Happy Heritage Days Syracuse!

This week we had Heritage Days in our sweet Syracuse city! Hard not to love about Utah, that every city picks a day a week to be their "Days" and to just celebrate.  All kinds of events all week going on, culminating in a parade, carnival, and fireworks.  We tend to steer clear from the "carnival" aspect.  Maddie even "wow"ed as we drove by once this week at all the rides out (101 ways to spin yourself loopy!), and I admitted they'd been here every year, but we just try avoiding it to spare them the feelings of loss :).  $1-2/ride may not be so bad, but times 8 people, half of which are motion sick, AND in high 90 degree weather this week, there was NO temptation.  There were other little daily races, museum open houses, chalk drawing contests, etc. but we celebrated w/ Brian @ City Council Mtg Tuesday (only went 4 hours that night!), him flipping pancakes at the early Saturday morning breakfast, joining the "Mayor & City Council" float for the parade, supporting some unicycling young men in our ward at "Syracuse's Got Talent", and watching fireworks last night.  Four years ago, the parade was going on as we moved in (what a welcome!).  Three years ago, a dating Nick and Laurie joined us to watch it,

and never did we anticipate we'd be riding along with THIS float!

I pulled Lucy behind in the wagon where she ate more suckers than on Halloween.  We also fortified our lunch with otter pops, tootsie rolls, taffy, and free snow cones.

The timing WAS perfect:  we were at the front of the parade, and the parade ended half a block past our street, so we rode along, casually stepped into the shade at our road, and watched the rest of the parade before walking home (Brian and Spencer stayed to bring the van back).

Brent missed that fun due to shotgun shooting with the scouts.  He is also noticeably absent from all photos this week, which is largely representative of his presence here! I think Syracuse should've had a big Deacon's Playground float, since it's beginning to feel like that is what Syracuse was meant to be! I'm at least pretty sure it's a big reason our family's here.  Brent and about 7 other boys-in varying combinations, just dash around the neighborhood:  here jumping w/ sprinklers on the trampoline, trying to do 200 flips in a row, then off to another house in snow pants for "Airsoft" wars (a form of beebee gun--I am completely ignorant in this field!), then playing basketball at yet another house, back to ours for Kinect and popsicles, then nightswimming at the neighbors!! It is a little dizzying, but FABULOUS to have so many good friends surrounding him! He did postpone a basement Captn America showing to join the family @ Applebee's for an early dinner yesterday (we had a STACK of free kids meal coupons from school), so it was nice to be w/ him :).  AND it was one of those golden, "I can't believe this is REAL!" times when everyone sat politely at the restaurant, ate nicely, enjoyed good conversation and plenty of food AND unlimited soda refills! HOORAY!! To show Brent we really do like him living here, I finally sewed his curtains and found an easy way to make these "Y" pillows for his bunkbed:

While Brent's reveling in his newfound roaming freedom, Spencer had his first Cub Daycamp Friday, and was SO excited (and only a little nervous they might leave him or lose him or something) to do archery, play in rowboats, and make cool leather badges.  

Between all those deacons and archery, etc., combined w/ a huge supply of rubber bands we recently acquired (due to an Activity Day tie-dye T-shirt activity where I hope not everyone's colors washed out like Emily's after all that work!), all of the children coordinated to do it, have gone mad over rubber band wars! They fly all over our house at all times now--we may need to all get goggles or something.

 Then, as if airsoft guns, rubber band wars, and archery weren't violent enough, we thought we had been vandalized when Brian went out to leave for work Monday morning and found our van's rear window shattered!! He left, and I called the police erto make a report, but when the officer arrived, he said it was ACTUALLY the HEAT!! (I knew those temperatures felt criminal!) and from not cracking the windows, and the van being parked outside due to my furniture projects, the pressure built up until it found an escape!--he could tell from the way the glass had all fallen OUT on the road and how the glass was broken, etc.  It was a bummer, but I was happy to take THAT easily-remedied consequence of the heat when so many are suffering w/ huge and persistent fires out here! The new window was SO clean, it inspired me to wash all the rest w/ my new window "e-cloths"--a microfiber cloth that cleans windows w/ just water, and does SUCH a beautiful streak-free job, I even washed the house windows this week inside and out, when I got my cloths in the mail, and left the blinds all wide open to feel like we were outside! Ever since the gravel slinger truck, the kids keep trying to tell me how the weirdest things get me excited.

But we were ALL excited when ANNE started potty training LUCY!!! They were in the bathtub, when Anne called to me that she thought Lucy needed to go potty, so I got her little seat, and SHE WENT!! I've heard of Beehive sisters pitching in that way, but my 4 year-old!! Oh, their sisterly bonds are frighteningly strong!

 And, speaking of bonds, I got a quick visit from Kristy and Jon Anderson as they flew through a quick weekend reunion trip---SO fun to catch up a bit and be boosted by good friendship.  It felt like 3 weeks ago I was visiting them w/ Amanda up at Rick's when they got engaged!  Maybe it's a good thing she is in GA, or I'd be tempted to run playing around the neighborhood all day too!

Happy summer, keep your windows cracked, and try an easy meltinyourmouth delectable no-oventurning-on-needed--hotfudge sauce forms by itself crockpot cake! Love, The Duncan's