We decided to go to the park again this year to participate and even walked to the park in a slight rain. Fortunately it stopped raining shortly after we got to the park. The rain definitely kept people away, even some co-workers said that they stayed home because of the rain. We went and had a good time but this year I left my DSLR camera at home because I didn't want it to get wet in the rain.
Even though it stopped raining, the field was very wet and we all had wet shoes. Many people just walked around barefoot since the ground was so wet.
Regardless, we had a good time. The band was light-hearted and silly while covering popular 80s songs. They didn't take themselves too seriously and played for several hours. When we first got there, only about 5 people were at the stage watching, but after it stopped raining, there was a pretty good crowd and even the people all the way across the field were enjoying the band.
We all watched the fireworks together while music played at the park. It seems to me that there are as many songs that are fitting for Independence Day as there are songs fit for Christmas. They played plenty of country songs, Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp, Neal Diamond, and traditional patriotic marching songs. It was the first time in a while I heard "Anchors Aweigh" and the Marine Corps Hymn.
Ethan watched the fireworks this year and seemed to enjoy them. It was a little late for him and before the fireworks show was over, he just wanted a bottle and to go to bed. He ended up sleeping in the stroller for the remainder of the time we were there and went to bed when we got home. Fortunately for us all, Toby and Sparky were well behaved and didn't go crazy with all of the fireworks going off the rest of the night so we were able to get some sleep.
Here was the sky after the rain stopped. I was afraid that it was going to start raining again before we got home. Fortunately it did not rain again that night.
Here were pictures of the band. They played for close to two hours with a break during the fireworks show.
We searched several stores and just couldn't find a good 4th of July outfit for Ethan so we ended up getting what we could online. He should be able to wear these clothes for a while. Also it was hard to get him to stay still for a picture. I just couldn't recreate the picture of him from last year because of the rain and him not staying still.
He was tired by 9:00 when the fireworks show began. He wanted to get picked up then put down, but ultimately he just wanted his bottle before he fell asleep.
