The nearly terrible fourth of July...

So Wes and I wanted to celebrate our first fourth of July as a family, planning a really fun day with a picnic and fireworks. We figured out too late that Robert is too young to stay up for fireworks. When we got in the car to go to Sugarhouse park, Robert was cranky, and when we started to drive, the screaming began. I felt terrible, but I thought once we got there, he would love seeing all the bright lights. Okay, I knew you had to get there early, but seriously, it was a little ridiculous. I guess not hundreds of people go, but thousands, I'm not kidding. (I read in the paper the day after that it really was thousands.) No chance for us to see fireworks there. Still wanting to see the fireworks, minus the gigantic crowds and parking headache, we headed to the U to see all the fireworks in the valley, fun! Nope, buildings everywhere blocked our view. We got on to Foothill, and somehow got off course into local roads, which just happened to be jam-packed and inching along, with every side-street just as crammed and slow, not to mention, the gas-light came on...and we had no idea how long it would take us to get out. (oh, the poor crying child was still crying). So, after an hour and 20 minutes of trying to get through the traffic mess, and seeing a few pretty fireworks go off through the car windows, we finally made it out to a main road, and there was a gas-station right there on the corner. Yay!! And the little guy finally fell asleep. The firework shows were all over, but the night was not lost! There was a little park across the street from the gas-station that was very pretty, and we decided to have a picnic there. We pulled out the blankets under the warm and starry night air, peaceful and alone, (no crowds) set out our yummy picnic, and watched videos of the washington fireworks on Wes's phone, while Robert snoozed comfy in his carseat. It turned out to be a very fun night after all, and we're thinking that park will be our tradition for years to come.