I love a parade

Angel #2, my sister and I did the annual winter parade of homes today. Back when I used to live here, my sister and I made it a yearly pilgrimage and now that I'm back, we decided to reinstate it. Angel #2 is now old enough to come along and be an enjoyable part of the day, so she got to come along, in the past, sis and I used the day as a way to get away from our kids, but I no longer feel the need to escape #2, so she came along for the ride. Things have changed a bit in the 5 years since I did the parade. The economy definitely is making a difference in the homes we saw. We used to see quite a few homes with theater systems, hidden rooms, etc and we wouldn't bother with a place if it was under 3000 sq ft. This year, there were only about 4 homes out of the 35 that met out 3000 sq ft criteria, so we changed it to about 2300 sq ft. We only saw one hidden room and 2 theater systems. That didn't mean we didn't see some great houses though. Most aren't something I'd want to live in, but it's fun to look around in them. It makes me feel kind of naughty to go nosing through closets and cabinets of a house that isn't mine, even if it's expected from a parade house. We also got through the day with relatively little damage. My sister and I have the unladylike habit of snorting when we laugh too hard and we only had 2 snortfests during the day. We also almost had to pull over due to uncontrollable laughter while driving from one house to the next. So, all in all, a very good day. Our tickets are good until next Sunday, and we didn't see all the houses we'd like, so #2 and I may do a little parading on our own this week.