Toad Suck Time Warp.

We took Declan to the annual Toad Suck festival on the weekend.   Toad Suck is the very first festival Declan ever went to.  At the age of 2 weeks old, we hauled him there for some of his first-ever novelty photos.  

 

 

 You can see how far Declan has come in his novelty photo-taking prowess.  For example, now he can hold his own head up.

 

Age 2 weeks.

 

 

Age 5 years and 2 weeks. 
The careful observer will note that Declan is proudly sporting a participant's ribbon (spoiler alert!). 
He wore that ribbon for 48 hours straight.

 

This time, the sign wasn't a bald-faced lie as Declan did race a toad in 2013. 

    For you sports fans out there, here is a recap of the race:

 

 

Taking a nod from the Kentucky Derby, Toad Suck toad races are all about the haberdashery. 

 Here is Declan at the starting line, looking toadally prepared to race.  Trapped in those gentle hands is an authentic racing toad, which Declan has carefully chosen from a trunk full of authentic racing toads. 

 

 

The Toadmaster General creates some pre-race hype by going down the starting line and asking the kids to introduce themselves and their toads.  Declan has named his toad "Rodney".   This is a dramatic and inexplicable departure from his usual most-obvious-adjective nomenclature.   Here is a video of actual race footage.  Please take note- I do not scream like a school girl despite having to handle Rodney a bit at the outset to get him pointed in the right direction.  I am quite chuffed with myself about that.

 

 

Robbed by the Toadmaster General's decision to award first place to girl in the red shirt and her hopped up toad, Declan and Rodney pose for a somber post-race photo with only a participant ribbon to show for their efforts.

Cheer up, boys.  We will get 'em next year.  Look out Red Shirt Girl - we are coming for you!