Hometown Pride

We go every year....snow, sleet, cold....we go to the CU Parade of Lights in downtown. We bundle up (snowpants, hats, blankets) and head out. This year we went without the hubby since he had to work. It was a risk but it paid off. The kids love parades and there are only 2 each year...and Santa makes a special appearance.

This year, it was definately cold and a bit windy...but no snow. But there was definately a smaller crowd last night and a shorter parade. And I felt there was a lack of effort this year for the awards...there were only a couple 'floats' to choose from (the MTD was great!). I loved the big star balloons from the park district (sponsored by different organizations). But we love seeing all the scout trips, local organizations, volunteer fire depts, characters....oh, and candy. We watched it once near the beginning and then walked down (past the burned out buildings) and watched it again listening to our local news personalities commentate while we waited for Tree Lighting (and enjoyed free hot cocoa with marshmellows and whipped cream from Jim Gould's!).

Our 3yo sat motionless wrapped up as much as possible. Our 5yo took the time to figure out how the tree turns on without an outlet near by, and the poorly-dressed-for-the-weather 12 yo bounced around trying to stay warm and how to get the marshmellows out of her cup. I was excited that there we not a ton of kids waiting to talk to Santa...but my little ones just wanted to see him. It was also fun trying to see if the scarf and hat hidden beings around us were people we knew.

It is nice and a great tradition for our community.