Gettin’ Our Irish On Early
Even though St. Patrick’s Day is about two weeks away, we got the month started off in full holiday mode by going to the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Alexandria, VA this weekend (as some of you may have seen on our Instagram feed).
We went as part of a quick overnight trip to see some of our family that lives in Northern Virginia (about 2 hours away). You can see them all the photo below, starting from left, my little sister Carrie, her boyfriend Robert, Sherry, some guy we don’t know in the background, my cousin Travis (holding almost-2-year-old Edison) and his wife / Sherry’s BFF Cat (who is sporting a “Kiss Me I’m Iowish” shirt to show off her Iowa pride). Oh yeah, and that’s Clara and Elsa (Travis & Cat’s 3 year old) in the strollers.
As you can tell by how everyone’s dressed – particularly Carrie – it was FREEZING. The forecast was originally for somewhere near 50 degrees, but instead was in the mid-30s. We thought the temperature might make the outing miserable – especially with three toddlers. But, surprise, they seemed oblivious to the weather (yanking off their gloves every chance they got) and everyone had a great time. Phew!
Clara must take after her Grammy, who could be happy watching parades (or fireworks) all day every day.
Since we were in the historic part of Alexandria (Old Town) there of course had to be some old school marchers (complete with fifes).
We ended up finding a spot on the parade route after hitting up a very cool toy store called Why Not? (see my bag below) – which gave us the chance to encounter this dog character who Clara absolutely adored (just check out that smile). She was convinced it was Snoofy (that’s her version of Snoopy) and totally leaned in with a giant grin.
And these sweet Irish dancers got us all into the Irish spirit (my mom’s maiden name is Kelley after all). You should have seen Clara’s face as they danced by. She was mesmerized.
I’m not sure these Kena Shriner cars are Irish, but I’m not one to complain whenever they show up in a parade. They’re always a crowd pleaser – along with the free lolly pops that banks or credit unions hand out as they parade by (Clara screams “thank you lady!” or “thank you man!” whenever she gets offered one).
And of course, there was an appearance from the fabled St. Patrick’s Day Unicorn who’s believed to show up at your doorsteps in the night so that the leprechaun on his back can deliver chocolate gold coins to the good little boys and girls inside. Okay, I totally made that up. I think this was just a local restaurant’s attempt to be festive. But I think the St. Patrick’s Unicorn should become a thing.
We didn’t quite survive the temperatures all the way to the end of the parade. The kids were doing fine, but us adults were starting to loose feeling in our hands and feet since we didn’t get to be snuggled under blankets. We felt terrible ripping the girls away from the fun, but luckily we still got to watch a bit more as we the made the long (and toe-numbing) walk back to where he had parked.
How hilarious is Elsa in that pic above? She’d doing the classic toddler expression of “You told me to smile. Am I doing it right?This is a smile, right?”
Happy early St. Patrick’s day folks!
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Looks like fun! I like that you got your cousin and best friend matched up, strong work. I’ll need to find some relatives and friends to do that to. :)
Elsa’s smile in the last pic is hilarious. Meanwhile, Clara’s sporting a total Sherry-smile in that pic! At least, I totally see it.
Oh yes! Totally a Sherry look a like in the last photo!
Alexandria is my home town! Which means of course I have never been to the St. Patrick’s Day parade. :-) The Why Not? shop has been in Old Town for forever; it’s truly a classic. Glad you had fun without frostbite!
I love Why Not? So glad to see it is still in business. I grew up in DC and my mom and I would make an annual Christmastime trip to Old Town Alexandria and Why Not was always a highlight of the trip. Now that I have kids, I can’t wait to take them there!
So maybe it’s because both of them have part of their faces covered, but it kind of looks like your sister and Sherry really favor each other in this picture?? Do they in others? Is that bad that I pointed it out? ;)
Oh yes, everyone thinks we’re the related ones. Hahah! John looks just like his older sisters (blonde and tall) and Carrie and I are shorter brunettes :)
xo
s
Lá Fhéile Pádraig shona daoibh go léir…Happy St Patrick’s day to you all (early St Patrick’s day)! Despite the cold, I’m glad you enjoyed the parade. I always think it’s mad to see how much the rest of the world celebrates Ireland and the Irish on March 17th….we’re such a tiny place after all. It’s great to see and makes me very proud to be Irish!
This brings back some wonderful memories!
2 years ago I was completing Yoga Teacher Training in OT Alexandria, and one HOT June night Friday (or Saturday?) night there was a group of bagpipers going down King Street. Why? We’ll never know, but we heard them loudly through the windows.
It took all of our concentration to not burst out laughing and to remain focused (and not look out the windows like eager-for-snow elementary students).
That’s so funny! I love it!
xo
s
Love that you guys hit up a St. Patrick’s Day parade! I am also secretly thrilled that Clara loved the step dancers! I Irish Step Danced for almost 20 years and used to dance through the streets of Hartford, CT with my school for the St. Patrick’s Day parade every year. What fun!
That’s so cool Taya! Clara was completely in love!
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s
We used to live right down GW Parkway from Old Town (before we moved to CO) and loved the St. Patrick’s Day parade. But I’m most jealous that you got to go to Why Not? LOVE that store! We never bought much given the prices so Clara is a lucky little girl!
We just got her a little sticker book- but we played in there for hours! LOVED IT!
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s
Awww how FUN!!!
YAY for the “Kiss me, I’m Iowish!” shirt. I definitely own it and rock it ever St. Patrick’s day. Iowa pride!!!!
Hey Meredith, I’m from Fort Dodge :) Can you share where you got the shirt? I’m now in Minneapolis and feel it’s very necessary that I rock the shirt as well! Thanks!
The shirt is from Raygun in Des Moines. They sell the online. If you are up for a drive down I-35, they also have them at Orange Possum and Market 124, both in Mason City.
I have this shirt as well! So happy to see it all the way in VA! I wear mine proudly in NC.
Clara has got a MAJOR Sherry look-a-like thing going on in that last picture! “She get it from her momma…” :)
Haha!
xo
s
Totally love the Iowish shirt! Meredith totally has it right! Iowa pride!
Oh John – your St. Patty’s day unicorn story totally had me going! I thought, what a cute story for my boys! Even though you came up with it on a whim, i’m using it!
Clara looks just like Sherry in that last pic of the girls in their strollers. Both you ladies sure can rock a hat!
Yay for the Raygun shirt! They pop up all over the place now!
I love that someone else has the Iowish shirt! My friends don’t seem to understand why I want to brag about it :) That shirt, and other “punny” Iowa shirts can be found at http://www.raygunsite.com!
Ha, you totally had me going with the St. Patrick’s Day Unicorn. My fam was never really into St. Paddy’s day so I thought it was just one of those traditions I missed out on, lol.
Iowa – woot, woot! :)
I’m going to start wishing right now that the St. Patty’s Day Unicorn shows up on my door step with chocolate coins! (You totally had me going with that: “I never heard that before! What a cute story!”)
I used to buy clothes for my son at Why Not?! He’s 22 now and has, sadly, outgrown their awesome, comfy stuff.
Shout out to Cat and her Iowa pride! Go Hawkeyes!
Oh my gosh! This is a few blocks from my apartment! I was out of town and miss the parade this weekend.
The “unicorn” masquerades as a horse the majority of the year, and is parked outside of The Hard Times restaurant. At Christmas they put a Rudolph nose on him and I feel like they may decorate him other times as well. I’ve worked in OT for 5 years so I barely even notice him anymore. And though I’ve also never actually read the piece of paper attached to him, I think it has something to do with being George Washington’s horse.
I also recognized the horse from Hard Times Cafe, one of my favorites in Old Town, we always go there after we see our tax guy on King Street (right about this time of year).
We were Vining and Instagramming all morning while watching. The St. Paddy’s Old Town parade is one of our favorites of the year. There’s nothing like a great parade with old guys in tiny cars just a block away from your house. Here’s our little recap. http://www.oldtownhome.com/2013/3/2/Top-o-the-Morning-to-You-Live-Tweeting-the-St-Patricks-Day-Parade/index.aspx
Glad you guys had a good time in our hood, even if it was completely frigid. It’s so hit or miss. I remember a couple of years ago when it was about 65 degrees.
is that a new stroller i see clara in? I just had my 1st bambino and have followed your “what you need for a little human” list faithfully.. but this doesnt look like the jogging stroller i just got that was highly reviewed by you.. can you give a sista from another mista some stroller details? =) thanks!
She’s actually in the original stroller we bought for her (the jogging stroller didn’t come ’til she was over a year old). It’s a Joovy Kooper. It’s been good to us, but I’m not sure we’d buy it again. It’s a bit on the heavy side and the small wheels means its not the easiest to get over big bumps and stuff.
-John
Clara is really starting to look like Sherry! Especially the last picture :).
The unicorn looks like Charlie the Unicorn to me…you know.. the one of Youtube fame who had his kidney stolen at Candy Mountain. Although he’s not quite as kid friendly lol
Fun!!
On a completely unrelated note, have you seen this? http://howaboutorange.blogspot.com/2013/03/jonathan-adler-and-pantone-at-jcpenney.html
I’m all for Jonathan Adler at JCP prices.
YES – so excited!
xo,
s
Yay for Raygun!
Just a quick (good humoured) seasonal PSA for everyone, from Dublin; http://paddynotpatty.com/ Every year it’s like a national observance of facepalm when we see our friends from abroad wish each other the wrong name!
Haha!
xo
s
Kathryn, Thanks so much for sharing this link! We’re American, but my husband has Irish roots (I have teeny tiny ones)and loves learning all about Ireland. He schooled me on this a long time ago and all of my friends say I’m “wrong” when I write St. Paddy’s Day. Good to know that 1. He was right & 2. I was right 3. our friends are wrong! Haha, thanks again :)
OMG!! That picture of Clara snuggling up to “Snoofy” just made my day!! She is ADORABLE!!!
I’m totally for the chocolate coins being delivered by unicorns idea. I read about a tradition of cutting out shamrocks. Attach each one to a little prize and hide them around the house every day until St. Patricks day for the month of March. A scavenger hunt if you will. I don’t have a little one to try that with but I’ll admit I did have an easter egg hunt last year for the family dogs with treats inside the plastic eggs. It was a trip.
So cute!
xo
s
Hiding that baby bump behind the stroller perhaps? I’m growing skeptical with Clara’s new room….
Looks like a fun day!
Sorry Ellen! I’m not pregnant (which I’d never say if I was). Promise.
xo
s
Hello,
This is totally random, but I have a little girl that will be turning 3 on the 18th. She’s a tall girl (my hubby is 6′-8″), and I am always trying to find a better stroller for her. A basic umbrella stroller just doesn’t cut it. I was wondering what kind of stroller you use for Clara?
Thanks!!
p.s. I LOVE your blog!!
We have a Joovy Kooper, which we’re happy with for the most part (sometimes the wheels stick, but we’ve had it for three years and used it since Clara was born – it reclines so she could lay down and use an insert when she was tiny).
xo
s
I love Clara’s hat so much I just bought one….for myself! What a style icon ;-)
Hahah!
xo
s
30 degrees feels like paradise here in Minnesota!!
As long as you call it Paddy’s Day and not Patty’s Day which is just wrong wrong wrong!
K – Dublin, Ireland.
I was there too! Sorry I didn’t see you guys. :) Did you notice that the parade felt REALLY spread out? Like every group went by with at least a block in between them? Fun and cold, but still fun!
Cheers,
Shannon
Yes it did! We were right by the end and there were lots of long gaps, but it was so much fun when it got going!
xo
s
I live an hour away from Savannah and have never even been to St. Patty’s day parade. Shame on me!! I don’t particularly like big crowds. :/
The St. Patrick’s Day Unicorn totally needs to be a thing!
The horse is from Hard Times Cafe in Old Town. The car and horse sit parked outside in front of the restaurant at all times. It’s a staple of King Street in Alexandria.
So glad that NOVA showed you some love this weekend! It was FREEZING and miserable. I’m impressed that y’all made it!
Follow up – they (Hard Times Cafe) have the best chilli around! It would have been great for a cold day!
Mmmm!
xo
s
Love that!
xo
s
Loving the Iowa pride!! Go Hawks :) Also loving that our girls have the same gray knit hat. (Old Navy?) We get so many compliments on it!!
Yes, Old Navy! I love that thing!
xo
s
My kids said “Snoofy” too. It’s one of the little kid words that my husband still says sometimes. My “oh so big” girls (9 & 5) don’t think it’s funny that they used to say certain words incorrectly. But he and I find it hilarious.
Awww, I used to love that parade growing up (my hometown is Alexandria) and some friends and I would have the honor of riding on one of the floats several years in a row back in the mid-80s! Glad you all had a blast!
Awww! Elsa and Clara are so cute! I especially love Elsa’s missing tooth and cute hat :) Sorry you had to stand out in the cold – I remember that weekend in DC being sooo cold. I opted to stay inside.
Oh! I was there! Can’t believe that I missed you. (though I can, because there were tons of people there and I was largely focused on not freezing to death) Did you also go to the Fun Dog Show? http://oldtownalexandria.patch.com/articles/photos-fun-dog-show#photo-13539781
Oh yeah, we walked by but didn’t stay for everything since the kiddos wanted to go to the toy store. Hah!
xo
s
Hey! I’m from IOWA too! cat must be one cool person! Where at in Iowa is she from?
She’s from Rhinebeck, IA!
xo
s
I wish I could be pretty like you
You’re beautiful! I know it.
xo
s
I really enjoy seeing the name “Elsa” being used, since my daughter’s name is also Elsa. Annnnd, my great-grandma’s name was Clara (one of my most favorite names, ever) so there you go.
Aw, so sweet!
xo
s
L like your Blog.
Thank you for sharing.