St. Patrick's Day 2012!

The view to the finish line!

On Saturday, March 17th, 2012, we started the morning off right!  When we woke up, a two dollar bill fell from the door and let us know that the leprechauns were going to keep an eye on us!  We had some Lucky Charms cereal and Irish Coffee before heading downtown for the Shamrock Walk.  This is one of our time honored traditions!  The weather was so great and we were all decked out from head to toe and ready to tackle the day!

Special stickers!

We walked the four miles in what seemed like no time at all laughing and enjoying the perfect weather!  Afterward, we had our traditional victory green beer on Monument Circle.  This is a great wind down from the walk and if you are lucky, you can usually spot a leprechaun!  We had a great walk and there were so many participants this year!  Seems it gets bigger each year!

The St. Paddy's Sauce!

 After this refreshing four mile walk and green beer, we headed off to claim some free fries and green shamrock sauce at Burger King!  It was just a fun experiment to see what they had going, but it was a neat detour for us!  We also stopped at a hardware store for some free paint and got none but a few stares!  I guess the hats aren't for everyone!  On the way home, we stopped at a lemonade stand and enjoyed the simple things in life.  Finally, we were back at Ashley's where the corned beef feast we had put in the crock pot before leaving in the morning greeted us with the smells of good old Ireland!

Proudly wearing our Shamrock Walk shirts!

The feast!

The guys toasting to good food and friends!

Charlie with her shamrock scarf!

The weather was so beautiful that we decided to take the party outside!  We had lunch on the porch and everyone got to enjoy the corned beef, potatoes, carrots, onions, and cabbage!  What a feast!  It seems we can never make enough of these tasty dishes because by the end of the night, they are always gone!  Even Charlie was enjoying the action!

We decided to play some games outside to enjoy the March air!  It was a great day of ladder ball, Irish fighting, cards, and pool!  We took the party into the Who Gives a Hoot Irish Lounge as the night progressed.  It was such a great time!  

We all felt the Irish Blessing: 

May your thoughts be as glad as the shamrocks,

May your heart be as light as a song,

May each day bring you bright, happy hours,

That stay with you all the year long.

Ladder Ball!

Irish Fighting!

St. Patrick did drive the snakes from Ireland!

Pool Fun!

Playing Eucre

Best twin day/night ever!  Can't wait to do it all again next year!

St. Patrick's Day Downtown

Favorite Authentic Irish Performer

Green Fountain!

Light Up Necklaces!

On Friday, we both had the day off work!
We decided to go downtown bright and early (as is our tradition) to watch the greening of the canal.  This is a really special time for us.  The mayor says a few words, they award the Irish Person of the Year their award, and music is always flowing from some of our favorite bagpipers!  It is hosted by the Indiana Lottery and always features free coffee and donuts, plus entries into drawings and festive hats!  This year they handed out light up shamrocks and we brought our own hats!  Then they empty the dye into the canal and you wait to see it turn the fountain green!  It is really early, but it is something nice to do before you start your St. Patrick's Day!

Beer Tent!

Elbow Room!

Showing our Green!

Since we had the whole day off, we decided to stay downtown and see all that it had to offer on this festive holiday!
After a quick nap (it was dark outside still!) we headed over to the Elbow Room, a local pub, to check out their specials for the day!  They are right on the parade route, so it gave us a good vantage point and some beautiful green beer!  We watched the revelers arriving in their decked out costumes and began to see the setup of the parade.  Since the parade wasn't due to start for a while, we decided to head across the street and check out some of the tents.  There were food trucks, booths, a beer tent, and vendors galore to enjoy in the interim.

Parade!

We watched the parade from the steps of the Indiana War Memorial.  

It was a sunny day and we were loving watching all the people and their great outfits!  

It is definitely a family affair and many people even brought their dogs!  

Next we decided to head back and pick up our race packets for the next day!  

Green Canal!

The Shamrock Walk is always on a Saturday, so we headed over to the 

Indianapolis Historic Society to get our numbers!  

And of course, take some festive pictures along the way!

Lastly, we hopped over to The Claddaugh restaurant on our way out of town.  

This is a great Irish pub and we were excited to spend time in a place that felt like Ireland.  

We had lunch and another green beer before heading to Ashley's for the night!  

We always stay the night together before the walk since we have to leave so early!  

And it is such a treat to wake up and enjoy the whole day together! 

Best Twin Day Ever!