The HolliDisaster Parade, A Christmas Story. . .

It has been literally months since we have gotten together with our good friends Roz, Kevin and Hazel. Tyler was away reffing again, so I took it upon myself to make plans for the kids and me to meet up with them in a naively grand fashion. The plan was perfect! Meet downtown Minneapolis (the weekend before Christmas on a weekend night) and go to the Macy's Christmas display--the kids would love it-- "A Day in the Life of an Elf!" then eat, exchange gifts, and catch the Hollidazzle parade as none of us had ever seen it before. I wish the story went even close to this, but alas. . .it is nothing like our vision of the evening.

I was actually pretty proud of myself that I successfully drove the kids and myself to the Macy's downtown, parked and found Roz, Kevin, and Hazel with no problems. Then we headed up to the 8th floor to see the Elf display. Never a good sign, the elevator doors opened on the fifth floor and we were told that this is where the line started. Yikes! Then came the news that it was an hour and a half wait. There was NO way that the three adults were going to entertain two 2 year olds and a 4 year old for that long. So plan B. We went back to the cars to exchange gifts tailgate style as we didn't want to be lugging around the extra weight all night.



Then back inside for some dinner. Macy's food court was packed so Plan C was to walk over to the IDS tower where we enjoyed the really big Christmas tree and tried to find some food.

It was about 5ish at this time and Kevin wen t to get us some food and Roz and the Kids and I sat in the skyway, thinking that we can just hang out there until the parade started--at 6:30. That's right, we sat for an hour and a half, ate our dinner and enjoyed very little conversation, as it is difficult to carry on a conversation with the kids around. Zander and Hazel took everything is stride, but Zoey was having a few meltdowns during all of this. She wanted to see the parade, but she also really wanted to go home--I just couldn't win.

Thank goodness for cookies!

This is Roz's "How much longer. . ." Face

The parade started and we watched from the skyway for a while. Kevin and Hazel ventured outside to the street, but Zoey didn't want to go. Finally Zoey decides that she does want to go outside. It takes a while to pack up three kids and all our stuff. We made it outside JUST in time to see Santa's float go by and then parade was over.

Luckily it was surprisingly easy to leave the city and come back home. We did climb 7 flights of stairs with kids in tow to get to our cars faster, but the sore muscles today are worth it. It is a story worth laughing at and planning out better in the future. Thanks Roz and Kevin and Hazel for a memorable evening.

Zoey's Christmas Writing--isn't she good?