Feliz Navidad!

The holidays are upon us.  I never thought I'd spend not one, but TWO Christmas in Little Mexico. But, wait, maybe some part of me knew way back when or else why would I have created this...

Yes, that's a Mexican Santa complete with a chili-pepper sombrero, maracas, and a pinata.  There's even a cactus and a guitar on the side that you can't see.  

When I was in my high school art class, we painted Santas for Christmas.  Out of all the different varieties of Santa, I chose the Mexican one.  Who really knows why?

I like to think that this Mexican Santa chose me because he knew that I would one day be living less than a mile from Mexico, and I would return him home one day.

Yes, that must be it.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, from the Browns and Papa Noel!  And a Happy New Year to all!

My Christmas Just Got Merrier

Have you ever tried to get your kids' pictures made with Santa?  If you can actually get them to sit with Santa without screaming their heads off and get a decent picture, then you have to pay like $10 for a crappy picture they printed off on their HP printer.  Yeah, thanks, Santa's Elves for ripping me off.  Of course, if I had to work at the North Pole making toys for minimum wage, I'd probably be looking for some ways to make some extra cash, too.

Thankfully, since I now live in Laredo, I get an opportunity to let my kids visit Santa Claus without getting ripped off by his under-paid elves.  And where is this magical place that I can get a free picture with Santa?

THE LIBRARY!

That's right.  The library staff reads my kids stories, does a cute puppet show for them, gives them a meal, AND they get to visit Santa complete with a picture.  All for free.

FREE, I tell you!  It's amazing!  I love the library!

Last year my 1-year-old daughter was slightly afraid of Santa, but my 4-year-old son was TERRIFIED!  He hid behind the bookshelves and cried when Santa came out.  So this year I decided I needed to have a talk with my now 5-year-old son.  It went like this.

Me: "Evan, Santa is about to come out, and I don't want you to be afraid of him like last year.  He's a nice man."
Evan: "You mean last year when I was a little kid?"
Me:  "Are you not a little kid anymore?"
Evan: "Nope."
Me: "Oh, okay then."

And he was fine and very happy to sit in Santa's lap.  See?

I guess I should've had this same talk with Lauren, now 2, but I didn't.  She was excited until she actually saw Santa.  Then she wouldn't look at him and cried into my shoulder.  We did get her to actually look at the camera long enough to get a picture.

Bless her heart.  And, I, being the loving mother that I am, laughed.  A lot.  I love pictures like this.  Really and truly, I do.

So, thanks, Laredo Public Library for being so freakin' awesome!  The kids loved it.  Well, sort of.  

I Discovered a Cool New Park!

Last Friday, my sister-in-law and I were in a conundrum. (I learned that word from Mickey Mouse Club House, believe it or not.)    We run together three times a week.  She usually drives over to our neighborhood, and we take turns watching each other's kids while the other runs.  It's a pretty sweet set-up.  But on Friday she texted me to say that she was without a car.  Sad, sad day.  In my efforts to be a nice person, I offered to go pick her up.  When I got to her apartment, and we were in the van, we both decided that we wanted to go someplace different.  Change things up a bit.  But WHERE?

Way back in March, my kids and I went to the Laredo Kite Festival at North Central Park.  In my faint memories of the actual park that isn't blocked out by the bright colors of kites and free activities for my kids, I remembered a walking trail.  We decided to go there.  Mostly because the only other park I knew of with a walking trail was right by the river, and I didn't want to be watched by Border Patrol while running.

So we went to North Central Park, and it was awesome!  Behold!

I liked this view.  It was right by the new playground that they just built.  Well, I don't know about "just."  It wasn't there last time we were there.

It even has shade!  That is a blessing in Laredo!

Evan wanted me to take his picture. He's Mr. Cool.

Sunglasses, long-sleeves with a hoodie, and shorts.  He's rockin' it!

The walking trail was really great.  The only downside I saw was that at one point on the trail there's an area where water collects, and it kinda smells like sewage.  And for a Super Smeller like me, it wasn't too pleasant.  (Smelling is my super power.)

Oh, and also, some dumb kids had graffiti-ed some areas, but in some cases, graffiti can be funny.  Like this one.

STINKY North Central Park.  *immature giggle*  They said it was stinky...

Overall, though, I really loved this park, and it's trails.  I think we'll be going there more often.

What other parks in Laredo would you recommend we try?

My List of Pros and Cons

First, let me explain myself.  I haven't been posting in here regularly.  Duh.  The reason behind this is LMT told me they were updating the site and to hold off on posting until it was updated.  I waited.  Nothing happened.  So I've decided that I'm going to post anyway, and to make up for my serious lack of updates, I'm going to try to post at least once a week.  Does that make you happy?  Anyone even read this anymore?  Doubt it.

I recently went on a trip back to my homeland---Alabama.  On this trip I was not only able to visit where I once lived in Alabama, but we also visited where I once lived in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. So these places, along with my home now in Laredo, have been on my mind, and I thought I'd compile a little list of Pros and Cons of all of these places.  Just for funsies.

Florence, Alabama: 

Pros 

• Trees!  Green!  Hills!
• My family
• Good southern cookin'
• Southern accents
• 4 complete seasons - Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter
• Familiarity
• Woods
• No Border Patrol watching my every move

Cons

• Rednecks in abundance
• Crazy weather - freezing temperatures one day, then warm and sunny the next, and raining in the afternoon
• Over-the-top new immigration laws
• More rednecks
• I see too many people I know at Walmart
• Obnoxious Alabama Fans

Baton Rouge, Louisiana:

Pros

• Live Oak Trees
• Green, Green, Green!
• Cajun Food
• King Cake!!
• Cute cajun accents
• So much to do in the city
• Moderate temperatures

Cons

• TRAFFIC!!
• Huge scary bugs
• LSU Fans
• Rain pretty much every day
• Humidity!
• Rednecks

Laredo, Texas:

Pros

• The winters are amazing!
• The wind!  It feels so nice!
• HEB
• Every restaurant has a play area for my kids, so I can eat in peace
• Two hours from Sea World, Six Flags, the Zoo, etc., in San Antonio
• Two hours from the BEACH!
• A Dollar theater
• Sunny Days pretty much every day

Cons

• I don't speak Spanish, so I can't communicate all the time
• The scary stuff happening just across the river
• Border Patrol watching my every move
• Freakin' HOT!
• Desert landscape (ie: no big pretty trees)

What I've realized pretty much is that Laredo isn't as bad as I make myself think sometimes.  All the places we've lived so far have come with good and bad, and Laredo's like that, too.  Oh, and honestly, after listening to pop stations back in Alabama, I think that I prefer the Spanish music played here.  I was glad to get back down here and listen to my favorite Mexico station. (Ciento dos punto tres! Said in my best [ie: worst] Spanish accent.)  I do miss living in those other places, and I would love to live there again, but for now Laredo's home, and I'll take the good with the bad. 

Especially if the good is 70 degree temperatures in the "winter."  :)

A Year In Laredo!

As of the beginning of August, we have been in Laredo for a full year.  It's hard for me to believe that we've been here for that long.  When I think back to when we first moved here, I remember a lot of anxiety and uncertainty about this place.  As the months trudged on, the anxiety dissipated, and I grew more at ease in my new surroundings.

I've been on an emotional roller coaster the past year.  I've had some ups, like when family would come to visit or we'd take a little family trip or I'd just have a special day with the kids.  And I've had lots of downs.  I'm sad to say that there have been more downs than ups for me.  There have been some hard things that have happened in the last year that I'm not really going to go into because they're very personal.  I made it through those hardships, though, and I did it with my husband by my side, and he continues to support me.  

His job has been a blessing to us.  I miss him when he's working long hours, and I miss him when he's home and so tired and out of it because he works so hard that he's not himself.  However, his job has given us opportunities we've never had before as a family.  His work is finally slowing down, and he's able to spend more time with us, and I'm really glad.

My kids have grown SO much since we moved here.  Look at this!

This is them in July of last year.

This is them in August of this year.

Look how grown up and handsome Evan is getting. And Lauren went from looking like a baby to looking like a toddler.  

My brother and his wife are moving down here in September.  I'm really excited about it.  They came to visit us to look for a place to live.  As we showed them around, I could see some of the same anxieties in them that I had when I moved here.  Scared to be far from family.  Worried about the culture change.  Missing the green trees.  That's a back yard?  Feeling stared at for being the only white person around.  Wondering if you're going to like it here.  Missing all the things you love about where you're moving from.  Wondering if you'll ever eat anything but Mexican food ever again.  Will my family be safe here?  Hoping you make friends. What if something happens back home, and I can't go?

Fear.  Fear of the unknown.  One thing that I have to constantly remind myself when I get down about living here and being so far away is that when we decided to make this move, we felt like it was the right thing to do.  We had a confirmation from God that we were supposed to move here, and for whatever reason, he wants us to be here.  And when I think of it like that, it helps a little bit to know that all of those fears will be taken care of if I just remember that and keep my faith in that decision and in God.

So now that I've been all philosophical and what not.  Let's do a bulleted list of fun.

• Even though my Spanish has improved since moving here, I still freak out a little when someone starts speaking to me in Spanish.
• After a year of living here, you stop counting how many white people are in a room with you.  And when you do see one, you're like, "What's that gringo doing here?"
• I'm still not used to people touching my kids' heads because they're blonde.  
• But I do like that Lauren gets lots of ooos and aaahs because of her light blonde hair.  :)
• Andrew gets a Mexican accent when he talks to his workers, and it makes me laugh.
• I was excited to plant vegetables and flowers, but the Laredo heat killed my dreams.
• I still get nervous when I have to pass through the checkpoint when I leave Laredo, and I say very dumb things.
• I'm afraid of the geese in our neighborhood.
• Evan and Lauren love to learn Spanish words, and I think it's adorable.
• Rain is a novelty, and I treasure it.
• I still love Mexican food.
• I still miss Grapico, but I'm okay with drinking Apple Soda, instead.  :)
• I'm still finding various objects in the shape of Texas.  The latest find: Texas Shaped Pretzels.  They were a big hit with the kids, especially the boot shaped ones.  Because everyone in Texas wears boots...  or something.

Well, that's all I can think of at the moment.  We've got one year down and several more to go!  Viva Laredo!

If You're Going to San Antonio

My husband actually had a day off from work!  *gasp*  I know.  It's unbelievable, but he actually had Memorial Day off.  We decided on Thursday that we would go to San Antonio Saturday when he got off work and spend the rest of the weekend there.

It was SO nice to get away for awhile and spend time with my little family!

We visited the Alamo and the Riverwalk.  I even have proof!

It was the best picture we were gonna get.  Evan was hot and tired and wanted to go home.  Lauren was actually really happy the whole time.  It's nice to have one kid being happy.  

We actually arrived at the Alamo right before they were closing it, so we really didn't get to see much.  But we got our picture made in front of it, dang it!  I wanted to prove that I had seen the Alamo.  And since it was closing I didn't get a chance to look for the basement to find PeeWee's bicycle.  On our way there, though, Andrew pointed this place out to me...

I bet this is where his bicycle was.  Just a couple of blocks away!  He was so close!

So after we went there and found out it was closing, we just wandered around for awhile.  We were with Andrew's brother's family.  And his other brother was coming to meet us there.  He and his girlfriend finally showed up, and we decided to go eat.  We picked Texas Land and Cattle Steakhouse.

Here's a tip:  Don't go there with a large party.  We had 13 people.  We waited about an hour and half for a table.  It was not fun with small children.

This is Evan and I not being happy about waiting so long.  I love his face.

The good news was that the manager gave us a buttload of free appetizers.  Everyone was so tired, though.  Observe.

Andrew's so photogenic, isn't he?  Everyone looks so happy.

Only my kids remained awake.  Poor little things.

The next day we all split up.  My family went to the airport to pick up my mother-in-law, then we headed to the zoo.  Evan was sooooo excited to have his Grandma who is his favorite person in the whole world.

There they are!  Evan's too busy trying to get Grandma's attention to look at the camera.

We really loved seeing all the animals, and I loved seeing my kids get excited about it.  This is how Lauren was most of the time.

She wanted to see EVERYTHING!

I'll spare you all the pictures of the animals.  I took a TON!  Oh, but I should show you this rare form of butterfly we happened upon.

This picture makes me laugh.  

On the way out, I made Evan pose next to the zoo sign.  I think he's got the cheesy photo grin down to a T.

Wouldn't you agree?

Even though it was hot, and I'm pretty sure I smelled bad from sweating so much, I had a really good time with my family.  If only we could do cool stuff like that all the time... for now, it's back to reality in Laredo.

Thinking of Home

The Tornado in Tuscaloosa, AL

I don't know how many of my fellow Laredoeans know this, but Wednesday, many of the Southeastern states were hit pretty hard by deadly storms.  My home state of Alabama was hit the hardest.  Out of nearly 300 deaths, nearly two-thirds of those were in Alabama.  Cities that I've lived in or grew up near have been demolished.  It's heart-breaking.  

I watched the local news here last night and didn't see anything about them.  That's why I'm posting about it here.  I don't know how many people follow this blog, but I feel like you should be aware.  When Japan was hit, it was all over the news, and yet when our fellow American are hit, there's not a word.

These people need our help.  Some of the young women from my church are taking donations for hygiene kits that we're hoping to send over to those in need.  We would love to have your help!

Each hygiene kit will be placed in a gallon ziploc bag and will include these items: 

· 2 unbreakable combs without sharp handles
· 4 toothbrushes (sealed)
· 1 tube of toothpaste (6-8 ounces, no pumps)
· 2 bars of soap (3.5-5 ounces each)
· 2 hand towels (approximately 15x25 inches)

And honestly, we'll take whatever you can bring us.  They need everything over there.  People have lost their homes and everything in them.  They don't have clothes to wear or food to eat.  

If you'd like to donate, you can bring items to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on 1520 East Hillside Road.  We will be there Sunday, May 1 from 11:00am-2:00pm and Tuesday, May 3 from 7:00pm-8:30pm.  

Tornadoes and Storms Tear Through South; at Least 292 Dead.  You can read more about the tragedy here and see pictures and video.

Please help if you can!  Thank you!


EDIT: The site was down, so this post didn't show up until May 3.  If you'd still like to donate, please contact me at chzygoat@gmail.com, and we'll work something out!

U.S. Citizen? Why, yes, I am!

If you've never had the pleasure of leaving the city of Laredo, then you'll have no idea what this is.  No, this isn't me trying to get into some major theme park, although, that would be really nice.  This is a border patrol checkpoint.  Since Laredo is THE hippest way to get in and out of Mexico, they've set up this massive checkpoint to make sure everybody that leaves Laredo is legal.

Now, I know that I'm a legal citizen of the United States, and I know that I'm not a drug dealer of any kind, but whenever I go through this checkpoint, I get so nervous!  Generally, they just ask if you're a U.S. citizen and send you on your merry way, but occasionally, they get a little more inquisitive.  That's when I get all flustered and say stupid things.  Like, today, for example.  Observe.

Border Patrol Agent (BP): Are you a U.S. citizen?
Me: Yes, sir!
BP: Are these your kids?
Me: Yep.
BP: Are you going to San Antonio?

Let me just break in here and tell you the back story.  I was not, in fact, going to San Antonio.  I was going to Encinal to do a mystery shop at a Subway in a Love's Truck Stop.  When I talked to Andrew about this conversation later, he was like, "Why didn't you just say you were going to Encinal?"  Why, indeed.  I'm an idiot.  That's why.

Me: No, I'm going to a gas station.
BP: A gas station?
Me: Well, I'm going to eat lunch there.

The thoughts that went through my head at this point went something like this, "Why did I say that?  Does that make me sound like some sort of prostitute?  Who leaves Laredo to go to lunch at a gas station?" Seriously, my brain is weird.

BP: What?
Me: I'm doing a mystery shop.
BP: You're doing a what?
Me: I'm a mystery shopper.
BP: Oh, so you're like a journalist or something?
Me: No, I go eat the food and then take a survey about it.
BP: Oh. *eyes me suspiciously* And this is your private vehicle?
Me: Yes, sir.
BP: Okay.  *checks something on his computer* You can go.

I left there feeling like a complete moron.  I was prepared for the U.S. citizen question and feeling confident, and then he throws another question at me, and I go into stupid mode.

Good news is he didn't feel the need to search my trunk like they did my husband one time.  I guess I can be thankful for that.  Perhaps as time goes on, and I've lived here long enough, that inspection station won't unnerve me so much, and I won't go into explanations about gas stations and mystery shopping.  Until then, maybe the Border Patrol agents will get some kick out of it.  Although, I seriously doubt it.

A Startling Conclusion

I recently went on a trip to visit my family back in Alabama.  I had a wonderful time, and I really do miss it out there.  However, I realized something while I was out there that kind of surprised me.

While I really miss the South--the green, the southern accents, my family, the food--I felt this confirmation that I'm supposed to be in Laredo right now.  There are things about Laredo that I love, and I even missed it a little when I was telling my family about it.  For whatever reason, my family and I are supposed to be here.  This is my home for the moment, and it took me going "home" to realize it.  I hope to one day return to the land of my ancestors, but for now, Laredo is the right fit for me.  My family and I are happy here, and I really feel like this is where we're supposed to be, and we made the right decision in coming here.

However, I would love it if you could get some more of this, please.

oooh, how I miss the green and the tall trees!

The Perfect Day

Do you ever have those days or moments that you wish would never end?  I've gotta admit that I haven't had many of those since we moved to Laredo.  I often feel overwhelmed with settling in a new location whether it be in trying to make friends, making my house look decent, or adapting to a new culture.  Most days or even weeks  I just want to be over and done.

Yesterday was a lovely exception.  My husband had to go visit some tire stores in Pharr and Harlingen, Texas, and asked if we'd like to tag along.  Most days the kids and I just chill at home and do the same ole routine, so I answered him with a resounding "YES!!"  Let's get out of the house!

While he worked, the kids and I visited different areas of the cities.  The first place we went to was Quinta Mazatlan.  It's an old adobe mansion that has been turned into a botanical garden, only it has a gazillion birds.  I knew Evan and Lauren would love it because they love plants and animals, and I kind of like those things myself. The grounds were gorgeous, and the house was amazing.

*Stupid Johanna Moment* When I drove up to the place, I saw a parking lot outside the gate, but I wasn't sure if it was for the gardens or for the golf course or for the apartments that were nearby.  I just drove on through the gate.  The first thing I noticed was that we were the youngest people there.  Quinta Mazatlan seems to be a hot spot for seniors, and they were all staring at us as we drove in.  I drove up to the building and parked by it.  I walked in and asked who I was supposed to pay ($2 for adults and children under 4 are freeee!), and I asked the lady if I could park by the building.  "Oooh, no!  You park in the parking lot outside the gate!"  Hm, no wonder I was getting so many stares... Young whipper snappers think they can drive wherever they darn well please!  :)

Here are a few fun pictures from our visit there.

This is the Quinta Mazatlan home.  Very pretty!

This is their BATHTUB!  Cool, huh?

Evan did not like that I made him pose by that cactus.

They had these all over the place.

Best face EVER!

So cute! :)

By the time Andrew was completely done working for the day, we were in Harlingen which I found out was only about 30 minutes from South Padre Island.  He asked me if I wanted to go to the beach.  What a silly question!  

The beach was by far my favorite part of the trip.  I really loved watching the kids play, feeling the wind on my face and the sand and waves on my feet, and smelling the ocean.  It made me feel alive.  Happy!  It was fantastic.

Evan exclaimed, "I LOVE this!!"

This was Lauren's stance every time she went in.

*Stupid Andrew and Johanna moment*  We weren't really planning on going to the beach, so we weren't prepared at all. Andrew and I had on jeans, and all of us had on tennis shoes.  We took all of our shoes off, and Andrew and I rolled up our pants, and we went out to the water.  We had tons of fun until we needed to leave.  We didn't have towels.  The kids were soaked.  We didn't have extra clothes.  We just happened to have the kids' pajamas in the car from leaving early that morning.  Also, we went to a public access area of the beach which had no showers.  Our kids were covered from head to toe in sand, and our feet were, too.  We used some water bottles we had to clean our feet, but we didn't have enough for the kids.  We tried to just wipe them down, but that didn't work.  They had sand in places I won't mention here on the internet.  We HAD to clean them up.  We ended up driving to a gas station, putting money in the air/water machine, and hosing our kids down in the parking lot.   Lauren was completely naked, too.  That's A+ parenting right there. We should get an award. Ha!

The drive home was long, but we were blessed to see the most gorgeous sunset ever.  I felt like we were at the end of a movie where they have a perfect time together and drive off into the sunset.  At that moment, looking at my beautiful family and then back at that amazing sunset, I felt like the luckiest person alive.

The perfect end to a perfect day

Let's Go Fly a Kite

One of the things I really like about Laredo is the constant breeze.  No matter how hot it is outside, that breeze makes it all better.  It also makes this place the best location for flying kites. Ever.

Apparently, the city officials of Laredo agree because they've dedicated a whole festival to the fantastic toy known as the Kite and have done so for 3 years.  

I heard about it through a friend, and I wasn't planning on going because my husband had to work, but the words "free" and "fun" kept going through my head, so I got the kids dressed, and we headed out.

I felt like a little kid when we got to the park, and I saw all those kites!  I was amazed.  I've never seen so many kites in one place in all my life.  I kept trying to take pictures, but my camera never caught the awesomeness of it all.  This was about as good as I could get.

Those little specks are kites

This kite was pyramid shaped.  How weird is that?

You know how I mentioned the word "free" earlier?  Yeah.  Everything was FREE!  They had bounce houses and slides, and they were all FREE!  I really, really like that word.  So the kids and I waited in lines for all of the FREE stuff.

This was the biggest stinkin' slide I've ever seen!  

Yet another fun bouncy thing-a-ma-bob

Lauren did pretty good on this wall, but she got stuck on the really high one, and I had to get her down

He looks so excited.

Lauren thought this was the coolest.  Look at those red cheeks.

His expression is one of pure glee

This little booger wouldn't get out of the bounce house... 

We had to wait in lines for a loooong time because I guess everybody else wanted to take advantage of the FREE fun, too, but it was worth it.  I loved watching their faces and seeing how excited they were.  While we were in line, we got a little bored, as you can see here:

I just started taking pictures because I was bored

Evan started messing with the stroller

I was pretty worn out by the time it was over, but the kids loved it.  Evan found some broken kites while we were waiting in line and told me, "I love my kite collection." I don't even have to get that kid working kites.  He's happy with the broken ones! Afterwards, we stopped by Papa Johns to pick up a pizza, and my kids enjoyed licking the pictures of pizza on the wall.  I didn't enjoy them doing that very much.  

Overall, we had a fun time. Our outing seemed to be Brown Kid approved.

I'm going BANANAS! <--See what I did there?

I attempted to trim our banana tree today.  I've been wanting to do it for awhile now b/c ever since the cold weather hit, it has looked like this:

Actually, it ended up looking worse than this as all the green eventually turned brown.

It used to look like this:

Anyway, I finally bought some clippers, and I was going to trim it until it looked good.  There have been some green leaves sprouting out of it lately, and I thought I'd be able to trim everything but those.

However, I never took into consideration that a banana tree is totally disgusting.  It was all wet on the inside, and as soon as I started cutting, it stunk!  Like rotten fruit and eggs, and UGH!  I couldn't stand it.  I also heard that spiders like to breed in banana trees, so the whole time I'm cutting, I keep picturing millions of baby spiders climbing out of the stems after I cut them.  After a few cuts of nasty branches and an overwhelming smell of rottenness, I called Andrew to ask him if we had a saw.

"Uh, why do you need a saw?"
"I'm going to cut this stupid banana tree down! *insert rant about smell and spiders*"
"Wait, wait, you just let me take care of it..."

He has a soft spot for the banana tree.

I've read online that you can cut them down, and they'll grow back.  I've read it multiple times on different sites, so I think we'll be okay here.  I mean, I like the novelty of having a banana tree, but I don't like the spiders nor the stinky smell.

On a side note, I detest plants with pokey things like thorns.

I'm hoping that we can tackle this nastrocity this weekend.  I'll keep ya updated.

Washington's Birthday Parade

My family and I are officially Laredoeans... Laredites... whatever!  We attended the biggest celebration of the Washington Birthday celebration... THE PARADE!

*cue epic music*

I knew there was going to be a parade at some point, but I didn't officially hear about it until the week of.  I love parades.  One of my favorite things to do on Thanksgiving is to watch the Macy's Day Parade, and, actually, when my husband and I were on our honeymoon in Orlando during the Christmas season, we got to help with a float in the Macy's parade they had at Universal Studios.  Yeah, I didn't know they did that at Universal, either, but here's the proof:

See?  Told ya I wasn't lying.

Really, though, I'd never been to a parade in person bigger than my old high school's Homecoming parade, so I was pretty excited about going to this one.

The kids and I (Poor Andrew had to work) rode with some friends of ours.  I drove and parked on the side of interstate.  On the little grassy spot between the exit ramp and the interstate.  It was SO crowded.  Crowds make me nervous.  I was so worried about my kids getting out of my sight, but luckily, everything was fine.  After wandering up and down the street for awhile, we FINALLY found a place to sit down and got ready for the show.  Woot!  

Wanna see pictures?  OKAY!

At the beginning of the parade, the kids were really excited.  Can you tell?  :)  They didn't know what was in store.  This was their first BIG parade, too.

The floats were amazing!  Here were some of my favorites:

How long do you think they spent covering this entire truck with this?  And what did the truck look like after they took it off?  Yikes!

I'm thinking there must've been some sort of competition going on with these ladies.  There were a lot of them, and they all had goofy shoes.

Evan was REALLY excited to see the HEB float.  ha!

The best float EVER!  That dragon moved AND blew smoke!  So cool!

I want to be a Shriner just be on this awesome float and ride around in tiny cars.

There was also some awesome non-float stuff like...

These horses are HUGE!

Their outfits were awesome.

My kids didn't even know who this was.  For shame!

Don't be a dummy.

I KNEW he was alive! and Hispanic.  :)

This was too cute.

Elmo's ridin' dirrty.

One thing that's different about parades here vs. the one's I've been to is what is thrown.  We always got candy.  For some reason they throw beads here.  I was a little disappointed that I didn't get candy, but my kids really loved the beads.  Observe.

Evan was a little stingy with them... 

I really loved watching them get excited about floats and trying to get beads.  They were too cute.

We ended up leaving a little early because, my goodness, that thing is long, and kids can only handle so much--especially little ones who need naps.  I really enjoyed myself, though.  

Laredo, I gotta hand it to ya... you sure know how to throw a parade.  Can't wait to see what's in store next year!