I Am Emme: Saturday-fest

This weekend was a damn good weekend to be a northeast Ohioan. It was Founder's Day weekend of course, which is a big deal around here and just one more reason it's cool to be from Akron, and on top of that everywhere we turned there was some sort of party or celebration happening for one reason or another. Saturday we started the day up on the east side of Cleveland at University Circle for Parade the Circle. A (you guessed it!) parade put on by the art museum. It was phenomenal. The costumes and floats and imagination behind the whole thing really blew my mind. It was so, so, so great and FREE! If you live in the area it's something you should really see at least once. We will definitely be making our way back up again next year.

After the parade was over we decided to head over to the shoreway and see if we could spy any of the movie making action currently going on down there. They're filming the new Captain America movie right here in Cleveland and we thought Wes would dig getting to see some of that process if we could get him close enough. We found the crew setting up lots of serious equipment (which Josh was drooling over) and some stunt men practicing jumping off of a bridge, but that was about the extent of it. There were no masked superheroes walking around or any other famous celebrity-types but it was still pretty cool. Plus one of the production assistants did give the boys some candy when Wes answered her Captain America quiz question correctly, so, it was fun times.

(they had everything set up to look like downtown D.C.)

To be honest, the whole purpose of this entire trip up on Saturday was really to get ice cream sundaes at Sweet Moses. I've been craving those candied pecans like nobody's business. But what we didn't know was that over on the west side they were having a big street festival (pARTy in Gordon Square). Which was totally awesome and fun except for the part where there was a line out the door and about an hour long wait for an ice cream cone. Which, I love you Sweet Moses, but no.

So we grabbed lunch at Happy Dog (thanks for the tip, Dan!) and then hit up ol' faithful for some good old fashioned sundaes once we got back to Akron.

(that peanut butter topping right there is kiiiiiiiinda the purpose of life.)

And then wouldn't you know as we're heading back home from Mary Coyle we realize Highland Square's Porch Rokr fest was happening right around the corner. We parked the car, threw the boys in the double stroller and wandered the neighborhood checking out all the different bands and awkwardly running into a bunch of random people we kinda-sorta knew. (Which is want to happen when one is in Highland Square.) Wes even found four of his little buddies from his Pre-K class playing in the front yard of one of the kids houses and we stopped and let him play while I chatted it up with the other moms for about a half an hour. Things like this little festival are what I am going to miss most about Akron when we move outta here in a few weeks. I love all the little neighborhoods full of people you know. It made me a little sad actually to think about how we're leaving it behind. I know we won't be far, but I sure do love this place we've called home for all these years.

Once the festivities began winding down we walked down to Hereford Park and let the boys run off whatever bits of energy they had left to muster. After which we promptly drove them home, put them to bed and plopped ourselves down on the sofa with a bowl of popcorn and a movie.

Now that, my friends, is how you do a Saturday.