Tuttle is rapidly dying so this was probably the last big celebration it will ever have, which makes me so sad! I used to love going to Dairy Days!! (Which later became Community Days... either way it was a highlight of my summers growing up.)
For the last 12 years I haven't lived in Tuttle though, and getting home for the celebrations have been difficult and limited. Last year when I found out about the Centennial, I told Jason we will need to be making a trip there in June 2011. And we did! And I was so happy to be there!
Here's a little summary of our vacation:
Friday 6-10 We left in the afternoon going as far as Idaho Falls and stayed with Jason's brother, Troy and his family over night.
Saturday 6:11 Drove. And drove. And drove. For about 14-15 hours. I love portable DVD players.
Sunday 6-12 Went to church. Had a little birthday party for my nephew Andrew, who turned one the day before. We were able to see lots of our extended family. And Annie ended up with a sun-burned little face. :( (Sorry no pictures so far.) Stayed the night again at Aunt Donna and Uncle Mike's house.
Monday 6-13 Did a little shopping with Leesa... mostly groceries, but I did buy a new sweater, skirt and shoes just because! The we went out to the farm.
Tuesday 6-14 Out at the farm.
Wednesday 6-15 Donna came with her usual breakfast for the kids:
Yes, that's right Cheetos and Oreos for breakfast. Only Aunt Donna gets away with stuff like that!But my kids are weird. Sam had one cheeto and got distracted by the four wheeler and left. Livia decided to go with Frosted Mini Wheats instead. (I wasn't about to tell them what they were missing out on though...)
My dad asked Jason to mow the yard. (Silly Jason thought he meant the lawn.) No, on a farm, a lawn and a yard are not the same thing! He was out there for about 5 or 6 hours mowing the entire farm yard. Luckily it was a riding mower!
As you can see, it hasn't been mowed yet this year. Yes, I know it's June.
Thursday 6-16 Jason spent most of his days on the farm (other than mowing time) with one of these firesticks in hand. He's thinking he used about 1000 22 shells. Among other ammo for 2 more guns. Crazy head.
Uncle Duane introduced the kids to his little abandoned calf.
But Livi wasn't thrilled with the hand sucking moment. (I used to love that as a kid.)
Uncle Duane is a favorite when he gives the kids 'scooter' rides.
Friday 6-17 Pictures from this day are on my phone. My cousin, Ashlee, and her hubby, Steve, had a vow ceremony in their church. With a little reception afterwards.
Saturday 6-18 Tuttle's big day. It started off with a parade. And it was probably the biggest parade ever to drive down this street! It took almost an hour, which is really long for a Tuttle parade... especially since everyone only went through once this time!
The one in the middle is my daddy-o. This was the start of the parade.
Here's a shot of the street. I was surprised how many people were there.
What's a parade without a port-a-potty...
The kids got way too much candy!! And loved it.
My cousin Beth was in the parade with a couple of her horses, so she let Sambo get a little ride afterwards.
There were several fun things going on through the day, like Turtle Races, foot races, egg toss, ya know, fun stuff like that. Sam's highlight was the bounce houses (where he stayed for about 3 hours) and the free stuff stand. My 4th grade teacher passed away a couple of years ago, and apparently at her family reunions she always had fun stuff for all the kids, so her 3 children decided to carry on that tradition for the centennial. They had cotton candy, balloons, temp tattoos, bracelets, and popsicles, all for free.
The "highlight" of the day was the professional wrestlers that came. But you had to pay for that, and frankly I wasn't that interested. Plus the kids were exhausted by then... so we went home. But here's a picture of my whole town from in front of the school looking down Main Street. Yes, that's right... that's it, that's the whole town! (Now you can see why I surprised that the parade managed to last a whole hour!)
Ahh, my old playground! This is where I went to school K-12th grade!
Sunday 6-19 Happy Father's Day! Went to church then drove. And drove. To Casper Wyoming where we stayed the night at a little motel.
Monday 6-20 Drove. Oops, 30 minutes in the wrong direction. Turned around, said hello to Casper again, then drove and drove and drove again. And I still love DVD players. And parade candy.
We got home about 5 pm and I was surprised how different the yard looked! The roses were in full bloom and the trees had completely filled in in the back yard. It was a welcome sight and it was good to be home.
I have so many wonderful memories of my little town, so it's sad to see it die. But I was happy to get to see a few of my classmates and other friends while I was there. I know it's not Jason's first pick of where to go when he takes a week off of work, but he loves me enough to let me have that time there. (He's so wonderful! He didn't even complain!)
It almost makes me want to move back there. Almost. Then I remember the winters and the spring flooding... I guess I'll be happy where I am...
