Fourth of July

Well, we made it! We ventured out late to see the fireworks. Anticipated rain and all. Abi took a 2 1/2 hour nap so that she would be ready to go out. We knew at that moment that rain or not, we were going to have to venture out somewhere and find some fireworks. We decided to head to the beach. So we scarfed down dinner, packed up and went on a hunt for parking by the beach.

On the way there we sang, talked about what we were going to see, saw lots of fire rescue trucks (we past an accident on the bridge) and went on a hunt for parking. We drove around and around, while Abi kept saying, "Daddy, why are you driving in circles? there are lots of parking places right there! LOOK! I see 2!!" We explained that those were reserved for the people who lived in those buildings, but she still wanted to park there :-) After driving around for a bit, Mark went a little further down, asked the police officers if there were any parking places left in the area they were about to close off, and when they said yes we turned in. YES! PArking right by where we were going to be! we got out, pulled out the stroller and went on our way over to the beach.... just across the street. We saw the barge getting in place, so we knew right where we needed to be and were able to get THE perfect seats on the steps down to the sand. The girls played for a while in the sand until Amanda said, "Oh no! I need to go peepee!" and was dancing. 10 minutes before the fireworks were due to start. I did have a pull-up in her just in case, but you can't look at a 2 year old who is potty training and say, "It's okay, hunny. Just go in your diaper." WRONG! We had the potty in the back of the truck so Mark grabbed her and said, "Let's go!" He ran her across the street and she made it! Score! So very thankful that the Lord provided such close parking :-)

Once the fireworks started, Amanda said, "I don't like those! I don't like fire!" I think it was the noise she didn't like, but she wouldn't even look at them. She was looking at the ground. I kept telling her to look and see how beautiful they were and she would glance up shyly every once-in-a-while. I finally told her, "It is just loud. Like thunder. It won't hurt you, but if you don't look you will miss all the pretty colors!" She said, "Like thunder? BOOM!!!" and then giggled. She was fine after that. She was even telling a doggie not to be scared, "It's just loud, doggie. Don't worry. It's okay."

Abi loved them too! Although she asked, "when are they going to be over?" after only 5 minutes. She did still want to watch though. And both of them stayed up until after we were home. So much fun!!!!!! AND the rain held off! What a great night with the family.

Happy 4th!