Best Parade Ever!!

Our 4th of July weekend was packed with tons of fun and just the right amount of naps and relaxing (until the end when Sylvia came down with some crazy rash that scared me to death, but whatever - she's fine now).  The only pictures I have are from the world's greatest parade in Ft. Thomas!  We've been every year since Sylvia was one year old and I'm sure we'll continue the tradition, especially after this year.  I remember going to this parade as a kid and getting tons of candy.  I remember getting so much candy, in fact, that when I started going to OTHER 4th of July parades as a college student, I was incredibly disappointed in the lack of candy throwing.  Seriously, this parade is better than Halloween because all we have to do is SIT IN ONE SPOT and people throw candy at us.  And this year is an election year, so the parade was EXTRA long and EXTRA candy-filled!  Wahoo!!!

Sylvia was clearly a pro.  She chose her dress based on the fact that it had pockets.  For candy.  When she tried it on at Target she said, "Mommy!!  I can put CANDY in my pockets!" and I said, "But what if your pockets get full?" and she said, "Oh, don't worry.  That's okay because we can just bring a bag to put the rest of my candy in."  She had it all figured out.

Margot, on the other hand, took a while to warm up to the idea of candy being flung through the air.  She didn't understand that you grab a piece, put it in your bag and wait for more.  She wanted to eat every piece she found, which was difficult because she's too little for pretty much every kind of candy out there.  We break the rules for dumdum lollipops and let her have those, so she spent the entire first half of the parade holding a half eaten lollipop in one hand and collecting candy with the other!  There was no convincing her to put that lollipop down! 

Here are the picture highlights:

Waiting for the parade to start.  This isn't my first rodeo, so I made them both eat a fruit pouch before they stuffed themselves with candy.  It's not the freshest fruits and veggies, but it's better than nothing!

Oh good, a curb!  She can practice her jumping.

Help from the neighboring chairs.

Sylvia's bag is filling fast....Margot stares down one lollipop.

Margot stares down two lollipops....

Waving to Uncle Jerry on the old-fashioned fire truck!

Hi Uncle Jerry!!!

"Mommy, that thing is STRANGE!"

Highlands Marching Band!  Sylvia recognized the song right away: The Happy Song!

Highlands Dance Team - I didn't get a good shot of the one BOY on the team who was ROCKING IT!!!

Margot shouted....THOMAS!!!!

Cousin Carrie and her new husband, Dan, walking with Cameron Blau.

This little guy was walking in the parade and he brought a piece of candy directly to Margot.  Love!

The public library was handing out mustaches!

It was almost two hours long, so eventually they got tired and just sat down to eat candy!

After the parade, I took the girls to the grocery store.  I don't want to brag or anything, but I TOOK THEM TO THE GROCERY STORE!  On a holiday.  For a full-blown, week's worth of groceries while I waddled along at almost 37 weeks pregnant.  It was crazy and crowded and lunch time and since I haven't done "the grocery shopping" in almost four years, it was logically the best time to go.  Foolish, yes. But the girls were awesome and I've been working my way through a week's worth of healthy meals at home while the husband gets a much needed break from being the family chef!  It's all working out beautifully, but you know this baby's going to show up any day now and throw a monkey wrench in our family meal plan mojo.  Oh well!

The rest of the weekend was filled with family and fun.  A pool party at Aunt Dar's where Sylvia got to show off what she's been learning from her new swim teacher, Miss Angela.  She's still using  swimmies when she's not in her lessons, but that's only because if I take my eyes off of Margot for one hot second the child will jump in the pool or out of my arms and sink like a rock to the bottom, so I can't really coach Sylvia at the same time!  Someday Sylvain and I will take the girls to the pool at the same time and he can work with her some more. 

Sylvia and I enjoyed a wonderful fireworks show in Independence on Saturday night, but I made the mistake of letting her roll down a grassy hill with other kids.  Grass allergies combined with a ridiculously late night stacked on top of no hot water in our house (long story!) made for a miserable night for poor Sylvia.  An oatmeal bath on Sunday really helped clear up her skin and by Sunday evening she was running around at my Dad's house, enjoying the swing and the slide while fully protected with bug spray!  My stepmom and Dad gave the girls some of those awesome snap-pop thingies that you throw on the ground or step on to make them pop, so the girls had a blast doing that before we left.  Sylvia also got to ride with Uncle John on his motorcycle around the yard and my Dad tried to take Margot for a spin, but that didn't last long because I pulled the MAMA SAYS NO card and made her get off. 

By Sunday night everyone was exhausted and happy, just the way it should be!  Now we just have a few more things on our to-do list before baby arrives, but if he's the next big summer event, I won't complain!