denver, i just don't get it.

i like holidays.

i like all the hoopla.

honestly, i do.

but denver, your version of hoopla and my version of hoopla don't seem to be the same.

well, at least when it came to the st. patrick's day parade last saturday.

mr. lesley's parents and aunt and uncle were in town, so we donned our best green attire and headed downtown for the morning parade.

we waited and waited and waited...our anticipation rising with each random person we saw walking down the middle of the street, selling dollar store gems out of a grocery cart.
but no...that was only a foretaste of what was to come.

then finally...it was time for the festivities to begin. 

yes, there were your traditional law enforcement cowboys in attendance...

and there was the occasional float decked out in all things green...

oh, and of course there was a lot of irish pride...

but there were also super creepy clownish "things"...

and juggling leprechauns...

and irish dancers who didn't actually dance but rocked some incredible curls...

{those have to be wigs, right?}

and an irish themed margaritaville because nothing screams st. patrick's day like a dancing parrot...

and star wars characters...

{this is when the confusion really started to set in}

and then there were the pirates...

and the cattle let loose on the street...

but no parade is complete without stuffed animals donning the hood of a toyota.

am i right?

i guess what i'm trying to say is this parade lacked a little thing i like to call cohesion. 

as much as we tried to make sense of the randomness, we just couldn't.

not to say that it wasn't entertaining. 

it just didn't make a whole lot of sense.

now i would be amiss if i didn't also mention some of the parade's other cast of characters, including...

-the pt cruiser club of denver

-a lot of people walking, maybe wearing green, maybe not, possibly waving

-the scotty dog club of denver with four members

- and a whole lotta cars with nothing to identify them except for maybe a shamrock here or there

denver, you know i will always love you. 

but i dare you to try to make less sense.

the good news? 

it can only go up from here.