Monday, August 1, 2011

Float Making 101...R...

Let's be honest. My sister(s) and I could totally teach Float Making 639! But, for the sake for those who don't have the luxury of kickin' it at Trenton's rockin' 24th celebration each year...we'll keep it simple. Why 101R? Well, because I'm a nerd stuck in the realm of higher ed, and the "R" means the class is repeatable. And we DEFINITELY repeat Float Making...every year...

This year's model was hesitant to show its potential early on. After D spouted the perfect saying to link a float to the day's chosen theme, we went to work. K and I were nervous, but optimistic. Then suddenly, about two weeks before D-day, it all came flooding in. Each time we'd brainstorm on the phone, the details seemed to flow with ease. We knew if we could pull it off, it would be AWESOME! We moved into production mode with these little mock-ups (thank you, Paint), a shared vision of the monster coming out of the wall, and an expandable plan for costumes just in case more grandkids jumped on the bandwagon. (Oh ya. We were SO prepared...)

Someday I will have even more pics to share, but I couldn't wait when I got the following from R today. Basically, K deserves all the credit. We went into it thinking the monster was going to be the kicker...and, while it was awesome, the random detailing in her costumes KILLED IT. See for yourself:

Trenton: A Town of Incredible Character
Gotta love those costumes! Don't they all look great!? M was strapped to the trike as the kid that yells, "That was totally wicked!!"

D makes a great "FBI agent", doesn't he? And L's random decision to bleach his hair orange a few weeks before seriously helped him pull off "Syndrome" too, I think.

Check out that monster!! K and her paper mache skillz were only one-uped by...

Her MAD DUCT TAPE SKILLZ!!! L totally rocked "Edna" with those fantastic sleeves. And, check out J's "JackJack" hair in the background.

And we can't forget the "Incredibles family" costumes. Special thanks to N and Kx4 for sporting the all-important, recognizable spandex.

Yup. It. Was. Awesome. (I was gonna say "incredible", but I couldn't bring myself to do it...) My official title was "Sounding Board", really. K did all the hard stuff. I was simply support staff in P-town. Oh...and the nutcase that came up with the solo-cup/ping pong ball legs for the monster. Hee hee! We're nuts. But we're awesome.

(Thanks to Disney for making such a fun movie and for putting the great score on iTunes so we could blare it out the truck speakers along the parade route and watch the smiles appear. Good times.)

8 comments:

  1. That was DUCT TAPE! AWESOME. I totally love it and honestly look forward to your creativity every single year. It is, after all, my favorite day of the summer :)

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  2. That is AMAZING!!! Holy smokes!!

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  3. How jazzy! I want to go to there? Where is the key to the city...and the muttercade?

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  4. That IS totally wicked! Were you roasting in that black outfit though? Holy. Cow. You rock!

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  5. Awww, thanks! Actually, it's Lyssa (Linda's daughter) in the black outfit. I got to drive. :) She was having so much fun being Edna, she didn't even care.

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  6. Yet again, I'm blown away by not only the creativity, but the ability to execute! Amazingly done!

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  7. Wow! Someday when I live closer... someday... I'm definitely going to have to come see the Cottle float in person. Do you have a scrapbook of your amazing floats through the years?

    I bet it's fun to drive a parade float, too!

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