Summer Myers: Founders Day

We herded up our little rascals and headed to the Founders Day Celebration in Burleson over the weekend.

I love me a good festival.

And if ever there was a town to celebrate it's founding fathers, it's Burleson.

It is so rich with history.

There is an entire part of the town that is called Old Town. It's the old part of town that has always been there.

It's lovely.

The same old buildings that used to be general stores and train depots now house burger joints and my sons orthodontist.

It is so cool to sit in that waiting room, which is very well preserved, and stare at all the modern day technology of video games and flat screens interwoven with the train station benches (probably original) that we wait on and old chipped brick walls that have been sealed. Oh and the smell. It doesn't even have that dentisty smell. It smells like a 100 year old wooden house. But not in a gross way of course.

And we get to climb up rickety stairs to go to the patient rooms. Cool.

The entire town is like this.

As someone who appreciates really old stuff and simpler times of the past, I love it here.

Don't get over there nearly enough though.

That is the same train tracks that bad guys rode in on I am sure.

Oh and there is a Babe's Chicken. I might be the only one around here who hasn't eaten there yet but I hear that it is heavenly. I think it's pretty much a staple of Old Town.

So yeah, celebration, festival, I actually don't know what they called it. But it was super fun. Everyone was there, selling their fun assortment of random stuff, buying other peoples stuff, eating corn dogs and funnel cakes, drinking lemonade, and playing carnival games.

The people watching, per usual festival fashion, was spectacular.

Everyone there was so nice. H-E- Buddy kindly obliged to a photo with a couple of star struck fans.

They heart him. "OMG! It's H-E- Buddy! In real life!"

We also got loads of free stuff. Within seconds they kids were bombarded with balloons and temporary tattoos branding them Marshals.
And I got two pens and a toothbrush!

That blue balloon was actually the second round of balloons. Within about 15 minutes I think. The yellow ones had just been put in the car because it was windy and no one wanted to hold them except me.

But I can't say no to a free balloon. Who does that?

All Ayden wanted to do was play the Goldfish game. He zoomed in on that right away. I don't think he thought he would win but still had a lot of hope he would. He played one of these back in January at the Stock show Midway and that thing was so rigged. We spent an obscene amount of money on like ten tries to win a half frozen 25 cent goldfish for him and he never won. And he was sooo sad about it. Devastated even. He cried big tears all the way to the car. Those Midway people should be ashamed of themselves, I swear.

So even though we didn't need another animal of any kind coming to live with us, and I knew Bobby was trying to steer away from the live fish game, I had to let him do it. He needed his redemtion. And his goldfish, darnit. And this game was being run by the kind hearted folks from the community church, so I knew they weren't out to rob children of their money and their hopes and dreams.

And he got one! He did! And he turned around with such a look on his face. The nice ladies were cheering for him and bagging his fish up and he was not sure what to do. He was all "Uuhhhhh...............can I even get this fish?????????? He may have heard his dad whispering "we aren't getting any fish" right before he threw the winning toss.

But seriously who could deny that kid his prize fish!? Not this mom. But I had pretty much already decided that, like before he even paid the lady for his turn.

But Daddy gave his blessing too and he was a happy boy. Victory at last.

He is such an animal lover.

He loved his fish from the second he got him.

And of course Annabelle had to have a turn too.

And of course she went and won TWO of them.

Ayden and Bobby checking out the dirt bikes. Trying them on for size. Nice try, guys.

Annabelle and the fish checking out the travel trailer. The beds were bunk and comfy.

I'll take one please.

One of the coolest parts of this celebration was the people in their costumes. It was just beautiful.

Just like the olden days.

The gun fights were so much fun. Honestly, I may have been the most excited person in my family to watch the gun fight. I made sure we were going to be there during one of the performances.

Don't know why I got so excited about it but I did. I don't even like guns. At all. But I like cowboys. And outlaws. And old stuff. So there ya go.

The cowboys were hysterical.

Put on an awesome show.

And it was SO cool that after the show the outlaw came over to my kids and made them raise their right hands and solemnly swear to obey their parents and stay out of trouble. And Annabelle had to swear she wouldn't marry until she was 50.

I am totally holding her to it.