4th of July

I need to start by saying I LOVE FIREWORKS!!! In the past few years we haven't had the opportunity to go see any. Grace was still so little and would get really cranky if we went off of her sleep schedule. Plus, she doesn't really like loud noises, she covers her ears when the gardner comes or if a motorcycle goes by.

When I was little our tradition was to go to my Grandma's house for a BBQ then all of my aunts, uncles and cousins would pile into cars and head out to Shaler Park (Pittsburgh) to watch the fireworks. We would bring blankets, chairs, and snacks and we would settle in for the firework display. My sister would always sit in front of my mom or Grandma and they would cover her ears because she hated the loud booms.

After we moved to California we didn't really get into the swing of creating a tradition for 4th of July. A couple years in a row we would take a picnic dinner to a park that was about a mile away from the fireworks. We could see them, but we wern't right there getting the full effect of the fireworks. As we got older we kind of all went our seperate ways for the 4th.

This year, Corona (where my parents live), moved their fireworks to this huge park across from my parent's old house. We decided to make a picnic dinner and make an evening out of it. We got to the park at about 6:00 PM and the festivities were in full swing. They had a band that played the entire time, jumpy's for the kids, a rock wall, games, and food booths. Grandma brought a pinwheel for Grace and she was marching around with it like she was the leader of a band. We were sitting on a hill and Grace turned so her back was facing down the hill and she fell backwards and realized that she could do backward rolls. I picked Grass out of her hair for days from her rolling down the hill! Finally it was time for fireworks. I was worried that Grace wouldn't like the fireworks because of the loud noise, but she loved them! It was such a fun and perfect 4th of July!