we're going to kentucky, we're going to the fair

Ah, weddings. This time last year I was deep in full fledged wedding planning mode for our October nuptials. Wedding planning can be fun, inspiring, exciting and it can also be stressful. We truly lucked out and had a wonderful day. We couldn't have asked for better weather, had limited issues arise, family all surrounded us to celebrate and it was an amazing day. I am so glad I can say I had the best day at my wedding. I danced, laughed, ate great food, and spent time with people I love. That being said, I am so glad our wedding planning days are all done. Now when friends talk about their wedding planning headaches I smile, remember our wonderful day, but am thankful to be on the other side!

One of my favorite things to do when I am bored or just wanting to walk down memory lane is to review some of our wedding pictures. We have a great collection of posed and candid photos of all of the activities from the day. Looking through today I am smiling looking through these photos. In these pictures I am dancing with one of my sisters and my flower girl who really is like family. We are dancing a funny little dance where one girl would stand in the center and do various things called out to them while the others circle around them dancing with hands joined.

This song and dance is something my two sisters and I have done forever. I am not sure where we learned it. Surely it was at summer camp, the girl scouts, or maybe an older neighbor girl who taught it to us. It's funny the little rhymes and songs that get passed down through childhood. As a child it was so fun to be the one to dance around in the center and at the end pick the next person to dance. As an adult, I think the lyrics are pretty funny, though may not be as innocent as I once thought. There is a bit about "shake it like a milkshake" while dancing, but I think it is still can be adorably PG.

Thinking of this dance gives me another memory flashback (aren't those a fun way to spend an afternoon). When I was first in college my sisters and I went to the east coast for the summer to spend time with our father and step mom. During this summer we traveled from our east coast home outside of Boston to New York, New Jersey, Maine, Virginia, and Washington DC. We had a lot of laughs and new experiences. While in Washington DC we took a late night walk in the hot summer evening to see the monuments lit up. The walk wasn't as exciting as we had anticipated. We were hot. There were bugs (actually there were cicadas. EVERYWHERE. Super noisy the whole trip). Looking back, there were probably also several unsavory characters all about. We decided to use this opportunity to sing this familiar song and take turns being the person in the center and dance. I think this helped reset the tone for the evening and we all had a ton of fun. I wish I had some photos of us during that evening, but today, I am happy to remember my families' smiling singing faces.

Are there any rhymes or songs you remember from your childhood? I wish I could remember all of those "miss mary mac" type rhymes.....