July 2008

We spent the 4th up in Big Bear grillin' and chillin'. The fireworks were good but we missed the Philp's and Northern Michigan. The following weekend, Kerry, Dana and I headed up to Santa Barbara for some hiking, wine tasting and of course shopping. We had a great time - the house had a great ocean view. The hike had a pretty good view too. And the wineries were great fun! It was so nice to spend time with Dana and Kerry - hopefully we can try to do it every year :)

When Kerry came up, she brought a Cinderella dress for Clio. The timing could not have been better as I had got tickets for a Cinderella play the following week. So off we went, Cliona in her Cinderella dress, delighted with herself. I had tried to explain the difference between a movie and a play but I don't think she really grasped it until the curtain went back. She was so amazed to see the cast onstage. And when they started singing (it was a musical), she was blown away. She really got into it, clapping at the right times, keeping up with the story line. After the show, we got to meet 'Cinderella' who very kindly signed Clio's Cinderella book. The cast were all children, I think the oldest was 18 and so it was fairly casual - all the cast were wandering around after the show. Amazingly Cliona remembers some of the lines from the play. Her favourite is pretending to be the mean step sisters saying 'Cinderella! get off your booty and attend to your duties!' She doesn't know what it means (or maybe she does) but thinks it's hilarious and will say it over and over again. She also likes to play Cinderella leaving the ball, losing her shoe and then being found again by the Prince (that would be me!). It's basically a game of chasing but in a pretty dress. The Cinderella dress has been on a lot. It's even been to the dentist! It's not allowed go to school though - I doubt it would survive the playground very well.

Anyway, enough Cinderella - the pictures are HERE