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!