5th Annual Roselawn Carnival Recap

Another successful Roselawn Carnival put on by Sherri Pie and Erin.15 years from now, when Sherri is hosting the 20th Annual Carnival in the middle of the Nevada desert and tickets are sold out months in advance, I will be proud to say I was there when it all began (sort of). I missed the 1st Annual Carnival, (don't ask, lame excuse) but I assure you, it is the first and only time I'll miss out on this backyard party.

The weather held up and we only experienced a couple light sprinkles, which seemed appropriate given the "Depression Era" theme for this year. New to Carnival this year was the Last Regiment of Syncopated Drummers who performed the Opening Ceremony Parade down Roselawn St all the way to 9th Ave (for those of you not familiar with Sherri Pie's street - its about 50 yards from her house to 9th Ave or the equivalent of 3 house lots.) Traffic was diverted as we turned around and headed back to Sherri's house. The drumline then played for another 5 minutes in the open lot next to thee midway. The entire neighborhood was out to enjoy the show. Sherri does a great job of including everyone in the fesitivities.

After the parade, the Strongmen were getting themselves prepped for the big competition. The first event was the ever-popular "spin-around-a-bat-and-run-with-a-tire". The first contestant spun around 5 times and was not phased at all... so we changed the rules and made everyone spin 10 times. I could watch this all day long. Nothing is more funny then watching grown men stumble sideways while carrying a tire down to a doggie bed. I'm not sure what was better though - watching Murray take a header face first into the grass, or tight-pants guy fall over while still spinning. After the 1st competition, it was on to Round 2, which consisted of them answering some question about the economy or something like that and then having to run to the doggie bed. This is when we rugby girls ran "interference". Puddles did some tackling, Babb belly bounced them, I grabbed tight pants and overalls, but none of that was enough to stop Jan Ledford from breaking through and claiming the Strongman Cup for 2009.

Grey returned for another mesmerizing magic show on the big stage. Dick Dickman was a great assistant as he oooh'd and awwww'd the crowd. Unfortunately, Kent was unable to make it this year, so there was no one to mess with on stage.

Next up on the agenda was the ever popular Carnie Queen competition. Reigning Crown holder was Lindsey Babb - who last year, did some pushups and situps while smoking a cigarette and chugging a beer.... oh, and did I mention she was 10 months pregnant? There was some TOUGH competition this year: Grapes of Wrath bible reading, Evil Ventriloquist, Jess the Womanizer, Murial's Burlesque show, The Sword Swallower, Guy who played the Accordian... but none of that could compare to Babb's next trick... drinking her beer off her pregnant belly, while her hands were full with her feetless/handless baby. Babb kept her crown and will surely be back next year, pregnant again and ready to defend her title.

There was a fire dancer, (but I couldn't get any good pics of that - too engrossed in the show), there was a tug-of-war, the deep frier, the kissing booth ($10 if you want to motorboat -- give or receive), another pie'ing, the burning of the Christmas tree, bobbing for PBR's, and all sorts of other odd's and end's which make the Roselawn Carnival the best backyard party you will ever go to. Honestly, this blog SUCKS in doing the Carnival justice, so next time, just get here and experience it all for yourselves...

At any rate, here's the pics of the 5th Annual Roselawn Carnival

Oh, and just because I said I was going to use this blog as a way to keep myself honest about training, here's what I did over the last few days:

Thursday 6/23 - Biked 17 miles and swan 1300 meters in the Willamette River - WTF!?!? Ummm, last time I was in the Willamette, I was 16 years old and ended up with a rash all over my arms and legs... and you should know that the swim club has a disclaimer that states "Open water swims will be cancelled when there has been rain within a 48-hour period"... why, you might ask? Because all of Portland's finest sewage dumps straight into the Willamette when it rains.

Friday - this is technically supposed to be my "rest day" but because I have a 1/2 marathon coming up in a week, I decided to run - but just 3 miles. Then I took the nephews to the water park and played in the surf for a couple hours.

Saturday - pre-Carnival, ran 8.5 miles. Wanted to die at 2 miles, but around 5 miles, I was actually enjoying the run, aside from the super sketchy section of the trail, where its completely wooded and dark... and this homeless guy decided to duck up into the trees when he saw me coming. I grabbed a handful of rocks and kept them in my hand for about 10 minutes.

Sunday - 21 mile bike ride. A bit hungover from the Carnival, but busted it out in under an hour and a half. Which, for me, was a pretty big accomplishment. I might remind you that I am riding a 13 year old Gary Fisher mountain bike, where the front derailer only works when it feels like it, so I'm usually stuck on the big ring.