Off to the race(s)

I'm not really a big horse racing fan...just never paid much attention to it....but when Gayle invited us to a party to watch the Belmont Stakes...I certainly wasn't going to pass it up!!! Food, friends and fun...why not???

some people wore hats...

Gayle had a few signature cocktail recipes and ingredients on hand...but I passed on them. Back in "the day" I drank my share of cocktails...but now they mostly just give me a headache. I stuck with my tried and true Mimosas.
We had fun playing corn hole....My team lost  our first match, but came back to win on the rematch. **Would have gone for the tie-breaker...but a light rain started...and it was almost race time anyway.

First we had to take turns posing for the fun pictures.

We all put in a few dollars and then picked numbers to determine which horse we were" betting" on. I knew California Chrome was racing and trying for the triple crown...but other than that I wasn't up to date on the horse's actual chances. As it turns out...John drew a number for me...and we lucked out and got the winner Tonalist!
I barely even watched the race...and had no idea "my" horse had won...but it was fun...hahah
 I did read the book  Seabiscuit  by Laura Hillenbrand a few years back. Learned a lot about horse racing that I never knew. It was a great book. Learned that it is a tough job to be a jockey; all the injuries etc...sounded miserable; but the whole book was quite interesting. By the way... It's a great book on CD if you're ever taking a road trip! You won't want to stop! hahaha even when you know the outcome of the race...listening to it being read is exciting!
After the race...we decided t have our own "race. We wrote out numbers 1 through 6 on the back of the drink stirrers that Gayle had on hand for the party. Similar to a game we played years ago on a cruise ship (although ours was definitely a low budget version...hahah) the "Announcer" either rolls dice...or in our case...picked a number. That horse advanced one spot. The game continued until one horse made it to the finish line. We played twice...(they all thought I was a little nuts slightly drunken former Recreation Major but we did laugh and have fun. The first "race" was a blow out...Joey was several lengths ahead of the rest of us...lucky number 5! One girl never got out of the "gate" hahaha. The second "race" had several lead changes...and it was a little closer...but the "lead" horse won.

On a completely different note....our summer programs are off to a great start. Last week I had a big crowd (20! plus parents and babies) for StoryTime and later that same day over 100 showed up for "The Great Gadzooks". This week we had a little smaller...but still nice crowd for "YeeHaw Bob"; and this morning I had 19 kids plus parents and babies for our Father's Day stories and craft. I got them all riled up when we acted out "We're Going on a Bear Hunt". The kids loved it....but they were loud and crazy. At least we had a craft and another story after that to calm them down a little...hahah I read them Crocodaddy, A Wild Father's Day, The Daddy Book, and Mister Seahorse. One little boy said afterwards..."Thanks for the awesome stories." Next week we have Jiggleman..who ALWAYS draws a BIG BIG crowd...so it will be interesting.............................................................................................................................................and fun!