A wonderful weekend with some of my girls.

On Saturday, my mom and I took the four younger girls to the Jelly Belly Factory in Fairfield, California.

Unfortunately, as it was a weekend, factory production was shut down, so the tour was not as fun as on weekdays when you can see the jelly beans being made, but that gives us an excuse to go back!  We did all still get bags of Jelly Bellys at the end of the tour, and they, of course, have a retail store, so the kids were happy.  Here are some pictures:

The sign in front of the Visitors' Center

GIANT inflatable..see the kids in front?

Madison, in the Jelly Belly Cafe.  No candy for her, but she's still a happy girl!

After the factory tour, lunch, and candy shopping, we took the girls shopping for their Easter shoes.  My mom said she learned a lot that day, like why I don't take 4 girls shopping with me at once, and why I pick out their shoes when I'm shopping alone!  They aren't bad shoppers, there are just so many of them to pay attention to and help at once.  It can get a little overwhelming to anyone not used to it!

From there, we went to another shopping mall, which is where the former Nut Tree complex used to be.  We went there when we were kids, to ride on the giant rocking horses.  A few years ago, the complex was sold and torn down, and I was quite disappointed.  However, the new owners built an outside mall there, and they preserved the attractions.  The girls were very excited to get out and play!

Abby, Emma, and Katie, on the rocking horses.

They have a gorgeous carousel there, with lots of exotic animals.  Here is Katie on a cat, which is her favorite animal.

Emma, on a zebra, which is her favorite...

...and Abby on an elephant, which is her favorite animal.

This locomotive is 45 years old, and all 6 of us rode this.  It only makes a couple of slow loops around the park, but it is fun for the kids.

Yesterday, for Valentine's Day, my husband got me the Amazing Brownie pan, which is a nonstick pan with dividers in it, that makes 18 small brownies at one time.  We used a cake mix, and the girls decorated the little cakes for dessert last night:

We definitely had a sugar loaded weekend!