Four years ago we hit the St. Paul St. Patrick’s Day Parade with Ouest, who was three months old at the time. Somehow we’ve found ourselves in Minnesota in March yet again, so…
Ten minutes into the festivities Lowe and Ouest were being photographed for the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Kids are turning into local news celebs. I wanted to say local news whores, but upon typing that out I thought better of it.
As far as parades go I’d consider this about perfect. Parking two blocks away, plenty of curbside space available ten minutes before the start, and the whole shebang lasted thirty minutes. The kids get the parade experience, and I avoid the normal parade hassles.
Ouest and Lowe filled up a bag with candy like it was Halloween night. Ouest was totally into it despite the fact that you could still count on her fingers how many times she has had actual candy. She gobbled up a couple of pieces and then was pretty much done without complaint. Lowe tries to be like Ouest and asked for candy too, but all three different things he tried he spit right out. It’s kind of comical actually. The snow at his feet was littered with once licked Tootsie Rolls, Dum-Dums, and Skittles.
And one obligatory bus pic.
13 Comments on “St. Patrick’s Day Parade”
Great photos! Especially love the ones of Ouest in her cute St. Patrick’s Day hat. By the way…taking Spanish using Duolingo online, we just hit upon the vocab word “ouest”. I’ve always thought it was pronounced like “west” and think that when reading your blog (for years now). But in Duolingo, they pronounced it “oh-est”. Completely threw me for a loop! So, what say you?
West in Spanish is Oeste, Oh-es-tay. West in French is Ouest, pronounced West. Our Mexican girl has a French name. 🙂
I believe the French pronunciation has an “oo” sound at the beginning, but it’s actually as much implied as spoken. What you hear in France is more “oo-est” but it’s so blended into a single syllable that it sounds very much like the English West. I doubt that anyone outside of France, and maybe Quebec, can hear the difference.
Anyway, in the US you can be sure everyone will say West, regardless, so might as well get used to it.
Indeed she does mais la prononciation en Francais est differente 🙂
Ecouter: http://fr.wiktionary.org/wiki/ouest#Prononciation.
Yes, although the pronunciation guide in your link has the speaker saying “Ã l’ouest” (variously translated as “west,” “in the west,” “to the west,” “on the west,” etc.). Here’s another audio file with just “ouest” pronounced:
http://french.about.com/library/media/wavs/ouest.wav
In the French word ouest, the opening three vowels are what is called a triphthong – a series of three vowels that starts with one sound, slides through another and ends with a third sound – all within a single syllable. Some may be more familiar with a diphthong, a two-vowel series.
For example, think of the English word “join” and its internal diphthong. This vowel pair are each pronounced, but the entire word comes out as a single syllable. The oh-ee diphthong is common in English (boy, coin, boink, etc.) but is only apparent for most if they pay close attention to the movement of their lips as they pronounce the word, preferably slowly and in front of a mirror.
So, back to the triphthong that comprises the first 60% of ouest. The three sounds oh-oo-eh are all present and pronounced by an educated French speaker, though the initial oh sound is ALMOST entirely omitted. It’s one of the characteristics of French that helps an American listener identify a “French accent.”
Similarly, the French word for “yes” (oui) also begins with a triphthong – and ends there as well, as there are no other letters. “Oui” is properly pronounced oh-oo-ee, not “we” as most Americans think. This is one reason French (a Romance language) is considered by most as a beautiful, musical language, while English (a Germanic language) and especially American English as it is commonly spoken is considered brusque, harsh and not at all musical.
As Ouest is such a unique person with a truly unusual name and life story, I hope that she will learn to pronounce her name in the French manner and not just accept West as close enough. Her name will set her apart anyway, so why not offer a moment of education on the correct pronunciation while she explains things to every interlocutor who questions her about her name.
I doubt anyone will forget her name after such an encounter. 😉
Oh yes, I forgot the “te” at the end… “Oh-es-tay” is how Duolingo pronounced it, and I knew you had mentioned it being pronounced “West” in a couple of your blogs, so that kinda got me. Nothing like mixing it up!
Bus needs a paint job..I am still holding out for black with red and yellow flames..:)!!!
No flames, beach scene with palm trees, hammock and a product placement of Corona beer.
You guys are on crack. That bus just needs some warm weather and a good cut and buff.
Nooooooo! I love the aqua blue and white. Never change it!
Those little apples don’t fall far from the tree. Of course there’s going to be media coverage with the Bums in town! The bus looks great. I’d be willing to bet you’ll all end up front page local news before hitting the road.
Love the pic of Ouest with the hat, she is becoming a beautiful little lady like her mom. Lowe is also getting big and soon will be breaking all preconceived notions just like his dad.
On a side note we have a new addition here in Lima Peru – one month old baby girl. We cant wait to pack her up and head up into the mountains in our minivan. Its no Bum Bus but its gets better mpg. 😉
You are a much better photographer than the news guy. They should have used your photo.