Eureka in full mocking-mode

This weekend Annalivia, Daniel and I are going to go to my hometown of Eureka to visit a friend and spend some time with the family. I love going home to my hometown and were gas not outrageous and my children slightly uncooperative, I'd probably find a way to head down there semi-weekly.
The only problem with going home is that I long for it when I'm away. This was particularly compounded a few weeks ago when we went to Eureka to spend the night and give Daddy some time to do homework without being bothered by his needy wife or verbal children.
It just so happened that Dennis' need to have peace and quiet coincided with the weekend of Eureka's Lilac Festival and Fine Arts Fair which is an annual event held on the campus of Eureka College, my alma mater.
This year the festival was on a day when it was almost 80 and the sun was shining. It was a tad windy, but it was gorgeous. As we came into town from my parent's house which is an old dairy farm on the edge of town, we saw that Main Street had been lined with American flags put up by the boyscouts, headed up by my scoutmaster father.
We first headed out to the lake where all the cousins got their picture taken together as directed by Grammy Adaline.

We hung around to see my nephew play soccer with the Eureka Youth Recreation Association and saw all sorts of parents being supportive and kindly competitive (really, honestly).

Annalivia and her cousin Cleya ran sprints under my direction. I'd have them run to a fence about 40 yards away before I counted to some random number. They enjoyed it and the lovely side benefit was that they were VERY tired out.
Little Lirah, who is in the stroller in the above picture took a nap on her handsome daddy's chest and channeled Yoda. Wise already she is.

And my sisters ran in the Eureka Spring Classic. And yes, that sister on the left is Lillia, who gave birth a week before I did. And ran five miles, but first walked out to the lake and then walked back home (another two miles). Sheesh.

Marissa placed in the top five(I can't remember which place exactly) in her age bracket.

Then we went to the college to hang out at the Lilac Festival. The College usually has a gorgeous grove of lilacs in bloom that was developed in the first half of the century by a professor; this year they were snowed upon, so no lilacs. Artists set up booths amongst the academic buildings and sell jewelry and paintings and scultpure and pottery etc. There is also live music, this year from a wonderful bluegrass band called Ashton Junction which features the banjo music of a native Eurekan. Several church youth groups sell treats, as well as the Eureka Hornet Music Boosters. And the Rotary sells porkchops, which Eureka Rotary Club does better than anybody else on earth, I think. My grandfather was collecting money for Rotary and came over to see Daniel. Daniel looks more like Gramps than any other family member, we think.
And we met up with my college friend, Remy, and her two energetic boys.

Essentially, it was my hometown at its best: beautiful weather, American pride, wholesome family activities, healthy athletes, artists and non-lilacs, good coffee and better friends, Gramps and Grammy, sisters and brothers-in-law, nieces and nephews.
I want to live there, too.
Can you tell?