Joel's First Mardi Gras

Okay, for some of you guys that might not sound like such a big deal. But for me? I can't even remember my first Mardi Gras (and not because I was too hungover either! Ha!) I can't even imagine life without Mardi Gras! My goodness, what in the world do you do with your time between New Year's and Easter?

Here in Fairhope we have Mardi Gras.

For the Yank friends out there, here is a mini-history lesson for you! Mardi Gras did not originate in New Orleans, but in Mobile, Alabama! Really! (Read more here!) And our little town of Fairhope is just across the Bay from Mobile, so we have Mardi Gras too - a bit safer and more family friendly than either Mobile or New Orleans, thank goodness.

Well, we tried to explain to Joel what Mardi Gras would be like. And he was skeptical - what? People are throwing stuff at us? This is fun? But he went along with it because he knew the girls would like it.

It didn't take very long for Joel to have a complete blast with Mardi Gras and really get into it! And man, did our girls rack up an amazing haul! I don't know what it was - a combination of the right street corner, cute little girls, their pleading puppy dog eyes, or what. But all of the sudden, we were getting pelted with stuff - cups, bead necklaces, little footballs, and stuffed animals. Tons of stuff. And some of those stuffed animals were HUGE!

Oh, and the MOONPIES. Last year, we didn't even get moonpies. I had to go buy some in the store. This year we got a nice little stash of them! Oh, and I tested a few. They passed the "yummy" test, LOL.

We had a massively HUGE garbage filled with stuff that I bagged up to donate (to someone going to be on a float next weekend!) and yet the girls still had a good-size mountain of things they apparently can't bear to live without. I hope it all fits in the car!

So Joel is now converted to a full believer in Mardi Gras fun. It sure is a shame that we are leaving before we can get to any more parades! At least in Spain we can check out Carnival!

Go Team Mendez! (or, Abby Starts Cheerleading)

These past two months, cheerleading has taken over the Mendez household. Abby started cheering with the Upward program at the Methodist Church.

Joel tried to talk her into doing basketball, and she gave him the "Are you crazy?" look. Apparently, we're much too prissy for that! :) (She did say she would do soccer in the future, though!)

I'd love to say that Abby was the best little cheerleader out there. It was obvious to me, though, she was the least "back-stage mom coached" one up there and probably one of the youngest of the kindergarten aged team. I purposely stood back and let her do it completely on her own and didn't practice the cheers for her at home, even though I second-guessed myself several times on that. I know she would have performed better if I had, but really - at age five, is that the point of cheerleading? And well, being one of the youngest in your age group is going to be one of the things she deals with for the next 18 years, so we might as well get used to that now, I guess. I think that if we did it again, I'd ask if she could be put back in a younger age group again, just to give her a bit of a leg up.

All in all, I think cheerleading was a positive influence on our family. Lily actually knows many of the cheers by heart since the girls "play" cheerleading now, and Abby and Lily understand the concept of "team" and really get into it. Lily, in fact, does a surprisingly good sports announcer impression, starting off really low and then going really high, "Let's go, Teaaaaaaaaammmmmm Mendez! Yeay!" And we've been continuing to work with Abby on her focus and concentration, and she is doing so much better at paying attention. Plus, she loves to talk about "her cheerleading friends." And I love the Upward program - where they focus on good sportsmanship and teamwork, and with the cheerleading - leadership and being an encourager. Great, great program.

And yes, I can totally see this former band nerd momma becoming a little "cheer" coach overseas, so Abby can continue with her love of cheering. The things we do for our kids, right?