"The greatest place on earth" slightly improved when we took our kids but the whole experience would not have been remotely enjoyable without Sara's Mom, who dutifully held little Emma, not quite one month, the entire day.
Uncle Blake, Aunt Whitney and Tyler came out in evening. I feel we experienced one of those tender mercies of the Lord when Maggie and I got lost from the group. My phone died so I borrowed a stranger's phone to text the group where we could meet up but right before we about to leave the spot, everyone showed up. I later discovered they had never gotten the text, which explained Sara's frustrated face. That said, we got to end the day with the parade and a pretzel. Of course, the adults were exhausted but the kids, minus Emma, seemed unfazed.
When everyone came out for Emma's baby blessing we got to celebrate Maggie's birthday again. For the first time I bought a cake. Maggie, who makes a request for cake every time we pass the bakery finally got to hear me say, "yes." I suddenly got struck by the brilliance of buying a cake. Nothing beats a sheet cake when you have big group to share it with. I am glad we had so much family over. It was nice that everyone made the long trip to be with us. Thanks.
