Sassy Leprechauns 2013

Saint Patrick's Day was a little over a month ago, so I'm not too far behind in posting this, right? Here are some cute pictures of our leprechaun girls to start things off:

We met up with some of the Hoffmans at the Saint Patrick's Day parade in Raleigh. We hung out with Colleen, Nate, Maddie, Grandma, and Grampy while watching all the floats, dancers, animals, clowns, and cars go by. Here's my favorite snapshot of our little group. Can you tell who took it?

Normie tried really hard.

Thankfully she was able to redeem herself with this shot:


We watched the colorful street party while we ate our snacks and collected candy. The girls enjoyed all the Irish dancers and other groups of kids that participated. Cora is still petrified of anyone wearing a full costume and dogs, but she managed to hang in there. We were happily surprised to see Elena and little Zac marching along with a group of baby-wearing mommas. My only complaint was hearing the unedited version of "Thrift Shop" blaring from an adult dancing float; otherwise, fun was had by all.


Nate strutted around in his new-found bling and our big hat. Cora and Ally sported the new scarves Grammy had made for them. And Maddie was content observing the chaos. Aren't they all cute?


After the parade, we walked over to the museum to use the potty and ended up walking through the main exhibit on North Carolina's history. Ally and Cora pretended to work on a farm, walked through an old house, learned a little about the civil war, and contemplated what life used to be like a century as well as decades ago. Here's a pic of Cora ready to serve in the war; all I can think of is shrunken heads at the end of Beetlejuice.



The thing that left the biggest impression on Ally was a doorway labeled "Colored" next to a doorway labeled "Whites". Her basic comment was "Why would anyone tell me I can't go through the Colored door just because I'm not dark-skinned? That's just silly." We talked about how people thought differently back then (and that some, unfortunately, still do) and how grateful we are that we live now. And then she purposely passed under the "Colored" door. Way to be defiant for a good cause, Ally!

Cora and Ally both fell asleep on the way home. I guess it was too much excitement for one day.