Lafayette has so many parades (for about 2 weeks leading up to and on Fat Tuesday)! (Some right in town, some in the neighboring small towns.) We had planned to attend their Krewe des Chiens Canine Parade at 2:00pm, but since we didn't even leave the Carencro parade until that time and needed sustenance, we skipped the dog parade. Luckily, we hadn't told the kids how many parades we'd hoped to attend or which ones, so they weren't disappointed. After a lazy lunch, we headed down to Lafayette to buy some local brews (some of which to bring back for Nick, who was manning the house and taking care of our furry ones yet again - we owe him so much!), pick up some of the best king cakes ever for work and home (plus donuts to eat at the park), and play at the Girard Park playground for an hour or so before scoping out a good spot for the Rio parade.
The kids were bummed to have to wait around for an hour (which turned into an hour and half, even though we were practically at the start of the parade route this time), but it was worth it to get a good spot on a cross street, right downtown. The best thing about a night parade is the LIGHTS! Jay made friends with the couple next to us and scored himself a free beer, and they happily passed all the toys they caught over to our kids (theirs were older and grown and not attending the parade with them).
Once we heard the tell-tale sign of the sirens, we knew the floats were coming. The kids were cracking me up singing "Dance for your beads" (a play on words of Teen Titans' "Dance for your bees")
Once we heard the tell-tale sign of the sirens, we knew the floats were coming. The kids were cracking me up singing "Dance for your beads" (a play on words of Teen Titans' "Dance for your bees")
James got to fight some Star Wars characters with a lightsaber he caught. It totally made his night!
We made it to the end, but just barely... Both kids were ready to head home before the firetrucks closed the route, but they made it 5 more minutes to finish it out. James was barely in the car for 10 minutes before he passed out (as soon as we hit the highway back up to camp). Cora persisted for 45 minutes because we promised her that if she stayed awake until we got back to camp that we'd make a campfire and let her roast marshmallows...
Poor dude stumbled into the tent and told me "I'm just so TIRED mama", so I dressed him and tucked him in, all while Cora got a second wind and insisted we start a fire for s'mores. Not one to argue with a dinner-deprived diva, the marshmallows were roasted, after which she bundled herself into one of our new wool blankets and promptly passed out in my arms by the fire...
(Eyes closed due to the impending flash, not because she was asleep)
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