Carnaval!!!

My parents always had a magnet on the fridge that said, "Are we having fun yet?" I never really understood why it was so funny to them until I got older, but now I want one for myself. My dad has given me a wonderful gift/curse of always needing to be on the go. Part of the reason I stay so busy here is just because of the immense guilt I feel if I were to skip an activity. How could I be lucky enough to live in Europe and not take part of every parade, festival, tour, and exhibit possible?

So yesterday I begrudgingly forced myself to go to a Carnaval parade here in Belgium. Carnaval is just like Mardi Gras, with many of the same aspects of parades, parties and lots of drunk people. Last year I went to Binche, Belgium for Carnaval with my friend Kelly and her two kids. It was pure hell! The crowds and stroller just didn't work well together. Below is one of my favorite pictures because although Kelly and I are smiling, I think inside we both feel a lot more like what Poppy looks like.



But going to one Carnaval parade last year just wasn't enough to cure my guilt, so this year I went to Aalst for a different parade. It was 30 degrees and raining, but that didn't stop me! So as I was standing shivering in the rain watching cross dressed men dance their way through the streets I thought, "Am I having fun yet?"

Click below to see a few pictures from the parade:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=121a73ha.bws04t4i&x=0&y=-69az99

PS--I know the US way to spell carnival, but here they spell it carnaval.