Two Parades in One Year!

Another tradition in Chehalis is the annual Christmas parade. It was held the same day at the Santa breakfast, and marked our second parade of the year. It was a banner year for parades for the Dickason family!

I was unable to watch all of the parade, as I was in rehearsal for the bell concert (more on that later) but the rest of the family, including Ernie’s parents, were able to enjoy it. For a small community, Chehalis can put together quite a long parade. It included fire trucks, horses, classic cars, and Santa of course. But my favorite part of the parade was the LARP group.

For those unfamiliar with LARP, it stands for Live Action Role Playing. Usually, it consists of young adults (who probably live in their parents’ basements) acting out medieval scenarios in a park, complete with costumes and foam weaponry. A friend of mine in Bellingham lives near a park where a LARP group meets. She always thought they were kinda funny as she walked her dog in the park on Saturday mornings. Thinking of her, I asked Ernie to get a picture of the parade entry so that I could send it to her. Well, he wasn’t able to get the camera out fast enough, so he ran ahead along the parade route to get a picture. (If that isn’t love, I don’t know what is!) Anyway, one of the guys in the group saw Ernie taking pictures and thought he was interested, so he made sure to give Ernie a flyer. Then later he found us along the parade route and made sure Ernie knew the specifics of where and when to meet in case he wanted to join the fray. Best part of the parade for me, hands down.

Sophia had a great time and was able to score some candy. She really enjoyed seeing Santa and Mrs. Claus at the end of the parade riding in their sleigh. Kaitlyn was a trooper, for sure. It was VERY cold that day, and she was bundled up and enjoyed being held throughout most of the parade so that the adults could make sure she stayed warm. And the adults made a note to wear warmer socks and buy hand warmers for next year!

New Blogs on the List

As much as I like to think that my blog provides plenty of entertainment for you, my faithful readers, I do live in reality and realize that you might want to enjoy a few more laughs. I have come across a few new humor blogs that I have added to the list at left. I am highlighting a few of them here, because I really don't want you to miss out on the hilarity.

Awkward Family Photos: In addition to awkward family photos, the site includes awkward family stories as well. Here is a link to instructions for Thanksgiving dinner.

Wendi Aarons: I received a forwarded email (don't you just love those?) with this letter attached. I thought to myself that this woman really should write a blog, and found out that she already does!

You Suck at Craigslist: Ah, the misspellings and confusion. It really is fun to try and figure out what the poster meant to say.

Enjoy!

Red Means Stop!

We have been talking with Sophia about what the colors on a stoplight mean. Why? Because she gets impatient when we're stopped at a red light, and asks why we're stopped, when are we going again, etc. So we have been discussing that red means stop, green means go, and yellow means be careful (or my mom's version - yellow means go very fast).

She has gotten it, and it has helped her to understand a bit more about what's going on while we're driving. She gets excited when she sees a stoplight, tells me what color it is, and what that color means.

The only problem, which I did not predict, is explaining a free right on red. She has become a little traffic cop in the backseat (I didn't know backseat driving started this young) and gets very upset if I go when the light is red. I have tried to explain that it's okay for mommy to go when the light is red, but only sometimes, and only if it is safe. I'm just waiting for the day I get pulled over and she rats me out for going when the light was red!

Cheerleader Sophia

Recently Sophia found her pom-pons in her toy box and started “cheering” with them. We kept trying to get her to say “Go Seahawks!” but she refused. What does she cheer for? “Go Movies!” I guess she likes watching movies more than she likes watching football. Ernie is working on changing her mind…

American Idol 2022

If the show is still around by then, I think Sophia might be a contestant on American Idol in 2022. Usually, she doesn’t like singing. She doesn’t like to sing at song time in the mornings with her friends, and she certainly doesn’t like it when Ernie or I sing (not that I can blame her on that one!). That all changed last Thursday night.

She brought out the holder for her top (a toy top made out of wood by Ernie’s uncle) and turned it into a microphone. After interviewing Ernie and me, she put on a show for us. And what a show it was! Complete with two rounds of the ABC’s, followed by an original song about a boat, and then another original song about a helicopter. (These songs were just the words “boat” and “helicopter” repeated over and over to an unrecognizable tune.) We wished we had had the video camera handy, but knew that she’d stop as soon as we got it out. So instead, we just enjoyed her performance.

Pretty Cute!

So the other day I told Sophia she was cute. She disagreed. I asked, in disbelief, "You don't think you're cute?" She said, "Not cute. Pretty." So we all agreed that she was pretty.

Later in the day I told her she was pretty. She said, "Not pretty. Cute." I told her she needed to choose an adjective for the day and stick with it.

She goes back and forth between pretty and cute, being contrary just for the sake of being contrary. So I have decided that every day, all day, she is pretty cute!

Mr. Rude!

Sophia's favorite show right now is The Mr Men Show on Cartoon Network. While we think her favorite is Mr. Bump, she is also a fan of Mr. Rude. For those not familiar with the show, Mr. Rude is, well, rude. He is known to pass gas, and everyone around yells, "Mr. Ru-ude!" as a cloud of stink rises around him.

Well, the other day Ernie was changing Sophia's diaper, and well, let's just say that he let one slip past the goalie. Sophia gets a big grin on her face and says, "Mr. Ru-ude!". What a crack-up!

Sorry, honey. It was just too funny not to pass along! Love ya!