Mississippi – C is for Comfort

Hastings Rivertown Days 2017
Every year we go to Hastings Rivertown Days. One of our favorite things to do as a family is to go to The Dime Carnival. The kids play games to their heart’s content and win tickets to pick out fun prizes.

Every year, it always seems as though it’s on one of the hottest days of summer. Since the carnival is in a parking lot, the heat is reflected up off the asphalt, making it feel even warmer. This year was no exception. Not about to let a little heat ruin our day, we enjoyed the carnival and hid out inside the prize area to cool off when needed.

Princess has always loved picking ducks in the duck pond. Mr. Awesome loves the jumpy house. Cupcake loves all the games. Cat is starting to get to an age where the carnival is too young for her. She loves helping the younger kids play the most.

After cooling off at home, we went to the library to drop off some books and pick up some more. As soon as I walked into the library, my eyes started itching. Cat said “Oh look Mom! A beautiful dog!” I turned to see a huge white dog near us walking across the library. It must have been a therapy dog. Unfortunately, because of my allergies, I left the building while the kids had fun picking out books with Dad. Outside I enjoyed photographing the library’s beautiful garden.

We stopped at Walmart for a few necessities and I got a contact case and solution so I could take out my contacts ASAP. My eyes were burning so much I could barely see. After I removed them, in the middle of the aisle at Walmart, I felt such relief. Although I was now blind. I had to hold Nate’s hand through the rest of our Walmart trip.

My vision is -8.50 for contacts. I’m not legally blind with my contacts (legally blind is a legal term used to sort out those who can apply for medical benefits. Anyone who can not see with corrective lenses after a certain point is considered legally blind. I am very thankful that corrective lenses work for me. I will never be able to have perfect vision even with them, but it’s still a blessing I am thankful for.). Without them, I am blind. I can’t see definition, I can only see basic blurry shapes. I can see colors, dark and light.

As you can tell from the image above, I can not see very well. We stopped to get the kids ice cream at our local dairy co op, then checked out the craft fair at the LeDuc mansion across the street. Since I couldn’t see, Nate took my hand and led me around. He described what was around us and what was in each booth we passed.

I heard a familiar voice call out to me. My friend’s Katie and Dusty from our Kingdom Hall were there! I got a chance to check out an amazing card booth with them. The cards opened up into intricate pop-up scenes all made of colorful paper. One was a ship, another a camera, others were scenes of various places around the world.

Although I am blind from a distance, I can see up close. I mean extremely up close. Whatever I’m looking at must be a couple of inches from my eye. What I do see from that close is detailed almost microscopically. I can see the tiny details that the normal eye can’t see.

With the cards, I could see the fiber of the paper, the tiny cuts and details. It was like stepping into a new world where fantasy and reality collide. I intended to go back and purchase some cards after I got my contacts in, but sadly that was the last day. Perhaps I’ll get the chance to see them again next year.

We purchased some sheets from a vendor and then went home to enjoy pizza and family night. Thankfully I was able to put in a fresh set of contacts to see. After that, we walked down to the river to enjoy the Hastings Rivertown Days fireworks. It was a busy and fun day.

Check out the video of our day!

5 Week Workout Challenge: Week 4, Day 2
Historic Fort Snelling

Today we visited Fort Snelling. My parents, my sisters Shannon and Liz and Liz’s boyfriend Jimmy had a lot of fun! We’ve been here many times and every time I find something new to enjoy.

Although I’ve always visited Fort Snelling as a tourist, my Dad visited as a child, before it was restored as a historic landmark. When he was a child, his uncle and cousins lived here!

Fort Snelling has always been one of my sister Liz’s favorite places. Since she was a child, she’s always loved the cannon blast. That might be because, when she was little, my Dad used to tell her that they set it off just for her.

After hearing the cannons go off, we went to get root beer and cream soda for the non-allergy people. Then, we practiced walking on stilts. My Dad was the best, to everyone’s amazement.

We checked out some of the usual buildings, like the tower and the schoolhouse, but my favorite was the medical rooms. There were some new displays that I haven’t seen before. I especially got a kick out of the weather diary. The climate here was judged “the most excessive among all military posts in The United States.”

Liz, Jimmy and the kids had great fun making star wands in the arts and crafts building. Liz has always excelled in making a four-sided star. In usual tradition, she gave her star to the youngest in our family, Princess. Jimmy was kind enough to give his star to Mr. Awesome.

After we were done for the day, we cooled off inside the gift shop and art gallery area before heading to our cars. This year’s exhibit was a display of beautiful photography by Paul Kitagaki. Accompanying the portraits were moving stories of families and people who had lived through the Japanese internment. There was also a fascinating display of old clocks.

Later that night, we met up with my friend Joleen and her son Drake for fireworks at our local golf course. It was a lovely evening. The fireworks were beautiful and seemed to be right on top of us. It was the perfect finish to a fun day.

Have you been to Fort Snelling? What is your favorite part? What historic sites are near your home? I’d love to hear about it, share a link to your blog post in the comments!

Check out our video!

5 Week Workout Challenge: Week 4, Day 2 Historic Fort Snelling

5 Week Workout Challenge: Week 4, Day 2
Historic Fort Snelling