Find your happy place.

So let me first begin by apologizing for the general suckiness of the blog lately. First, it's Kris' fault. Not really. YES Really. He dropped our laptop and the hard drive won't engage now and it has trapped indefinitely all of the good videos and pictures I was planning to post on the blog, the secondary effects of which have left me creatively paralyzed. Thaaawump bump bump. (Sound of dear husband being laid out under the bus.) Secondly, since April we have had a major life event/ trip that has wrecked my month and just thrown our whole schedule off track, forcing chaos and ensuing exhaustion upon our household. And these were good things!
April- Baptism/Easter, visits from Grandmas
May- Deep Creek Lake, MD
June- Outer Banks Family Vacation
July- trip to Nisswa, Minnesota (family lakehouse also known as the Ramer Free Motel- not because it's been rid of Ramers, but because my great-grandmother Ramer never charged anyone when they monopolized her guest house. Although once she got mad at my uncle and wouldn't even let him sleep in the bunk house and insisted he sleep in the yard and somebody pointed out that because of the bears he should at least be allowed to sleep in the toolshed. He was 13. The veracity of this story should be investigated but I believe it's true only because when my mother was 6 she came to the dinner table (at the lakehouse) wearing pigtails and Grandede lost her shit and told her how inappropriate that was and made her cry and didn't give her dinner.) You know , Germans.
August- Sorority Reunion
September- Seattle trip for Kelli and Brett's wedding and major Lynch family fun with the Huentelman's and the Petisses/ Peti.

Really nothing to complain about- good times all around. But it makes for cheap blogging- here are some pictures of Ben- aren't you satisfied?? Not a lot of sharing. So hold onto your pants because I'm about to SHARE. And even better than that I'm taking you to my happy place. Since July whenever I find myself overwhelmed, sad or exhausted, I go away in my mind, to Wenona Illinois. Mind you, I have only spent about 1.5 hours of my entire life in Wenona, Illinois but it's the place of dreams. We stopped in this sweet little haven after hour 10 in a 24 hour return trip from Minnesota at the end of July. We needed somewhere that we could sit down, eat and feed Ben.
I'm a prairie girl. As we rolled through Illinois tearing through miles of concrete, I look out the windows and sigh loudly and continuously utter exhortations of the enormity of the sky and the vast openness and isn't it so freeing? We stopped around sunset, orange and reds blazing across the sky, and I marvelled at the emerald grass and the corn two feet higher than my head, considered the six feet of topsoil under my feet and just stared up at all that sky. I always feel like if you were to hold up a model of the earth we'd be right there right on top of the world. Stretching your arms out it's as if you could embrace the entire sky, your heart pounding with the endless possibility it could burst right out of your chest soaring straight to the stars. (Oh god, am I quoting a Meatloaf song?) There's nothing higher than you than the corn -save the for the Pizza Hut directly behind you- it's you and the sky.
So this is the happy place, right? The limitless possibility of big skies and freedom?
Nope, because the happy place involves a time and it's the four days that encompass Wenona Days explained to us by our placemats. The itinerary of Wenona Days is a breathtaking display of wholesome goodness and fun that is not possibly experienced anywhere else in America, and I'm not kidding- my hometown hosts America's only Cardboard Cup Regatta. So you know Wenona Days is good. I retype it here for you, - (read every word) I kid you not, all of this is for real. I've highlighted in bold my favorites.

Thursday:
5-7 pm: Pork Chop Dinner sponsored by Wenona Park and Recreation
5 pm: Memorial
5 pm: Military Memorabilia under the pavilion
5:30-6:30 pm: Write letters or draw pictures to our troops
5 pm: Scavenger Hunt- look for token in the park
5 pm: Registration for Bags Tournament (at right field of baseball diamond)
5-7 pm: Petting Zoo sponsored by Steve and Peggy Goulding
5:30 pm: Bags Tournament begins
5:30-6:30 pm: Cards- "War" Tournament all ages welcome
5:30 -7pm: Fingerprinting and giveaways for kids sponsored by the WPD.
6-8 pm: Dunk Tank
6 pm: Bake off Contest- Have your pies turned in! Pies must be made with red, white or blue fruit.
6:30 pm: Patriotic Potato Sack Race
7 pm: Singing of God Bless America
7 pm: American Legion Presentation of Colors- recognizing veterans and military men and women.
7:15-8: Craft - sponsored by the Wenona Junior Woman's Club
7:30 pm Free Red, White and Blue bullet pops sponsored by Wenona Rotary
8 pm- Balloon Release Contest- Home plate on the baseball field
8:30 pm - Family Softball under the lights, bring your glove and bat.

Friday
5 pm: Carnival opens
5 pm: Mason Food Stand opens
5 pm Beer Tent opens
7 pm 5k Run
8:30 pm Talent Contest at the Wenona City Park
9 pm- 1am- "Rock of Ages" at the beer tent

Saturday:
7 am: Barrel races registration
7:30 am: Tee Off Alumni Golf Outing at Lacon Golf Course
8-10 am: Pancake and Sausage breakfast
9 am: Barrel Races begin in horse arena
10 am: Beer Tent opens
10:30 am: Kiddie Tractor Pull at city park
11 am: Food Stands open
12 pm: Carnival opens
9pm- 1 am: "Bubble Gun Jack" performing at the beer tent- 70's, 80's, 90's music
Dusk: Fireworks off the coal dump

Sunday
7:30 am Registration for 3 on 3 Basketball tournament
9 am Wenona Mustang 3 on 3 Basketball tournament starts, Pizza Hut will be selling pizza and Fieldcrest cheerleaders selling water and Gatorade.
9 am: Car Show in prairie behind elevator
11 am Food Stands open
12-8pm: Beer Tent open
12-5pm Carnival opens
12:45pm: Kiddie Parade! Theme: Spirit of Wenona
12:45 pm Grocery Cart Food Drive- donate to the Wenona Food Pantry during the parade, bring a canned good, look for Sally Clapper and friends with their grocery carts!
1 pm: Grand Parade- Theme: Spirit of Wenona
2 pm: Duck Race
2 pm Bingo
3 pm Burnout Contest between the elevator and the uptown pavilion
4:30-6pm: Chicken Dinner
5 pm: Rotary Draw Down
6 pm: 50/50 Drawing
6:15 Drawing for American Girl Doll

Granted, I don't even know what some of this stuff is. But I go here, in my mind. And I know that were I to wander towards the cornfields edging the prairie behind the elevator and ask, "Is this heaven?" I would be told, "No it's Wenona."