Jacksonville is on its way to being crowned the Prettiest Town in Texas, but there is still lots of work to be done for the Earth Day parade! For starters, we have to build the parade floats.

Daddy’s newspaper is using recycled newspapers to create a little house on their float. The newspaper-delivery boy with the best delivery record gets to ride on the float and throw papers to people watching the parade.

The café is using recycled cans to make their “Eat Green” float. They borrowed a huge watering trough to use as a giant bowl and are using the cans to make pieces of fruit and veggies to put in it. I saw the string beans, and they are as tall as I am!

But hands down, the best parade float is going to be Granny’s Garden Club float. They have to wait until the last minute to work on it because they are using real flowers!

Tonight we will all help with Daddy’s float.

After we finish eating dinner, Daddy asks, “Ready to roll?”

“Yup!” I say.

“Let’s do it!” T.J. agrees.

Momma gives Daddy a thumbs-up as she locks the door. We all head for Momma’s van. We have to drive instead of walking since we will be coming home after dark.

When we get to the newspaper office, there is a platform waiting for us. It is tiny compared to last year’s floats, but this year everyone agreed to save energy by making their floats smaller. They’ll be pulled by a four-wheeler instead of a pickup truck.

“First we’ll make a frame for the little house out of chicken wire,” Daddy tells us.

“I can help with that,” T.J. offers.

They start building, and Momma says, “While they do that, let’s lay out the recycled newspapers.”

Suddenly an idea hits my brain like moss on a tree. “Let’s use the plain papers for the walls and the colorful ads for the roof, door, and windows!” I suggest.

Momma smiles at me proudly. “Sugar, that’s a great idea! I just love it,” she says.

We get right to work, and before long, Daddy is ready for us to start putting the papers on the frame. It’s hard to do without getting rips in the paper. First, Daddy uses a tool that makes a hole in each corner of a stack of papers. Next we use wire to tie them very carefully onto the frame.

When the little house is covered, we head for home. Other newspaper employees will finish the floor and the sides of the float, but making the house was our job.

By the time we get home, it is way past my bedtime, so I won’t be taking a shower tonight. Oh, well — at least I am doing my part and saving water!

Momma and Daddy tuck me into bed nice and snug, and I tell Ugly Brother, “One float down and one to go!”

He barks, “Ruff, ruff.”

“I just thought of something,” I say. “People can watch and read Daddy’s float at the same time!”

Ugly Brother doesn’t say anything, but I hear him snoring. He is worn out, and he didn’t even come help us tonight! I must be worn out, too, because I go right to sleep.

On Thursday night, Momma and I go over to Granny and Pappy’s house to work on the Garden Club float. They are making it in the garage.

Pappy already has the frame ready. It looks like a giant dogwood tree, and all around it will be baskets of real flowers.

Everywhere I look, I see tall buckets full of fresh flowers in every hue and color. It looks like we are in the Bizzy Bee Flower Shop, and it smells like perfume!

As soon as she spots us, Granny waves. “Am I ever glad to see you two,” she says. “We need all the help we can get!”

“Just put us to work,” Momma says. “We came to help!”

The floor of the garage is covered with giant plastic tarps. Some of the Garden Club ladies are sitting on stools, clipping the stems of the flowers and placing them on the tarps. Momma and I get to put the flowers through the wire frame.

“I sure hope this is easier than making the newspaper house,” I tell Momma.

Momma warns me to put on my garden gloves before we start. “The wire and prickly stems might cut your hands,” she says.

Slipping on my gloves, I get busy pulling the flowers through the tree design. In no time at all, I have half of the tree finished. Wow! I sure am proud of myself.

Granny says, “I think your tiny hands make that the perfect job for you, Kylie Jean.”

The Garden Club ladies chat while they work. They talk way more than Daddy and T.J. do! I like to listen to them.

We haven’t even been here an hour, and I already know who has a new baby, who brought the best recipes to the church potluck last night, and which salon does the best job for French tip fingernails. Now if I only knew what French tips were!

Granny is a great Garden Club president. She keeps all the ladies on track. “Y’all are doing an awesome job!” she tells everyone. “Keep it up. Just give me thirty more minutes, and we’ll quit for the night. I have chocolate icebox cake and sweet tea so we can have a little snack before you head home.”

Momma looks in my direction. I just know she’s going to say we’ll have to go soon, but that chocolate cake sure does sound tasty.

Before Momma can say it’s time to leave, I beg, “Please, can we stay and have some cake? I promise to go right to sleep when we get home!”

I know I have a secret weapon in my favor. Momma’s weakness is chocolate! She seems unsure, but finally makes up her mind. “Okay, but no sweet tea for you. Only milk,” she tells me.

I smile real wide. “You’re the best momma in the whole wide world,” I tell her.

Before long everyone is in Granny’s big kitchen enjoying a well-deserved treat after all our hard work. Then it’s home and right to bed for me! I need my rest — Earth Day is almost here!