Happy (early) St. Patrick's Day!

Today was the St. Patrick's Day parade in downtown Vancouver. The rain seemed to be holding off this morning and the sun was trying to peek out so we packed ourselves into the van (with raincoats and umbrellas, just in case) and went to pick up Grampa. We got to the parade route with plenty of time, found a good spot for ourselves right on the curb and waited for the parade to start. Daniel was a little impatient and Adam was a little hungry, but some bunny crackers fixed that! Finally, the traffic police on motorcycles came and did their routine right in front of us. I don't think Adam ever blinked and you couldn't wipe the grin off of Daniel's face. They loved it! Soon, the parade started. There were a lot of pipes and drum bands, some Irish dancers, Scottish dancers, even Korean and Chinese dancers! The boys loved waving to everyone and dancing to all the music.

Then the rain started! And did it ever rain! We had our big golf umbrella, which the boys and I hid under, and a smaller umbrella. It was OK for a while. Auntie Lauren came by, since she lives not far from the parade route, and we watched the many dancers, musicians and people dressed in medieval Irish costumes. Daniel loved the knights and sword fighting! He also liked the free stuff people were going away - stickers, candy, Irish Spring body wash and even a stuffed parking attendant doll!

All was going well. We were a bit cold and wet but alright...until the snow started! The crowds dispersed pretty fast! We had been there for over two hours anyway, so we were ready to go. We stopped by Auntie Lauren's office for a bit to warm up and play some ping pong. Then we headed back to Grampa's for a hot dog lunch. Adam fell asleep the moment we started the van, so he missed out on lunch. Daniel managed to stay awake until we were about a block from Grampa's! But he woke up as soon as we mentioned hot dogs! He never did get his nap, so it should be an early night tonight!

It was a very fun and memorable day! Who would have thought we'd get snow five days before spring???