Christmas Parades and Festivals

So I figure I only have a few more years where Grace is truly into parades and various Christmas festivities offered by the communities around us.  I know that 6, 7 years from now she will be busy with her own independence, hanging out with friends, doing her extra curricular activities, whatever is going on in our lives at that point.  So, for now I take full advantage of all the wonderful Christmas activities we have going on in our surrounding communities.  Most of them are cheap or free which makes them all that more appealing.  We go to parades, Christmas in the park, and street parties.  We do it all.  Here's a few highlights, including of course the hot chocolate!!!

Watching our local parade.  It was a miserable night, like truly miserable.  Not really fun at all but the girls and my nephew made the best of it. 

No parade would be complete without the hot chocolate!!!

Funny, for Grace, the highlight of the night was playing at the park... in the dark!  She loved it!

Not so sure of this guy.....

Waiting for the Tractor parade in our town to get started.  Grace found a friend from school and they passed the time running around in the dark

So, after spending a few hours wandering along the streets, watching the short Santa Claus parade, I had no intention of staying for the tractor parade at the street festival.  It wasn't starting until after 8 and we had already watched our own town's parade of lights with the farm equipment.  However, Grace was having such a good time listening to Dan the Music Man and dancing and catching bubbles and hula hooping that by the time we started to head back to the car people were already lining the streets waiting for the next event.  I had the wagon and there was NO WAY I was going to get through that crowd and make the long trek back to the car.  So we decided to stay and wait it out.  Neither one of us was overly happy about it but there wasn't really another option.  Just as the first tractor was making its way past us, I glanced down at Grace and saw this...

Grace, sound asleep, her face covered in hot chocolate and sticky marshmallow, sitting on a rock.  She slept through the whole parade, I got her to the car and home still sleeping!  She makes me laugh!