Fourth of July Fireworks

All day, they wanted to know when we were going to go to see the fireworks. Maddie decided that now that she's 4, she's not afraid anymore. Leah, who loved them last year, was similarly excited.

We parked in Bowie Town Center and got out our beach chairs to watch the show -- a good vantage point, and not as loud as actually being in the park where they were setting them off, we reasoned.

Maddie's excitement evaporated and she stayed buckled into her car seat.



Leah, who is in a road-sign phase, saw a stop sign and it was all over after that. Red octagons are more exciting to her than fireworks at the moment. Mike took on the job of keeping her safe in the parking lot as she tried to satisfy her obsession.


Lauren's excitement was infectious. She danced, she smiled, she showed off her strength by lifting her Backyardigans chair over her head.

Until the fireworks started, when she decided that she would rather watch them from the relative safety of the car. So she alternated between sitting in her seat next to an unhappy Maddie and peeking out the sliding door next to Leah, who, as you can see, kept checking on her stop sign instead of watching the show.

Mike and I can attest that Prince George's county puts on a pretty good show.

Maddie perked up once the car started. She decided that we could buy her a pair of headphones for next year and then maybe she'll like the fireworks when she's five.