Someone turned 8...

Yep, that's right - we now have an eight year old!!! Hayden turned 8 last Saturday, and to celebrate we had a pool party with friends {and a few girls!} too! After the swimming and water balloons we had a BBQ and presents!

Hayden chose a bright surfer theme and so, that's what he got!
{I keep thinking it's a good thing I have some connections...}

These cookies were soooo good! My good friend Jill of Lil Darlin sweet shoppe made them for me for the party! I am so grateful to know talented people who are willing to share their talents with me! Thanks Jill!

In case you were wondering - the colored parts on the beach balls were made from Starbursts flattened out! Oh my, they were tasty! {I took a little break from my 7 weeks of no sugar to have one... or two...} It was worth every bite!

Lucky for me, Fry's always has these cupcakes in stock and they matched perfectly!

The boys {and girls} had a fun time with the canonball contest!


Thankfully Meredith and my Dad were both willing to come and help supervise - the pool made me nervous but these kids were so well behaved! We had the perfect number {3 boys who were supposed to be there had to cancel that day - I was kind of glad!}


After an hour of swimming the kids got out for some water balloon games!


After a little more pool time, Andy grilled hotdogs and they each got their own can of soda {and other food but Hayden insisted that we have "soda cans"!}


Birthday boy eating a cupcake and wearing a shirt from Kindergarten, nice.

Present time! Hayden loved all of the sets of Legos he got as well as the games and Bakugans he received!

My dad was super excited to give Hayden a Red Rider BB Gun! A few years ago I might have nixed the idea but I think this was a good bonding experience for them! He also got Andy an early birthday present and so the boys played after all of the guests had gone home!

A messy face on a pretty little girl!

An even messier face on a cute little dude!

Showing off her skills on the trampoline!

Oops - looks like another little present! {Zac did this all on his own and we had to get a picture!}

The night after the party we had our family party with a BBQ again - this time burgers instead of hotdogs! The Simpsons got him two cool hats - specifically with mostly flat brims - as that is the current style and he insisted he needed some!

Mom and Dad broke down and got him a Nintendo 3DS... We have been putting it off for years telling him once he was eight he could maybe get one... With our sabbatical coming up in a few weeks we decided it would actually be a really good thing!

We are really excited that Hayden has chosen to be baptized... The big day will be Saturday, June 18th! We love you Hayden!