Hawes Mom: Happy Fourth of July!

Last Saturday night we took the kids to their first fireworks show. This is the first time Joe and I have been to a fireworks show since we lived in Downtown San Diego (before kids). Our apartment that we lived in had a rooftop pool that overlooked the San Diego Bay, and from there we were able to watch about 4 different fireworks shows. Living down there was such a great year :). We hadn't taken the kids to see fireworks before now because they were so young and were always tired way before the fireworks show even started--it just seemed like a hassle to keep them up past bedtime to watch the show. This year, we decided, they were old enough. Our friends Lauren and Harrison joined us, and it ended up being a great night.

Every year, the city that we live in does fireworks the weekend before the Fourth of July because it's the city's anniversary. They throw a huge party including huge bounce houses, rides, food vendors, bands, and lots more. I was a little leery about going; Joe doesn't like big crowds, and I knew that this place would be packed. When we got there and I saw how busy it was, we were lucky enough to find a spot in the grass where not many people were, and we were able to not be caught up in the crowd. We went off exploring everything the celebration offered; Lauren and I left the kids with the guys, then when we got back the guys went off to check everything out. There were tons of different food vendors, Monster giving out free energy drinks, ice cream, shaved ice--it was awesome. After hanging out for a few hours, it was finally time for the show to start. I was a little worried about how the kids would do with the loud firework noises, but surprisingly they did great. Madison seemed unphased, and Maverick just sat there with his hands over his ears. No freaking out, no fits, no crying. It was great.