Not Nauert, I'm Busy

Uncle Chris, Aunt Lisa, Cousin Cole and Cousin Hannah all came out to visit us for a week. We had spent a prior week with Hannah, so we knew how she would be with Little Man and him with her. But, I was curious to see how Cole would be. It was amazing, he is the best big cousin you could ever hope for. Most boys stay away from babies, but Cole loved Parker, making him laugh and playing with him.

Knowing the age difference will always cause a bit of separation between the boys, it was nice to see that Parker has a great cousin in Cole to look up to. Parker will always be the youngest cousin (unless he has a little brother or sister), so he won't get to "play" with his cousins the way I'd like them too. But, if he is going to grow up idolizing his big cousin Cole, I'm thinking he could do a lot worse ;)

Check the pictures out to see the three cousins having fun in Disneyland.

Lights in the Sky

Yesterday was Little Man's first 4th of July, complete with fireworks, swimming pools, large crowds, and over-priced hot dogs.

We had a full day yesterday and it began around 9am when Jaimie, Parker and I went to Maranatha High School to meet up with our friends John and Amanda to swim. John is a high school teacher at a private christian high school in Pasadena. This school is located on a former private college campus, that went bankrupt in the 90's. What is so amazing about the campus, which I'm sure the High School kids have no idea how lucky they are, is they basically have un-used, mint condition College facilities. 

This includes a natatorium for the swim, dive and water polo teams. Jaimie and I were able to get a little swim training in with John, while Amanda and Parker explored the campus. We are out of shape, for sure.

Afterwards, the three of us went on a little run off Orange Grove, a very nice neighborhood in Pasadena. By the time we got home, we were spent.

After lunch and a little rest, we began a deep-cleaning of the house. Then, it was off to the Rose Bowl for the firework spectacular.

If you've never gone, I recommend braving the crowds and rude amazon women to give it a try. We picked up Aunt Maureen at her house, then drove down to the bowl, parking up the street so we didn't get caught in traffic or $15 parking.

After checking in our stroller we made our way to the endzone, threw down a blanket and watched as the Pasadena sky lit up. From the first boom to the last, Parker loved it! He had his eyes on the sky the entire 30 minutes, regardless of who's lap he was sitting in.