How it ended up...

Not long after the picture in the previous post was taken Lydia started to melt down. So we made a hasty exit straight down the bleachers through a couple of rows of newly graduated Marine officers and watched the rest of the parade from the sidelines.

Here the band silently passes us on their way to the parade grounds. See the crowd behind them in the bleachers. Our seats WERE perfect before we had to split. Smack in the middle and about 6 rows up.

The precision drill team snaps to. The chorus of their rifle butts hitting the ground was awesome.

After the precision drill team finished, the famous Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon did their routine. Super cool. Then there were a few musical numbers by the band and the finale was Ode to Joy. You may recall that this piece ends with volleys of gunfire. We had more than a few Marines come up to us concerned about how Lydia might react. Well we prepared and before the first shot was fired I had her little ears padded with burp cloths. The result? She didn't even flinch. Slept through the whole thing. What a trooper.

After it was over we all headed back to the Metro. The kids were all pretty tuckered out. Case in point... Zumik (Luke) chills in the Metro after the parade. He's clearly pooped out. But oh so cool.