Festivities
Waking up to teach early Monday morning after Rhody is equal to a really bad hangover. I guess it is pretty much a hangover, one of over stimulation. The Rhododendron Festival has a little bit of everything and we tried to cover as much of it as we could fit in.
Now normally I can pretty much get out of most Rhody things. The boys normally go to their dads house but this year I had the boys for the entire time. I could have been pissy about the whole thing but instead decided I was going to fucking do rhody. I was going to be pleasant to everyone, be up for anything and enjoy it all. Here is my run down (ps I accomplished what I set out to do).
We started with the Pet Parade on Thursday. Both boys were in the parade. Emerson’s fifth grade band marched in it. I watched as my child and his friends practiced in front of the fire station before the parade. It wasn’t looking good. But once they hit the pavement I think I heard a song or two played in unison. Afterwards he said he loved all the people cheering for him, but he was also really jacked up on sugar so I don’t know if he even remembered much of anything.
Day one was done and we only had three more to go. No tears.
Friday was an early release day, I think more for the teachers than for the kids. We watched the second of three paradise, the Kiddie Parade. Emerson brought along a friend for the adventure. From there we went straight to the carnival, more like ran down the hill pushing bystanders out of the way. I am not a huge fan of carnivals, the lights, the noise, the crowds. Luckily I was able to sneak out for a bit of fresh air while my children were under the watchful eye of other parents. After an hour or so of rides, we grabbed some food (not at the carnival) and watched the Hair and Beard contest. This was almost a deal breaker, we had done so well up to this point but there just wasn’t enough excitement watching people measure hair. A few “stop hitting,” some “go run over theres,” and one confiscation of a inflatable hammer, we barely made it to the start of the bed races. And as I expected, this kept their interest. It helped that there were a few falls from runners and pure speed from the high school team (who ended up winning.) The boys happily shelled out high fives before heading back to the carnival. Now the carnival was a little overwhelming in the afternoon and evening was no better. My mommy eyes and ears were in full alert, but I was not going to complain. Milo was happiest next to me but Emerson and his friend had some make up wearing, open backed shirt going girls following them around. I quickly transition to not cool mom and kept a VERY close eye on them, and made them take milo on rides with them.
Halfway and we were asleep before 10.
The Grand Parade. I love watching the bands and the kids love getting candy. Not much to ruin this day. It was a little crummy weather wise, but friends made up for it. We joined a group of friends over snacks and drinks and private bathroom and front row candy gathering for the minis. I don’t remember having this much fun at the parade, ever. We laughed and drank and ate while the kids handed out high fives. Being in perfect PT style, we headed downtown for a cake picnic. I love cake. And of course there was a dance party, because why wouldn’t there be. We danced and ate cake and danced some more and then ate candy and danced. By the time we left downtown we made it back uptown just in time to see our high school play West Side Story. The singing and kisses didn’t go over well with the boys but the fighting made it all worthwhile.
Only One more day and we are still going strong.
And Sunday the final day, the 12K Rhody Run. As the gun went off, Milo and I clasped hands and for the second year in a row ran the entire 7.49 miles holding hands. I am one lucky mom. The little guy finished in 1hour30minutes. Emerson came in with a friend shortly after and we spent the rest of the day relaxing and recovering. I have to say, I am glad it’s over but a little sad to see its gone.