For the 2nd year in a row, we participated in West Columbia's San Jacinto Day Parade! West Columbia is the teeny town my grandparents live in. I think they might be the only town to really do up San Jacinto Day-considering I had never heard of it until last year. But, I also took Louisiana history and missed out on all things Texas. Any who, back to the parade. This year we increased our walking group size by quite a few! We had the 8 of us, my grandmother, great aunt, mom, brother, future sister-in-law, 2 cousins, fabulous friend, and the kiddos' ECI teacher who happens to be from West Columbia. We were decked out in our red, white, and blue for Texas and the old ladies decorated the stroller up all fancy. We had a great time walking and waving and even earned the "Best Walking Group" award! Not sure who our competition was in the small parade, but we'll take it :) We have determined that next year we'll have to outdo ourselves with candy and maybe even t-shirts.
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| Leah ready for the parade! |
Easter
This year Easter happened to fall on the same weekend as the San Jacinto Day festivities. So, we combined the celebrations into one momentous occasion. Following the parade, we headed back to my grandmother's house for egg hunts and good eats. I had to have an annoying mom moment and make the kids change from their parade outfits (red, white, and blue) to their Easter outfits. I just really wanted the Easter pictures to be in their Easter outfits. I mean, that's totally understandable right?
Once everyone was changed we headed out to the backyard to find eggs. The kids really enjoyed it! They liked picking them up and putting them in baskets (didn't matter whose was whose) and opening them. We did not fill them with anything this year. Maybe next year the Easter Bunny will be nicer :) After most of the eggs were collected and we attempted some crazy family photos, we went inside to eat. The kids gobbled up lunch while the adults ate in shifts. We played a little bit then headed back home as the exhausted toddler meltdowns started in. All in all a very busy day but also great fun!
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| Andrew helping Leah fill her basket |
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| The winning family picture |
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| Outtakes! |
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| Levi stuck in his basket |
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| Allison and her great grandmother |
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| Caroline and her great grandpa |
I totally love their Easter baskets!! I took the plain white baskets we received after they were born (Easter themed gift baskets), gave them to my aunt, and she worked her magic to create these Pottery Barn-like masterpieces. Brilliant!
March for Babies
At the end of April we participated in the March of Dimes March for Babies. Last year it was rained out, so I wanted us to complete it this year. We walked as part of a subgroup for Texas Children's Hospital along with my mom and some good friends. The walk is 5 miles long. The kids started getting restless past the half way point (no surprise there), but luckily all the snacks I packed kept them occupied enough to cross the finish line. We only lost one shoe and one straw along the way. Not too shabby.
Following the walk, the TCH tent had a hot dog/hamburger lunch for team members. It's the closest we've come to restaurant style eating. They really didn't do too bad! The bigs were able to sit in chairs and eat off the table, but the little ones had to sit in someone's lap to reach the food. I was impressed for a first time experience.
Although it was a tiring event, it was well worth it to raise money (THANK YOU to those who donated!) and awareness for such a wonderful organization! Sadly, I didn't get any pictures of us, but all those random strangers walking by us did- maybe one good pic will pop up online somewhere :)
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