International Parade

Alekisio was so excited because he got to be in a parade with his soccer team. Our city soccer had such low enrollment they almost didn't have teams this year. I think they did the parade to gain enrollment. We were so excited and I think that came from loving to watch parades. Let me tell you that being in a parade in the middle of an Ohio summer is not as fun as watching it. This is what I learned. When walking in a parade be sure to a)wear tennis shoes, not flip flops b)don't remember that you should put on sunscreen then forget it at home c)bring more than one bottle of water per person d)get dropped off at the beginning of the parade and park at the end so you don't have to walk the parade and then walk back to your car with three tired kids.

Aside from the sore feet and sunburn I got it was really fun, and good exercise. Alekisio loved every minute of hanging out with his friends. We waited forever because the parade started late. The kids kicked around a soccer ball and got balloons from the clown. Alekisio took his teammate's hand and they walked over together to the clown. I started to follow and he told me no, they could go by themselves. So I watched from a distance. When it finally started they didn't really get what we were doing. Usually at a parade you get candy thrown at you, but they weren't getting any, and at four that hardly seems fair. It didn't take long for them to realize that there were candies left on the ground from the people ahead of us so they would pick it up and eat it before we could tell them to throw it. The highlights of walking in the parade were watching all the International princesses dressed up and riding by us to get to the front in their cars, or the "pretty girls" as the boys called them, and getting cold water either dumped on their heads or sprayed from a bottle on their faces. Alekisio loved it, and I learned that I'd much rather watch a parade then be in it.

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