It took Brian 31 years, but he finally got to be in a parade! I, on the other hand, was in numerous parades growing up - for marching band - but have not been to watch many big ones (Sorry Nampa, though we loved your parade, it was not quite the same). We were super stoked for the Armed Forces Day Parade in Downtown Bremerton! Brian headed off to line up with his group and the boys and I headed out to stake out a spot.
I didn't realize we should have been there much earlier to get a really good spot, but we ended up in the perfect spot.... However, we still had an hour till the parade, so we just hung out and people watched....
The boys got to meet Capt. America - not quite the guy in the movies... but entertaining all the same....
They started the parade with a huge cannon blast - took us totally off guard and upset a certain 3 year old... Who did not let his hands leave his ears the rest of the parade.....
It was pretty crowded watching (especially since we got shoved out by a couple next to us who apparently needed their stroller to fit in even though they held the little girl - grrrrr) Breathe. It was fine and the boys were thrilled by pretty much every entry. Lucas got really good at spotting the flags and standing for them. And there were a lot!
I was flashing back to yesteryears quite a big - especially when I saw my old high school band (and uniforms) and even got to say hi to my old band teacher. That was pretty darn cool.
But the best, was seeing Daddy march with the Watch D.O.G.S. They are a group of Dads Of Great Students that come and volunteer at the school. They were marching to promote the idea (which I think is a pretty awesome one!
The kids at school made signs for the dads to carry and boy were the boys excited to see Daddy! It was pretty funny to hear them squealing afterward.
Afterward, we headed into the chaos for a free hot dog lunch - how cool is that?! Uma and Upa were off to their adventures, and we headed back to the house for naps.
The boys headed to rest up and Brian headed to the vet as Duke had broken yet another toenail. Aargh! I guess that's the problem of so much of our yard being concrete...
We decided at the parade, that we would try out the Destruction Derby that night. I have many fond memories and was excited to see the boys' reactions....
The one issue we knew we'd have was noise... So we got some ear plugs, and some big ol' earphones to try out and see what was best. The earphones were the easiest to keep on, though the cord was an issue....
Once the fun began, the boys were revved up. I was not surprised to see their reaction, but Brian's was the funniest. He was squealing and screaming just as much as the other boys. I knew they'd love it.
The funniest moment was when Ethan was reading the signs of sponsors - (just the names of the companies) and he saw "Geico". He turned to me and said, in the most casual voice,
"Geico. A great place to save money." It was so out of the blue, I lost it. The whole night was just one laugh after another. Such a great time for our family.
The food was relatively cheap, though you can bring your own as well. We thought we had enough snacks, but the boys (and we) went through a bag of jerky, a bag of mixed nuts, a bag of apples, and a few other little things. Sheesh. So "
Hangaburgers" it was.
All in all, it was a fabulous night. The grand finale (of the mini cars - which are not actually mini) had the highlight of the evening. One car came speeding over to crash into two that were pushing at each other, flipped one of them, and ended up driving up on top of the flipped car. That was amazing.
We'll be back. Oh yes we will! What a fabulously fun day. We may be a bit tired today, but so glad we soaked up so much sunshine and fun before the rain comes back this week!
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