Our 4th of July

Man oh man...the 4th.
Really, it wasn't that bad. I had alot of fun...till the end. Kinda.
Anyways...it started out with us going to breakfast at Denny's...13 of us, poor waitress. And then we prayed for the rain to hold off because we had family pictures scheduled. But, as luck would have it...we took pictures in the sprinklies....then in the downpour, lol. I can't wait to see the pictures, though! We all looked so nice! Lisa found these gorgeous matching dresses for the girlies.

We waited out the rain with a few haircuts. Thank you, Aunt Lisa!

Bella needed her layers trimmed up a bit...but was not a happy camper.
She's got such a sensitive head, poor girl.

We made a big change on Aube. She plays with her hair so much, she always manages to look like a rag-a-muffin. So, Lisa gave her a cute lil bob like her cousin Rylee, to help her hair look fuller.

It rained most of the afternoon...but it made of GREAT napping weather. I love the rain! Such a nice change from the horrible heat we've been having lately.

After naps, dinner was served. Family friend, Nancy, kindly bought us prime rib for dinner. Yum!
The missionaries were able to eat with us, too. Which was cool, since the Elder on the right is Elder Nelson (or 'lil Scotty Nelson to us). His family was one of the first to befriend James' family in Las Vegas....and also my family later on when they moved there. It was good to see him! Very cool that he has gotten to spend some time in their family ward.

That's what good food will do to ya.
After a quick snooze and the clouds parting, James got out the sparklers for the girls to play with.

And the big kids to play with, too.

Josh, Mr Fireman himself, was actually the only one to burn himself, ironically enough.

When the sun went down a bit, we headed out back to set off the big stuff.

It was a group effort to get Bella prepared for fireworks. We expected her to freak out after last year. So, we put in the ear plugs...even set her up with some earmuffs. But she still flipped her lid at the noise.
(look at these girls wearing jackets! JACKETS! it was a breezy 50ish out, fantastic)

Rylee was such a good sport...she didn't get the freakout gene like Bella and Aube.

After it all started, Bella was in Papa's lap....crying....wanting to go inside. And of course, it rubbed off on her sister, too. I tried to get them to stick it out, but as their crying got louder, I got more annoyed...and we three ended up inside. Bleh. Party poopers.

So, yeah...maybe next year. lol. I'm hoping we can go to a big firework show...maybe that will be the difference...still kinda loud, but not so loud and annoying as the little fireworks.