Daffodils, Pirates, and Cupcakes

The Thompson mother (me) and the Thompson children made our way to downtown Tacoma for the Daffodil Parade. This year we opted to seat ourselves near Union Station towards the end of the parade route. Parking and finding a spot to view the parade went smoothly. However, I am not a good parade parent (never have been) and stayed true to form this year. I forgot food, beverages, and something to sit on. So, the hungry Thompson children and I planted our behinds on the cold, hard, dirty curb.

The first thing we noticed is that the folks handing out flyers to various events, coupons for local businesses, and asking for signatures for various petitions, always SKIPPED me over. It was weird. I was sitting with my two kids, then there was another mom and dad sitting right next to me and another set of adults on the other side of my son. They got stuff. I did not. My seven year old thought that was funny and enjoyed laughing at me. So, I asked this woman dressed in medieval attire if I could have a flyer. She looked at me funny and said, "...well okay."

Huh?

Then my daughter and I got the giggles and could NOT stop. The only time we stopped laughing is when my daughter got snatched up from the crowd and practically put on a float. It was some pretty maritime themed float and this exuberant guy took her up to the float to shake the boat queen's hand. Then he asked the crowd to cheer. Erin turned every shade of pink and I didn't have the sense to use the camera that I literally had in my lap. Wouldn't have mattered if I got the picture anyway. Read on.

I did take some pictures. So did my son. Four were blurry and didn't turn out and the ones my son took, we'll they didn't seem to exist. So, I continued my tradition of having virtually no parade photos.

Sigh.

Lastly, I was attacked by the pirates. Can't get a flyer or coupon to save my life, but I can get harassed by pirates. One of them got right in my face and I heard this "gong" kind of sound. He said, "Do you know what that means?" I replied no. He laughed and said, "Just you wait." I thought it was a bad attempt at pirate acting when this huge cannon explosion went off.

I screamed so loud that the toddlers in the family next to me all started to cry and I nearly pee'd my pants. Then all the pirates made fun of me. Cool. The kids laughed until they got the hiccups. Then they wanted cupcakes, so we ducked out and went across the street to Hello Cupcake. Frankly, I am sure the family of the terrified children was glad to see my quick exit.

So after forking out about $5.00 for TWO, count 'em TWO, gourmet cupcakes, we made our way down Pacific, watching the parade and slowly making our way back to the car. To my horror, the Thompson children, said nearly in unison, "We are done with these now!" and proceeded to quickly toss the cupcakes in the nearby garbage can before I could intervene. It wouldn't have been bad if the cupcakes had actually been EATEN. No, the Thompson children licked off the frosting only.

Argh.

Hence, another Grit City parade experience that will live in infamy.