Daffodil Parade

I promised myself after last year that I would never do the Daffodil Parade again.  We didn’t get there early enough, Dan was at a scout fundraiser, we had to park sooo far away, it was WAY longer than I thought (3 hours!) it was raining, we had standing room only, standing shoulder to shoulder with straingers, and I had a nursing baby.  No thank you.  After having a year to get over it, I reluctantly agreed to try again.  This time Dan could come with us.  This time we watched it from a side street, not the main street through town.  This time we got there 2 hours early to stake out our section with our chairs.  This time we packed a lunch.  This time it didn’t rain.  This time Dan drove, and he knows all the back ways through Puyallup way better than me.  This time was delightful.  Personally, I’m still a little partial to Toledo’s Cheese Days.  Call me crazy, but I love the small town, throwing candy, floats.  But this was wonderful too.   Our kids loved it, and it held their attention much better this year with a place to sit and food to eat.  We got there so early that once we put our chairs up we walked over to the park. 

It wasn’t raining, but it was cold.  Sadie had her first trial in a baby swing.  Funny, I didn’t realize until that day that the park we usually go to doesn’t have baby swings, so it was a new thing to her.  You can see how much she loved it. :)   

We finally got cold enough that we convinced the kids to spend the rest of the time before the parade in the children’s section of the adjacent library.  It was perfect to spend an hour or so in there being warm before going outside again for so long.

Finally it was back outside to wait for the parade to start.  

We all had our favorite parts. Jacey loved the Daffodil Court.  She was watching for her because the queen (I guess?) came to her class.  She was thrilled when the queen gave her her own special little wave.  I'm sure she didn't remember Jacey, but it sure made her feel special!

Broden loved the clowns. 

Dan's favorite was this guy.  He wasn't an official part of the parade, just a die-hard Sonic's fan walking around with a "Save our Sonics" sign (although I think it's a little late for that), and calling for a boycott on Starbucks.  I don't think Dan is calling for a boycott on Starbucks, but he is still pretty bitter about the Sonics leaving Seattle.

I'm not sure what my favorite part was, but I'd be lying if I said that the tractors that came through didn't make me feel a little closer to home!

 Who am I kidding?  These guys were my favorite part.  It's always fun to watch your family have fun together.  It may have been chilly, and a bit long, but it was worth it.  We might even go again next year... :)