing ourselves to find a church home here... and we think we have!

 

The boys were exhausted from our day full of fun (so much so that our annual Buggy Days massive meltdown occurred at my parents' house Saturday afternoon... not fun) and actually fell asleep on the way home. Austin was asleep almost the whole way and Garrison fell asleep about 5 minutes from our house. They both went to bed easily around 8:30 and slept really late Sunday morning. I was worn out and slept great too.

 

 

We had a really fun Saturday and only wished we'd had more time to see everything and enjoy more of the day. The rain interrupted us a little, although I loved and appreciated the cooler temperatures SO much, but I'm thinking next year calls for an earlier arrival. This year it just felt like we ran out of time and didn't get to see and do everything we wanted. Since we'll have 3 baby boys in tow next year I guess we'll wait and see. Who knows, maybe we'll be living in Barnesville by this time next year and can enjoy the whole weekend like 5 minutes from our house. That would be awesome. I like that plan. =)