Family Fun

It was the 4th of July and we were off for an outing at the park. They really do put on a great show here, there is live music, concessions, a car show followed by spectacular fireworks.... and it's all free. I could hardly feel the burn I got on my hand the night before from the sparkler. Carol got all nervous about that but I told her it was no big deal. We got out of the car and she started slathering the grandkids with sun lotion, it's kind of amusing to me how vulnerable little kids are. I would usually help but for some reason I couldn't make my hand work quite right that day. What a great event, we got our spot and settled in for fun and relaxation.

The band took a break and I decided to head up to the concessions, Carol asked what I needed and I told her I just wanted to get some water to wash off the dog poop I had sat in. It was getting hot and I kept gagging for some reason. They had the fountain shut off but I was able to snag a 10 oz bottle of water for only four dollars and seventy five cents. Lucky for me the ice had already melted and the water was warm when I poured it on my stained pants. I kind of laughed at the poor losers who had stood in line behind me for an hour just to get warm water. They wanted to drink it! It wasn't their fault the line was so slow....they should have known better than to get behind me (see MY Fault post from 7/7/10). Some people.

I grabbed some snow cones for the kids but the sun did its thing as I made my way back to my crew where I found out that kids can be so ungrateful. My oldest granddaughter complained that she burned her lips on the edge of the snow cone cup. Carol assured her she would be fine. She told her not to exaggerate and to just blow on the thing till it cooled off. As the day droned on some of the other revelers started to get a little grouchy. I actually heard the guy next to us yelling at his kids, "Just shut up and drink your snow cones!" We were fortunate enough to grab a spot next to a trash can, it began to fill and after only a few hours you could hardly notice the smell from the dog poop...silver linings. I accidentally touched it with my forearm when I threw away our trash and my skin actually sizzled and popped. Carol was kind of lost in her own world there in the summer sun, she didn't even look up, simply exclaimed, "Oh yeah, we're out of eggs." That made her realize that she was hungry and she suggested we get some hot dogs. I had to confess that after the snow cones and third round of hot water I was down to sixty bucks and there were four of us. She rolled her eyes, handed me a twenty, I got in line, and two hours later those dogs tasted wonderful. I think I chipped a tooth on my bun but it was worth it.

The fireworks were amazing. The kids were tired and we had to carry them back to the car. I took the little one because my right hand was feeling weird and my forearm stung. When she wrapped her arm around my neck I realized that I should have gotten in that suntan lotion line myself. I screamed OH! Everyone looked at me like I was crazy so I started singing, "say can you see by the dawn's early light....." Some of the people in the crowd joined in, it was pretty cool.

Carol loves holidays and family outings, I love her. Can't wait til Thanksgiving. She has to work so I get to cook, it's gonna be great!

Driving tip: When you're on a two lane highway at night, the guy in front of you is poking along and there is oncoming traffic, relax a little. If the car coming toward you is far enough away that it appears to have only one headlight it is probably safe to pass. If there are obviously two lights, it's probably too close to risk it. Be careful, if there is only one light but it's really bright, it might just have one. (i.e.) A motor cycle or a one eyed car. Pay attention for a while to oncoming night traffic and get a feel for how long it takes one light to turn into two and ultimately reach the point at which you might get clobbered if you were in the passing lane. When that slow poke gets in your way, you will be better prepared to safely pass.