Road Trip

Fourth of July

On Sunday afternoon we drove to Prescott (north of our house about 90 minutes) to enjoy some small town fireworks. We really wanted Hayden to see fireworks and thought that a little road trip might be fun. Plus, it's about 25 degrees cooler in Prescott so I was very excited about that.

We got a late start because we wanted Hayden to get in a good nap. She took one of her best naps ever (almost three hours) so we didn't leave until about 3:30. The drive should have taken us about an hour and a half but ended up being a little over two hours. We stopped three times so Hayden could use "the potty". Two of the three times she wouldn't even get near the toilet. But, it was a good lesson for us and what traveling with kiddos will be like for the next 18 years. (SOOO looking forward to that)! The whole time we were driving Hayden kept asking, "on trip?" and I'd say, "yes Hayden, we're still on our trip."

Anyway, when we finally arrived at the place where we could park and then take a shuttle to the carnival and fireworks, we were told that the shuttle stopped running and that it was "Park and View" only. What?! It was only 6:00 and the fireworks didn't start until 9:00! Not only did we have an energy filled toddler in the car, but one hungry pregnant woman. Needless to say, we did not "Park and View".

We ended up driving into Prescott and parking near Whiskey Row. We found a brewery and had a great dinner. Hayden had hot dogs (what's more American than hot dogs on the 4th?) and she did really well at the restaurant (her behavior can be a little bit of a crap-shoot).

After dinner Matt used the iPhone to find a "back way" to the fireworks display. We parked in an empty field, opened up the back of the SUV and laid out a blanket. It wasn't long before we attracted at least 10 other cars of people. They had no idea that we were guessing we'd be able to see the fireworks from our spot. Hayden and Matt got out the flags and started chanting U-S-A and I sat in the back of the car enjoying the cooler temperature.

The fireworks started a little after 9:00 and lasted about 20 minutes. Hayden was interested in them for about 3 minutes but we're still so glad she got to see them. We put Hayden in her pajamas and headed back to Phoenix. Hayden and I slept most of the way home and Matt made it home in record time. It was so nice to be able to sleep in our own beds.

Even though our trip didn't go exactly as planned, we had such a fun trip.