Fourth of July

My sister-in-law Dawnette, made Xiana this absurdly adorable fourth of July outfit. When she was making them I could hardly stand it they were so cute so I begged her to make me some which she did in record breaking time. They are priceless. Believe me, despite the fact that there are several pictures of Xiana in her get up... I excluded a LOT of pictures that I very much wanted to include. I am a little bit obsessed.
But seriously... priceless!
She was doing "ballet" she informed me. When I asked her where she learned to dance like that she said, "from the girls on tv."
I'm prone to believe her... I know I didn't teach her that pose!
We went to my parents for a delicious barbecue and then went to the fireworks in Sparks where, I am a little ashamed to admit, I attended for the first time. Growing up we always went to Rancho and watched the Reno works and for lots of years I went in Utah, Vegas, etc. I have a lot of fireworks memories. One year in Vegas they had synchronized fireworks off the top of every casino on the strip. They were exacting and coordinated colors erupted at precisely the same moment. It was spectacular. As we headed to the Sparks show I felt somewhat smug in thinking that this show could in no way beat that amazing spectacle. I found that I was surprised. There was something so familiar and beautiful about being downtown with hordes of people I know. We ran into a lot of friends and we had my family and all of Brian's family that lives here in Sparks with us. It was heartwarming and, dare I say it, sentimental to all sit with one another as the cousins ran free enjoying each other and the show. I really enjoyed myself and the show was actually remarkable for a smallish city.
Xiana asked to be carried everywhere we went which is an old new trend for her.
And Aunt Ali is a crowd favorite. These kids fight over who gets to sit in her lap.
The fountains were right behind us which I thought at first might be a dilemma since Xiana is used to jumping in them whenever she so desires. Yet, there was enough activity that she acknowledged them without demanding a dip.
My Aunt Janice, whom I haven't seen for years, came out from L.A. with my cousin Jessie. It was so wonderful to see them. Brian and I had toyed with the idea of going out of town for the weekend. In the end, I'm really happy we stayed for it was a marvelous time.
None of my pictures turned out so just use your imagination.