July 4th Parade

I'm so excited to say that we'll be heading to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade this year in NYC!  Since it's right around the corner, I figured we'd better get some parade practice so we decided to drive over to Kingsville, TX (about 45 min. away) for a 4th of July parade.  I know it is a small town but really didn't know what to expect.  And, hey, some small towns have great parades right?  Our day started out early since the parade started at 9.  We were out of the house by 8.  Half way down there I asked Mike if he remembered the folding chairs.  "No", he said.  Great.  Mike said, "I figured I'd just put them on my shoulders so they could see over the crowd."  I, being the more practical one (ha!), knew that we would need some chairs.  We called some friends who lived in K'ville and asked to borrow theirs.  So, we stopped by and got them on our way to the parade.  As we got closer to the parade starting point I'm not seeing very many people or cars.  We parked super close and thought we were lucky.  When we were making our way to the main street I look around and see only 2 other people, a father and his son, sitting on a nearby curb.  AND, we were only 1 block from the starting point!  I could see the police cars and motorcycles, who were the ones to lead the parade, so I knew we were in the right place.  So, we set up our chairs and got ready.  Let's see... I think I can remember all that we saw.  First the police cars & motorcycles going SUPER slow and had their SUPER loud sirens blaring.  Then I think there were a couple of policeman on horses.... a fire truck or two... then there were some of the locals with kids riding bikes, some people showing off their dogs, kids in decorated wagons... then there was Grant's favorite, a truck with some of the students from Mike's squadron (GO VT-21 for being the most original!).  Then there was a few people handing out snow cones and to wrap it all up, a little old train.  From start to finish it was, no kidding, 12 minutes long!!  I wondered where they got the 9-11 time frame from.  Mike said it was maybe the time that that the parade participants started and finished.  Call me crazy for thinking I would be watching the parade for 2 hours!  To the poor little parades defense, it was raining pretty hard that morning and cleared right before parade time.  So, that might have been why people decided to pass.  But on the other hand, everybody else probably already knew how lame it would be from past years.  Oh well, it was funny and we made some memories.  Here are some of the pictures from THE event of the year...






Sorry this picture is blurry.  I just pulled my camera out and it was all fogged up.

Let's back up

I'm coming out of my blog neglect (probably just for today so don't get too excited) and decided I'd take some time to do a new entry, or two.

Guess I should back up to my trip to Pensacola.  The plane ride was not very fun but I think it could have been worse.  Thankfully it wasn't that long.  We had a 30 min. flight to Houston, a short layover, and then the trip from Houston to P'cola was about an hour and a half.  Luke was very squirmy but I could manage him and he didn't scream... too much!  We were in P'cola almost 3 weeks and really enjoyed ourselves.  My parents, both of my brothers, and both sets of my grandparents are all there so it was great spending time with all of them.  

Grant especially enjoyed spending time with Jake and Alli.

Jake making Luke laugh SO hard.  btw, this is the same high chair my brothers and I used as babies.

My brother, Nathan, got to spend a lot of time with the boys and definitely wins uncle of the year.  He is GREAT with them and they boys love him.  Side note.. now that I'm talking about Nathan, I'm thrilled to say that he is now a Daddy!  His daughter, Anna Sophia was born on Monday, the 14th.  I don't have any pictures yet (just on my phone) but I will post as soon I get some.  They are all home now and doing great.  This is my first niece and the boys first cousin!

The boys with Dado (my Dad)

This photo of Grant is not the greatest but I want to remember how balloons were the most popular "toy" of the trip.  Shortly before we left, Luke started to love playing with balls.  When we got to Pensacola my mom had some balloons from a party she recently had.  Luke immediately went crazy over them and they kept him thoroughly entertained the entire trip. Actually, they still do to this day. We have a house full of balls and balloons.  He calls balloons "moons."  I should have gotten a picture with Luke and his "moon" but this was the best I got.

Here's Papaw popping Luke's toes. He used to do that to all of us grandchildren and although it hurts like crazy, we always laughed and wanted him to do it over and over again. I'm so glad my kids get to enjoy their great-grandparents.