Freedom Festival Parade

Yesterday, all three of us encountered the Freedom Festival parade for the very first time in our lives.  I must say I am totally impressed!  We went downtown early not knowing how hard it would be to find a spot to park and sit.  We were way too early, but that gave us the chance to check out IMAGINATION! in Greene Square Park for awhile.  Several vendors had booths of really cool stuff for kids.  There were inflatable bouncy houses, spin the wheel for a Petco dog toy, a pool full of a funky, waxy substance to get on your hands, bubbles, beans to sort and play with, a bin full of corn and change where the kids could keep as much change as they could get in one scoop,

 an awesome inflatable slide,

 face...or arm...painting,

a ball pit, and much more that we didn't visit.  The best part...it was all for FREE!  Several vendors took tips or donations, but nothing had a price.  Aria had a blast!  Just a few short months ago, she would not have done the bouncy house, ball pit, or slide without Mommy or Daddy going with her.  But yesterday she was so brave and thrilled to do those things herself, even with bigger kids all around her.  What a cool experience!

Then, we sat and watched the parade.  The parade was 1.5 hours long and interesting the whole time!  There were all sorts of great floats, animals, bicyclists, instruments, and of course

candy!  Aria's favorite part of the parade was the group that waved an Iowa flag and played the Iowa Fight Song with their small band.  It really kept her interest the entire hour and a half.  It was the perfect morning weather-wise with overcast skies and temperature in the low 70s.  This parade (and Imagination) is definitely something our city is doing right.  We will definitely be attending in the years to come! 

Oh and she got to give the bears a high five, too!