Happy 4th of July!

I hope you and your family had a great 4th of July.  We had a day full of non-stop fun!  Two celebrations in one day makes for a LOT of pictures, but I figure this would make up for my sporadic blog posting lately. :)

There is never a dull moment with these Hayden boys!

 We started the day off with a neighborhood parade.

Carson would just take off running trying to join the crowd.

 Connor on the other hand enjoyed his front row spot and waited patiently for some candy.

 This picture makes me laugh because I see these "looks" multiple times a day.  They like to keep close tabs on each other.   

 When we got back home, Connor and Mimi organized our own parade.  They decorated a few bikes and headed outside to get started.

 Connor LOVES to be in charge so he was obviously excited to be the "parade director."

 They managed to find time for a few races too.

 Sweet boy!

 Connor rode his tricycle so he could have a place to keep his candy to throw to onlookers.  I love how he pays attention to every detail!

 Cupcakes were next on the agenda.  Mimi and Connor made some really good cherry almond cupcakes.

 We decided to celebrate Cole's birthday since he had the day off.  Connor was in charge of decorations and thought streamers would be perfect.  He was so proud of his work!

 Cole grilled us some hotdogs and we enjoyed a strawberry limeade recipe I found on pinterest.

 Cupcakes complete with a few more patriotic treats!

 Connor gave his stamp of approval!

Before nap time we squeezed in a quick trip to the pool.  

Later that evening we headed out to Dripping Springs to celebrate with Nana and Poppa.

 I love these two!

 Mimi and her boys

 They love their Mimi!

 This was the best I got of just the 2 of them.  Apparently 1 and 4 year old boys don't appreciate the need for some new blog pictures. :)

 And we even bribed them with marshmallows. :)

 Nana had everything decorated so beautifully!

 Nana and Poppa picked up some Salt Lick for dinner per the birthday boy's request.  It was delicious!

 Along with his other gifts, Nana and Poppa gave Cole a baseball and bat.  Then each boy got a glove.  So after dinner we headed outside for a little baseball fun.

He looks ready for the big leagues!

 Connor designated Nana and Mimi to be the "getters" and bring back any runaway balls.

Carson lost interest and decided to take a spin on the gator.

 Grandmommy also joined in on the fun. (Poppa did too, but I got away without a picture of him!)

 We ended the evening with some strawberry birthday cake.  Cole's favorite cake he requests every year.

We didn't think fireworks were going to work for us this year with such early bedtimes, but we ended staying out so late we caught a few on the way home.  We pulled over and let Connor watch through the sun roof.  

We were thankful for a day full of family and fun!