I am so glad I took Monday off work! After a great weekend in which I got so much accomplished and also made time for rest, I was super excited to have some fun to celebrate the Fourth of July.
On Monday morning, I got up early(ish) and went out for a walk. Then I made biscuits and gravy, eggs over easy and mimosas for brunch. I have recently been loving brunch! I think it's because I'm really not that hungry until 10am or later and then I can still eat breakfast food. Plus, champagne!
After brunch, I pulled out all of my patriotic decorations and got the house ready to celebrate our freedom. I checked in a little bit on work, and as expected, it was very quiet.
In the late afternoon, I made some hot dogs and mac and cheese and packed up a cooler for the Heritage Festival. We have been going to this Festival for almost a decade and it never really disappoints. We know where to park, where to shuttle, where to sit and what to expect. We get there in enough time to see the country music performers and judge them on their abilities. This year, the opening acts were pretty decent and because they play a lot of cover songs, the crowd was up and dancing. The main act, however, was not as impressive. It was pretty clear early in the performance that he was inebriated. Through his performance, he may have actually sang three songs. The rest was just him talking (or rambling) about things no one cared about and also yelling to the crowd "YEAH!!". I typically give a lot of leeway to small town Missouri festival performers, but this guy was just annoying! Thank goodness it wasn't a long set block and the music for the fireworks was a ton better.
The firework display was also good, although it felt a little short. That really could have been because I was also cleaning up and packing up so that as soon as the fireworks were over, we could head out of the park and to the parking lot. It seemed like as soon as I was able to pay attention to the fireworks, they were over! They were good, nonetheless.
The exit from the park was uneventful, which is a blessing. Layla and I got home a little before midnight and called it a night. We didn't have definitive plans for the actual fourth of July, but we knew we were going to do something.
For the fourth of July, we slept in some and enjoyed another brunch. This brunch was pancakes, scrambled eggs and sausage. Plus mimosas! For the afternoon, my parents had invited us over for a late lunch / early dinner and some swimming. My brother and one of my sisters were there with their kids, as well. So Layla had a lot of company, whether she wanted it or not. In the early evening, Layla and I went home to clean up for another local firework display.
Layla had been chatting with some school friends and realized some of them might be at the Bridgeton fireworks. This is the only thing she really wanted to do all weekend. Although I was a little ready to wind down, especially since I did have to work the next day, I knew it was important to her, so we went. We got there in the early evening with a cooler of drinks and snacks plus our chairs and blanket. They had several food trucks including Kona Ice, so I treated Layla to a snow-cone. There was a local band that played some 90's tunes and they weren't half bad! Layla had so much fun walking around and catching up with her friends. It was on this day that I realized just how much she has grown up this summer. She's no longer a little girl but developing into a beautiful young woman. Watching her just be her brought a few tears to my eyes and a few moments of reflection on just how fast time goes.
Once the fireworks were starting, Layla came back over to watch with me. The music and the display was phenomenal! This was one of the very best fireworks display I have ever seen. It was pretty long and we even took a few minutes to lay down on the blanket and let it fireworks look like they were raining down on us.
After the fireworks, we took our time leaving the park and had no intention on getting out of the parking lot anytime soon. To be honest, the Bridgeton police that were monitoring parking and directing traffic and just jerks. So, to keep myself from getting into trouble by running my mouth when one of those pompous jerks says something arrogant and condescending, I decided we were just wait out the traffic. We had extra snacks and drinks and were just going to chill in the car. Eventually, a guy let us pull out in front of him and we were working our way out of the lot. Once we got home, we cleaned up the best we could and I called it a night. It was back to work tomorrow, and although I anticipated it being quiet still, I did have to be present. And....our big event is coming up quickly!
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