Sheer Awesomeness

Today we awoke earlier than I have in a VERY long time and got ready for a very busy and draining morning. I got the kids dressed while they were still half-asleep in their beds in order to avoid the most tears. Max was surprisingly ok with being woken up early, which is unusual for him. Lucy however had a hard time. She sat on the potty for a very long time, swaying back and forth with her eyes closed trying to muster up some energy to actually GO to the bathroom. Once we were in the car and headed to our destination, they perked up a bit...especially when I told them they could watch Kung-Fu Panda on the way...one of our most quoted movies. "They would go blind from overexposure to sheer awesomeness...my eyes! he's too awesome! And attractive!"
Anyway, after meeting up with Jason so Jacob could come with us, we headed over to the C-Train station to finish our trek downtown. Oh yeah, we were going to the Stampede Parade, by the way. Tyler's sister Kari is in the parade every year and asked us to come. We ventured onto the C-train without too much incident. We had to purchase our tickets and the train was already arriving, so I attempted to hold the train for Sarah while she purchased a ticket...a somewhat not nice police officer in a cowboy hat informed me that I couldn't hold the train to which Lucy got really upset about because she thought we weren't going to be able to get on the train. Anyway, we reassured her that another train would be coming in a few minutes, which it did, and we got on our way just fine. She's pretty nervous with moving things that have doors that open and close on their own, so she was already high-strung before the officer destroyed her morning. We rode the train the few stops down to the parade without any major incidents. You will note that I am saying "without any major incidents" a lot, because a trip like this, to a busy destination with two young, frightful, fairly good for the most part, but surprisingly difficult at times, children by myself had me a little stressed out. So 'without incident' is a VERY good thing. The kids had fun seeing Jacob, as he did them, and they laughed and tickled each other all the way downtown, to the delight of the other passengers on the train. We headed off the train and over to meet up with Barrett where he was saving us seats, only to discover that he was on the North side of the street, and we were on the south, and could not get across because the parade was starting, so we found an empty corner and parked ourselves. We didn't have any seats, so it was looking to be a long 2 hours, but we decided that if we pushed and proded to other areas of downtown, we'd just get tired and frustrated and probably wouldn't find anything better. We had a pretty good view, and weren't too crowded, so it worked out well. I was surprised at the number of people who would be walking down the street and then proceed to stop right in front of small children to watch the parade themselves, totally blocking our view. I had to tap at least 5 people on the shoulder and ask them to step aside so the kids could still see. They seemed a little annoyed, but I wasn't going to drive all the way fron Cochrane at 7:30 in the morning and stand outside with a 2 year old, 4 year old and 1 year old for 2 hours and have them not be able to see because someone who showed up halfway through or longer decided to be inconsiderate and stand in front of them...I was polite, but firm and we had a good view the entire time. It was especially helpful when Sarah's friend Jordan showed up and brought a chair with him so Lucy could stand on it and see even better. I ended up holding Max in my arms almost the entire time, which was exhausting, but he enjoyed seeing the parade. And a few times he was distracted by the snacks I brought and would stand on the sidewalk beside me to eat...giving my arms a much needed rest. The kids enjoyed seeing the hundreds of horses dressed to the nines for the parade. I don't think they've ever seen a fancy horse before. They enjoyed the large balloons and clowns and princesses. The bands were a bit loud, but Max insisted that I dance with him in my arms each time a new band went past. It was a bit chilly as we were in the shade, but not unbearable. I had fortunately thought to bring one of Max's blankets which came in handy for little Jacob who only had a light sweater and no socks on his feet. Lucy really enjoyed the Chinese Cultural groups as they had really cool costumes and the dragons. There was also a large float with a pink waterlily to which Lucy said, "They must have known I love pink!" I love how she still thinks things are specifically made just for her. Max really enjoyed seeing the huge tanks and seeing the Shriners drive around their little airplanes. Lucy also enjoyed all the flag waving that was going on. They both enjoyed seeing the tiny horses too. I didn't get a picture, but my favorite moment was probably the half naked, chubby Indian boy riding on a horse. He was probably about 12 years old and had rolls to compete with little Jacob and was wearing barely more than Mowglie. Interesting. Kari's float was 3rd from the beginning so it didn't take long for the reason for the trip to quickly pass us by. She was also on the opposite side of the float from us, so we didn't actually get to see her...but I'm sure she enjoyed the support. Once the parade was done, we decided to head over to Ali's work for a visit instead of trying to force our ways through the crowds to get back on the C-train. We went for a bite to eat and once Jacob was sufficiently tired, decided we better head home. Jordan was a huge help as he was able to carry a child, as the kids were too tired to walk any more. Sarah and I headed back to the train station and to our end of the city. Jacob fell asleep on the train and the kids were pretty close...as was I. Our drive home was a bit dicey as I was having a hard time keeping my eyes open. The kids finished watching Kung-Fu Panda and then we all went to bed as soon as we got home. Our naps refreshed us and we enjoyed playing, coloring, running around the house, and eating pizza for the rest of the evening. Now I am busy getting ready for the Farmer's Market tomorrow morning that Ali and I are going to. Another early morning...I do not like them. So I will leave you with this:
"I see you like to chew. Maybe you should chew...ON MY FIST!" ah, Kung-Fu. Best movie ever.