Danger & Adventure Around Every Corner: March 2014

Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras in HUGE in the South!! There's not one parade, there are 100's of parades scattered throughout all the communities spanning over a weekend all the way through Fat Tuesday. I have a feeling many people start drinking and celebrating on Friday night and remain in party mode until Wednesday around noon when they finally realize that they have to go back to work sober. :)

We jumped right into the fun on Friday night at Destin Commons. We choose the more kid friendly, non-alcoholic version of Mardi Gras and had a great time. The boys decorated their crowns, made noise makers, played at the park and still had plenty of energy for the parade. Beads, Moon Pies, stuffed animals and cups rained down upon them in an enormous manner. It was NUTS but oh so much fun!

Cheering on the floats and bead throwers.

Lucas loved wearing his stash. Axel opted for the "make Dad carry my stash" option.

Axel slowing down.

Lucas still ready to go!

Friday night was such a huge hit that we decided to go to Pensacola on Saturday and step it up a little. This was a huge parade that happened to start near our favorite fish market. We got their about 4 hours early (oops), talked to the local parade hosts to stake out the best spot and then headed to the fish market.

Joe Patti's fish market is awesome and a must see for anyone in Pensacola! The prices are amazing and the fish, crab, lobster, etc. is super fresh. We don't have fish markets like that because Destin is a tourists zone. The fish markets are overpriced and more emphasis is put on eating out at one of the millions of restaurants to choose from. After discovering Joe Patties, we always take a cooler when headed to Pensacola!

After our breakfast consisting of Gelato and fresh bread samples (found at Joe Patties), we took a walk by the water and tried to burn up a little time.

Eventually, we staked out an awesome spot full of shade, grass and a super fun tree great for climbing. The kids made friends quickly while we waited 2 hours for the 200 float parade to start. It was packed and yes, we really did wait 2 hours. That was no exaggeration! People were camped out 4 hours, maybe more, prior to the 2pm parade start time.

Look at this handsome bunch!!

We got a little preview as we walked down the line up street. This was pretty mellow. I should have taken a photo of what it looked like 2 hours after this. The street was jammed packed and it was a huge line of floats, party goes and loud music! Quite the celebration just waiting for the parade to start!

Lots of themes and lots of fun costumes!

Getting ready!

Crazy big floats loaded with beads.

Finally, the parade began! These pros made out FAT!!

So did this handsome pro!! :) Lookin' good Honey!

Going through the loot at home.

Over 300 necklaces alone! Anyone need some Mardi Gras beads???

We weren't done yet but we did get a two day break before heading to Baytowne Wharf to celebrate FAT TUESDAY! We thought the cold weather would scare off some people but that was not the case. Just like us, people bundled up and enjoyed catching bead from the balconies above.

Eventually the parade started. This one was predominantly made up of elderly golf cart drivers trying to navigate crowds, beads, candy and stay on course. It was comical for the most part. We almost got run over once but it was a slow speed near accident. :) Hilarious!!

We did it! We made the most of Mardi Gras 2014. Not sure how many Mardi Gras parades are held in Colorado but we have enough beads, stuffed animals and Moon Pies to hold our very own!

Random Catch Up

Here are a few random photos I still thought were blog worthy. :)

Grayson and Axel at Science Center for birthday party.

Lunch with Lucas before Mom and Dad head to Colorado to look for a new house.

Little Etta trying a lime while the adults enjoy a little lime in the form of margaritas. :) Etta is my dear, dear friends Darcy and Dave's youngest addition.

Darcy's Mom, Nancy and my Dad are long, long, long time friends! Yep, Darcy and I were friends before we were born!

My new 5 year old still lovin' Legos.

I always check on the boys before I head to bed. One night this is what I discovered snuggled together in the top bunk! I'm sure it made Axel's month, he's such a snuggler and a huge Lucas fan.

Lucas posing for his Cub Scout trapeze person. :) Love those new front teeth and that sweet necklace too!

We snuck away for a day to hit Sand Rock which is located in northern Alabama. It was super fun and here is our token shot from the day.

Cub Scouts Blue & Gold Banquet

The end of February held an exciting event for Pack 553 here in Niceville, FL. It was the Annual Blue and Gold Banquet where the Cub Scouts celebrate their rank advancements. In this house, Lucas the Bobcat turned into a WOLF!

The theme was UNDER THE BIG TOP and each Den was challenged to make a table top decoration for the record books. With $12, some awesome supplies, motivated Cub Scouts and some great leaders, Den 4 rocked it with our Circus Tower!!!!!

We went tall! Each Cub Scout made a flying trapeze cut out of themselves which became a wonderful topper. They colored the bodies and then we cut out a real photo of their heads. It was adorable. I should have taken better photos of each boy!

Anyways, here it the final tower! We think we did pretty awesome even though we didn't win overall. A close second right?!?

The event was a blast. It was potluck style with BBQ from Jim-N-Nicks, a favorite around here. There were skits, photo/video presentations, awards and a rank ceremony. Everyone involved did a wonderful job and the boys really did a wonderful time.

The Bears did a funny dance skit and when "Gangnam style" came on, the crowd went wild.

Especially this little guy...

Axel is our dancer and he was jammin'!!

Here's most of our crew.

Den 4 (that's us) did a wonderful job at their skit. It was all about ice cream and they had the place laughing.

In the end, we took first place for the Best Skit and here the boys are getting their prize: Circus Peanuts!!

I must make note that the video/photo team did an exceptional job on the presentation. It was amazing and even came along with a killer music video. Kudos to them all for their time, hard work and dedication to the Pack. Awesome job!!

It was finally time for rank advancements.