Rose Parade 2009

We woke up at 3:30 am so that we could be at the parade route by 4:15 am and get 2nd and 3rd row seats for the parade. That lump is Matthew trying to stay warm and sleep.

The streets are always full of people trying to sleep after a sleepless, cold night and people trying to stay warm when the temps are in the high 30's and low 40's (cold by Southern California standards).

Thankfully we were toasty warm because of lots of layers! = - )

Hot chocolate and bagels for breakfast kept us warm, too.

Finally the sun starts to come up and then a family pic before the parade begins (our 3 teenagers are missing because they are in Florida with their high school band marching in the Gator Bowl).

The Jong family joined us this year (they are missing Robert who is marching in the parade with the Alhambra band). The sun started to shine through just as the parade started.

The parade begins at 8:00 am, but doesn't arrive to our location till 8:35 am.

Happy 2009 from the sky and the official Rose Parade program.

Here come the AMAZING floats!

Remember...all natural - there is not a spec of paint used...all color comes from God (seeds, fruit, veggies, grains, flowers, trees, grasses, etc...)

The Royal Court - Queen Courtney and Princess Lauren are both from Arcadia High School! = - )

The stealth bomber was late, but it finally flew the parade route about an hour after the parade started - not sure why it was late??

Beautiful roses and the program description for the band that Robert is a part of (family who joined us for the parade this year).

Dad and sister went across the street to get some good video because Robert was on the south side of the band (we sit on the north side because the sun warms up this side of the street while the south side stays in the shade and stays cold).

A fun float!

Cloris Leachman was the grand marshal and Dick Van Patton rode a float.

When the sun came out it was bright and warm!

More bands and floats!

Jack!

Float from Alaska shows the amazing detail work.

All done at almost 10:30 am (at least at our area...the whole parade actually lasts 2 hours).

Time for a group shot with the Jong's (minus Robert and our 3 teenagers) and a long wait to get out of Pasadena.

The stealth bomber flew over our house when it made an appearance at the Rose Bowl game around 2 pm that day.

New Year's Eve Fun!

We drove up Colorado Blvd. on new year's eve night to see all the crowds of people spending the night out there to wait for the Rose Parade on New Year's day. Looks like a cross country or track team used it as a practice time (if Angelica weren't in Florida she'd probably be out there running, too).

I was hit by some silly string! = - ) Matthew just played with a straw in the back seat all by himself because his siblings are still in Florida and at a special New Year's Eve party at the convention center in Jacksonville.

Empty bleachers waiting for the crowds.

Doug did the driving and we saw some of the floats being towed over to the parade staging area (that's the Alaska float).

At home, the 3 of us celebrated with the east coast and went to bed early so we could wake up at 3:30 am to claim some good seats along the Rose Parade route without having to sleep on the sidewalk. Happy New Year 2009! = - )