4/13/10--Addison had her first Dogwood Event. It was the Pork BBQ. The proceeds went to support The Charlottesville Dogwood Festival. Addison got to hand chips to people. She actually really enjoyed it! As the night went on, it got colder and colder. They had fireworks at 9:00 but by 8:00 Addison was cold and couldn't take anymore, so we went on home!
4/14/10--Kids Fun Lunch at McIntire Park--This was a very special experience for both Addison and myself. The Festival gets children from the around the area that can't afford to come to the carnival and serves them lunch and lets them ride the rides. To see the joy and laughter on these children's faces is something that I will remember for a long time. Addison got to serve pizza, bananas and water to the kids. She even got to hand them all a stuffed animal to take home. I had talked to her beforehand about what we were doing and why. She understood completely. When we left she said, "Mommy, was what I did called Community Service?" I told her yes! She said, "Well that was very nice of us!'" It sure was!
4/21/10--Belks Fashion Show. Addison and I were asked to participate in Belks annual fashion show. I had been very nervous about this. I was asked to do it, so Itook that as an honor. The make-up artist at Belk applied make-up to both of us and we both got to wear very nice dresses. It was very quick and I think Addison and I did a great job. She had told me the night before that it was all about having fun! She is exactly right!
4/22/10--Addison and I went to Richmond to pick up Grandma Sylvia. She came to spend the weekend with us to take part in all of Addisons events. It was so nice having her with us. I told her that we were going to be very busy and she would finally get a glance at what our world is like. Dishes in the sink and mounds of laundry with no time to do either!
That night we had the Chicken BBQ at McIntire Park. Once again Addison got to help serve food. Only this time so did I! I got the honor of scooping cole slaw. It was a beautiful warm day so there were a ton of people there. The food didn't last long! After serving the food we let the kids ride some of the rides at the carnival. They had a blast. Throughout all the events Addison gets to wear her Tiara and sash!
4/23/10--Dogwood Festival Breakfast---This was held at the DoubleTree Hotel. It was a '50s theme so Addison wore a poodle skirt outfit. She looked very cute! They had breakfast and raffles. All of us won something! They had the choir from AHS perform a couple of oldies. Ms. Virginia also sang. The highlight was when Jim Carpenter came out in over sized shoes and pants Dancing to, "Pants on the Ground". It was very, very hilarious! We also got to keep the glasses that were on the table. They were donated by Pepsi. Pepsi is written on one side and Dogwood Festival is written on the other. A very nice keepsake.
After the breakfast we went to a rededication ceremony at the Vietnam Memorial in Charlottesville. This was a very touching ceremony. There were many veterans there showing their support. The princesses all laid American Flags. Very, very beautiful.
We then ended the morning with lunch at Michie Tavern. We all ate so much. They have the best chicken in town!
Friday night was the Presidents Dinner at the Doubletree. This was also a '50's theme. Jim Carpenter showed a slide show of pictures from the previous week. There were about 4 pictures of Addison in it! Dinner was amazing. The princess also got up and did a hoola-hoop dance. Very entertaining.
4/24/10--Parade Day! This was the event that Addison had been looking forward to. Unfortunately when we woke up it was raining! I went ahead and started curling Addisons hair. I ended up putting a shower cap over it until she got on the float. I knew that the dampness in the air would make all the curls fall. Luckily, it stopped raining on the way to the parade. Addison got to ride a float with the other Miss Dogwood Princesses, mommy got to ride too! She had an amazing time waving at all the people. She smiled and waved the whole time. She showed the grace and attitude of a true princess. We were so proud of her!
Queens Ball--This was the event that all the events lead up to. This is the event that they announce who the 2011 Dogwood Queen will be. It was an awesome reception in the ballroom of the Doubletree Hotel. There was dancing, dinner and drinks. Needless to say we were all exhausted when we left at midnight.
Andrew has been such a good big brother through all these events. He is really proud of Addison and Addison loves having Andrew at all her events. He danced the night away at the ball and he proudly cheered for her at the parade.
This was a very exciting and fun week of activites. We are all very grateful that we were a part of such a wonderful organization. We are also thankful that Grandma Sylvia was able to come up and be a part of this. Addison has a year worth of parades and activities so there will be more to come.
