Cohen Turns Eight

Cohen turned 8-years-old in July!  How is he eight already?  The number 8 is a big deal in this house, so we had to do lots of celebrating!  We started out with a family birthday on his actual birthday.  Kristin and Dan's family was out of town, but the rest of the family came to celebrate.  Our new neighborhood pool was finally finished (after six years of waiting for it, and even longer than that for our neighbors who moved in before us) the day before Cohen's birthday, so what better place to hold it than there?  Here's a look at the pool.  It's really awesome, and so well done.  Well worth the wait...

We also rented one of the poolside party rooms, where we served dinner to all the party goers...

After eating, the kiddos had lots of fun playing in the water...

After swimming for awhile, we did cupcakes and ice cream back in the party room...

It was a great little party!  The pool is amazing, so I'm sure we'll be doing many parties for our summer baby, Cohen, in the upcoming years!

The next day, we held a party with all of his friends.  Since Cohen loves Star Wars so much, we did a Jedi Training Camp party.  We started out by feeding the recruits pizza for dinner...

And then we got to the training.  We started by fine tuning their listening abilities by playing "Yoda May I?"

Then they went through the obstacle training course...

Next was the long jump...

Then lightsaber training...

And then blaster training.  Poor Aiden was the target that randomly jumped out of the box.  He took quite a few Nerf bullets to the face.  Haha...

Then, once their training was complete, their newly-learned skills were tested by the one and only Darth Vader...

The new Jedi had clearly learned well because they were able to defeat Vader.  As he was dying (very dramatically, I might add), he said, "Cohen!  I am your father!"  Haha!  It was great.  All the kids got a great laugh out of it...

After training, it was time for cake and ice cream...

And then we finished the party by opening presents...

It was a great little party!  Both parties were lots of fun.  I can't believe Cohen--my baby boy--is already eight-years-old!  Those years flew by and I know they will continue to fly by just as fast, if not faster.  Cohen is such a sweet, kind boy.  We are so happy to have him as part of our family!  --Lindsay

Connor's Trip to Nashville

Connor got the chance to go to Nashville with Grandpa to visit Grammie, Brian, Kimber, David, and Drew.  He was gone for a week and had a great time.  Here are some pictures that Grandpa and Grammie sent me while he was gone.

Connor and Grandpa getting ready to head to the airport...

On the plane, ready to take off...

Landing in Denver for their layover...

Landing in Nashville...

When they got to Nashville, they went to the Science Center.  Brian, David, and Drew tagged along with Connor, Grandpa, and Grammie...

Then they went to Grandpa and Grammie's restaurant, The Sunflower Cafe, for dinner...

It was Connor's first try with vegan food...

He said he liked it okay...

He's a serious carnivore, so it must have been good...

That evening, he went to play laser tag with the Young Women and Young Men from Grandpa and Grammie's ward.  He had such a great time, and enjoyed all the kids in the group.  It's a tiny youth group compared to ours...

The next day, they did a little more exploring around Nashville.  They went to Cracker Barrel and played some checkers out front while they waited for their table...

Then went to Andrew Jackson's plantation, The Hermitage.  Mike and I went there when we visited Nashville four years ago.  It's pretty cool for a history geek like me, but Connor wasn't all that impressed with it...

Then they headed down to Huntsville, Alabama that evening to stay overnight and go to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center.  They grabbed some dinner at Five Guys, which made Connor happy...

Grammie and Connor at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center...

Looks like they're ready for the first mission...

Off to the moon...

They also did some rock climbing...

The went back to Nashville that night, and the next day, they went to the Nashville Zoo.  While Connor was playing laser tag earlier in the week, he became friends with a boy named Liam.  They got along so well that Grandpa and Grammie invited Liam to come along with them to the zoo...

Brian and Kimber also came along...

Connor hanging out with the flamingos...

And, whatever animal that is in the background...

And a kangaroo...

Then, that evening, they took Connor to try some southern catfish...

Grammie, Kimber, and Connor waiting for a table...

Connor liked the catfish...

The whole crew...

Connor also got to visit the Opryland Hotel...

Mike and I went there when we visited.  It is so impressive!  Everything you see in these pictures in inside the building, but there's a massive sunroof, so it feels like you're outside the whole time.  Very Disney-like...without the characters of course.  It's just very elaborate, and something about it reminds me of a hotel that Disney would create...

Then, Grandpa brought him safely home to us, after a week of fun...

We were glad to have him home, and glad he could spend some time with his grandparents, aunt, and uncles.  --Lindsay