Howdy! That seems like an appropriate greeting as the Round-Up just passed this last weekend and that's what this blog is about. Well not the Rodeo but the Round-Up Parade rather. I took my girls and my younger sister, Addie. It was surprisingly good weather considering the forecast made it seem like it would be miserable, which is often the case during the Round-Up. Every year, as far back as I can remember, it's been cold and rainy. This year was a tad windy and a bit chilly, but the sun was out so it made up for it. Shane didn't go because my dad took him to Cool April Nights in Redding with his cousin Marc. Cool April Nights is an old-fashion car show so it was a "guy thing".
Earlier though, before the parade started, I met Carmen at a pancake breakfast benefit that my grandpa (bless his heart) bought us tickets to. We had all my kids, her kids, and my little sister; that makes 7 kids between Carmen and I: in a packed multi-purpose room, with a BUNCH of cowpeople - mostly older at that. Carmen and I came to the agreement that it should be a universal rule... "People with children should get served FIRST." No if, ands, or buts about it. It doesn't matter if you haven't eaten since the night before and you've puked your guts up since then from drinking a bunch of beer at the rodeo with your shit-kickers on. GIVE THE KID A PANCAKE! Kids don't have patience - at least not at 9 in the morning when they are hungry and want to go to a parade. We survived it though. No spilt juice. No syrup in the hair. No forks on the ground even. All of which spell success when dining with 7 kids from the ages of 2 to 10. And no... we decided against taking any photos to capture the chaotic nature of this splendid meal... you'll just have to imagine how enjoyable it was. lol.
Anyhow, Carmen and her kids went onto Marc's little league game and Shane went with them so he could meet up with my dad later. The girls and I headed to the parade with our chairs. I guess when I was younger I got excited about parades? Maybe? But then you grow up. And a horse is a horse whether it has glitter and bows on it or not. And cars are cars whether you are passing them on the road or they are in a line honking their horns and revving their engines. But not through the eyes of a 6-year-old; it's not the same at all.
Example: The Burger King Float. Huh?? Come again?? Since when did Burger King have a float in a small-town parade? But they did. And guess who made a special appearance? Yep, you guessed it (did the title of the blog give it away any?) "Mrs. Burger" according to Savannah. We're sitting on the corner (never again mind you... by the time I could get a picture all I could see was everyone's ass as they turned the corner. I'm sure you'll notice the theme throughout the pics. Just remember - it's NOT cause Wrangler Butts Drive Me Nuts (cause they don't so much)... it's just because we were sitting on a stupid corner.) So anyway, the corner, we were sitting on it in our chairs, and here comes the Burger King float.
Not the best picture cause all you can see is the back of her head. But trust me on this one - she looked just as ridiculous as he did. Not knowing, however, that the Burger KING was married... Savannah pondered who this lady was for a minute before deciding that it had to be his wife. So she shouts, "Look Mom! There's Mrs. Burger!!" Everyone within hearing distance got a good chuckle out of it. My standard reply, as "Look MOM!!" preceded ANYTHING that came out of all of the girls' mouths for the entire 2 hours, was "Wow. Yeah. I see it." (I tried to convey the enthusiasm via written text. Did it work? Could you visualize my cartwheels?) And of course, after each "Look Mom!!! etc. etc." came "Take a picture!!!" So there it is. However, Lacey wasn't as quick to let the "Mrs. Burger" thing go as I was. She looked to Savannah and nicely, albeit drenched in sarcasm and dipped in a pot of "you stupid idiot", says to Savannah - "Uhmmm, I think you mean Burger QUEEN, Savannah???" haha. Savannah was good enough sport to giggle at herself and say, "Oh yeah, ok, Burger Queen." In Savannah's defense I piped up with, "Either one girls - Burger Queen... Mrs. Burger - I'm sure she answers to either one." :)
We went to the parade last year too. And toward the end there is a float with some old guys on it shooting holes through the tops of straw hats with guns. (Don't ask me why.) And then they hand out the hats with holes in them to people watching. (Again... hmmmm.) Anyhow, Lacey got one last year. And whatddya know... she did this year too. So now we have, not one, but TWO hideously ugly straw hats with holes through the top of them. I wonder how much they would go for on eBay? The guy in the yellow is putting the hat on Lacey's head and that's Savannah's noggin' in the way so you can't see Lacey. 
Then... there's Lacey. Obviously quite ecstatic about the fortunate luck she must have to have gotten TWO hats now. (And we won't tell her this, but I think it's hysterically adorable that her crooked front tooth seems to match well with the hat. :P)
Overall, it was a very nice morning. Here are some other random photos:
It was so nice Lacey even had to hold the hair off her neck. lol:
The girls not in their chairs that they had to bring:
Dion on her "perch" so she could see everything and using her hand for a visor:
Addie with a flower that someone gave her:
Savannah and I:
Us:
What's a parade without nasty parade popcorn?:
THE END:
I didn't end up posting all the rear-end shots of everything... you're welcome. :) Here we are walking back to the car. Lacey in her fashion savvy hat and the girls being troopers and packing their chairs. 
It's days like these that make all the other difficult ones worth it. I am truly blessed.
