4th of July

We had such a fun time for the 4th of July this year up in McCall. We went to McCall again with my family, and the weather was perfect!!! Most of our time was spent outside, the kids got along great, and Grandma and Grandpa Yorgason were generous as always to everyone and made us feel so welcome. We also got to know Annette a little better. She is marrying my brother Chris next month, and it was fun to see them, get to know her more, and even take a few engagement pictures (almost 700 to be exact)! The fireworks on the 4th were good as always. Up there, you can sit out on your beach or drive your boat out on the lake to watch the fireworks. We usually build a fire, set up chairs, roast marshmallows, do a few fireworks of our own while we wait, and then enjoy the show over the lake. They are always so fun to watch every year and listen to them echo off of the mountains. WARNING: There are lots of pics, some with more explanation than others. Enjoy.

Avery playing out at the beach. Most of our time was spent here with the kids.

Avery modeling her new swimsuit...I just love it!!!

Ryan took Avery out on the boat. They both look a little tired here, and as soon as her life jacket went on she screamed her little heart out. However, 10 seconds out of the dock she was out cold and slept the entire time. All she needed was the mimi in her mouth and blanket in her arms. By the way, she never sleeps anywhere, never has, so this was amazing!

Ryan getting ready to take both kids out on the boat.


Caden and Gabe on the beach before the firework show started. Ryan and my brother Dave brought fireworks up that we watched while we waited for the big show over the lake. Notice their life jackets...they wore those day and night, in and out of the house. They said it made them superheroes.

Sure, Avery's happy here with her sparkler. Fast forward 10 seconds to when it goes out and she sticks it in her mouth - OUCH!!! It had a toasty little end on it that singed her tongue. The cousins ran fast to get her ice and she was over it before too long.

We brought up cheap glow sticks for the kids. They were a hit, even after some of the little ones bit through them and their mouths were glowing in the dark. A few got lost after being buried in the sand, but everyone was happy for the cheap thrill.

Chris feeding Avery Smores. She may look a little skeptical, but she loved them. We roasted marshmallows at the fire while watching the fireworks, then put them between chewy Chips Ahoy...yummy!!!!

Avery loved eating lunch outside. A little baggie of grapes and a princess cup...who wouldn't be happy with that?

The little superheroes strapped themselves together. I'm not sure what kind of power they said this gave them, but it worked. These two got along the whole trip!

What's a trip to McCall without a little project to work on. There was so much snow this winter, that it damaged the fence around the deck. Ryan here hard at work trying to repair it.

Ryan and Avery out on the jet ski.


The kids had several fun water fights. We found these great water blasters at the dollar store and loaded up.

One of the funniest things from the vacation was going to church in a barn on Sunday. I'm waiting for a picture, so I'll post it soon of it, but the church up there is under construction so they were meeting at the bishop's barn. We had to drive about 25 minutes to get there, drive down an old dirt path up towards the mountains, and there it was in the middle of nowhere. It was kind of fun. They had it organized so well, chairs set up, people directing the parking, water coolers outside, outhouses...it really made me appreciate the pioneers. This was so much nicer than what they ever met in, but walking in the dust in our church clothes, sitting in dirt with kids, not wanting them to get dirty, trying to hold everything on our laps so it wouldn't fall to the ground, not wanting the kids to get down because it was such a mess...we have it really good today.