St. Patrick's Day (Observed)

FINALLY.

Okay, so technically it isn't St. Patrick's Day yet (the 17th falls on a Monday this year - boo), but we Houghs generally celebrate it on the closest Saturday, as does most of the rest of the country.  Once again, this meant driving out to Melbourne in the morning in order to catch their 11am parade, followed by bounce housing, corned beef and cabbage eating, bagpipe listening, Guinness drinking, and mobile bathroom frequenting.

Behold - St. Patrick's Day (observed) 2014:

I wake up early on St. Patrick's Day (observed) and kick off the day with a 6am Jameson (dyed green, of course.)

. . . and it wouldn't be a whiskey-fueled morning without watching the classic Simpsons episode 'Homer vs. the 18th Amendment.'

After an hour or so, the rest of the house woke up.  Kris was feeling festive, so she let the girls snack on some equally festive Shamrock Jello jigglers she made the night before while they watched their morning shows on Netflix.

Slainté!

Green eggs and toast, Shamrock'd.

Dressed and ready to roll out for a day of shenanigans. . .

Butts.

Watching Alvin and the Chipmunks en route to Melbourne. . .

Kris puts her face on.

Waiting for the elevator at the parking garage (we had to park on the roof.)

Downtown Melbourne

Waiting for the parade

Super poses

We initially had awesome seats for the parade, but, of course, both kids suddenly had to go to the bathroom.  So we were forced to abandon our position and relocate to a spot right outside Meg O'Malley's instead. . .

Our second spot.

Kris and the girls missed St. Patrick's and the opening floats, since she had taken them inside to use the restroom.

Abby was more interested in eating Goldfish than watching a parade.  Figures.

Clappin' for burros.

This lady wanted her picture taken.  Apparently she's some politician's wife.

Since the parade was boring the bejesus out of the kid - probably 'cause they've watched the exact same one every year since 2009 - we walked back behind Meg O'Malley's in order to buy some traditional food before the lines started getting long.

The inflatable leprechaun, already wasted.

The epicenter of all things Irish in Melbourne.

Abby, bein' weird.

Corned beef and cabbage.  Awesome, awesome food.

Alayna liked the meat, but Abby was more into eating the snacks we had brought along with us.  As long as they weren't killing each other and running around like chimps, we honestly didn't care.

First Guinness of the day.

While Kris and I watched the bagpipers perform on the stage, the girls entertained themselves by running back and forth over top and overturned, folding table.

Trying to get your kids pose in front of a giant leprechaun in way harder than it looks. . .

Rainbow, though - rainbows are no problem.

On to the kiddie section. . . which is considerably less fun for parents.

Bounce housin'

Coloring St. Patrick's Day crafts

Kids had to color these sheets and make Fruit Loop necklaces in order to spin the prize wheel.  Whatever works.

Special.

Abby was really bad at this.  I, on the other hand, turned out to be really, really good at making these things.

Bling bling.

Spinning the wheel. . .

Face tattoos.

Annual family picture in front of a giant, inflatable leprechaun.

Striking yet another pose.

Rock and roll.

. . . aaaaaand another pose.  Abby can vogue like nobody's business.

Alayna's collecting rocks in a shopping bag.  Who knows why.

She ended up getting pretty upset when we forbid her to take them with us.

This happened.

Mobiel toilet command center.  I love this thing.

Tullamore Dew is delicious, folks.

Walking back to the parking garage.

The Cannonball spots peril on the horizon

Getting the kids to nap on the way back from Melbourne to Orlando took longer than we had hoped for, but eventually the son knocked both girls out.

Abby and her friend/classmate Sophia.  On the way back from Melbourne, we decided to go to Downtown Disney in order to hit up Raglan Road - the Irish pub they have there - and check out the Muppet promotion they have set up (for the new movie that's coming out next week.)

Irish performers at Raglan Road

Air balloons over Downtown Disney

En route to the Muppets

The Muppet 'attraction' wasn't anything special - just a few kid activities set up outside the Cirque de Soliel (however the hell you spell that) - but I had purchased a Smithwick's at Raglan Road, and just being outside listening to Irish music and having a beer was enough.

A 'DJ' was playing a bunch of shitty pop music and they had a bunch of hula hoops lying around so kids could dance and shake their hips.  Our kids are very bad at this.

. . . Sophia, though, is pretty good.

Leaving Downtown Disney

Abby cracks jokes in the parking lot

Impromptu family selfie en route to McDonald's.

Not sure how it happened, but McDonald's has become a St. Patrick's Day tradition around here.  For the kids, usually - I don't eat that crap.

The kids have been really into climbing the tree in our backyard lately.  We kept them outside so Watson - who had been cooped up in the house all day by himself - could run around and get some sun.

The kids weren't tired in the slightest (despite having been out in the sun screwing around all day), so Kris decided it was time to whip up some late-night Shamrock cookies. . .

Happy St. Patrick's Day (observed), people.

- Brian