AmericaFest 2011

Yesterday evening, after spending a great morning with friends at the beach, then after munching on some yummy burgers, we decided at the spur of the moment to meet them again at Kadena's (the Air Force base) AmericaFest for some good 'ole fireworks.  We went our first year here and it was so miserably hot that we immediately ate and left, vowing to never return.  Now, Mary's older and she's never actually seen a fireworks display (she usually freaks out by the noise when she hears them from the house), Adam's never seen one, for sure, and hey, this is our last opportunity before we move.  Mary was so excited.  I told her we wouldn't go if she didn't take a nap, since we were going to have a late night.  She immediately fell asleep and right after she woke up, she looked at me and said, "So can we go see fireworks now?"  Ha,ha,ha.  That girl was focused.

I should have known I was jinxing things when we were walking to the front entrance and I said, "Wow, it really feels good."  (It was nice and cool).  Next thing I knew it started to rain.  Not a heavy one, but a bit stronger than a gentle mist.  Enough for you to wish you had an umbrella, but not bad enough to run back to the car and call it quits.  Luckily, it didn't last too long and by the time the fireworks started, the asphalt had completely dried.  **As a side note, a while back, we bought Mary some ear protecting headphones for a military flight.  We decided to bring them in case the fireworks were too loud.  We were driving out of the neighborhood when I realized I forgot them.  I asked if we really needed them.  Mary said, "No."  Doug said, "Yes."  We turned around.  Man, am I glad we got them.  Because of the fireworks, you ask?  No, the rock band was terrible  and super loud.  Mary wanted to wear them while we were waiting in line for food.  It was pretty cute.

After eating a quick bite, we headed over to kiddie land for some fun time for the kids.  Adam loved the swings.  He rode it 3 times!

The train looked fun and exciting, but it was a bit anticlimactic.  It went way too slow and before it had even made a full circle, Adam was signing to me that he was "all done".  Oh well, back to the swings.

My weakness at a fair, is the funnel cake.  I was determined to get one, but the line was too long & it was getting dark.  I opted for cotton candy.  I thought the kids should try it and would probably love it.  Mary didn't like it at all and Adam took a couple bites and was done.  Darn.  It was a huge bag.  Maybe I'll pull out the leftovers this afternoon and see if they want to try it again.

The best part of the evening was the fireworks.  Mary wasn't scared at all.  In fact, she didn't even want her headphones on, since the display wasn't too loud.  She graciously lent them to her friend, Ella.  Mary loved the fireworks!

I'll admit, I was a bit nervous about Adam's reaction to the big boomers in the sky.  I didn't need to be.  His reaction was almost better than the fireworks themselves.  Enjoy.  (Not sure what happened with the sound quality)

Happy 4th of July everyone!  And just in case you're wondering...16 more days!!!!