Let them have cake.

April 1, Heber Springs.

Nicolas circus birthday cake today with all the show children in attendance, and some of the Moms too. The party was almost scuttled by road mishaps; Raul's fuel pump went south outside of Little Rock and two hours went by before we could hit the road again, leaving Castro behind to do his wonders. We barely had time to go get the cake when we finally arrived.
It was the perfect lot to have a party, there was even a wooden picnic table by the trailer, and the sun was with us. Fridman spent the rest of the day changing the brake pads on the truck for it sounded like metal against metal on the way down the hill this morning - and it was.
Raul and Castro didn't make it here until almost show time.

Nota bene: I love it that the kids get all excited about the idea of a cake but don't actually like it. They'll kill for an apple but won't touch sweets, I like to think because I've made it a strict rule from the beginning not to give them any, in spite of the vocal indignation of almost everyone around me (including my own mother, who should know better.)
Then again I need only remember how long it'll be before they start school to know when that will end, and my Mommy-knows-best self-congratulations with it.