christmas officially began for me last weekend when patrice and i attended the annapolis boat parade as well as picked up our charlie brown christmas tree :) this has been our tradition for the past couple of years and i really love it. but first, lets talk about the funniest thing i did all weekend: four words - high school wrestling tournament. parker has decided to join the wrestling team, which i love because it really makes him happy. so when patrice asked if i wanted to check it out last friday night i said of course i do! so off i went with the supplies she instructed me to bring (after her grueling 13 hour inaugural wrestling meet), which included cushions, an mp3 player, and lots of reading material. lemme just say, nothing prepares you for the alarming/aweful headlocks, grabbing, contortions, and sweaty gym smell that is immediately recognizeable once you step within 50 feet. not to mention the singlets. my favorites were the tall lanky guys stuck with the terribly short jv singlets that required them to wear biking shorts underneath. parker was kind enough to explain all of the rules and even let me try on his headgear! needless to say, he walked off after we snapped this pic ;)
after a couple of hours i decided i might like to do a little reading - i looked in my bag that i always keep random reading materials in and realized it was chocked full of back issues of the advocate and out traveler. needless to say, given the environment, i decided to forego the magazines and just continue to chat to patrice. we had a good chuckle about that to say the least! but it was great to see park so happy and part of a team he is getting to know. before the next time i gotta get some old mill hs gear...its better than showing up with duct tape letters on my shirt ;)
on saturday patrice and i headed down to annapolis for their annual holiday boat parade. for two hours sail boats, yachts, motorboats, dingies and even jet skis parade between the annapolis and eastport areas. we usually stand on the eastport bridge so we can see the boats coming from each side. poor patrice was such a good sport as i darted like a ping pong ball from side to side trying to get pictures. thank god they closed off the street or my little A.D.D. self would've gotten us run over :) the funniest part is when some of our friends on a boat called "shortbus" began shouting on a megaphone "laura and patrice....the shortbus is missing part of its crew"...we just laughed and waived while people next to us looked and said, "friends of yours?" ;) below are some of my favorite pics...some where taken from the easport bridge then others taken up close in ego alley...
clifford the big red dog :)
the navy had this amazing snowman display
this little man in his dingy is out there every year
you cant see, but everyone on the boat was dressed as charlie brown characters! it was sooo flippin cute!!
me and patriceypants!
everyone loves a mer-angel :)
let me tell you, this was a serious christmas train!
next up, dr suess' thing one and thing two!
this was the mother of all boats - it was decorated with santa and his sleigh, a baltimore skyline, and a manger hangin off the back
the next day patrice and i went to pick out our real tree. it was so tiny it fit in the back of the camry :) which was great b/c now my car smells like christmas! below you can see how we became a tree family and then the final product :) its such a happy little tree!
big holiday hugs and kisses!! xoxo
