Parkerpalooza 2012

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This past May long weekend had a special significance for my family. We went on a group camping trip to honor a good buddy who passed away last year, Parker Summers. Parker was a special kind of guy, full of fun and laughter, who loved music and good times. His spirit lives on in all of those whose lives he touched. We honored him, and his parents Lori and Scotty, at Parkerpalooza 2012.

Parker Summers

It was a great weekend. There were about forty camps set up, not counting those who came for the day and ended up sleeping it off in their cars. Josh and Reina, Parker's brother and sister in law, drove up from the states. Mr. Zinga and myself borrowed his brothers tent trailer and stayed one night. Parker was on everyone's mind but in a good way. We shared stories and laughs and yeah, a few tears too but it was great. The whole point of the weekend was remembrance. Parker left a huge mark on our community and our family. We named our youngest daughter after him and his parents are her godparents. One local artisan presented Lori and Scotty with a carved stone inscribed with the word Parkerpalooza and a sun symbol. We all got a little choked up at that.

I gotta say I was a little nervous about taking the babies to such a busy event but everyone was great. There were tons of kids for CeeCee to play with, lots of spaces for her to run around and if all else failed, daddy took her for a scooter ride. She loved the music, ate her own body weight in junk food and slept like a log even though the temperature dipped below freezing. Camping with a spirited child takes a LOT of patience. I definitely underestimated just how hyper she was going to be, despite the warnings from friends who said I was "insane for taking two kids under two camping in the wilderness". I also hadn't factored in how much all that trash food was going to affect her, live and learn for next time. By Sunday she was a total gong show. It wasn't all bad though. Mr. Zinga pulled his weight in the parenting department so I didn't have to spend the WHOLE weekend chasing her around and luckily baby Parker is small enough that she wasn't much trouble at all. I was even able to have a cocktail or two.

Daddy, scooter ride. NOW!

Now I'm off to clean up the camping gear and get it ready for our next wilderness adventure. In the meantime here are some more pics of our trip. Hope you all had a great long weekend.

Cheers,
MamaZinga

Lori and Scotty

Josh and Patrice enjoying a cocktail

Waiting for SGAAG to perform

The vocal stylings of Alex, front woman for SGAAG

Josh and Reina, We'll forgive her for drinking Pabst beer since she was nice enough to let us use her pictures, lol.

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