A Busy Holiday Weekend

I thought that such a busy holiday weekend would slow the kids down, but I was wrong. I was the one that slowed down...and then passed out.

Saturday, we went to the mall with the kids to escape the heat. That worked for a while till we got hungry and had to come home.

Sunday, we went to my brother's house for a 4th pool party. I told my 4yr old son where we were going and that he would see some of his aunts and uncles. He told me "I don't want to see ants. They bite." Gave my wife and I a good laugh. Kids really do say the darndest things. We all had a lot of fun at the party. Visited with family and the kids had fun in the pool (untill they had to come out to get ready to go home of course). Despite covering them twice with sunscreen, they all got sunburned. My step daughter and wife got it the worst.

Despite expending all that energy, they still had enough energy frustrate me by not falling asleep till after 11:30pm

Monday was our most busy day. The Phoenix Zoo had a 4th of July special of $2 per person (normally like $14) to get in. It opened at 7am so we decided to beat the heat and crowd. We got there just after 7am and were able to see animals that normally are hiding from the heat (like we should have). It didn't start getting real hot till about 11. Thats when we decided we had seen all the animals we were going to and started heading to the exit.

Unfortunately for us, the zoo decided to put a water play area along our path to the exit. The kids could't wait to get their shoes off. When they did, they were off and running through the water. We enjoyed watching the kids have fun cooling off and took numerous pictures. That was the end of our enjoyment. We realized that at some point we had to tell them we had to go home. And as usual, that job was bestoed on me. Needless to say, the kids weren't too happy about their fun time coming to an end. Finally after numerous temper tantrums and crying fits we made it to the van and back home.

Again, despite the energy they expended, the didn't seem any worse for the wear. I don't get it. Any way, after they finally took naps, and after dinner, we prepared for our evening at the fireworks.

At the sports complex a short drive from us, they have a big fireworks show every year. As my wife and I don't enjoy crowds, we don't attend. We do the free version. We park the van at the shopping mall parking lot across the street from the sports complex along with many others, put out our folding chairs and sit back and wait for the show. They turn off all the lights in the parkinglot once the they start. Most of the people are in large groups, bring ice chests and toys for the kids and even food.

The fireworks did not disappoint. We all enjoyed it. My 9 month old daughter didn't know what to make of it. She didn't know if she should cry because of the loud noise, or stare at the show. Thankfully she didn't cry.

After fighting through all the traffic from the parkinglot and from the sports complex, we finally made it home. And finally, the kids gave out and fell asleep before I did. But not too long after that, I passed out on the couch. Not waking till about 3:30am, then stumbled to the bed and passed out again, glad we only do that once a year.