If you read my post yesterday about our first Mardi Gras parade experience, you may have noticed that there were quite a few pictures. What can I say, I love to share pictures =)
I decided to hold onto a few shots just for today well, simply because I finally got a chance to really {embrace} some moments with my 3 favorite kids without having to set up the camera first. For the past two months I either set-up the camera and run to make it before the 10 second timer goes off or, the kids take turns practicing their photography skills. This week, we had someone to take some pictures for us. I have to say, I was definitely enjoying the moment!!!
March is in full swing!! I thought to myself what better way to get the month rolling than by posting our first ever Mardi Gras experience.
Fat Tuesday is less than 1 week away. As you can well imagine, Mardi Gras celebrations are going on everywhere around us. Last weekend we were invited to attend the first major parade in Shreveport. This year, The Krewe of Centaur hosted "Centaur's 20th Carnivale"
I have to say, this was one of the best events we have attended. I have never experienced anything quite like this in my life. I wasn’t sure what to expect and I am so grateful to our friends for allowing our family to spend the day with them. I learned new things, heard lots of great Mardi Gras stories, and I got to do all of it while spending the day in the presence of some pretty great company. The weather was perfect, the food was great, and the people were amazing.
They even make King Cakes from DONUTS!!!
Our day was more than just about going to watch a parade. People actually start to line up at 5 am in order to get “their spot” for the 4:30 pm parade. I have to admit, I was shocked when we drove up at one in the afternoon. Cars lined the streets. People had tents, grills, and tables set-up. Anything you could possibly think of could be found somewhere around you. The city completely shutdown highways and streets to host this grand parade.
The area where we spent our day was absolutely perfect. The kids were able to run around and play. They got to explore the woods. They climbed rocks, played near the pond, and rolled down the giant grass hill. It was so great!! There were so many families hanging out together. All of the kids got together and played. They rode bikes and scooters on the highway. They played football, horseshoes, and tag. Everyone was friendly and just out to have a good time. It was really neat to watch so many people come together for one day of fun.
By 5 pm we made our way up to the street. The kids grabbed their bags and waited patiently for the parade to begin. My kids weren’t exactly sure what to expect and of course neither was mom. They had no idea why they needed to have grocery bags and I didn’t know that pictures would be almost impossible to take once the parade got started.
By 5:30 the fire trucks made their way around our corner. The Centaur quickly followed and before we knew it, the parade was in full swing.
There were a total of 40 different floats. I have never seen so many beads in my life. Each float had rows that were lined with hooks of thousands of beads. The kids managed to collect several different beads, cups, and we also managed to get a few doubloons. Oh and don’t let Miss Kalyssa’s no beads around her neck picture fool you. After getting her first official Mardi Gras battle scar by catching a strand of beads with her face, she came up with a plan. Her plan for the night was to collect as many things as she could by “hiding” them in her bag under her chair because, “if I’m not wearing any beads they will want to give me some because they won’t think I have any.” Tricky Tricky that little girl of mine =)
Needless to say, we have more bead than we know what to do with!!
I’m still trying to figure out where exactly the time keeps slipping to because it seems like only yesterday, we were headed down the hallway to her kindergarten class with cookies and treats in tow to celebrate her 6th birthday.
As I made my way into the kitchen this morning to make “Pooh Bear” waffles, I took a moment to look at the few decorations I had put up late last night. I thought to myself just how much my little blue eyed baby girl has grown in the last year. She is so much more independent now. Just last year, I had to force her to meet new friends. I had to hold her hand everywhere we went. She was shy and always needed mom by her side. Today she isn’t just Mommy’s Miss Miss, she is my Ms. K. She has her own set of friends and what she sees as her own set of rules. She looks forward to sleepovers and play dates. She isn’t afraid to walk up to a new friendly face and say “hi, you want to play?” It’s been pretty incredible to watch her transform over the past year.
We started our morning with our traditional birthday song in bed. As the kids were getting ready for school, Kalyssa got a special birthday call from her daddy. This completely made her day. She was so excited to be able to talk to daddy for a few minutes on her special day.
In the afternoon, I delivered cookies and drinks to her class. She was more than happy to share the cookies that she helped make the night before. The class sang her the famous birthday cha cha song. You know the one that every kid has to sing 10 pitches too loud. I think this has something to do with making the birthday friend feel extra special =)
Our birthday celebration was small tonight. Kalyssa decided to have her first “official” sleepover this year for her birthday so Friday’s celebration will be a bit bigger. As for tonight, the big birthday girl got to pick out what she wanted Mom to cook for dinner. You ask what was on the menu for dinner, Parmesan chicken, “shmashed” potatoes, and broccoli. A girl after her daddy's own heart(meat, potatoes, & a vegetable). If she could have had steak, she would have requested that but unfortunately for her, that’s daddy’s department not moms. Needless to say the other two weren’t thrilled about having to eat broccoli but they managed to get over it pretty quickly because they knew desert was eventually going to make its way to the table.
Presents are always the best part of the night right?!?!?!
{Can you guess what story we read before bed tonight???}
I was actually going to sit down tonight and type up a sentimental story about how my Miss Miss came to be 7 years ago but then, we put on the Wii. The girls got an early birthday present on Sunday, "Just Dance 2". First let me say, WOW, what a workout and second, I couldn’t not share this video! I apologize for the shaking, I was laughing pretty hard!!
Happy 7th Birthday My Beautiful Blue Eyed Baby Girl!!
