Independence weekend continued...

After spending the morning with my family, Zach and I drove the girls to Simi Valley to spend time with the Romeo family. Uncle Matt and Aunt Cherie were hosting this weekend because we were all there to celebrate Caleb's first birthday. Yeah Caleb! But for the evening of the Fourth, we ate plenty of frozen lemonade, shaved ice and funnel cake while we waited for the fireworks that were actually pretty well coordinated with the music. Sydney, who normally likes fireworks, decided to empathize with Eleanor's distaste of the booming explosives. So Zach had both girls crying in his lap until they fell asleep. Which really, if it's that loud and scary how do you fall asleep?

The following day, Barb, Allison and myself left all the kiddies with the boys while we went to see Wicked. Yes, it was fabulous. I had heard that it was excellent, but after reading the book I had my doubts. The costumes were fun, the music was great and I found Miss Galinda the most entertaining. They had only included the good parts of the book and even gave it a happy ending, so what was there not to like? Seeing a show like that makes me a little more awe struck of the talents that some people possess. Let's see what am I good at? Dancing, singing? No, but I can sometimes pull together a pretty good tasting dinner. But let's not compare, shall we. So we came home and found the boys had functioned fine, entertaining themselves with the Wii and the kids with a quick trip to the park.

Sunday was the big party for the little man. We all had fun on the farm. It was this great little family establishment with a working orchard where there were pony and tractor rides, a petting zoo and when it came to birthday time, the most delicious chocolate cupcakes with a fudge filling and smooth chocolate icing. And while the food might have been my favorite, the girls loved the pony rides. Eleanor opted out on the first ride, but after seeing Alexis, Sydney and even Caleb have a great time, she didn't pass it up again. Daddy had to go back to work. So he flew out that night. The girls and I concluded our trip on Monday with a ten hour trip back up to Carson. It doesn't really take that long, but when you stop at the park to have lunch at then stop at June Lake to wet your tired tootsies, the time adds up quickly. The girls and I logged about 35 hours of driving time altogether from the start of it all, but it was fun spending so much many special moments with all of te family.