Maple Grove Days Traditions
The middle of summer also means Maple Grove Days, one of my favorite weekends of summer. It's a 4 day city wide event that brings the community together hosting different events and activities. We took part in several events this year, and Harper enjoyed every minute.
The weekend kicks off on Thursday with the parade. Growing up in a small town in Missouri, I've been to my fair share of parades. As a kid, I knew every holiday meant a parade down Main Street and candy! We started our own family tradition last year, and attended the MGD parade for the second year in a row. This year Harper appreciated the floats and parade goers a little more. She cheered and waved to just about anyone who passed us. Whether they were actually in the parade or just spectators - she didn't care they got her signature "Hi's" with a hand wave. Surprisingly, she sat in her stroller for the majority of the parade just taking in the craziness that was happening around us. We all enjoyed the start to the weekend, and I think she'll enjoy herself even more next year when she realizes people are throwing candy!
I continued with my MGD traditions on Saturday, and went to the Main Street Art Fair with my Mom. It's something we've done ever year together since I can remember. There are years where we buy several things from the local vendors, and years where we simply browse. For whatever reason, this year the fair seemed a little smaller than usual - but I still managed to find a super cute necklace from a local jeweler. After the Art Fair, we headed to the Community Center where they had all the kids activities. Harper enjoyed cruising around on the trikes and checking out the animals at the petting zoo. I'm not a fan of goats in general (their eyes, seriously - they're freaky) but they had itty bitty baby fainting goats that were one of the cutest things I've seen. I tried to get Harper to pose by them, but she was more interested on poking their ears through the fence. :)
Saturday they always end the night with a big fireworks display. When we were in high school, Amanda and I used go to fireworks every year together. We're now 28, and continue that tradition. The last few years, our fireworks spot has been the Lookout Bar & Grill. They have an amazing patio, and the view is perfect. After fireworks you can go inside to watch some of the best mom dancing Maple Grove has to offer. (If you don't know what "mom dancing" is - google it, you'll be entertained) This year, Mitch stayed home since Harper was already in bed - so Amanda and I enjoyed a little GNO action. Beer, fireworks and my bestie... that's a good night in my book!
This past weekend and this week we were also busy celebrating birthdays! BIRTHDAY SHOUT OUTS (belated) to my Mom (July 14th) and Deb (July 16th)! Since my parents were busy Sunday, we opted to celebrate Mama Mia's birthday Monday night. We had a couple amazing dishes from Biaggi's and incredible strawberry cheesecake for dessert. From the pictures below, it's safe to say Harper enjoyed the frosting on the chocolate bar more than the actual cheesecake. That girl has so much to learn when it comes to sweets - she has no idea what she's missing!
The rest of the week we've been hanging low. It's been in the mid to high 90's so being outside doesn't sound too appealing. We finally have a completely free weekend, which I'm looking forward to. Stay cool dudes, it's toasty out there.
Until next time...
The Helleen's
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