Updating look of blog

I am making changes as we speak to the blog to give it a "fresh" look.  Is the light blue too distracting?  I have added pages for each of the boys which will be a work in progress.  I am thinking about adding pages for Liz and I as well.  Thoughts?

Let me know what you think by posting comments.  I have Christensen Reunion stories and pictures that will be updated soon.

Trip to Colorado and 4th of July

Our trip to Colorado was a success again this year.  A little vacation away from Omaha to see the Brush family, hang out, rest and celebrate our country's independence.  We also have our annual Cook Independence Day Celebration and this year did not disappoint.  We have about 90 people enjoying hot dogs, beer and apple pie.

Our trip brought rest as well as taking a couple of quick trips to Denver.  Shawn got to attend a Rockies game with his mom and Liz spent our hard earned cash shopping with Sandy.  The boys got quality time with the family and most importantly Grandpa and Grandma.  Evan said, "I'ms going to Col-a-RAD-o" leading up to the trip so he was definitely excited.  Evan and Nathan got to attend their first rodeo which was a new experience with lots of horses and cows (per Evan).

We held our 9th annual party at the house.  No pie or hotdog eating contest this year (and the kegs were still half full if you can believe it) but with our 10th anniversary next year, there are bound to be many surprises and tricks up our sleeve.  We always enjoy catching up with friends and celebrating with fireworks courtesy of a few generous friends; thanks Dad, Ryan and Mark!  Evan also got to show off his new Jeep which was a big hit for the kids.

The 4th ushered in the pancake breakfast and parade, which Evan wasn't too crazy about the firetrucks and the water (wait until he is older) and Nathan successful slept through the entire thing.  We played it low that day hanging out at the farm and watching the great fireworks show that night. 

We drove home and had to make a small detour at Aurora, Nebraska due to storms, but 8 hours later we made it.  The boys were getting restless but overall they handled both legs of our trip well and are troopers in the car for such a great length of time.  Overall, another successful trip and looking forward to finish out the summer at home in time for football season.

Nathan's First Day

We are back at it!  Liz finished up her 12 weeks off from work taking care of Nathan at home and boy did it fly by.  We made it back safely from Colorado and our trip (post and photos coming) and hit the ground running with Evan returning to school and Nathan joining him at First National's Child Development Center.

Ms. Dawn is Nathan's teacher who was also in the same room Evan was in when he was an infant.  We are excited to have familiar faces taking care of Nathan and Evan can show him the ropes in the room with the toys and the trouble he can get in to.  We are so thankful for the staff at FNCDC as they are a great partner in our boys development.  On a side note, Ms. Sharla, who took care of Evan as an infant, will be leaving in the coming weeks and we wish her all the best.  She is what we call around the house, the "baby whisperer".

Liz's transition back to work has been great as her co-workers did a great job covering for her while she was gone.  Shawn is back at it and ready to welcome new students this fall and a quick trip to Alaska.  The dog days of summer are definitely here with high humidity and heat.  What did we do before A/C?