The girls were thrilled this year to actually ride in the St. Patrick's Day Parade. Just the very idea of bike decorating and being able to THROW the candy was enough to make it the highlight of the month.
We were lucky to have reasonably good weather (no rain). It's a good thing too. Once we went to the Dollar Store to get the decorations for the bikes, we were 100% committed...rain or shine. I also put little buckets on the front of the girl's bikes to hold the candy for them to throw. Their heads were spinning. Seriously thrilled.
I was really nervous for Chloe. She is only 2 but thinks she is 4 and can do all things big-girl related, including ride her big wheel for the 2 mile parade route. Mind you, she doesn't even know how to use pedals yet, so she just scoots along using her feet. Could you imagine 2 miles with feet that are about 6 inches long? It must be the equivalent of me running a marathon. She was not to be deterred though. She wouldn't even think of riding in the stroller. Luckily, I brought the stroller just in case.
Here we are just before the parade. I think Chloe was already a little tired from riding her bike the 2 blocks from the car to parking lot. When I asked again if she wanted to ride the answer was "NO!"
Grace in action along the parade route. Her legs were pretty tired after riding the 2 mile route but she held on like a champ. Plus, she had no alternative. I was alone with 2 kids, 2 bikes and a stroller.
Chloe made it the first mile and was starting to slow down but this girl would.not.give.up! She was having a blast. Finally I looked down at her feet only to realize that, even though Chloe wouldn't give up, her shoes totally did. She wore the sole completely off of them and it was just hanging down from the rest of the shoe. I guess that's what you get for hand me down shoes from Target! Secretly I was happy, because I knew she would have to ride the stroller now. Once she saw the shoe, she agreed to ride in the stroller and we were moving a little faster after that. Oh, I think I forgot to mention that the stroller was also decorated. Hey, we travel in style.
The picture below was of my view for the remainder of the parade. Once she sat down, she realized how tired she was and just hung out and still threw candy to the bystanders. Loving it!
We were exhausted afterwards but a good time was had by all. I think this will be an annual event for us. The girls loved it! Love making memories like this with my favorite little people.
