Fourth of July

Question: What’s the best way to spend Fourth of July

Answer: By stickin’ our freedom and liberty in the face of an Englishman!

That’s right, dear readers, your humble Rhi and Benner spent the birthday of our dear sweet America cozying up to a limey, tea-swilling Redcoat! But really, don’t hold Greg Jong’s citizenship against him. He’s a right good bloke, eh guv’na?

Anyways, the Benners and the Robins spent the holiday grilling at the Jong’s house. It was a low-key sort of night, as Greg and Dani were trying to help their new puppy Ivy June recuperate from illness. (Though things were looking bleak for a while, Ivy is doing quite swell now, and she is just about the cutest, sweetest dog ever.)

Here’s a slideshow from the night, followed by a few notes. Enjoy.



- Isn't Ivy June basically the cutest dog ever?
- Ryan Robins, God bless him, made potentially the worst beer choice ever by picking Michelob Ultra Light Cactus Agave Beer (or whatever it was). Nothing says Freedom and America like a sugary, low-carb, cactus-flavored alcohol.
- We love the Jongs and the Robins a lot.
- Though we heard plenty, we didn't see a single firework go off this year. Personally, I'd like to say I'm bummed, but it's just flashing lights and loud noises.

Fourth of July Fun

Oh Fourth of July, you're the best of all patriotic holidays (sorry Veteran's and Labor days). We decided to have Sarah and Steve over to swim, along with their friends Carrie and Darrell and their kids, Leelou and Dion.

Unfortunately, we didn't get any shots out at the pool or the BBQ. Woops. But here's some ACTION photos from AFTER we were done swimming!

Darrell and Steve are WATERMELON EATING TO THE EXTREME! SO EXCITING!

Dion and Leelou play the Wii while we watch TO THE MAX!


Sarah and Steve are BEING AWESOME!!!

Moving on... Everyone told us when we moved into our apartment that it would be so great on July 4th because we were so close to the CBS lot, where they shoot off the fireworks in Studio City. Well, we didn't realize quite how close it would be.


We watched the fireworks show with Sarah and Steve from outside our apartment door (Dion and Leelou needed to head home along with their parents), and they were pretty much exploding right above our heads. It was kind of great, but also smelled like gun powder. We got some pretty cool shots of exploding fireworks. Check 'em out.






Of course, it was all a little too loud for Rhianwen and Sarah.