Good Things About Draper Days 2008:

Scoring a great spot to watch Coral in the parade without setting out chairs the night before.

Watching the boys collect parade candy- Kevin told them at first to smile and wave at the people on the floats so they would throw candy to them. Niall was reminded of the Madagascar Penguins saying, "Just smile and wave, boys, smile & wave." He and Leith kept saying that to themselves to stay motivated. Pretty soon, Niall's pockets were so full, his pants were slipping down. They scored candy, toys, frisbees, pencils, popsicles, etc.

Seeing a Ford F650 truck. We had never seen a truck that big, not even in Texas.

People watching.

Dog watching- why do people take pets to large gatherings?

Finding a fabulous jewelry vendor. It was hard to ditch Kevin and the boys in order to shop in peace, but I managed. They went off to enjoy the inflatable slides and bungee activities.

Visiting the Reptile Rescue tent. These guys are weird, but cool. They are the 'go to crowd' when police find inappropriate pets, often ill or hurt, and they house and care for them properly. The huge African tortoise with a damaged shell eats $80 of produce a week-we made a small donation. I didn't asked what the enormous python eats.

Listening to Peter Noone and the Herman's Hermits live in concert.

Watching fireworks.

But, I think the highlight of the weekend for me was watching Kevin enjoy Lee Greenwood singing his most famous patriotic song for perhaps the last time this year. He only heard it about 20 times on the 4th of July, which just wasn't enough. It warmed my heart to see him enjoy it one more time.

This is the first year since we moved here that we have really clued on to this event. India wasn't interested, and we didn't take the kids to the concerts, but next year I hope we can all go and enjoy more of the festivities together- all we need to add is a dog.