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!

Risher Martin

We are excited to share that Cole has a new job!  Several weeks ago he was approached by 2 different companies to interview for an open position.  While he was not looking to make a move he decided to at least meet with them for the interviews.  He met with Risher Martin Fine Homes where he was soon offered his "dream job."  They are a custom home builder that mainly focus on remodeling.  You can check out their blog to see Cole's new bio:  Risher Martin Blog  We are all so excited about this new company and the opportunities that he has ahead of him. An extra bonus was that he was able to take a week off (which perfectly fell on Connor's birthday) and his commute is now cut in half!  Most of his jobs will be in central and south Austin.  We are proud of you Daddy Boy!

Big 2-7

We have a lot to celebrate in July so I have been slow to share it with you.  On July 6th, we celebrated Cole's birthday with all of our family.  Bill and Cheryl brought over Rudy's (Cole's favorite) and I made a cake.  For the past 3 years Cole has requested the same strawberry cake for his birthday.  He loves it so much I guess I should make it more than once a year! :)

"Happy Birthday to you..."

 I look pretty serious about eating my cake! :)

 Cole received lots of help with his presents.  In fact, I'm not sure if he opened a single one.

 Mimi and Grandmommy also came to help us celebrate.  Connor loved having an audience to preform!

 It is a very rare occasion that Connor ask me to take his picture, but he decided he needed one with Grandmommy.  He ran over to sit next to her and said "Say cheese Grandmommy!"  He loves her so much!

We tried to get some with Nana and Poppa too.

One of these days my kids will look at the same time. :)

Happy Birthday, Cole!  We are so thankful for you and all you do for us.  You are the best husband and daddy we could ask for.  We love you!  

Happy Fathers Day 2011

Happy Father's Day to the best daddy our boys could ask for.

Strawberry cupcakes...

 and a little art project were a few of the ways we should him how much we appreciate him!

 Connor helped me think of lots of reason why we are thankful for him to put on our fish.  He was so proud to show Cole what we made.

After church we picked up some Rudy's (with the rest of Austin) and headed home.  Later that evening we headed out to Dripping Springs to celebrate with Poppa.  We had a fun night!

Relaxing Weekend

It was a pretty low-key weekend around here for us.  One of the things I was most excited about was that Cole had Saturday off and will continue to get them off for a long time!  Some of you have already heard, but Cole received a promotion at work and is now the purchasing agent for Streetman Homes.  It is a big change for him since he is no longer in the field, but will be working out of the main office.  (I don't think he misses working outside on these 100 degree days!)  Cole and I are so thankful that God provided this opportunity for our family.            

Saturday morning we ran a few errands and headed down to San Marcos to visit Mimi at work.  Connor was so excited to go to "Mimi Target."  I tried to take a few pictures while we were there.

Attempt #1

Attempt #2: "Cheese!"

We headed home that afternoon for Connor to take a nap, did a major clean and reorganizing of our closet, and then headed out to meet some friends for snow cones after dinner.  Cole and I tried to share our snow cones with Connor, but he refused to try them. :)  He had no idea what he was missing! 

On Sunday, we had a great morning at church followed by a delicious lunch with friends at Rudy's.  

It was such a fun weekend spent with my boys!