Rosie on the House

     Rosie and I were so excited about the crawfish festival. After the show on Saturday we scooped up his sweet mama, Baby Kay and our youngest daughter Carol. Julia joined us with her 3 kids and we caravanned up the mountain.

     As we were pulling through Payson, the phone rang. It was Romey….’can y’all stop and get all the potatoes and corn you can find?’ Perfect timing! Carol, Baby Kay and I shucked corn the rest of the way to the festival! Must be a good turnout we agreed! 

    Pulling into the festival was confirmation that it was what we had all hoped for!
 Bison Ranch exploded with people enjoying the mountain air and crawfish.  We stopped by the boilers first to see them going full force and the heavy baskets being dumped with heads of steam billowing upward. Not work for the faint of heart!

     We could hear Romey announcing the winner of the crawfish eating contest. Contestants worked hard to be the first to eat 15 crawfish- Romey checked to make sure they were fully consumed!  Our winner was  from Ponchatoula, Louisiana. Our nephew-in-love, Calvin Sibley came in a close second. Third place winner  was from the same town as the winner and they had never met!

     Meanwhile, the Taylor family circus was hard at work entertaining the families with their dramatic costumes as they walked around on stilts, decorated faces with jewels and paint and delighted the kids with juggling,  balloon animals and swords. Jump houses, stuffed with children, bounced happily. People lined the porches with plates of crawfish, corn and potatoes heaped high.

 

  Romey asked his dad if he would like to give rides in the Sanderson Ford TomCar.  After our demo ride with Matt Kimmerle, Rosie did not need any coaxing. People waited their turn in the cool afternoon shade as Rosie buckled people in and gave over 20 rides. There was a perfect course just off the property with lots of places to demonstrate this amazing vehicle. Thesuspension is incredible, providing a smooth ride regardless of the terrain and great fun for all ages.

    The Arizona Zydeco Band played for hours as people shuffled to the beat of the upbeat, Cajun music in the grass. The washboard and accordion players really gave it their all with the accordion player coming down to entertain the crowd on a regular basis (no body guards needed in this crowd!). Young and old alike danced to the last note!

    Thank you to everyone who came up for the day, looks like it was around 1200 attendees! We had a chance to meet lots of new people as well as hug on some old friends.

      Look for the festival next year and plan on putting it on your Arizona Stacation list!

                                                                                                         Stay Tuned!      
                                                                                                                Jennifer