Christmas Parade

Dave heard about the annual Front Royal Christmas parade from his van pool friends a few weeks ago and we thought it might be a fun way to kick off December. I don't think Caleb had ever been to a parade before so he didn't really know what to expect. Although I've been to this parade several times as a kid, I was surprised at just how many people showed up to watch. We tried to find a small spot along Chester St. to take in the local tradition, but we had quite a time finding a "non-smoking section." We finally found a spot only to have about four people around us light up cigarettes shortly after we'd settled in. Normally, I'm not too sensitive to smoke but being pregnant and with a toddler in tote, it wasn't a great thing to have to inhale on this family event. (While there really wasn't a designated smoking section for the parade, it reminded me of a quote from my friend Amy who once said: "Having a smoking section in a restaurant is like having a peeing section in a pool.") Despite the smoky unpleasantness nearby, we had a good time anyway.

"Look, Daddy!"

Bundled up against the cold

The parade was full of all kinds of machinery and vehicles of interest to
little boys. He especially enjoyed the trucks and kept saying "big big."

He also made sure we noticed some of the dogs were "big big" too.

One of the parade members stopped to hand Caleb a package of
candy that he clutched in his mittened hand.

Horses!

Out of all the excitement, Caleb stopped to point
out the moon to us. Then, he spotted a bird and is showing it to
Daddy in this picture. The things that capture his interest...

One unique parade feature that grabbed all of our attention
was a flame being shot by two hot air balloons conductors. On
such a cold day, we all welcomed the heat it produced.

I'm not sure who was more excited Dave or Caleb.

Of course every parade needs a marching band. Now that
there are two high schools in town, we had double the music.

As usual, the big finale was Santa (aka "Ho Ho") and Mrs. Claus.