The O'Bakers

I (we) love St. Patty's Day. Probably started with our honeymoon in Ireland (how cool were we to go there?) and the 10 days of driving around that gorgeous, relaxed, pub-rich country. Now it's more of a passage into spring (which I can't wait for) from winter (which I dislike a little more each year.)

Denver has a St. Patrick's Day parade the Saturday before the 17th. We first went when Brendan was a baby and have been hooked ever since. It's looooooonnnngggg...nearly 5 hours. We've never made it to the end (who would?). But EVERYONE is in such a good mood, all dorked out in green, wearing necklaces, hats, you name it. We had a party a few years ago on that day, and have since decided that we'll do the party every other year, and go to the parade on 0ff-years. This year was a parade year. 250,000 folks lined the streets of downtown Denver to watch the parade.

The Baker kids made their way to the front of the line for one reason only - not the bagpipes, or the longhorn steer, or even the gaggle of Star Wars characters. These 3 hear "parade" and think it's like trick-or-treating. They want the candy! Well, and the other free stuff they hand out, but mostly the candy. They know where to stand to increase their chances of getting the big Tootsie Roll, they know to appeal to the adults handing out goodies vs. the kids (adults know you can't give to one out of three siblings - have to catch all 3.) This was our first year without a stroller to haul all the stuff in - we had to sacrifice one of our big green hats to hold the loot!