Independence Day

The cake was great fun to make; Cal was giddy with excitement and what isn't fun to do with a giddy three year old? Also, it was delicious to boot. The only problem was the frosting...it didn't survive well sitting on the counter for several hours before serving. If you make this recipe, be sure to refrigerate it if you aren't going to eat it right away! Abbott, Cal, Jean and Alexi did the decorating while I showered.

We learned from Jean that the French are hopeful that Obama will win the election. We talked about the importance of the French in winning the revolutionary war, and the French revolution being influenced by the American.

We had friends over this morning to hang out at the beach with us and have lunch. I had planned to make a pesto pasta salad - realized at the last minute I had about a third as much basil as I needed and had to use some leftover purchased pesto. The hummus I made a special trip to the market to get from Sabra, my favorite place to get hummus from, was only ho-hum, and all the kids ended up wanting peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and nothing else I'd made. Still, it was a nice lunch...well spent time with friends. It helped me focus on the important thing: the time spent together and not how perfect or not the meal was.

Later this afternoon I enjoyed a long chat with my sister via cellphone during a leisurely walk around Greenlake; the boys biked around the lake. I always like talking to friends and family on holidays - the sense of collective relaxation.

My first memory of watching fireworks is of a time in 1975 in Texas at the high school football field. I remember it vaguely as a thrilling experience. This will be Abbott's first fireworks experience he'll likely remember; I'm less certain Cal will remember tonight. (We took Abbott to the fireworks when he was 10 months old but he was sleeping. We had just moved back to Seattle from San Francisco and were staying at the Inn at the Market. We wheeled him to the roof of the Inn for the show in his stroller.)

Later: I loved being able to walk to the fireworks and the sense of neighborhood camaraderie while sitting on the grass. The 10pm show was hard for the boys, who are usually in bed at 7...