Her First Parade & Horsin' Around

What a big day for our little gal! Andra celebrated the 4th of July by going to her very first parade, and she really liked it! We headed up north to the Carmelfest parade, dodged a few raindrops...and luckily, it didn't rain on our parade! She loves fire trucks, marching bands and costume characters, so needless to say...the parade was a hit! There were a few loud moments that startled her and she jumped into my lap (see below)...but she always jumped right back up once the noise stopped.

Her parade experience was made perfect by her FIRST sucker...blue, of course! She held on to it for about an hour and wouldn't share a single lick with Mom or Dad.

After a nap, it was time for more celebration. My best friend Crystal had a hogroast (she's a country girl!), so we gobbled up lots of yummy food...and Crystal spent some special time introducing Andra to her family's horses. Andra LOVED it. She was content to spend hours in their horse arena, and probably would've slept in one of the stalls if I would've let her!

She even got to ride a horse bare back. She looked so proud and filled with wonder all at the same time. While we were trying to hold on to her and help steady her, she kept pushing our hands away. She wanted to prove she could do it on her own! Crystal also showed her how to feed the horses hay...so the horses all had full bellies when we left because Andra fed every single one. Multiple times. I know there will come a day when Andra will want to take riding lessons...and I love that she'll be able to do it at Crystal's house... a place I have many special memories too. Thanks for all the special time, Crystal. She grinned ear to ear the whole way home.