Birthday Celebrations

So August 16th we celebrated my birthday (which was actually on the 4th). My sister, Krista, was in charge of the decorations (with some help from Mom), and she did an awesome job. We ended up with leis and a flip flop "door curtain", a palm tree centerpiece and more.

After people had arrived, all the kids and many of the adults jumped in the pool. Here's me with nephew Koen.

Later, I got to hang out with his big sister, Emmaleigh and help her get warm after her dips in the pool.

My dad very kindly agreed to be grill-master for the evening, and the chicken breasts and beef shishkabobs came out great!

Our friends Edward and Mollie came, too, and their son Ben got a turn with his feet (legs?) in the water.

Add to all that great family some delicious cake and my favorite potato chips, and it was quite an affair. :-)

Just this past Monday Krista, her friend Emily, and I went to the California State Fair! For Krista's birthday (back in July), Matthew and I gave Krista a coupon to take a friend somewhere, and she chose the fair. :-) The guy at the water preservation booth convinced us to wear trout hats.

We had fun looking at all the expensive "You need this to make your life better!" sales booths, the county exhibits, the cattle and goats, and the quilting and youth art exhibits. Krista and Emily also did a few things at the Midway carnival.

And today is Matthew's mom's birthday! It's been a great two weeks.