Parade, Playground, and Pandas

On May 28, I took the kids out for a whole day of fun by myself (#93)!  That was not the original intent for the day... it started because I thought it would be fun to take the kids (with or without Trinity and Kevin) to the 500 Festival Parade (that's the Indy 500 car race, for all you non-Hoosiers!), mostly because I've always thought it looked like fun, and I was actually off that weekend.  When I asked Trinity about it, she reminded me that day was their anniversary, so they were fine with me taking Tessa and Tanis to the parade.  I told her depending on how things went, I might take them out for lunch and keep them out for a while, so they could celebrate their anniversary kid-free for once!

So I picked up the kids about 10:30, and we headed downtown.  I had been warned that parking would be crowded, but I actually found a lot only a block away from where our seats were.  There was definitely some time to kill before the parade started, especially since we were sitting near the end of the parade route, but I was a good auntie and had made sure to bring snacks and drinks.  I also bought them checkered flags to wave, and there was lots to look at. 

Tanis really wanted some cotton candy, but I was not buying him any.  Every single time the sellers walked by, his hand shot up, the guys stopped, and I had to yank his hand down and say no.  After the fifth time, I looked at him and said I am not buying any cotton candy!  I hated doing it, but this was going to be a neverending cycle, and we hadn't even been there an hour yet.  The parade finally started, and it was so much fun!



Centennial celebration of the race!




float from the Indy Asian organization

 

Anderson Cooper, grand marshal



1911 Marmon Wasp - winner of the first Indy 500!




Mario Andretti, racing legend

 

500 Festival Princesses



Rodeo Girls

 Lots of things to see and enjoy, althought by the end, things were getting a little strung out and the kids were starting to get bored.  Considering we got there a good hour early and the parade lasted two hours, I thought they did really well.  Even I was glad when it was all over.

I let them pick a place for lunch, and after much discussion they finally settled on Chik-Fil-A.  I have a feeling that decision stemmed as much or more from their play area as the food, but I love Chik-Fil-A so no complaints from me!  After we'd been there a while I gave them a choice:  stay there and play, or go see a movie.  The movie won, hands down!  So we were off to see Kung Fu Panda 2.  They were clamoring for blue icees at the theatre, and I bought popcorn for us all to share.  About three handfuls in, Tessa remembered she can't eat popcorn because of her braces!  I'm just glad she remembered, because that never even occurred to me.  So, I ran back out to the lobby for a box of Junior Mints... catstrophe averted!  The movie was hilarious, and I'm sure I enjoyed it at least as much as they did.

On the way back home, Tessa said she was tired, and although he wouldn't admit it, Tanis was yawning all the way!  I was really very pleasantly surprised and amazed at how well-behaved they were all day.  I had been dreading taking them out on my own, because they can get pretty rambunctious and hyper, but these were like two totally different kids!  This day made me realize that I can absolutely spend time with them by myself and have a great time.  Success!