July 24

The other day my mom asked Weston, "how was the 24th of July?" To my amazement, he immediately knew what she was talking about! Every year on July 24th, we celebrate Pioneer Day carnival style with the North Las Vegas Stake. It is quite a tradition. Here's a picture of Sophie, pre-celebration:To get technical, the celebration is two days. On the first evening we eat, visit, and listen to music. Here are Daddy and Sophie on that first night. We got special stickers that said "I'm a Harmony Hills Pioneer," because we were part of the newly formed ward (that had yet to even meet for the first time). I guess that's how the new bishop ended up finding us and calling me as Young Women's president a few days later. So much for our plans to lay low in the new ward! On the second day, we eat some more, visit some more, listen to some more music, and then keep eating! Oh, and there's always a pretty kickin' fireworks show at the end.

Last year on July 24 I was eight and a half months pregnant, and we kept thinking how differently our life would be at Pioneer Days 2010 with a baby girl in tow... maybe that's why we snapped so many pictures of the little bundle. (Who, by the way, is an adventurous, not-so-small bundle these days!)In this picture, we're waiting in line to dunk Aunt Shae-Leigh in the big tank of water. The poor girl was so darn hot she was begging for it!There is nothing in all the world quite as sweet and peaceful as a sleeping baby...We all had a pretty nice time just relaxing and chasing the kids around. (Did I just put those two things in the same sentence?)Sophie's nap didn't last long - she had too many exciting discoveries to make! The girl has a fascination with water bottles, among other things. Eventually, she was able to get the lid off. It ended up there in the top of her dress, but she couldn't figure out where it had gone...Was it up in the sky?She's a smart cookie, so it didn't take too long to figure out!Meanwhile, Weston had plenty of people to occupy his attention. Here he is clinging to his Uncle Trevor.He also saw his friends Justin, Anna, and Dallin. As you can see, our little wild man was getting pretty worn out by the end of the evening.Nothing like some juicy watermelon to recharge the old battery. Throw in some goggles, and you've really got a winning combo! If you don't believe me, just ask Weston...Sophie enjoyed the fireworks from the comfort of Uncle Trevor's lap. She just loves him!

It was a fun time had by all. What can I say? Pioneer Days never disappoints.