Yesterday was Tongie Days. We had a booth sat out in front of our studio along with many other vendors from all over. I arrived at 8:45 in the morning to help get our stuff out of the store and on to our tables. It was a little disconcerting to see that right next to us was a lady whose voice boomed with every overly annunciating word who you could hear all the way to the end of the block. She had previously been at the shrine rodeo but clear across the room at that time and we could hear her every word even then. It was a nice day w little breeze and not too humid. We heard over and over again, as women would drag their friends to our booth, "this is our favorite store!" That was encouraging. Several people stopped by and we got to see so many familiar faces. A old country band played up the street and kids and with balloons and slushy were runny havok all over the place.
Later that day, Cynthia, whom is my partner in crime, was throwing a Miss Tonganoxie Pageant. I, of course got the joy of runnin
g up there to take pictures of some of the girls that I knew. Little Emma DeMaranville, my cousin, on the left, and Annabell , one of my after school helpers on the right. They did a Fantastic Job!!
Dani Boatwright was there as well watching her little neice compete. It was good to see her again. She will be off to Denver for training with her hubby Casey Wegman very soon. I got to meet her littl Bo who looks just like his daddy.
After an exhausting day of booths and pageants we finished the evening walking up to our local park to watch fireworks with friends. Josey was terrified!!! "Mommy I wanna go home, I wanna go home," she would cry climbing over my shoulder in complete panick. Was it me who was able to calm her down.. um no, it took Daddy's touch. He managed to get her to watch the fireworks. Then it was my friend Rachel whom she snuggle with the rest of the night as they named who each firework color belonged to. 
I never thought as a teenager that I would end up raising my family in the town that I grew up in. However, it is days like this that I see what a joy it has been as the enticements of city life seem to fade.
Brian and I finished the night sharing some Chardonnay and talking till 3:30am. We hadn't done that for ever.
Last Night Brian, my Brother Jimmy, and I all went down to Sedalia to watch our Tongie Boys in their cage fighting matches. I was there hoping to get a few good pictures for them. However, I was a bit concerned about the lighting. It was very dark w/ just shop lights over head. There were two ladders w/ stands on each side of the cage but those areas were reserved for the videographers. That would of been ideal for me, but I had to do with where I was at. Our guys were in three out of the fifteen fights and with all I was able to be right up at the cage. Even though my camera is capable of blurring out the cage and focusing in on the subject, because of lighting and focusing issues I wasn't able to do that. It took a lot to get use to and I still have a lot to study up on. Oh but it was FUN!!!!
There was this one videographer that was a heavier set lady w/ big fuzzy black hair that looked like she could kick anyones ...well she was one bad.. okay, I'll spare the language, anyway, my brother kept telling me I should go over and ask her if I could snap some shots up on the stand while our fighters were fighting. There was no way I was gonna ask her. By the third fight she had noticed my desperation in trying to get a few shots and allowed me more access then what I expected. Anytime the doors would open in the cage she let me get up their to take some shots or if people were in my way she let them know and pushed them back. She ended up being one cool lady, still wouldn't wanna get on her bad side. 
I fell in love with watching the fights.. The closest thing I can compare it to for me up to this point is hockey games when the players get in brawls or their faces slammed up against the barrier walls. LOVED THAT!! The intensity of it is exilerating.. the choke holds, the jabs to the face, the body slams to the ground, the blood dripping from their nose. It's gripping and intense. Sick, in some sense, but just when you think one guys is gonna win, the underdog whips around and taps him out. You never know how its gonna come out.
So my new goal is to conquer the lighting issues, take some good action shots for our Tongie Bad Apples Fight team and in the mean time enjoy watching them kick some serious......
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