4th of july

we spent the 4th of july at my parent's house.  we barbecued (the missionaries joined us for dinner), roasted marshmallows in the fire pit, had a fireworks show in the front yard and then drove to green valley ranch to watch a beautiful, huge fireworks show that lasted 10-15 minutes.  it was a wonderful evening to celebrate this great country.  

georgie "helping" papa steve grill carne asada...

mia waiting for the fireworks show to begin...

georgie's first ever sparkler...

i couldn't help but include this picture - i laugh every time i see it!

george is a little unsure about these things...

this is the view from my parent's front yard.  i love the sunsets in las vegas.

my dad decided to make his own fireworks show by lighting a firework and then throwing it in the air.  it worked pretty well a couple of times.

mia is our wincer.  i always look forward to the 4th of july because she just winces the night away...

rusty's b-day

russ wanted to celebrate his 32nd birthday by going to town square to let the kids play in the water and then eating at california pizza kitchen.  mia must be his daughter since that's exactly what she wanted to do to celebrate her dance recital!  it was a fun evening...

mia had the most fun of all splashing and running in the water.  when it was time for dinner she protested with a big "why do we have to eat dinner?"

george didn't quite figure out that different jets spray at different times, so he took it in the face more than once.  this picture was taken just after one of those times.

the night before russ's birthday party, mia decided that she wanted to make him a cubs cake.  this is the best i could come up with on such short notice.