last weekend i went to dublin....

Dublin, Ohio, that is. it was a date with my sweet Spidergirl.

*i'm still typing out part 2 so i thought i'd share these pictures today instead.*

last Saturday morning, I headed out early with Spidergirl on another one-on-one mommy date. it's so fun to see how very different spidergirl is when she doesn't have to deal with the reprecussions of ashlyn's anxiety. when i'm alone with her, i'm convinced she has pure sugar running through her veins. she's just irresistibly sweet.

now that the weather is getting a little warmer i've been forcing myself out in the sunshine more, in pain or not, to enjoy some free festivities we have around town.

i have a loooooooooong list of things around Columbus that i *want* to do, and most of them are things that doug is just not interested in. so that means, they'll be lots of mommy dates in the future. :)

the bliss of living in a bustling city is knowing that there is always, always, always something fun to do year round.
this particular date was to the local dollar store to grab some St. Patty's accessories, then a drive 30 minutes north to experience the Dublin, Ohio St. Patrick's Day parade for the first time ever!

this parade is ranked #6 in the top parades in the United States by U.S. News & World Report, and we feel so lucky to have to chance to be a part of it!

right before the parade started, there was a photographer walking along the parade route capturing images and when spidergirl holler St. Patrick's Day to him, he stopped and snapped a photo of us that you can see on the City of Dublin website. :) so cool.

Spidergirl was in heaven seeing all the green (her favorite color), and even more excited when Sparky waved right.at.her! "did ya see that mom? he waved right at me!"

with every passing 4-wheeler she gasped and said "looooook! it's a zamboni!" no babe. not a zamboni i'd tell her.

as these two passed she asked....."what's that?" firetrucks shouldn't look like this in her mind.

then the marching band came by playing Hang on Sloopy and she got the biggest grin on her face.
and sang along, waving her flag as they marched past. that's when i told her i knew how to play that song because i used to be in the marching band. she didn't believe i could play the clarinet just like squidward from spongebob.

we giggled as the supertall people juggled past us....

and the short, puffy irish men wobbled by.

and then she got all sorts of excited when Stinger skated by asking if i remembered the time he kissed her head. how could i forget?

then...............then, she got to see her zamboni! zamboni machines are the coolest things in her book---not sure why.

then a slew of clowns brought up the rear of the parade and had "the end" signs taped to their back. she laughed and laughed.

after the parade there was a slew of activities happening around town. we made our way to the local landscaping business in search of the face painters. instead of being disappointed they weren't there, she lit right up when they told her she could planted her own pansies.

thank you Dublin for an amazing date with my Spidergirl.