Grace was very excited to run into her good friend Julia within seconds of getting to the parade "staging" aka "chaos" area. 
Grandma stopped by to see all of her grand kids getting ready to ride in the parade.
Ready to go!
Goofballs!!
Is it time yet?!?!
And we're off!
Our own cheering section! Even little Lily didn't miss the big event!
Train ride at the carnival
Grace rode a pony. This has historically been her favorite part of the carnival, but not this year! She still liked it, but she found something later that was even more fun! (Charlie, of course, wouldn't come within 50 feet of these big scary animals!) 
Do you see the mountains in the background? Seriously, people, if this doesn't convince you to come be our neighbors, I don't know what will. Oh, did I mention that all of this is FREE!??!
Time for some lunch!
Face painting!
Bouncy Houses! (This was Charlie's favorite part!)
And THIS is what topped the horse rides for Grace this year. I can't believe that a year ago she was too timid to go in the bouncy houses. I waited in line for over an hour for her turn, but it was totally worth it to see her grin as she bounced way into the air.
We had such a fun time enjoying all the activities, but for me, the best part was really feeling a sense of community. Everywhere we turned there was a familiar and friendly face to talk with. The kids had friends they were excited to see...both from the neighborhood and those who had made a special trip up to join in the fun with us. I truly felt so blessed to be surrounded by so many great people, and I know I'm always advertising this place, but it really is an amazing place to be!
Grandma stopped by to see all of her grand kids getting ready to ride in the parade.
Ready to go!
Goofballs!!
Is it time yet?!?!And we're off!
Our own cheering section! Even little Lily didn't miss the big event!Train ride at the carnival
Grace rode a pony. This has historically been her favorite part of the carnival, but not this year! She still liked it, but she found something later that was even more fun! (Charlie, of course, wouldn't come within 50 feet of these big scary animals!) 
Do you see the mountains in the background? Seriously, people, if this doesn't convince you to come be our neighbors, I don't know what will. Oh, did I mention that all of this is FREE!??!
Time for some lunch!
Face painting!
Bouncy Houses! (This was Charlie's favorite part!)
And THIS is what topped the horse rides for Grace this year. I can't believe that a year ago she was too timid to go in the bouncy houses. I waited in line for over an hour for her turn, but it was totally worth it to see her grin as she bounced way into the air.
We had such a fun time enjoying all the activities, but for me, the best part was really feeling a sense of community. Everywhere we turned there was a familiar and friendly face to talk with. The kids had friends they were excited to see...both from the neighborhood and those who had made a special trip up to join in the fun with us. I truly felt so blessed to be surrounded by so many great people, and I know I'm always advertising this place, but it really is an amazing place to be!The next day we spent the evening with family at a barbecue at my Uncle Brooks and Aunt Dorothy's house on Lake Washington. We had a great time, but unfortunately, I didn't capture any good pictures of our time together. I was WAY too busy eating all the amazing food!
*humming the theme to Weeds* - just kidding I am glad you guys love the place. We have a great parade too it's just a shame we didn't have all this nice weather starting on Sunday!
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