The 4th

Yesterday (the 4th of July) was quite the exciting day in the village. Festivities included:
1) A parade in which the bookstore's "float" was Santa in a sleigh being "pulled" by 9 reindeer, two elves throwing candy and a sign declaring that even Santa shops at the Holden Bookstore. I was the head Reindeer and all of my fellow "antlers" were dressed in brown and metallic gold/silver (flashy for reindeer, I know). Those of us who could find sizes that fit in the costume shop also wore tap shoes (to increase the prancing effect). I had a clown nose at the front of the line and a whistle. You might ask, "why a whistle?" To this I would be obliged to respond that we were shriner reindeer. When the whistle blew, we pranced off into a shriner's routine including leaping, high-5's, and various other forms of crowd pleasing. It was all very exciting. The parade went down the street from East to West. Then we lined up again and paraded from West to East. All of the costumes and concepts were wonderful and we had amazing commentators (as well as awesome crowd support).
2) After the parade there were free ice cream sundaes with homemade chocolate syrup and whipped cream.
3) There was also face painting. I was all done up like a cat (looked a bit more like a mouse), but I don't think I got a picture, so you might have to leave that one up to your imagination.
4) My "boss", Steph Carpenter, and her family had a small 4th gathering, which I gladly attended for some chatting and Twizzler-consumption.
5) A Joke-A-Thon. An anonymous doner offered to give $1 to the Obama campaign for every joke told. Nobody offered to donate to the McCain fund. As it happened, we raised about $150 for Obama as a village. There were many wonderful jokes, some not-so-amazing jokes, and tons of make-no-sense jokes (told by children). It was a lot of fun and giggles for the whole village.
6) Dinner was grilled-out bratwurst, yummy salads, and homemade buns. Thanks kitchen! It was wonderful and very patriotic/tasty!
7) After Vespers, there was a firework show. Now, I know what you're thinking... "Fireworks in a remote mountain village surrounded by highly flammable trees? Really??", but that's not what I mean. At Holden, the routine is that everyone files into a room where they show a video display of fireworks and the audience creates the noises. A jolly time :)
8) Then came the talent show which included everything from the average singing, poetry reading, and skits to a reading of the water safety report set to music/dance. Very entertaining. Of course, it ended in a dance party. Of course. Of course.
9) By this time I was wholly exhausted and ready for bed. All that prancing and laughing was too much for me. Of course (yes, again) I had to stay up until 3 doing all sorts of other stuff. I'm so wise.
So, today I work. Luckily, I have Sunday/Monday/Tuesday off completely for all of the extra hours I put in this last week. I will go hiking and see what else Lauren's spirit needs :)
Love to you all.
Lauren