Mason's 5th birthday

Hard to believe our little boy turned 5 on July 14th!!! Seems like it was just July 14, 2004. They always say that your kids grow up too fast, and we are definitely experiencing that, especially with Mason! (Mallory on the other hand, can grow up quickly for a little while and skip these terrible twos that i think are upon us *S* )

Here they are right before we were leaving the house on his birthday morning for the birthday party in the park with some of his friends.

Mason wanted a 'Roy car' cake for his birthday this year, and I gladly accepted that, as I had made a guitar cake for the last two birthdays, so it was time for something new. A little background on the 'Roy car' name. When Mason was younger, he couldn't say 'Troy' (one of Tony's brothers) . It would always come out 'Corey', which is the name of Tony's other brother. So we decided to shorten Troy to 'Roy'. Well, for Mason's 2nd birthday, Uncle 'Roy' gave him his motorized Lightening McQueen car and since that day, we have been calling it the 'Roy car'. Even though he knows its lightening mcqueen, he still calls it roy car. I don't think he fully grasps the reasoning behind 'Roy car', but its too cute to change so forever 'Roy car' it will be!!

A few random photos of the kiddos that came out...

After we ate and had some cake, we went over to the splash area in this park in Ames. Course I didn't think to get a photo of them before they went swimming, so I got one in their swimsuits! We had quite the crowd and Mason had a ball!!!

So for Mason's birthday supper, we went to Hickory Park. What better place to take a

year old than to a place where they sing to you AND give you a free ice cream cone!!

Looks like we will have to be going their for Mallory's next birthday too!!

We ended up having Mason's family birthday party on Sunday at my parents pond. We had another 'Roy car' cake (note to self.. don't make two of the same cake in less than a week) and some homemade ice cream!!

My dad, Pa, as Mason calls him, also has a July birthday, so we put his candles in the cake and sang happy birthday too him too!!!

Mason got a lot of cool 'boy' things for his birthday....(not sure why I didn't get more photos of him opening his packages... but this doesn't even put a dent in what he ended up getting.. guess he must be loved *S* )

Here is Mallory using the new bat and ball... I think I have a future Hawkeye softball player on my hands .. and might even be a switch hitter as she hasn't taken favors for either hand yet

AND also doing what she does best.. boy are the teenage years gonna be fun

SO I think I've finally caught up on the last couple months!! Mason will start Pre K the middle of August and he is so looking forward to it. I know he will love it, and sister will miss him, but I look forward to seeing him learn and grow. Getting out of this summer sleep schedule will be the hardest.. no more kids going to bed at 9 and getting up at 8... gonna have to push all that back so Mason can be to school by 8!!! I'm sure the kids won't mind the adjustment once we get there, but I think I will have a hard time with it!!

Summer isn't over yet.. still have to make a trip to Adventureland, go to the Iowa State Fair, AND the biggest news of all.. attend a wedding!! My Aunt LeaAnn is getting married!!!!!! We are so excited for them and look forward to all the planning that will go on the next four weeks!! This is a first marriage for both of them. LeaAnn didn't want a big to do, but we told her you only get married once and we are gonna make it special! So she conceded and decided NOT to just get married at the Justice of the Peace but have a small family wedding at the farm!!! Nothing too extravegant, yet a little more intimate than the court house! Can't wait!!! Dress shopping with her this weekend... should be fun!!