July 4th

We did our usual traditions on the 4th of July, dinner and swimming at my parent's house and then fireworks at the Nickell's once it gets dark.

Emery looked especially cute in her festive outfit.

 

She was interested in all of the fireworks that were lined up for the evening. She kept messing up the order so Isaac told me I needed to control my babyzilla, she didn't appreciate that.

 

Heather and my red, white, and blue clothes and shoes.

 

Jonah helping the kids light the "snakes."

 Heather always makes things look festive no matter what party it's for!

There were lots of glow sticks for the kids to enjoy. Emery got two and she wore them on her ankles.

Emery liked these fireworks more than the ones from the night before (probably because it wasn't so late) she pointed and laughed at them.

Sparklers!

It was quite the group this year with my whole family, Isaac's whole family, and a family of 6 that's friends with the Nickells. Here are all the kids, if they look hot it's because they are! It was another hot evening. 

We had a nice firework show including some illegal fireworks set off by nearby neighbors.



July 3rd

As is the tradition we went to the Rawhide game on July 3rd for shaved ice and fireworks (some people watched the baseball game). This year was exceptionally hot and muggy which made waiting around for the game to end and fireworks to start a little miserable. The shaved ice definitely helps us get through the heat. We bought Emery her own shaved ice (without any flavor) and I thought she would love it, but she was only interested for a little while.

 

Everyone's happy with shaved ice!

Emery went around and sampled other people's flavors.

Sometimes you have to take silly pictures to help the time pass. We got some laughs out of these (especially Sarah's super orange tongue).

 

And of course the fireworks finally started and all the waiting and stickiness was worth it! Sorry my firework pictures are blurry and overexposed, I was holding a baby.

Emery managed to stay awake to watch the fireworks but as soon as we started walking to the car she fell asleep. She wasn't too sure what she thought of them at first but liked them at the end and pointed at them as they were going off.

Graduation

We drove down with my parents to Anaheim on Friday to attend the graduation of Garrett Ghent on Saturday. Our parents were friends long before I was born thus Garrett is one of a few friends I have had my entire life. I can't say enough how much we love the Ghents, they are very special people to us. So when we were invited to attend the graduation we were happy to be able to show our support for Garrett. Good job finishing Garrett and may God bless you as you start med school in the fall!

 

 

After the ceremony we had lunch with Vickie, Garrett, and Garrett's friend Nathan (who also graduated), and Nathan's parents. We went to the Leo's which is the best Mexican restaurant ever. Ken Ghent was the one who introduced my dad to Leo's way back when and it's been the place to eat ever since. I can't remember ever eating at Leo's with any Ghents before so it was fun to be there with them.

 

One of the best things about Leo's is their cheese chips. So much cheese, yum!!

 

We hit some traffic on our way home for about an hour.

 

We stopped for gas and got some refreshments, Emery enjoyed hers.

 

11 Month Wonder

I am amazed we only have one month until we have a 1 year old! I'm not sure if I'm ready for that but I guess it's coming no matter what.

 

Here's her 11 month update:

She has 7 teeth (3 on top, 4 on bottom)!

She loves making people laugh.

People think she's very quiet and calm but when she's at home she's goofy, talks/shouts, and crawls/climbs around like crazy.

She loves the water.

She has taken a few steps by herself.

She loves walking if she can hold one of our hands.

She is an expert climber.

She knows how to get off whatever she climbs.

She can drink from a straw.

She likes helping with everything (putting dishes away, turning off lights, etc.).

She points to things she wants.

She knows how to give high fives and to pound it (bump fists).

She can blow kisses.

 

Anniversary

Jonah and I celebrated our 5th anniversary while we were in Vegas for the Shields family reunion. I put Emery to bed and my mom stayed with her while we went out. We thought about seeing a show but tickets were so expensive that we just decided to walk around The Strip and see the sights. We went through a number of the hotels, stopped in Cesar's Palace for a drink and a little food, gambled away $2 each, and had a good time with just the two of us. I'm so blessed to have a husband who loves me and our baby with all his heart, who works hard to provide for us, who makes us laugh, who makes me feel better when I'm having a hard time, who is my best friend, and who is a strong man of God. I couldn't have asked for anyone better.

Ceiling painting The Venetian 

Glass flower things on the ceiling of The Bellagio

Jonah meets The Rock

A snail made out of flowers in the Bellagio

More from the Bellagio

We sat down on a fountain and listened to these guys for a while.

Food Fun

One of Emery's favorite foods these days is plain yogurt (taking after her grandma and cousins). We let her feed herself one day and despite what it looks like she actually got quite a bit in her mouth! She definitely enjoyed the process and we got quite the kick out of watching her. She went straight to the bath after this, which she was also happy about.

 

Shields Family Reunion

My mom's family had a reunion the first week of June. I was glad that my little family was able to go although Jonah had to leave us early to get back to work. It was a fun trip and so many cousins and aunts and uncles who we hadn't seen in years. I didn't take many pictures because there were so many other people with cameras and I didn't feel like carrying around my camera everywhere when I had a baby to carry already. So if you want to know more about the activities you can check out Heather's blog or Nathan's blog or Sarah's blog and they will tell you all about!