Slainte!

Today we went to the local St. Patrick's Day Parade. What a beautiful day for it! Several years ago my husband had a "boys' party" on the morning of the St. Pat's Parade. He called it Kegs 'N Eggs. When we moved into our first appartment we expanded the party to include all of our friends, male and female. There were definitely more trips to the kegs than to the griddle for eggs. It was a blast. We lived right off the parade route so people could have some breakfast, a few cocktails, and then head to the the parade. It was an all day affair. When we had our son, we gave up hosting Kegs 'N Eggs. Too much of a hassle with a newborn, and after that we moved away from the route. Our friend Deb took over the tradition...

It is a little different from the Kegs 'N Eggs of the past. Almost everyone has kids now. We tend to head to the parade for a few hours and head back for spaghetti and meatballs. The kids run up and down the hall and have a blast. Then it is home for nap time. There is no keg, but there are plenty of juice boxes on hand!

Today spring was in the air (finally). It was at least 55 degrees out and sunny. The perfect day for an outdoor event. The kids could get away with wearing sweaters instead of heavy coats. They had a blast.
Let the parade begin...

Of course half the fun of St. Patrick's Day is the goofy green accessories. My kids really get into it. Here they are in their finest!
Travis proudly shows his Irish spirit!
This is actually a picture he took of himself. He was very into being the photographer today.
Here is another one of Trav's shots...
My kids were very excited to see their favorite characters marching down the street. Here is Winnie the Pooh: and Shrek:
and Dora the Explorer:
The street was mobbed. Everyone seemed to want to get a good dose of sunshine. It almost makes up for the horrible winter...ALMOST...

Here is Travis being artsy... he took a picture of his shadow! The future Ansel Adams?
I tend to be a lot more comfy behind the camera than in front of it. So here is rare picture of me with my girl. Chelsea had a hard time focussing on the camera with all of the excitement going on around her.
Here is my handsome hubs with our friend Dools. He and his wife Aly and daughter Caitlyn were with us for the day.
Travis and dad show their Irish pride. If only we could convince them to wear their kilts... Maybe next year!
Dad likes to hit the stores right before parade day and load up on half-price green accessories. These glasses are a good example of his finds this year.
Wouldn't be a parade without cotton candy... Travis loves the stuff. At one point he looked like he was Santa with a green beard and moustache.
Not to be outdone by her brother, Chelsea was also decked out in green.
My favorite part of the parade is always the pipes and drums bands.
Here is Aly and Caity posing for a picture. Caity is one of Chelsea's favorite people!
Happy St. Patrick's Day!