bluegrass 2010

2010 Memories of Winfield...

This year we arrived earlier than ever and had already saved our camping spot with our camper (borrowed from a friend) the weekend before. We ALMOST went Wednesday night - sure glad we didn't.

There was a tornado near Winfield, the sirens went off, thousands and thousands of campers had to run for shelter. We watched the news from home, hoping that our borrowed camper woudn't blow away.

We got Dave's parents to come for the first time -they drove down with us on Thursday and stayed till bedtime.  We loved having them there!

2 of our friends came Friday night and their wives joined us on Saturday.

It was a blast having more friends there with us this year!

My parents were there - camping with the clan they have camped with for years and years.  They are always so helpful with the kids - giving us a good afternoon and night break to enjoy the festival on our own and not have to be confined to the camp once the kids go to bed.

The weather on Thursday was beautiful - perfect fall weather. We got to put jeans and sweatshirts on that night.

The rest of the weekend it was HOT - although evenings were pretty nice.

Dave said this was his favorite year YET!

I think the combination of our best ever camping spot and neighbors, and the friends and family that joined us helped make it that.

The Prep...

For the last few years, Dave has been saying he's going to build the kids an awesome wagon for bluegrass.

This year he did it - finished it the day before thanks to our friend Matt and his wood-working skills!

We got stopped many times over the course of the weekend by people admiring the wagon.

I spent almost a whole day in the kitchen preparing all our food - it's a lot of work, but SO worth all the prep when we get there.

 I made Pioneer Women's cinnamon rolls - the first attempt I've ever made at cinnamon rolls.

And I'm still not sure how I feel about it.

It was definitely messy, but they were SOOO good.

 I made hobo dinners for one night, got chili ready for another, and Dave smoked ribs the last night!

We definitely eat well when we camp!

The Camp...

 We met the guy who owned the big RV beside us - he quite possibly is the nicest guy we have ever met!

He let us plug into his RV for elecricity (meaning we didn't have to pay)

He brought out a kids table for the kids - and bubbles.

He made us popcorn one night and let us use his toilet and shower.

THAT definitely spoiled us.

I really could go on and on about him, and everything he did for us.

He was a HUGE blessing!

The People...

 Dave wants to name the wagon "Winfield War Wagon"

Something to do with Nascar - I didn't really get it, but he was excited about it and already planning how he'll put the name on it.

If you can't tell - this is a person with glowsticks tied to them in the shape of a person - hilarious!

The Music...

I looked over during John McCutcheon and saw the kids cuddling and swaying back and forth to the music - it melted my heart.

 Check out the little guy playing the harmonica...

 It was SOOO hot, and all but a couple of the stages are in full sun - we were so thankful to find these seats back in the barn to be able to watch the show.

 One of our favorite spots - Stage 5.

The Relaxation...

This was a huge purpose for the wagon - so the kids would be comfy and fall asleep if they needed to.

It worked!!!  They slept like this for an hour and a half. 

 Chillin for snack time..

 With the heat, Stage 5 was the perfect place to be.

We sat there for a few hours and I'm pretty sure all 6 of us fell asleep at one point or another.

The Fun...

I walked into my parent's camp and saw this on their camp message board...

We had chili and my annual FAVORITE zucchini cake (made with love by my mom!) with everyone at their camp - friends from many different states that have been helping me celebrate my birthday for as long as I can remember.

 This table is now on our wish list to add to our camping supplies - it was perfect for the kids - plus it folded up!

 The kids loved all the "jewelry" on this car - really it was just beads.

And they found a new love for Stage 2...

351 days till Bluegrass 2011.

The only thing I was bummed about all weekend was having to miss this...

I was registered, had trained for it, and had planned to take a 4 hour break from bluegrass to drive back to Newton to run.

What I didn't account for was the heat that I had sat in all day and dehydration, the amount of walking I had done, and the lack of sleep (not horrible, but definitely not like home). I tried to drink water all day long - still planning on making the race.

I knew I'd have to leave at 3:30 at the latest to make it back in time.

I'm pretty sure I made my decision at 3:29.

And I hated that I was going to miss it.