Buzz Kill

The 4th of July in our family is kind of a big thing. We always have a huge cookout and arrive early to get the best seat in the house for fireworks. For the last 4 years, we have gone to the fireworks in our old town. Tradition.

This year was to be no exception. By the holiday being on a Monday, T was supposed to be off for three whole days. Saturday, Sunday, Monday. So we made lofty plans. We were going to do this and go there and visit so and so. We planned the weekend to the max. It was to be grand.

Then.. it all fell apart. See, that is also kind of a family tradition of sorts for our family. Something always goes wrong. This get interesting. Every. Single. Time.

It started out on Saturday when T's boss called him in to work. Tommy's understanding was that since he met his "goal" for the week, he was going to be off. Wrong. They called him in and he did a half day's work before coming home to a nap ready family. We managed to have a little fun just hanging around and then had a late nap before he had to go to his second job. We knew about that one but it was a shift he had tried to get rid of all week.

Sunday was not a happy day for D. Sunday morning, we got up and got all packed up for the parties we had lined up. In- laws then nap then my besties. We called the in laws as we left the house to find out they weren't even home so we couldn't actually come over. It would be at least another hour before we could start the party. Ok, fine. Except when they say an hour its more like 2 hours so we ended up getting there majorly late.

Of course while we were there, D got in a tussle with the dog in the mud and I did not have any spare clothes. Go figure. So he had to wear the swim suit we had packed for later which caused a yelling match between him and his little brother because K was scared we were going to play in the water without him and of course once K mentioned it, D thought he was getting left out of the water and he started whinning. Both boys ended up in time out for yelling and then again for refusing to eat their lunch until they got to go play in the mythical water that they had convinced each other was going to happen.

When we got out to the van, it wouldn't start. Once we finally got it jumped off and headed towards the second party, I got a text that everyone had just left, no point in coming. Which ended in another yelling match because D wanted to go see his girlfriend. I finally was able to coax him into going to my mother's and visiting the pool instead. His favorite. And hey, he was already dressed for it.

We ended up just staying the night at my mother's rather than coming back the next day. We showed up to the parade, on time and ready for a more uneventful day. Then, there was a choir that was singing so loud and so out of tune with each other, I got a migraine. Then, we all got hot and sweaty. Then, the parade started an hour late for no apparent reason. Then, D shoved a kid to the ground for being a jerk. Then, the pool wasn't open when we got back. So much for uneventful.

We had our cookout though and all was well. We all took an amazing nap and woke up to an even more amazing thunderstorm. We packed up and headed to the fireworks location anyway thinking maybe it would clear up by fireworks time and knowing if we didn't go then, we would be out of luck on a spot later. We got our spot just in time for the news to come out that they had canceled the fireworks. So then us and the other thousand cars in the parking lot jockeyed for pole position on leaving the parking lot for an hour and a half.

We got back to my mothers exhausted, wet and with two disappointed kids just in time to head back to our house for the night. Today, we go back to Woodstock looking for fireworks. I guess I can say with honesty, it can't get worse, right?