This is the student council for the High School. They made palm tree segueys.
These are Tacey's friends from the Volleyball Team. They got to ride in a boat!
This is a float from one of the local churches; yes, these are potato people at church. 
You must also know that this is NOT your traditional sit and watch parade; this parade requires A LOT of interaction - especially if you are a kid who enjoys candy. This is because every float throws candy at you. The kids always get a WalMart bag full of candy.
Now, the other thing about Spud Day is that the weather is always part of the fun. Some days it is SO hot and we all get cancer causing sunburns; other years it snows. You just NEVER know!
This year chose to be rainy; not sprinklie but RAINY! But as candy is vital to all children, of any age - an umbrella was sufficient to keep the candy chasing going! This is my Mom and Tacey and Dallin on the candy hunt.
The next thing we do is walk to City Park; my home away from home during baseball and football season. Here you stand in line and they give you yummy fully loaded baked potatoes. Not little baked potatoes, but meal-sized baked potatoes with butter, sour cream and cheddar cheese.They also give you milk that has a shelf life. Call me picky, but I don't believe that milk should come in little boxes that can live safely on your shelf for years. Not only does the milk not spoil, it comes in freaky flavors; strawberry, chocolate, vanilla and ROOT BEER! (Yes, I can hear you saying 'eewwwww'. I feel the same way) As I am NOT going to put whatever perserves that milk into my body, I brought my own little Diet Pepsi. HA! This is Mom and Jilana enjoying them 'taters'.
Tacey and Laura doing the same.
This is Ben actually enjoying his Root Beer milk. (EEWWWWWW)
After that they have a couple of must-see events. The first is the Potato picking! Depending upon your age you are placed into a particular heat and have to be the first to pick up your designated poundage of potatoes and put them in the bag. Dallin and McCade chose to stay home after they got wet at the parade, but Emmalee came in third in her heat!
That is Ben and Laura who went over to coach her on her potato picking technique behind her. Then her dad Eric, went to offer his advice gained from experience.
Josh was a little further behind in his heat.
We also enjoyed 'Winder's World Famous Funnel Cakes'. We love the Winders; they have been friends of our for a very long time.
There is alot of people at Spud Day; Emmalee got lost for a little while, and was sad.
The local businesses and people rent booth space to sell weird little cool things and advertise their business. There were little cloth bags that cooked potatoes in the microwave just like they were cooked in the oven, video phones that work on your internet line. More importantly, we learned why the banks are all failing; because their logos are partying at Spud Day!
But
The best part of Spud Day is the
SPUD TUG!
Normally tug of war ends with one team in a pool of mud or water, but in Shelley at Spud Day they land in a big pit of Instant Mashed Potatoes! I have to admit that I count the days and anxiously await the Spud Tug. It is my most-favorite public sporting event.
This is the pristine, no potatoes tug of war area.
This is the ultra-special CONCRETE mixer that mixes the mashed potatoes. The firemen are good at bucket brigade, so the potato flakes get into the mixer better.
Then they fill the hole!
Unfortunately, the rain started AGAIN, so we were in danger of not being able to see any of the Spud Tug excitement. But when I opened my big, super-size umbrella I realized the last time I had opened it was at the beach in San Diego. I came to this epifany when beach sand fell all over my head. BUT this is cool, my umbrella had the face of Jesus in sand on the inside!
Then, the saddest and funniest thing happened. We got stuck in the wettest, hardest, coldest hailstorm. We ran to a nearby parking lot and Shane came from home to pick us up.
We were VERY wet.
We went back by the park today. I think everyone else must have deserted when we did. the mashed potatoes were still in the hole, waiting for someone to tug, lose and fall into them.
The trash cans held the evidence of the fun, and the canopies over the picnic tables were in disarray. It looked like a sad ghost town.
I guess I will have to wait until next year to see people who are covered in mashed potatoes(boo-hoo).
Hope you enjoyed your vicarious Spud Day experience!
Danielle
