We had a great 4th of July weekend!

We spent saturday and sunday with friends Marc and Carmen and their three lovely daughters in Oxnard California. It was a very nice visit and Chloe had a lot of fun with Kamille who is about a year and a quarter older. Unlike their previous meeting, the girls had a lot of fun together and were both good at sharing and playing. Maybe Chloe is ready for a new sister. Sunday we rented an electric boat and toured the Channel Islands Harbor. It was a lot of fun, but quite chilly. Chloe kept trying to climb over the rail so she could get a good close look at the water.

Monday we returned to work and afterwards hosted approximately 50 coworkers and friends and relatives in our front yard to view the fireworks across the street at Shafter High School. They showed up with a trailer, picnic tables and full gear. When the kids got too hot, they jumped in our pool. We had so many kids in the pool, it looked like a public pool. It is very large and very cold.

Shafter celebrates its fireworks show on the 3rd of July so that we don't have to compete with the bigger cities for the better pyrotechnic displays. It was very beautiful although the weather was very humid and hot. After about 2 minutes of fireworks, Chloe became scared (it was really really loud) and I took her into her room to put her to bed. Since it was already an hour and a half past her bedtime, she was very tired, but I had to stay with her until the loud noises stopped. Even though she was scared, she still looked at the fireworks and oo'ed and awe'd at them with a big smile on her face. I am sure that she will be more eager for the show next year.

Next weekend we are planning to attend the Lotus Festival at Echo Park in Los Angeles. Afterwards, we will visit friends David, Denise and their two boys Damien and Ian in Winnetka.