The third of July didn’t go quite as planned, but an emergency room visit for me wasn’t going to stop us from getting to Milo to take in their annual Fourth of July parade for the fifth consecutive year. Each year, our crew at the parade seems to expand, with my parents, brother and Rachel joining in on the small-town festivities.
Noah’s famous waving and Emmie’s new open-bag strategy are on full display in this photo.
The parade was as fun as ever, even though Noah felt slighted with his perceived lack of candy. (For reference, between Noah and Emmie, their haul more than filled a 2 quart container.) Afterwards, we waited patiently in line for our food from the stand; Noah had a hot dog, Emmie some potato chips, and Amanda a brat. Limited to a liquid-only diet, I managed to avoid the grilled food this year.
Kelly’s annual photo with Amanda…
…and Noah, this time for a silly photo.
…and Emmie, who is surprisingly happy for having her photo taken.
Cindi joined us in Milo for the first time.
When lunch was over, Noah, Kevin, and I took a leisurely walk through the city square before deciding to try one of the carnival-like food trucks. Noah ordered two very large orders of “small” cotton candy, while Kevin tried his first deep-fried Snickers. Semi-amazingly, the kids managed to avoid being too sticky following their sugary treat.
Kevin, Rachel, and a deep-fired Snickers bar.
Before we left the Milo park, Noah and Emmie played a couple games of ring toss. A few dozen old-fashioned soda bottles sat ion the center and for $1, the kids shared 15 rings to toss. While Emmie wasn’t quite old enough to get the concept, Noah was successful with one of his throws, earning a can of Sierra Mist for a prize. We purchased a second set of rings, and Noah won again, this time choosing a Mointain Dew can for Amanda.
Noah is proud of his winning prize!
Emmie was able to throw the rings from a shorter distance.
It’s impossible to drive through Indianola without stopping at The Outside Scoop ice cream shop. Noah went with cookie dough, topped with sprinkles, while Emmie had sprinkles atop her scoop of Lemonhead Lemon Custard, the shop’s newest flavor. Kelly and Cindi also joined us for ice cream.
On the drive back to Ankeny, we picked up a half dozen ears of sweet corn from the recommended Pinick’s stand between Indianola and Des Moines. They hit the spot for dinner though we underestimated our ability to eat the sweet corn. Noah ended up consuming three of the six ears himself, leaving the rest of us with just a single ear to enjoy.
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- 4th of July Weekend (2014)