Loch Lomond Fireworks

While the boys and I were in Arizona for the 4th of July, Marcus stayed home to work.  But apparently our neighborhood is a great place to be on the 4th!  They had an impressive firework show.  Marcus said it was really professional grade - huge fireworks that lasted a long time!  He invited his family down for a barbecue and the firework show.  And let's just say it took us days to clean up all the cardboard that had fallen in our yard.

500th Blog Post!

What an exciting way to celebrate our 500th Hardy Family Blog post...

Welcome to the world, Baby Brother!

Tyler K Hardy

July 22, 2015 - 9:52 PM

7 Pounds 10 Ounces

51 Centimeters (About 20 inches)

Beth Israel Medical Center, Manhattan, NY

About 12 hours new

Benihana

We alternate going to Benihana in June and August each year.  You HAVE to use your birthday coupons!  And we debated whether or not to take Chase with us.  We decided he could really enjoy it since the chef is right at the table playing with the food as he cooks it.  Glad we took Chase -- he loved everything, except the food.

Playing games with Dad at the table

Drumming with his chopsticks :-/
Yes, that is a PB&J on his plate... had to supplement the nothing else he ate.

We got him some kids chopsticks, and he rocked at picking up anything he could find.  His main entertainment was a cherry tomato.

He really was getting the hang of it

I love his face here - and I was so surprised he could do it too!

Watching the chef

I think this was during the onion volcano

Chase really was pretty great during dinner.  Shocking, I know.  But it's loud there, so that helps.  Plus he had those chopsticks and a cool hat.  It wore him out.

Those cute, tired eyes

Waiting for the train

Benihana 2015

I just LOVE this :)

I'm seriously considering asking to go for my birthday too... Yum yum yum.

Happy birthday, Marcus!  Hope 28 is good to you -- yes, we had to count and figure out how old he was turning because we couldn't remember if it was 27, 28, or 29.  :) 

Baby Shower

CooperKatz threw a surprise baby shower for Marcus.  Chase and I made it before the big surprise, and Marcus was totally shocked when he entered the room.

Here's a fun Timehop Instagram photo...

Did you notice in the top right corner?
142 Weeks Ago!!!
This was from the baby shower CK threw for Chase.

And now jump 142 weeks back to the present...

Chase is attending his brother's shower!  And making a mess with Play Dough :)

They ordered a great meal from The Taco Truck and cookies from Insomnia.  Both are so delicious!

We had to hide a cookie for Marcus because they're so good (and Chase was trying to steal it)

Chase had PBJ.

Some of Marcus' coworkers:

Marcus works for a great company, and it is really wonderful how supportive they are of their employees and their families.  We are grateful for Ralph and the entire company at CooperKatz.

CK Holiday Party

On Saturday night, Marcus and I went to the annual CooperKatz holiday party.  It was an awesome little club with fan-freaking-tastic food.  Check it out, but caution, you will start drooling:  Tre Dici Steak

Marcus was really looking forward to the event- put on a special bow-tie and everything ;)

It was dark inside so the pictures didn't turn out, but it was so cute

Every year, all the employees are given a gift.  (Last year was the model cars, and) this year was a little different.  They were all given a handmade New York City hat that was designed specifically for them, all through the company Hats for Health.  Ralph Katz had seen these hats, met the lady who makes them, and commissioned one for each person.  He gave her a few details about them, she made each one personally, deciding the type of hat, colors, and insignias.  And all the proceeds from her business are donated to a fund for leukemia.  It was really neat, for lack of a better word.  It had been a tough year with Andy Cooper passing away from cancer this year, and this was a beautiful way to honor his memory and celebrate everyone at CK.  Ralph presented each one at the party and said a few things about why he appreciated every employee.  He also wrote each person a personal note, which I know Marcus will treasure his forever.  The people at CK are inspiring, such kind and generous people.  What an amazing company!

Marcus' turn

Ralph presenting Marcus his hat

Ralph & Marcus

Here's Marcus' hat a little closer:

He thinks he's pretty suave...

Oh, and did I mention the food was amazing??!?!?!? :)

The Fourth of July

Honestly, the best place to be for the 4th of July is New York City.  And this year we did it a little more  low key.  My feet weren't up to standing for hours, so we were excited when we got an offer from Fernando and Melissa to watch the fireworks at a park in Astoria.  Definitely closer, and we were able to sit!  Plus, there was a McDonalds nearby, so we had a very Patriotic dinner (and dessert of chocolate dipped cones).  :)  

Marcus was a true gentleman and carried our chairs to the park.

Socrates Statue Park

They had live music before and during the fireworks.

The view from the park.

Marcus killed time reading.  

(You can see why he's trying to convince me he needs a tablet.)

You could text messages to be shown on the screen, which were much easier to read once it got dark :)

There were some fireworks around the city starting before the main show, and little Alexander obviously enjoyed watching them.

 The screen was actually pretty good!  And I liked how we could hear the fireworks all the way in Queens.

It was nice to be able to see the fireworks and get home a lot faster than if we had gone down to the Hudson.  But it was a lot of fun!  Happy (late) Fourth!  :)

1776-2010

It seemed like more people celebrate the Fourth of July than Christmas around here. Seriously. I got off work an hour early on Saturday, which never happens. I would have been super excited, but Marcus had to work all night doing security at Stadium of Fire. I think all of Utah was there. I am told it's a killer firework show. I saw some at red lights on the way home, and Marcus had a great view from his post. He didn't get home until around 1 A.M., so that killed our celebration. But we'll definitely celebrate when we get his pay check :) (Sea World, here we come!!!)

Today, the actual 4th of July, we taught our crazy primary class, but they weren't so crazy. It was weird. They were the best behaved in the room, and the last primary president even noticed and commented. Too bad that only took like a year :) For dinner, we had good all American hamburgers. Yum! And homemade ice cream. Double yum!!! I made it from Papa's recipe, basically by myself. I will give Marcus credit for the ice, which was vital for the ice cream. It took a long time to make, but it was worth the wait. I added strawberries and blueberries to make our dessert festive red, white, and blue.





Happy Independence Day :)

The big 2-3

To quote Trevor, today Marcus became "an old fart!" It was a pretty exciting day. First on the agenda was going to Mimi's Cafe. Yum!



On the way, we stopped by the Mac Store because I "got lost" and needed to turn around. We got Marcus his birthday present-- he was so surprised! Hooray for a new computer!





He spent a lot of the afternoon playing with his birthday toy :), talking to family, and eating more great birthday food at Macaroni Grill. It was fun to have a day to celebrate Marcus! Happy Birthday!