For a fun day in the sun this Saturday, I chose my beautiful yellow dress from Forever 21. I paired it with a jean jacket and flip flops for the early afternoon parade in the rain. I didn’t even take the time to blow dry or straighten my hair because I knew it would just get wet and frizzy if I did.

Instead I quickly towel dried it and pulled it to one side, before walking down the street to the parade. Just as it was about to start, little raindrops started falling to the ground. It was just a sprinkle, which eventually settled to a light mist.

My mom and I watched bits and pieces of the parade through a wall of umbrellas, while we caught up on each others lives. My hair got a bit more wet and frizzy, but the damage wasn’t too bad. When we got back to the house, the rain had stopped and the sun was starting to shine. I quickly dried and straightened my hair and switched out my flip flops for my flower wedges before meeting my BFF for lunch.

Cassie and I had lunch at Nix, a bar and grill in Becker. It had been way to long since I’d seen her, so there was much catching up to do. It was so good to just talk with her. After lunch, we wandered around checking out all the other festivities of Freedom Days, which including a few blow-up games for the kids, some Redneck power tool race, a petting zoo, and more food. We were hoping to run into some of our old friends from high school, but only found one – Heather, who had just gotten back from Florida. Lucky girl!

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Later, I got to spend time with more of my favorite people – my family! After stopping by Verizon to get my phone completely reset, we stopped by Dairy Queen for some ice cream treats. Most of Kiera’s ice cream cone ended up on the floor, but she didn’t seem too upset.

After eating (and cleaning up) our ice cream, we went to the riverside park. The kids (and I) had fun running around and playing on the play ground. After all, we’re all kids at heart. I even climbed the rock wall in my wedges – talk about a challenge!

After spending my weeks alone in Litchfield, the fun day with family and friends was very much needed and appreciated. I love all you crazies!

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Photos by Jasmine, Tressa Granrud and Cody Maki