Derby Days 2011

Our charming little metropolis, like most, has its own community celebration the first weekend in August:  Derby Days.  It is 5 days of fun filled frivolity.

We usually skip Wednesday's events and join in the fun Thursday for the Taste of Shakopee.  Various vendors and service organizations set up booths that offer to the community, a "taste" of what they have to offer.  One area is set aside for food booths, and while the rest is geared more towards services that are offered through the town.  It was fairly busy:

Then we came across this group of juvenile delinquents:

And one needs to finish off "the taste" with a slide down a gigantic Titanic like blow up ship right?

Friday is usually the beer tent night with the band, but we decided to forgo in place of giant porterhouse steaks.  Wise choice eh?
Saturday was gorgeous so we grabbed most of the kids (Beanie was off for the day) and went out on the boat.  The girls, doing what they do best:

The boy, doing what he does best:

And then, pigs flew, as the boy stayed in the water and helped his sister in her attempt to get up on the wakeboard.  SHHHHHHH....don't tell him I got this picture, or it will become a collectors item:

And in an effort to prove that, while I am in fact approaching it, I am not yet OVER the hill:

Yup...that's me (wide thighs notwithstanding), up on ONE ski.  FIRST attempt.  Yeah me! (and yes...I am still paying for that in sore muscles).


Saturday night is the fireworks and we headed down to the park.  First we went to the beer tent though and I'm just going to say it...it was lot like the website "People of Walmart".  A LOT.  In the distance we could see what looked to be a storm rolling in, but I held out hope it would either miss us or be so light as to be inconsequential.  We wouldn't be so lucky.  As the first fireworks went off, the first of many several large cold drops of rain fell.  We had lightening to the left, and fireworks to the right and in the middle....a huge park of very wet people as a torrential downpour let loose.  We stayed put, figuring it's just rain right?  The fireworks continues for about 5 minutes and about the time we figured we might as well stay for them all, we were already soaked, they ended.  We headed back to friends to watch the remainder of the lightening show.


Sunday Derby Days end with the parade.  My girls have danced in the parade each year for the past 7 years but last year, it was so unbelievably hot, they chose not to.  Their mistake as this year the temperature was much cooler and there were even a few shading clouds to make it a much more enjoyable event for those who were in it.


Beanie wanted to make sure that the candy throwers knew where to throw their candy:

The kids had their collection bags (well, the younger ones did, the older ones just let them do all the work):

Parades aren't really parades without unicycles in formation right?

And the blue haired clown (he's on the left):

And really, parades are learning experiences.  I learned that my daughter and her friend suffer from no lack of self esteem:

But the best part...the skipping home.  Because I really don't think people skip enough.