Fourth of July

Being our first Fourth of July in Arkansas, we decided to try out all the different events that were going on in our town. Yes, I was nine months pregnant, and yes, it was  V E R Y  hot. The heat index was over 100 degrees, but my ankles were already swollen, so why not?!

Eslie and I worked on a few crafts that morning to pass the time. We told her we were going to go to a parade and watch fireworks that day, and like any two year old, she wanted to do those things  n o w.

The first event we went to was the parade. Honestly, if we did not have child(ren), we probably would not go to that again. It lasted maybe seven minutes, and it was only cars pulling trailers with people throwing candy. Perhaps we have been a bit spoiled by Iowa's Tulip Time parades with their extravagant floats and marching bands. Oh well, Eslie enjoyed it (but mostly the candy.)

The second event we attended was over at the park. They had multiple vendors set up, a band playing, cardboard boat races across the lake, inflatables, and other things. This wasn't terrible, and the cardboard boats were kind of fun to watch, but again, it was hot, and there weren't many activities suitable for a two year old other than playing at the already packed playground. Needless to say, we didn't stay long.

Once the sun went down, we headed to the grocery store. We were told this was a good place to watch the fireworks from. Coming from Iowa, fireworks were a whole different story in Arkansas because they were legal. It was insane how many people were just randomly shooting their own off in the parking lot right by all the cars! Eslie wasn't a big fan of the fireworks as she isn't a fan of anything loud. We did manage to stay for the entire display, but she definitely didn't put up a fight when it was time to leave!