4th of July!

The first thing you should know about yesterday was that it wasn't just the Fourth of July. It was also Boo's birthday! Boo is Paprika's favorite doll, and she has always insisted that Boo was born on July 4th, even though we got Boo a couple years ago in April.

So, Paprika woke up very excited to celebrate Boo's birthday and the Fourth of July. No pressure! Ha!



We had a mostly relaxing day at home. We were dog-sitting for our friend again, so Daisy was in Dog Heaven about that. The two dogs were having a rolicking good time chasing eachother in the backyard for hours and hours and hours. Today Daisy has been tired. I think she got enough exercise to last her a month!

Remember how Paprika was reading me 100 different books outloud to earn a special stuffed animal she wanted? Well, yesterday, she only had six books to go...so she powered through, and we finished the challenge! She got to go to the Disney Store to pick out her special bear.



I snapped these pictures of the girls right before we left on our special trip. They were so excited and genuinely happy, so I just had to capture these moments. I know there are a lot of pictures! I was making sure I got at least one good one, and then I loved them all. :-)



After we got back from the Disney Store, we had a late lunch of burgers, salad, fruit, and Coronas! Our friends gave us a giftcard for Christmas for some specialty organic/heirloom meat. We redeemed it and have had the beef in our fridge for awhile, and decided to cook it up for our special day.

So, I went off my otherwise vegan diet to eat a burger. I find I still have to do that occasionally. I guess I am not about all black or white thinking anymore. One burger in six months is, you know, a teeny tiny fraction of what I used to eat (when I had a burger/day habit!) It was soooo good!



We decided earlier in the day that we wouldn't go to the fireworks. It's just crazy here with thousands of people, crazy traffic, and all that goes with big city festivities...not to mention the loud noise of the fireworks. You have to go early with a blanket to reserve your spot at the place we went last year, and we didn't feel like messing with it.

Then, at about 8:20 last night, Paprika came up to me with her big brown eyes and said, "Mom, it's time to go to the fireworks! Boo is so excited because it's her birthday!"

It kind of slayed my heart. She had Boo all packed up and she was ready to go. I could not deny my sweet Paprika the simple pleasures of a fireworks show. It seemed positively un-American!

So, we threw everyone in the van and headed into the madness just about half an hour before the fireworks were set to go off! We decided to head to the beach, since there was going to be a fireworks show nearby and I knew we'd be able to see it from there.

Ginger did NOT want to go to the fireworks, which she let us know very clearly once we were driving in the car. Then, we could not find parking. It was turning into a disaster.

So, we made a quick executive decision to just drop me, Paprika, and baby Violet off at the beach and Mr. M would drive around with Ginger (who then promptly fell asleep in the car!)



We kind of lept out of the car in crazy traffic and wow...I was not prepared for the scene down at the beach. It was like being in the middle of Mardi Gras with a baby and a five year old! Probably everyone between the ages of 18 and 25 in Los Angeles, totally drunk and out of their minds...they were ALL there! It was seriously Girls Gone Wild material...not that I've ever seen that. Just the commercials. Just sayin'!

And here I was with my five year old clutching her little Boo doll and my 7 month old baby. No blanket. No sweaters for us. With drunk people staggering around in droves, I felt like the Zombie Apocolypse really had come, and we were about to be eaten.



I was kind of stuck so I just made the best of it. We found an empty spot, sat down in the sand and in a few (thankfully, short!) minutes, the fireworks started. Paprika was mesmerized. It was pretty magical. Someone in one of the beach houses started broadcasting music in sync to the fireworks, which added to the show. Paprika started dancing in the sand to the music.

Someone near us started shooting off their own VERY big fireworks, which was a bit terrifying, but according to Paprika, it just added to the excitement.



Baby Violet loved the fireworks, too. She was kind of ooh-ing and ahhh-ing over them. We were far enough away that there weren't any loud noises from the fireworks. So, I just sat her in my lap, and she was clapping and having the best time.



Finally, it was OVER...I called Mr. M and he picked us up. Paprika said it was the best fireworks show EVER and was so happy that Boo had such a magical birthday. All's well that ends well. I am glad to say we survived the 4th! :-)

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