God Bless the USA

And I'm proud to be an American,
where at least I know I'm free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me. 
                                       -- LEE GREENWOOD

What a surprise, Saturday! Cari and I rose early Saturday morning, munched on our peach muffins and got all set to visit the Farmer's Market. I had change in my pocket, a stroller for the girl, a reusable bag for the goods, and a taster ready for the yummies.   Nearing the market though, we saw many, many orange and white striped cones lining the lanes of the highway, and many more flashing blue lights.  I was quite saddened because Cari was so thrilled to go to "the farmers" and see "the barns."  She didn't understand that we were just going to the market and not their actual home. Excited  to show her the good stuff, I decided to take the back way to the market.  Still not able to get there, we parked in a back lot and I loaded her up in the stroller and up the hill we went, peeking around the building.  We heard echoes of the national anthem, and people lining the streets.  Clearly, there was no farmers market today and, clearly, I am embarrassed that I don't know what is going on.  We stroll up next to another mommy and two-year old girl. The girls naturally make friends and the mother looks at me quite excitedly and says, "this is her first parade!" Oh.....I got it now. A parade!! Yay! For what??! We luckily arrived about 10 minutes before the start of the parade to hear all of the introductions. Yes, yes, it is the 58th Annual Soldier's Day Parade.  Well, this is certainly better than any farmers market visit!  We squatted down in the front line of the street, resting just under a small shady tree.  I realized that because we were not planning on a parade, but planning on taking a 15 minute walk through the market, we had no camera, except my phone, and furthermore, no sunscreen.  I was careful to be sure the shade was up on Cari's stroller the entire time and I had to change her angle about every 15 minutes to keep in the shadows.  I sent Andy a text to let him know what was going on and that Cari was thrilled. He said he and Chad would enjoy the golf tournament together at home and for us to have a blast at the parade.  And we sure did.  She waved her little flag in the air and yelled "Yay USA!"

She definitely had some favorites. When the highschool bands would march by, she'd yell, "I WUV Daddy's Dwums!"

She was amazed that she saw Mater in the parade!

When the trains came by, she squealed with delight and then yelled with a voice of frustration, "I post ta be on the twain!!!!!!!" as she waved fervently to get their attention for them to come pick her up.

She couldn't believe that candy was falling from the sky! She collected a "watermewon wowwi-pop" and some silver beads along with many other treats.

Oh, and yummy green popcicles to cool off in the Atlanta heat.

We heard lots of horns beeping, cars backfiring, trains tooting, and guns shooting. None of which scared her, but all of which thrilled her.

During the slow parts of the parade, she spent time tanning her feet.

All in all, what a wonderful way to spend a Saturday morning. We are definitely putting this parade on the calendar for next year! And, next year, we'll have Chad out there, too, collecting goodies, and I'll have pictures from the camera rather than the cell phone.....maybe.....

Happy Soldier's Day 2010!!!