Upon entering, we saw the sign with directions to the Polish Tent. That is all we needed…..we headed straight there to load up on pierogis & kielbasa while taking in some Polska by the Polish Dukes. I picked the title “Who stole the kishka?” because that is one of my favorite polish songs from a cd we bought for Pierogi Day a couple years ago. When I think about polish music, that song immediately comes to mind. Just for the record, a kishka is a polish sausage.
The music was fabulous, as expected & it didn’t take long for Char & Elo to busta move on the dance floor. Charlotte’s favorite move was twirling while Elo preferred to put her head to the ground & look between her legs. Gigi joined in the fun & danced with both little ladies. I looked at Rob, pointed at the three polish chicks (Gigi, Char & Elo) & said “this is why I came.” I would make that trip a million times over to see that Great Grandma teaching my girls to love Polish music!
Friday night was really the first time that Eloise was walking well while holding Charlotte’s hand. They walked all over the dance floor together & it pretty much melted my heart. I love this new phase of playing together with Elo on two feet.
Rob got some sweet Elo snuggles for a minute after dinner while she tried on his hat…..
Charlotte LOVED watching all the old cars enter. There had to be at least 100 if not more. She waved at every single one & was deeply offended if no one waved back at her. If I am going to be honest, I was a little offended too as I watched a very eager 3 year old wave with all her might at a person who just stared right past her ; ) Thankfully there were some nice people that waved back & made her night.
Since we had so much fun on Friday night, we went back for more on Saturday! Our first stop was around 8:30am. Rob dropped me off & I ran to the hill to stake out a good spot for viewing the firework show. I laid out our blankets & hopped back in the car. That evening, we made a bee line for the Polish Tent for more pierogis & dancing.
Elo baby got her hair all done up in pigtails for the first time. It was pretty darn cute : )
Gigi & the girls enjoyed some more dancing…..
Then we headed over to the carnival. Rob remembered many of the rides as ones he rode as a kid at Homecoming : ) Char had a great time on the motorcycle, the wild gator rollercoaster & this rope thing she climbed up to a big slide. Baby sis took a break in the stroller.
I was SO happy to have Virginia’s neighbors Grace & Emma with us to ride with Charlotte on a few rides. In the picture below, you can see “Mac & Cheese Slinger” in the background. Unfortunately Charlotte had to have someone over 18 with her on this one since it was missing seatbelts. I was the only adult that paid to have a bracelet…..I was stuck with a decision to make. Tell all three girls I am a wimp & hate spinny rides or suck it up & be a cool mom. So, long story short, I made the wrong decision & hopped onto a bowl of mac & cheese with two silly almost tweens & a three year old who had too much sugar in her system. I warned them that they shouldn’t make it spin anymore than it would on its own. Did they listen? NO WAY! I thought I was going to throw up all over them. That should have been my first sign of thinking I could be pregnant ; ) Most of those rides seem very short for the amount you pay for a bracelet but not this one! They made sure we got to go around at least 150 times. It really makes me nauseated just thinking about it!
I really needed a break after the spinning so we headed over to one of the tents just as it started raining. It was Meryl’s birthday & we had plans to celebrate! Rob & I picked up a couple mini cakes at a bakery that morning so we packed them in an ice chest. We put Grace & Emma in charge of distracted their mom until we could get the cakes out & candle lit. They did a fine job & Meryl was very surprised! We sang happy birthday & then enjoyed some delicious cookies & cream cake.
I love these three! Meryl’s husband died when the girls were about 3 & 1 if I remember correctly. They have grown up with a strong mother who loves them dearly & is doing an incredible job shaping these young ladies into kind, thoughtful & confident people. Virginia has really gotten to play an honorary Grandma kind of role living next door. She & Meryl have a great friendship & the girls love spending time in Virginia’s home. I SO wish I could transplant them right next door to me!
Once the lightning stopped & the carnival was re-opened, Charlotte was reminding me about how she wanted to ride the big circle that goes up high…..aka the Ferris Wheel. She had never ridden one before & I don’t think I have ridden one since Rob & I were dating. She did not mind at all that we had to wait in line for a good 25 minutes before boarding our little cart. I LOVED IT! It was one of those sweet moments of enjoying your child delighting in a new experience. Oh she was SO cute & seemed like such a big girl.
The sun had pretty much set by the time we got off the Ferris Wheel so we headed over to meet Rob, Elo & Gigi at our blanket. We were still a whole hour away from the fireworks but there was a band playing & glowsticks every where so the girls were content. Char relaxed on the quilt next to Gigi while the band played. I love the picture below even though it is dark….
The fireworks put on at Homecoming are spectacular! They really are better than Disney & they go on for a good 30-40 minutes keeping our attention captured. At one point, I had Eloise in the Ergo & Charlotte was laid across my lap. “God Bless the USA” was blaring as we sang along & I looked over at Rob & we just smiled. When we visited here last in 2006, we did many of the same things including the Homecoming Fireworks. It was that weekend that we made the decision to start pursuing having a child. I have it written in my journal a description of how excited we felt & how it seemed the whole rest of our lives was before us. I know I pictured that I would have a baby I could bring back the following year. We definitely could not have known the road ahead or the joy we would experience in our first return to Homecoming in 2012 with a story of God’s faithfulness & two girls in tow. It was a memorable moment & then a few weeks later, we find out that I not only had two girls in my arms but twins growing in my womb? Oh my, that just topped it off : )
Here is a picture of us at Homecoming in 2006 with Grace & Emma. I am almost positive that spending time with these two adorable girls that week played into our increased desire for starting to grow our family. They were precious then & are precious now!
This was the best we could do for a family photo. It was so loud we couldn’t get Eloise’s attention.
All said & done, we were worn out by the time fireworks were over. We got in the car to head back to the house & the skies opened up with rain! We got home, bathed the girls, Rob loaded the car with what seemed like two times what we brought & we got on the road. 21 hours later, we made it Orlando! It was a wonderful time in Dearborn & we can hardly wait to return. Virginia is going to have to get a couple sets of bunk beds ; )
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