Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez… Let the Good Times Roll! Happy Mardi Gras ya’ll! Mardi Gras is one of my absolute favorite times of the year! What is there not to love about Mardi Gras?♥?♥? Ok so traffic can be a problem….but the Mardi Gras balls, the floats, the throws, the music, the old men who will gladly give you a paper flower for a kiss…wait scratch that…more than make it worth the effort! School is always closed for Mardi Gras which falls every year on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. This year it was touch and go with the rain. One thing about Mardi Gras is that Mardi Gras will and does happen weather it is raining or not. Petite Fille’s school had a Mardi Gras parade on the Friday before they got out for Mardi Gras Holiday.
All the Kindergartners are pulled in wagons (which they decorate) by their parents, they throw to the 1st thru 3rd graders. Petite Fille loved it and even invited a little boy that she went to preschool with to ride with her in her wagon. 
It rained ten minutes after the parade was over. I thought for sure we would get drenched, seeing how I walked the wagon to the school from our house which is very close to her school.
Now days, my friends and I each take a different holiday to celebrate. Mardi Gras was my holiday up until last year, when we all decided to start our own Mardi Gras Krewe and ride in the parade. The house we live in is even closer to the parade route than my childhood home. We are literally one block from the St. Martin/D’Iberville parade route. Hubby goes and gets my mom’s truck and parks it down the road. Family, co-workers, friends, and friends-of-friends, all gather at our house the Sunday before Mardi Gras day (cause this is the day the St. Martin/D’Iberville parade runs.) The little kids all play, and the grown kids enjoy crawfish! Then when it was time for the parade to start we all walk down the street to mom’s truck and enjoy the parade.
A group of my friends decided that we would start our own Mardi Gras Krewe and Mardi Gras 2009 was the last year that I had my Mardi Gras party.
We formed the Krewe de Chapeaux (Krewe of Hats) came up with a board, made it all legal, had some fund raisers, started to build a float…ditched that idea…then decided to buy a float, and did a little community service. When Mardi Gras 2010 came around we were ready to ride. We had our Krewe, our float, our throws, our drinks, and our boys with their air cannons.
All the Kindergartners are pulled in wagons (which they decorate) by their parents, they throw to the 1st thru 3rd graders. Petite Fille loved it and even invited a little boy that she went to preschool with to ride with her in her wagon. It rained ten minutes after the parade was over. I thought for sure we would get drenched, seeing how I walked the wagon to the school from our house which is very close to her school. Mardi Gras balls start around December and end after Mardi Gras. The house I grew up on was about 2 miles from the Biloxi parade route. We would always park one of my mom’s cars on the parade route a few days before the parade. Biloxi had at that time three parades…morning, noon, and night. Since Hurricane Katrina they now only have 2 parades that run back to back consecutively. We would get up early and walk to the parade route, find our car, and have a blast just visiting with our parade neighbors, friends and family. In-between parades I could be found walking the parade route with friends stopping along the way to visit anyone we recognized. Then we would rush back to my mom’s parked car just in time for the parade to start. We would return home after the night parade exhausted and hoarse from yelling “throw me something mister.”
Now days, my friends and I each take a different holiday to celebrate. Mardi Gras was my holiday up until last year, when we all decided to start our own Mardi Gras Krewe and ride in the parade. The house we live in is even closer to the parade route than my childhood home. We are literally one block from the St. Martin/D’Iberville parade route. Hubby goes and gets my mom’s truck and parks it down the road. Family, co-workers, friends, and friends-of-friends, all gather at our house the Sunday before Mardi Gras day (cause this is the day the St. Martin/D’Iberville parade runs.) The little kids all play, and the grown kids enjoy crawfish! Then when it was time for the parade to start we all walk down the street to mom’s truck and enjoy the parade.
A group of my friends decided that we would start our own Mardi Gras Krewe and Mardi Gras 2009 was the last year that I had my Mardi Gras party.
We formed the Krewe de Chapeaux (Krewe of Hats) came up with a board, made it all legal, had some fund raisers, started to build a float…ditched that idea…then decided to buy a float, and did a little community service. When Mardi Gras 2010 came around we were ready to ride. We had our Krewe, our float, our throws, our drinks, and our boys with their air cannons.I was president of the Krewe for 2010 so while I had a good time, I was also worried about the Krewe and their safety. We rode in 4 parades in 2010, Orange Grove, Ocean Springs, St. Martin/D’Iberville, and St. Patricks Day. For Mardi Gras 2011 I was a float rider…as in non-member…I had a much better time! One of my best friends Leia picked me up bright and early (7:30 to be exact) Sunday morning, we loaded up her huge assortment of Mardi Gras throws…which she graciously shared with me…and headed to the float. We started drinking and putting up our throws on the walls of the float then headed to line up. We were float 51, once we were parked in our spot we danced on the float, had some jello shots, danced some more, had some “well water,” then… just as we did when we were kids…we walked around to the other floats and visited with friends and family who were also riding in the parade and were at parade line up area. This parade is..in my opinion…in the top 3 (with Pass Parade and Biloxi) for the largest parades in our area. The parade started at 1:30 so by 2:00 we were loaded back on the float and on our way. My favorite spot on the route is where my hubby, Petite Fille, and the rest of my family are parked. We unload all kinds of beads, stuffed animals, toys, cups, jello shots, and trinkets; I was in Mardi Gras worry free bliss. That was until I got home and realized through my alcohol induced haze that there was a fire truck and an ambulance at my house!
Now, I don’t have the same party that I threw when I wasn’t riding the float, but I still open my home to friends and family to chill before the parade, have a place to park, and a clean bathroom to do their business. I do however do not expect to pull up and find an ambulance and a fire truck. The 1st thing I thought was…Oh there go the neighbors again…they tend to get a little rowdy on holidays. That was until I saw them wheeling someone out of my back yard on a stretcher. I thought I was going to need a stretcher myself. Come to find out it was one of my neighbors who had wondered into our territory. Butthead couldn’t fall out in his own yard. He’s ok, just had too much to drink.
Now that the Mardi Gras Season is past us we are looking forward to spring break and our camping trip (March 26,) or Bear Hunt as Petite Fille calls it. I am looking forward to a whole week of vacation!
Now, I don’t have the same party that I threw when I wasn’t riding the float, but I still open my home to friends and family to chill before the parade, have a place to park, and a clean bathroom to do their business. I do however do not expect to pull up and find an ambulance and a fire truck. The 1st thing I thought was…Oh there go the neighbors again…they tend to get a little rowdy on holidays. That was until I saw them wheeling someone out of my back yard on a stretcher. I thought I was going to need a stretcher myself. Come to find out it was one of my neighbors who had wondered into our territory. Butthead couldn’t fall out in his own yard. He’s ok, just had too much to drink.
Now that the Mardi Gras Season is past us we are looking forward to spring break and our camping trip (March 26,) or Bear Hunt as Petite Fille calls it. I am looking forward to a whole week of vacation!
