Spirited Child

I'm frustrated.  I know people say that "oh you think the terrible twos are bad?  Just wait until the terrible threes!" And I know this too shall pass and it gets better...blah, blah, but seriously, I'm irritated.  And tired.
Our doctor, Aubrey's teachers, and pretty much everyone has said that Aubrey is a spirited child.  It's basically another word for stubborn.  I've even started reading books on it.  Aubrey finds something and darn it, that's what she wants and she will bring all holy hell until she gets it.  And when she doesn't get it - which is often because we don't give into her - thus begins the fit.  And when Aubrey throws a fit, she throws a fit.  It's impressive the dedication she puts into her fits when she starts them.  And the volume.  Yeah, it's not pretty and it's enough for us to not want to do anything at all, go anywhere, leave the house, you name it.
We took her to the downtown canal on Saturday morning thinking we'd have a nice family walk, see some ducks, have a little fun for a couple hours.  Yeah, that lasted like 30 minutes when she decided she wanted to go up the stairs to the street.  That ended up with her being in the stroller and screaming.  So we went home.  So much for that....
It's frustrating.  And I'm jealous.  I have friends who have kids my age, and I see pictures and stories on Facebook of all the fun things they do and see.  Why can't we do that too?  Oh right, our child will do okay for like a minute before she finds something that will start World War III.  It makes the whole point of the outing not even worth it.  I'm starting to get a little resentful, and I hate admitting that.  Why is their child okay going out in public and ours not?  I know the answer.  Our child is anything but the laid-back and chill kid.  She does not just go with the flow.   We get looks from people when Aubrey does meltdown like we have some kind of brat, but we don't.  It's not that.  No way do we spoil our kid, and she is accountable for her behavior.  She's just  very strong-willed and well....stubborn. Or wait, no, it's she's "spirited."  That sounds better.
Whatever it is, I'm having one of those days where it just sucks.  I'd love to go to the zoo or the pool or park...I mean, we try it and hope like hell that it goes well, but 9 times out of 10, we end up with a screaming Aubrey and a frustrated Nain and T.  
Just needing to get that out, and yeah...it's my blog, so I can, right?  But no, I'm not looking for tips or anything.  Maybe a baby-sitter or two.