And presents!!!!! I love the look on her face in the second one:
This kid loves dress up. So her big gift was a Beauty and the Beast skirt that I made her. I threw it together last minute but I think it turned out pretty good. I just couldn't justify spending $50 on a licensed costume. I scored the mask discounted after mardi gras. I would have LOVED a mask like that as a kid.
After that my parents came over to help us take the whole family downtown for the parade:
We assessed pretty quickly that the RTA situation was a bad one:
Taken from the bridge to get to the platform. So Many People!!! |
Everyone's wearing green for my birthday!!!! |
I don't care where I am or what's going on as long as you keep those pretzels coming. |
The train ride had everyone pretty DONE with the crowds and the heat and all of it. And one look at this mass of humanity:
Headed up from the trains in Tower City. SOMANYPEOPLE |
and I knew we had to get out of the crowds for awhile. Luckily my parents' friend had a hotel room at the Renaissance downtown. Perfect place to rest a bit before the parade. And I never knew they had such an amazing atrium:
It was so hot on the train that the Dude lost his pants. Even w/o pants he was still classier than about 90% of what we saw. When did St. Pat's become a dress like a slut holiday |
And my kid LOVED the people watching. However when the parade was over and we saw the mass of humanity headed back to tower city and the trains:
We thought it best to just hang out in Public Square for awhile.
Again, with kids everything is an adventure. She had a ball.
And we even got to meet up with my brother and his wife:
Group shot! Great pic of the whole family. Even if one of us isn't wearing pants. |
PUNCH. |
At least my kid had fun with all the wandering:
We eventually found a 26 bus to my parents' house.
And eventually did make it home before bedtime. Overall the day was pretty insane. We were way past tired, dealing with insane crowds, hungry kids, and a whole lot of frustration. But we still had fun. And I think that's about the best thing that I can teach my kids. That it's worth putting up with a certain level of discomfort in the name of adventure.
This kid has a great sense of adventure. |
Wow! What a day.
ReplyDeleteAgain (this time in green): WOW!
You are braver & more adventurous than I. I flirted with the idea of taking the kids downtown but when I saw the weather forecast and heard predictions of 400,000 people there was no way in hell that could have gone well.
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday to your sweet girl!
Wow what an awesome day!! Her hair is just amazing!
ReplyDeleteI give you a ton of credit for embarking on this journey. Glad everyone had fun!
ReplyDeleteGreat pics, (especially the buildings)
ReplyDeletealso a happy birthday!
I'm so glad you had fun...we on the Parade committee wish we had control over what the vendors sell...most of it was really offensive:(...but it was a beautiful day for St. Patrick's Day in Cleveland:) Hope you all enjoyed the parade!
ReplyDelete