I have survived Birthday Week, when the twins and Calblog husband have their birthdays together. Now I just have to make it up to Calblog husband that he didn't get enough attention, as usual. I even managed to survive the big birthday party.
I wrote last year about the blowout parties of the last two years, the Casino and the Amazing Birthday Race. This year I paid a little more and did a little bit less myself. We went off to the Santa Monica Pier, which has a small amusement park, small enough that many people don't bother and the lines are short, even on a Sunday afternoon. Madeleine rode the Pacific Plunge 21 times. Pacific Plunge and Inkie's Scrambler are the newest rides in the park and the best. So if you haven't been there lately, consider going.
It's also small enough that once we were done with the party in the cabana I could stand in the middle of the park and keep my eyes on 9 13-year-olds, who accepted supervision but didn't really think they needed it. the beach was a nice break from the inland temps of La Canada.
I gave out birthday presents early to cut the summer boredom. Amanda got a DVD player (which doesn't work and has to be returned) and Madeleine got a hammock. At least when she lays around, it might be outside with a book and not inside with the TV. The girls put the hammock together themselves. They seemed content, Amanda in the house figuring out the features of her DVD player and Madeleine in lazy heaven on the hammock, and I started to get ready to leave for work when there's screaming from Madeleine. She screams a lot but this seemed genuine. The sprinklers had come on. Poor Madeleine.
Posted by Justene Adamec at July 25, 2004 03:14 PM | TrackBackJustene,
Thanks for the report from Birthday-Fest '04.
I suppose you were having so much fun keeping track of the twins that you missed the Anti-Israel festivities being held right over your shoulder in Palisades Park right next to the pier:
http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=11840_Moonbat_Reconnaissance#comments
Look at the photo montage, and Charles' comments. Beware: many of the general comments below the montage invoke intemperate language, and are not suitable for minors.
Posted by: Clark at July 25, 2004 06:52 PM (Permalink)Speaking of Santa Monica and this weekend.
After a full day of fellowship, I was coming home from Santa Monica early Sunday morning, and at a little after 1am I was merging from the 405 to the 10 east when a fleet of police cars blew by me with full sirens and lights. I was too astonished to count the squad cars until they were already in the distance, but there must have been ten of them. I had never seen such a spectacle outside of a Hollywood movie.
Ahead I saw a couple of helicopters roughly following the freeway at ‘high speed chase’ speed, and figured it must have been a high speed chase. Nothing else but some nefarious major event could have marshaled a response of that many squad cars and helicopters.
When the helicopters got to downtown LA they veered on a freeway north, while I followed the 10 on its jog south before turning again eastward.
I still haven’t found out what the big hubbub was early Sunday, but I’d be interested to find out if anyone knows what went down.