National Peanut Parade

As some of you may or may not know, Dothan, Alabama is known as the "Peanut Capitol." Thus, every fall, when the peanuts are harvested, they hold the National Peanut Festival--the equivalent of anywhere else's county fair. However, the peanut festival comes complete with roughly one bzillion Miss Whatever's, Jr. Miss Whatever's, Little Miss Whatever's, Future Little Miss Whatever's, and (Parrish's brain-child: Embryonic Little Miss Whatever's).

No Kidding. Yesterday, we attended our third annual National Peanut Festival Parade- I heard that there were 150+ entries in yesterday's parade- comprised of Harley's, marching bands, and Pageant floats- that's about it...no horses, very few old cars, and only an occasional elected official.

However, the highlight of the parade comes very near the beginning when, following the myriad of police cars with sirens blaring, a single cement truck makes its way down the parade route dumping raw peanuts (I say raw because if they aren't green or raw, they are bolled, translation "Boiled") down its chute and onto the center of the road- at which point everyone runs out and gathers as many peanuts as you can into a bag, which you then eat during the parade, throwing all shells onto the ground and leaving them there to be blown away during the next hurricane or tornado- whichever comes first. There is never a single piece of candy thrown in this parade- just the peanuts at the beginning. Anyway, it's quite a sight to see, and has become a family tradition for us, just like all Alabamians!

In past years (2 to be exact) we have followed our parade excursion with a trip to the fairgrounds where in 2005, Madelyn won a blue ribbon when her hog (the one she chose to cheer for) won in the hog races at the fair, and where in 2006, Madelyn and Mommy got their picture taken with the sea lions after their evening performance- one had its face on my shoulder, while the other was resting on Madelyn's head! (sorry- it was a polaroid- cost $10) As you can see, it's an event not to be missed, and filled with unforgettable experiences! If you're ever in the mood for some peanuts, fried twinkies, or local Southern culture in the fall, c'mon down and see us!!

Mr. and Miss Personality

For those of you we haven't seen in a while, these pictures tell all about the kids' personalities. We marvel at how kids raised in the same home, by the same parents can be so strikingly different! For example, when we discover tree frogs, lizards of all sizes, large bugs or the toad that lives in our front planting, Madelyn immediately wants to hold them, touch them, capture them and examine them while Joshua cringes and keeps his distance- whatever distance he determines "safe." You'll notice Madelyn's love of nature simply by the look on her face as she holds a toad or puts her finger in a fish's mouth! I have to point out that on that fishing trip, Madelyn reached into the cricket container everytime anyone needed to rebait their hook- the 11 and 12 year old boys that were there wouldn't go near the bait!

On the other hand, while we were carving pumpkins for Halloween- note the look on Josh's face when Parrish showed him what the inside of a pumpkin looks like. He likes to keep his hands clean, but is notorious for wiping his face and nose on the hem of his shirt! Grandma tried to keep a kleenex in his pocket while she was here, but I fear this is a lost cause! He does love music, and loves to sing and dance however, and shows a lot of talent in that area- if he can just overcome his shyness when he realizes that he's being watched, he might actually perform some day!

We are eager to watch Dallin grow and develop his own personality complete with quirkes that make him as unique as his sister and brother! But for now, we're just enjoying his wide eyes and early smiles.