Raleigh Christmas Parade and Cake Pickup

Today we had an opportunity to be in the Raleigh Christmas parade, riding on the Goddard School float!  It was a cold one, and we bundled up as best we could, wearing lots of layers.  We were towards the back of the parade, and during the lineup we were directly in front of Santa Claus.  The kids got to meet him, which was a pretty special treat.  Stormy came by as well, also a pretty special treat.  Ms. Robin, and Mr. Malay and Mrs. Vineeta were on hand and also helped to keep the kids happy.  I was glad we had some entertaining visitors, since it was a really long wait, sitting there in the cold!  We enjoyed watching the marching bands practice, and talked about the different instruments.  Once we finally got underway, Brian enjoyed waving and saying “Merry Christmas!” to everyone, and he really liked the big shark balloon we saw.  I was having some pretty major complications from the surgery I’d had, so it was a pretty rough time for me, but we got through it.  🙂  I only managed to look alive through the grace of a whole pile of makeup!  Seeing the kids so happy and cute in their Hello Kitty and Yoda-themed Santa hats helped me survive to the end of the line.  Somehow we made it back to the van, but we weren’t finished yet–we  had to pick up Kendall’s birthday cake on the way home!  And wow, it turned out to be really spectacular.  The cake artist painted Kendall’s favorite buttercup fairy on her cake, and plenty of floral decorations as well.  The mini cupcakes also turned out just beautifully!  What a special cake for our special girl.  🙂  Back at home, we had a few minutes to regroup, and then Nana Rosemary watched the kids while we went to an appointment.  After that, I could finally collapse into bed.  Kendall’s birthday party is tomorrow, and I’m not entirely sure how I’m going to get through it..  Poor Brandon had to do most of the preparations tonight.  This “zero-downtime” minor surgery sure has not turned out that way..!