Happy Fourth of July!!! (A Few Days Late...)

There is no way I was going to get around to posting this blog prior to now. It has been a crazy week or so since my birthday. I couldn't let the holiday pass (too much) without recapping it. =)

I barely remember July 4th last year. I know that we didn't do anything. Kenzie was almost a year old, had a bed time that I didn't want to mess up, and we were afraid she might be scared of the fireworks so we sat at home, did our usual and went to bed while our neighbors were still lighting fireworks off. We spent the night playing every American's favorite game... "Firework or gunshot?" In our neck of the woods... you never can tell. Might be someone having a bit of target practice.

Regardless, this year we decided to throw caution to the wind and attempt to enjoy some actual fireworks. Every year there is a big to do down at Lake Eola. We have been before (or at least gotten pretty close because we had some friends that lived downtown and we could see the fireworks from their house), but this was our first time trying something like this with Kenzie in tow.

The events started at about 4pm. So, we got Kenzie up from her nap about 3:30, dressed her in our matching 4th of July shirts and took our family picture for the holiday. Even Jack got in on the action this year. He wasn't too thrilled with his bandanna, but he sucked it up and sat for the picture.

My! How things can change in a year!

July 4, 2013

Our timing was perfect too. No sooner did we finish taking our family picture and it started to pour. Thankfully, that only lasted about 5 minutes. Granted, we also live about half an hour from Lake Eola so although it was raining at our house, it likely wasn't at the lake. We headed out to Lake Eola shortly thereafter. Our initial plan was to show up, walk around, eat some food, and likely head home assuming that Kenzie would NOT make the 9pm fireworks.

Sunglasses must be worn at all times nowadays

Happy Girl!

After spending some time circling the lake we decided we should go ahead and try for some dinner. There were plenty of food trucks and food vendors but we figured that if we went off the beaten path it would not only be less crowded, but would take longer and we might be able to kill enough time to keep Kenzie happen and increase our chances of catching the fireworks. Besides... neither of us believe food actually tastes better just because it comes from a truck. I just don't get the food truck mania...

We first tried Panera, but it was closed for the day. A missed opportunity for them if I do say so myself. They would have made a killing. We ended up going over a block and getting hitting up a pizza place we have visited before when we used to spend a lot of time downtown. After that it was about 6 or 6:30. T-minus 2 1/2 hours or so until fireworks.

When we got back to Lake Eola we found a fenced in area that served alcohol and had a stage set up for a country band concert. We decided to take Kenzie in because it was not crowded and she could run around some without being stolen or falling in to the lake. A major plus when you have a child as active as ours...

She had a BLAST! We spent the next hour or so dancing and singing. Well, Kenzie did. Mommy sat down and rested because it was HOT, HOT, HOT. Daddy followed Kenzie around most of the time making sure she didn't disrupt too many other people trying to enjoy their holiday.

Yoga... or dance moves? We are still not sure.

Definitely a "dance" move. She yelled "dancing!" while doing this... 

As the fenced in area began to get crowded we headed out to decide what we wanted to do. We eventually ended up in the main lobby of Steven's office building. That was as far as we could go without his key. It sits right on Lake Eola so we figured we could sit in air conditioning to wait out the fireworks and we could use the WIFI to stream a TV show for Kenzie in an effort to keep her happy a little bit longer. As it turns out, the security guard on duty was super nice and told us that as long as we could prove with ID that Steven worked upstairs, he would let us in to the suite. Perfect! We ended up watching the fireworks from the 5th floor in the conference room. It was amazing! The view was perfect. No one else was around. We all were able to sit in comfy office chairs. It was no where near as hot or humid as it was outside and we were right next to the parking garage so we could get out easily. Plus... no porta-potty necessary when you have an actual bathroom in the building.

Seriously? I can't. This face is too adorable!
Waiting for the "firetrucks" in Daddy's office.

Last year we were afraid that Kenzie would freak out with fireworks. This year... she was amazed. She continually called them "firetrucks" and yelled about them being "high" or in the "sky" or "loud" (though it was extremely muted because we were indoors). Her vocabulary never ceases to amaze me. She sat glued to the window for the next 20 minutes. 

We were home by 10:15. Kenzie was hyped up so she remained awake the whole way home and talked about the fireworks. We got her home, put her in bed, and she was OUT. She seriously fell asleep the exact same way we laid her down (which never happens because she moves sooooo much when she sleeps) and she stayed that way for hours before finally shifting. She told everyone later that weekend about the fireworks. I'm so glad we decided to just bite the bullet and get out there. Can't wait to do it all again next year and let Will see his first fireworks too.