Holidazzle Parade

Saturday evening we went to the Holidazzle Parade in downtown Minneapolis. It was a toasty 45 degrees so we thought it would be the perfect time to go. Apparently, we weren't the only ones thinking this as it was waaaay more crowded than when we went a few years back. The difference? It was freezing last time we went. And honestly, I think we will plan to go on a cold night in the future. We avoid crowds any chance we can get.

Despite the crowds we had a good time. Actually, Riley had a fantastic time as demonstrated by her jumping up and down almost the entire time we were there. Somehow Riley and I were able to squeeze up front and score an uncomfortable seat on the curb, but it was better than being in the midst of the crowd like Jesse was.

While waiting for the parade to start we plunked down $8.00 for a seizure inducing light wand. Riley was pretty in awe of it at first with it's 4 different levels of flashing lights, but eventually chose to turn the light off... all by herself. Mommy thanks you for making this wise decision, kiddo.

I'm not sure if Riley actually saw Santa on the last float, but she's waving at him in one of those pictures above (probably because I made her). Her favorite was the float with Captain Hook. Peter Pan stories have become a recent favorite at home. Jesse's favorite was the walking Christmas lights and mine was the little kids dressed up as animals riding on the train in cages. They were just too cute.

After the parade we headed back to the car via the skyway. We stopped at my office for a bathroom break and to waste a little time so traffic wouldn't be ridiculous getting home.

My dad scored this huge tin of cookies for me. I sent some off to Jesse's work and kept some at home (of course), but had to bring in the rest to work. Just too many cookies for one little family to have. They were a nice little treat after the parade.

This traffic looks horrible, but it wasn't as bad as it probably was 20 minutes earlier. Much of the way home we heard "we had fun at the parade!" from the backseat. Riley got to bed at least a half hour late, but it was worth it just to see her excitement.