Nickle Dickle 2009

Getting beyond the silly name for the annual city-wide celebration in our town, Nickle Dickle Day is something we look forward to each year. In fact, I attended this event with Grandma ?, Papa Don, and the kids nearly one year before moving here.....it was a part of my searching for a new town to live in. And charmed us, it did do.

What used to be a small town event has turned into a day filled with 10's of thousands of people. At times, the crowds tend to rival those of the County Fair. Craft and food vendors line the city park, while music fills the air, and fun and games for the kids abound. Bounce houses of all sizes, hula hoops and limbo sticks, mini donuts, sno cones and cheese curds, spending a glorious day outside with Grandmas and Grandpa....what more could you want?

The Tickle starts off our morning----the little 1/2 mile race for the younger folk. Crispy and Laura were the only brave kiddos from our house to participate this year. Crispy had many little buddies to run with.

Laura was accompanied by Tubby, Bethany, The Beast, and I.

Last year, Laura was the absolute last kid to cross the finish line. This year would have resulted in the same outcome had it not been for the preschoolers who started five minutes after her group began the run. No matter. She tries her best, works so hard to move those little legs, and works even harder to keep them moving. I couldn't be more proud of her.

Four weeks ago, the first clue to the hidden Nickle Dickle Day medallion was given in our local paper. As we do every year, we collected the clues each week, and searched in the places we thought it may have been hidden.

We have searched.

And searched.

And searched.

And have never found it. Not even when it was hidden in the park just behind our house. We have never even been close. Though this year, we walked very near it while searching in areas all around the hidden medallion. But someone else searching that night in the park too, beat us to it. Rats. And we were going to buy a trampoline with the award money! Well, at least we are getting closer, and smarter with figuring out these clues. We'll get it next year!