Happy New Year!

Hannah and I got up early and braved the crowds to meet up with Lyndsey and Brandon to watch the Rose Parade this morning. Samuel had to work until midnight on New Year's Eve and Sammy refused to stay in bed last night and didn't fall asleep until almost 11pm, so they weren't ready to get up with us. I woke Samuel (briefly) before Hannah and I left and told him to call me when the two of them got up, so they could meet us later.

I have been spoiled in the past when for several years we used to be able to stand/sit on the roof of the United Artists theatre in Old Town (Delacey and Colorado, where Tiffany & Co. is now) because my brother used to work there. We never had to worry about getting a seat or fighting the crowds--or having to find a bathroom. It was so nice.

It was a bit of a struggle maneuvering the stroller once I got to Colorado Blvd. with all the people, but Lyndsey came by and saved me at that point and we got to where L&B were sitting with no problem. We had a great view and the weather was absolutely perfect!!

Hannah did surprisingly well and seemed to enjoy most of it...until the very end when all the tow trucks were blasting their horns and it freaked her out. Poor thing.

Here are some pictures...okay a LOT of pictures! Like I said, we had a great spot!

This awesomely tall robot started it all!

I had to take a picture of this for Samuel since he loves 3D movies!

I just loved the colors on this one and Hannah liked the pumpkins

This float was my favorite of the day!
Rain bird always has the most beautiful floats!!

Aren't the animals amazing?

One more pic...like I said, it was my fave!

This was the Vera Bradley float.
I loved the cute purses at the back.Cynthia Nixon was on the front of the Vera Bradley float.
Her hair is blond and I didn't recognize her until Lyndsey pointed it out! (nice call Lyndsey!)
She was looking the other way when I was trying to get a good picture. I always feel sorry for these little burros having to pull a bunch of people.
Poor things.

WELCOME TO MEDIEVAL TIMES!
(heehee--I just had to take a pic)

This band was from England and I just loved
the fabulous leopard print on some of the uniforms!
Awesome!

This float was totally amazing too!

And so was this one!
Sammy would have loved to have seen this "train"

A close-up view of the front

A close-up view of the back.
I loved the back with the huge tree!The Clydesdale Horses are always a favorite of mine as well!And was my second fave float of the day.
Jack in the Box himself.
TOTALLY AWESOME!

I was pretty tired from walking and standing so much (and holding Hannah for most of the time because she was picky about who held her), but it's always worth it. The parade was great!

The saddest thing was when I got home, Sammy and Sam had just gotten up about 20 minutes earlier and Sammy was in tears about missing the parade. I couldn't believe he slept in until 10am!! He NEVER does that. Even when he has gone to bed past 11pm, he is always up by 8 or 8:30am, so I thought for sure that they would meet us. Poor guy. I tried to tell him that he needed to go to bed (and stay in bed) when it's bedtime so he can get up early for things like the parade, but it was hard to reprimand him when he was already so sad about it.

There is always next year. Just one more reason I love living in Pasadena and so don't want to leave despite the impossibly high-priced housing market.