Our Fourth of July Stay-cation: Part I

Happy Independence Day!

With the July 4th holiday falling mid-week this year, we decided to add an additional day to the holiday fun and have a little Cox-Fam Fourth Of July Stay-cation. I was so excited when Justin suggested he take off an extra day of work (WHAT?!!!) and play around town! We came up with a plan and prayed that our realities would live up to (at least get close to) our expectations of the FUN we'd have together!!

But before we get too far into our stay-cation fun... I thought I'd share my patriotic cuties before church last Sunday. We had a special service celebrating our GREAT country so we all decked out in our red, white and blue! :)

CUTE...

 CUTER...

CUTEST???

Alright... now for stay-cation fun...

It started Tuesday night with dinner and baseball game!! Whoo! Whoo!!

BBQ and Baseball, it doesn't get more 'Merican than that, does it?!

So dinner was definitely the highlight of the evening... a GREAT little duo of a band was playing the best tunes while we dined! We were all dancing and Justin and I were singing... and it was a blast! It was great to all be silly together... I know we should cherish these moments because someday they will be MORTIFIED when their parents start singing and dancing at the dinner table... :)

Kaki was CRACKING us up with her dance moves... we should have taken a video and not pictures... she was doing this little bob up and down and then shimmy it around with her head... then she'd clasp her hands together and do a little "around the world" action... all the while smiling and laughing! She was get-ting it!! :) Go.Kaki.Go.

Once we got to the game Justin wanted a pic of he and the kids with the field in the background... when low and behold a sweet lady asked us if we wanted her to snap our pic... a fam picture? Oh my! We couldn't pass up the opportunity... and I am so glad we didn't... this picture makes my heart so happy... even though Kaki looks a bit rag-a-muffin-ish... ah, well! Sister was hot!

And she just got hotter! We bought lawn seats like we have done before when it was just Caden... but we didn't really think through the whole, fourth of July fireworks show... EVERYONE in the GREATER ROCK area would be there! EVERYONE! So we spread our blankie and hoped for the best... 

And all things considered... we did pretty well. We made it to the bottom of the fourth before we called it a night! Sometimes a cold adult beverage on the couch at home with the kids safe in their beds just beats the heck out a hot, steep, ant-filled lawn alternative... just sayin'! :)

Fun dinner... attempted fun at the baseball game...

BUT today... TODAY was my perfect day! It was glorious and fabulous and wonderful and the PERFECT way to celebrate the fourth if you ask me! 

We started with a hike through the San Gabriel River Trail which will be just minutes from our new stomping grounds... SO EXCITED!

We got our map and headed off, hoping to go just as far as our kids would make it!

When we were planning our stay-cation, we REALLY wanted to do some hiking/outdoor adventuring but weren't sure how we'd swing it with the Kaki-pants... until... good 'ol Amazon Prime came through with a great baby-pack with free shipping that arrived just on TIME! :) We were ready to chart off into the woods!!

Caden was ready... although I think there were certainly times towards the end of our hike where he was thinking that he got the short end of the stick not getting lugged around in the baby-pack! :)

Me and my boy up ahead on the trail...

Pit-stop for water and a breather! :)

Another pit-stop... snack break!! 

For the most part the trail was covered by trees and with a nice breeze today it truly wasn't unbearable. Certainly hot, but nothing miserable. We enjoyed the bits of cloud cover occasionally too! 

The trail was fun and adventurous but not too tough for Caden to navigate. It was definitely rockier in some places than others, but with some flat areas in between it gave plenty of breaks from the more "intense" hiking for the little guy!

On our way back to the car Kaki was about to fall asleep... on her arm... it was sweet!

And Caden was done... for his first time on the trail he did awesome... I was actually surprised he made it as long as he did... we were gone nearly 1.5 hours! Go Caden Go! Once we got through the tougher parts of the hike I hoisted him on my back for a while...

And then I was about done... so Daddy... the strong brut of a man that he is carried BOTH children! :)

Once we got back to the car there was a little of this...

PHEW... we made it! Our first family hike! Of what we hope to be many... :) 

After burning all of those calories we felt like we had earned a nice, greasy hamburger from Andice General Store... I have been wanting to go here FOREVER and today was my day! I love a good burger and I love a small town with a good story... and Andice is just such a place. It's not far from us and at a "T" in the road. The story goes something like this. The General Store...built long, long ago... used to have a sign that read "Beer And Ice" well one day the "Beer" part of the sign fell off and so the sign read "And Ice" which later turned into Andice... as in Andice, TX... don't you just love it? 

So now they serve up some of the best burgers you'll ever eat. We all chowed down! I had to stop myself midway through my first half of burger and remind myself to breathe! It was so good and we were so hungry! 

After our bellies were more than full, and our bodies tired from our morning hike we headed back home for the rest of the day. We relaxed, took naps and had a light family dinner before heading back out for an in ice cream treat before bed time...

We thought very sincerely about attending a fireworks show tonight but with the shows not starting until nearly 9pm we just didn't see how it would work... especially since we have another fun hiking trip planned for tomorrow (stayed tuned for stay-cation part II)... BUT... I couldn't let Caden and Kaki go to bed without a little bit of "fire"... or glow in this case...

Glow n the Dark bath anyone?!!

In the apartment we have the PERFECT bathroom for this! Thank you Pinterest... it was a hit and super fun! We'll be doing this again! And thank you Walgreens for your red, white and blue glow sticks!

Happy Fourth y'all! We'll be back soon with more form our Cox Fam Fourth of July Stay-cation!!

SO thankful for a great day today... one of my favorites, ever! 

A Pinwheel Party for Our Kaki-Pants!

I've been dragging my feet on this post... and as KK told me this morning, it is HIGHLY anticipated... everyone wants to see the evidence of this sweet little girl LOVING her cake! Come on, already... get to posting!

So I did... 

(WARNING: LONG POST!!)

A little background, first!

Since we were all going to be in town to celebrate our sweet Baby Agnew, we decided to tag team the weekend for Kaki's first birthday party. So on Sunday, after the baby shower fun on Saturday we threw a small birthday brunch for Kaki at Kk and Albi's house. I really wanted an intimate gathering of just family to celebrate our sweet girl, but I have ALWAYS dreamed of hosting a pinwheel themed party for my little girl someday... I L.O.V.E. pinwheels! The minute I found out I was going to have a girl, I knew that her first birthday party would be the perfect occasion for a pinwheel party... and having a birthday in June just happened to be the icing on the cake! Pinwheels scream summer!!

Even though it was just a small gathering of family, we still did invites... in fact, this girl's Daddy INSISTED on it! :) I love that about him!

I adore that picture of her... so sweet and innocent... be still my heart!!

I (actually it was really a TEAM effort... KK, Em, Martha and my Gram all did a lot to help out... which was AWESOME!!)  fixed a number of our favorite breakfast foods not forgetting Kaki's very favorite... WAFFLES! YUM! Justin took the photos for me before we got started... 

My sweet and SUPER talented friend Gina ONCE AGAIN delivered BIG for Kaki's birthday and made the CUTEST smash cake and cookies for Kaki's party... and YES, that is a "smash" cake! Sweet Gina loves Kaki and went BIG for her... and as you'll see later, Kaki MUCH appreciated it!

Look at that CAKE... gorgeous!!

AND the cookies...they taste even better than they look which is saying A LOT!

A close up of the table... the pictures on the yellow trellises are Kaki's monthly picky sticky shots! :) Oh how she grew up on us this year... :)

Pinwheel bouquets!! :)

I just took the pinwheels out of their pots this week... it was so sad... they are such happy creations!

And our Kaki girl... getting ready to eat with her super cute Happy Birthday sunglasses that Kk and Albi found for her!!

Four generations of Whitaker Women... Three Katherines and a Caroline!! LOVE this picture!! SO SO thankful for my Gram to be there with us... THANK YOU Gram for making the trip! We appreciate it so much! 

The duo... double trouble...

THE ONLY PICTURE I GOT OF MY AUNT MARTHA... SO SO SO sad... my kids LOVE Martha... heck all kids LOVE Martha! She is one of kind and we were so thankful to have her there. She was kind enough to drive my Gram down from Abilene to spend the weekend with us! I never expected for her to be at Kaki's birthday party so her being there was such a gift in itself! Loved it!

A little pre-party photo of big brother... sweet!

Alright so I don't know what it is about the Evans side of the fam, maybe it is our lack of consistent photography that gets us in trouble but no kidding EVERY fam picture attempt ended with someones eyes closed... so I made Justin take one for the team because I couldn't stand not to post one! UG!

Our family pics didn't turn out much better... I had a leaper on my hands!! 

And then... the Cox side of the family... the angels were circling and everyone was looking, posing and smiling... you've got to be kidding me... and I've got five just like this one! Ha!

Aunt Ree Ree and Uncle Tag... just a side note... how impressive is it for Aunt Ree Ree to get so low with a 30 week belly on her?! SUPER DUPER if you ask me! :)

Another sibling pic...

Aunt Ree Ree snapped this gem... sweet boy...

Aw... sweet friends, those two!  

Oh and there is Martha again in the background... whoo hoo!! And Aunt Emily... I don't have many other pictures of her either and that makes me so sad... she is a worker bee by nature and was always busy doing something to ensure that Kaki was having a fantastic birthday party!! Aunt Emily is going to be a special gal-pal to have for sweet Kaki!

I'm ready for my close up now... and my WAFFLES!!

The Evans boys tellin' Kaki about life... Lord help her! :) Or maybe they were talkin' fashion... and if that was the case she was in good hands... aren't they handsome?

These next two I LOVE... the uncles with Kaki...

And the uncles with Caden at his first birthday party... LOVE that! Pretty special!

So after we ate and ate and ate some more we sat Kaki down in the middle of the action for some gifting! And I know it comes as no shock... she had LOTS of things to get through! :) And of course big bro was always around to keep order... 

Look how cute that Peacock bucket is from Aunt Emily... sah-weet... she knows a way to Kaki's Mommy's heart... peacocks for the Kaki-pants... :)

Kaki got LOTS of fun things... some new toys... puzzles, stroller, doll house, bath toy, shape sorter... books, CLOTHES and the like! AND KK and Albi had the sweetest toy chest made for Kaki to keep it all in... no more sharing with brother... it will be the perfect addition to her new room! :) It is in our living room right now and I stare at it all the time... imagining her packing her room up in it and taking it college someday... (I know... I'm crazy!)

And y'all know how much action the stroller has gotten! Teaching her to walk!! Thanks Nana and Bop!

After the present opening was complete we dressed down our girl and got her in her birthday bloomers!! Aren't they sweet... love this picture of the birthday girl and her grandmas!! Or as Caden told me yesterday, "Kk is not a grandma, she is a KK!" Oh what have we done to these poor children who are going to be all shades of confused when their friends tell them things like, "I don't have a grandma, I have a Ditty, a Nana, a Doodle, a Nini..." and the like! I kind of LOVE it!

CAKE TIME... 

Clap for Cake... Kaki was...

So Kaki is my brave child... not afraid to be the center of attention, doesn't cry when she is dropped off in the church nursery... isn't afraid to be away from Mommy and Daddy... she is happy go lucky and Miss Life of the Party... she LOVED the happy birthday ballad and was excited to get her hands on that cake...

Hmmmm.... a little unsure at first... she was all about the build up...

Lick... yum... the anticipation keeps building...

Uh huh... still good...

Oh, goodness... are y'all watching me pig out?!

Ah well... it's too good to care about being delicate...

Brother couldn't stand himself... he needed a taste and he needed it now... he knows Miss Gina's cake is worth the taking!

Here you go Kaki... let me help you out... 

Can someone get this kid outta my spotlight?!! Hello! My birthday! My cake!

I'll fix this... take that CADEN!! Face in the cake... 

HAHAHAHA! We were all in stitches and SO proud all at the same time! Oh my brave little girl!

Clap for cake... and for Kaki... 

I'm SO BIG and SO FULL of PINK ICING!!

Love this picture of the two of them SHOVING it!! Little piggies! 

After the cake fun, we bathed Kaki and got her de-pinked and said our goodbyes as everyone went in their separate directions... to Abilene...to Waco... to Houston... to Nacogdoches... and finally, back to the Rock... 

It was a perfectly pleasant pinwheel party for my Kaki-pants! It was a treasure of a weekend from start to finish, and boy, what a finish it was!!

We are so thankful to Kk and Albi who opened up their home to us and helped us celebrate Kaki's first birthday!! 

We are always overwhelmed by the blessing of family and this particular weekend was certainly no different. Our kids are FULL with love and support and most importantly prayer... 

THANK YOU all for coming and celebrating our sweet Lou Lou! It was a blast!!

And as you can see Kaki felt the same...

Life doesn't get sweeter than this, does it?! Happy Birthday Kaki!!