It was a particular mild start to the morning for the annual parade celebrating the neighborhood
Say “candy!”
Watching as lights and marching bands clear the horizon
Yup, that’s a t-rex in the parade
While taking far longer to wait in line that dad anticipated, it was worth the wait
Des getting down to business
Eleanor abandons all civility and goes face first
They got the memo alright
Des shows off his motorcycle jumping an equally impressive block tower
Attending the Benson Days parade to start off the daddy weekend adventure
“Send that picture to mommy!” -Des
Taking a break from soliciting candy to watch the drum line
Des and Ella outside the Waiting Room, where mom and dad attended the Drive-By Truckers show just the night before
Watching the opening minutes of Up while dad openly sobs on the couch (“That’s the movie you wanted to do while I’m not there?” -mom)
Cheeseboard picnic for movie night with dad.
Surprisingly no regrets for being Ella’s first free-range (no high chair) dinner in the house
The Field Club neighborhood has a reputation for a great Independence Day parade and it did not disappoint
Friends with the Omaha Jitterbugs performed as well
Special post-nap ice cream field trip
The sugar appears to be setting in…
Aunt Kellie identifying aloud each object Eleanor points to in 100 First Words, a household favorite (apparently)
Thinking something profound, or just recalling what was on the moss-covered log down by the pond (a little green frog)?
Dance party with grandma
Eleanor displaying her trademark persistence trying to get the snaps to “snap”
Celebrating with a few low-noise, mostly ground-dwellng fireworks, Des holds his first “sparkler” at a safe and cautious distance
Ok, a few parachutes went up
A bit more arm motion with his sophomore effort
His curiosity grew however as the evening wore on
With both children in bed, clearly up later than recent memory, the urban warfare across midtown came to an abrupt finale as the perfectly-timed rainstorm fell. A summer miracle.
Desmond and Eleanor go to the Juneteenth parade with mom
A refreshing beverage on another hot day
…and a “treat!”
Mounting dad’s work’s GoPro cam to Desmond’s head basically yielded the opening credits to Alf as he ran through the house
Selfie game: strong
Pre-gaming at the new coffee shop ran by some of mom’s prior studio students
And it’s parade time, where magic like groups of dogs walk past their number one fan
The line was only temporarily held near the curb until descending into chaos further into the street. Des was ever so patient waiting for candy
The hunter, in action
Thumbs up for parades, no matter how cold
Ella has had her tongue out literally since birth, think the genetic responsibility has now been identified:
Five out of seven looking in the same direction, that’s a success
Waving at the firemen
Eleanor eventually needed a good stretch of the legs
With sufficient candy now in bag, Des just takes in the sights and sounds
All paraded out.
The annual start to Dundee Day with pancakes (and pouch)
Since the last parade, Des is freshly aware of the potential for nabbing candy at these shindigs. Which made it that more dramatic that the first few groups did not have candy to offer.
Oh yeah, now we’re talking!
High-fives for tigers (Des may one day be a Dundee Wildcat)
Liam and Viv offering cousin Ella the softer blocks to stack
Hanging out with Mark and Penny
Cousins aligned for dinner
Wishing pa a happy 60th birthday
At the realization there was homemade ice cream too:
Generations…
