Evolution of a Cowboy

I couldn't help it. Had to dig through the archives to see how our little cowboy has changed!

All pics were taken at the annual Prineville Rodeo trip in June.

2007- 11 months

2008- almost 2

2009- almost 3

2010- Carson almost 4, and the cycle begins again, with Keaton 10 months

Carson's a FOUR year old Pirate!

Happy Birthday Carson!

How does one celebrate turning 4?

By having a Pirate Party of course!

First, the invitation: 

Created by Modern Moments Designs Thank you Jessica!!

A matching shirt is essential!

 Super easy & cheap! Iron-on transfer, graphic by Jessica (MM), and printed on my home inkjet! JoAnn Fabric

Throw in an extra cute little brother (honestly, this could be a Gap ad)

Greet your guests with glee (seriously, Carson, GLEE, can you at least fake it?)

PUMP it UP with 15 of your friends!

Fly down the slide!

Throw in some awesome cupcakes!

Must give kudos and thanks to my girlfriend Julie for

finding sparkly gold sprinkles & pirate flags/liners (Michaels),

lending me her sweet cupcake display, 

AND for teaching me the finer points of frosting!  

Goodie Boxes are a Must!

With a Vegas-style Buffet of Carbs for the very hungry and tired bouncers!

The super cute stickers say "Pirate's Treasure" (design credit to Jessica-MM)

A few poorly lit attempts at the contents of the Goodie Boxes: Pirate bandana, eye patch, tattoos, gold wrapped chocolate coins, and ....

 again thanks to Julie for making chocolate suckers for us! This woman just has too much creative energy for her family alone so we benefited from her overflow! A treasure chest, pirate ship, and skull/crossbones were just the coolest additions to Carson's Goodie Boxes!

16 kids, one picture . . . Good luck!

 

Once again, I don't know how she finds the time, but Julie sewed this amazing pirate flag banner for Carson and Jessica coordinated the invitations, stickers, and thank you notes to match!

I should probably mention here that Julie, my friend that can never leave me, and her cousin Jessica, my super-fab designer, made this party the best ever! Not sure which part I can take credit for :)

I just love this picture because of all the "pirate heads"

So far Carson's favorite gift of the day . . . a Pirate Kit!

Complete with an EARRING!

Yes, my son has not removed his clip-on earring except to sleep.

Went to dinner with it and was the hit of Red Robin!

Happy Birthday C!

We love you!

PS- Just wait until you see the adorable thank you notes! Can't post those just yet! Must get them in the mail first! Some things you still must do the proper way!

4th of July Fantasticness

Thanks to friends we got to participate in the cutest little parade this side of the Rockies! Let's just say we increased the attendance this year by 15% with my 2 sweet boys.

Total of 15 kids (don't check my math!).

8 on bikes, 4 wagons, and 1 GIANT John Deere Gator. Can you guess who was riding the only powered vehicle in the parade?

Pre-parade decorating party! Hard to participate when you're stuck crawling around

Mickey kept Carson company for the long parade route.

Just hanging around waiting for the action!

It's an Eloise sandwich! Flanked by the Rader boys, this parade is going to rock!

On our way to the start (had no idea that we were actually walking down the parade route)

Happy 4th from the Raders!

Why do they look 14 years old instead of 4 here!?!

A little bit of sparkler magic!

Snot out the nose, drool out the mouth but fun nonetheless!

Oh, and we have TOOTH!!

We tried and tried to convince Carson that fireworks are best in the dark and that THIS year he could stay up late . . .

we tried and tried . . .

and finally got tired of his begging to light fireworks.

In the light it is!

Let'er Rip!

And finally, the grande finale, the most adorable pics of my boys!

When all else fails, apologize!

Once again I am very behind in blogging and updating pics. I will be adding more as we get another batch but here are some of my favorites!

Brothers chillin' in the shade at the pre-party!

Keaton & Carson flirting with the Queen! Notice the itty bitty cowboy boots!

Best we could do for a family pic!

Trying to get 5 kids to hold still for a picture is impossible!

Watch out!

Riding a horse named Cowboy!

Yummy way to cool off during the rodeo!

 

The littlest cowboys hangin' in the grass. So glad we didn't have twins! Cute but a LOT of work!