Happy Birthday Cole!

Cole is 7!  He had a fun birthday this year.  We rented a bounce house and he played all afternoon with his friends.  Then that evening we had dinner and cake and more playing with our family.  We sure love him!

Cole at 7:
Loves anything outside
Favorite Sport is whatever season it is - right now soccer & football
He is playing flag football for the first time this season - he is tall & fast
Best Friend - Cooper & Riley
Favorite Thing about School - recess (although he likes school in general - he is an awesome reader!)
His teacher says he is a model student.  He is helpful, nice to everyone, and obeys the rules

Funny Story about Cole: (although it wasn't funny at the time!!!)  Over the summer he learned to ride his bike.  Once we finally convinced him that it wasn't scary he took off and never looked back.  We couldn't get him off of it.  One day he was riding around the neighborhood as I was cleaning.  He would come in the house every 10 minutes or so and check in and then take off again.  Well after awhile, he hadn't checked in and I was starting to worry.  20 minutes passed and then 30.  Still no Cole.  I checked all his friend's houses and around the block.  Now about an hour had passed.  Still no Cole.  I was starting to panic.  I called Matt to come home from work and help me look.  He had been talking about riding to my mom's house one day so I was starting to worry that he had decided to try.  I called her and started to head toward Hyde Park.  By the time I hit 1400 North, still no Cole.  By this time it was well over an hour that he had been gone and no one had seen him.  I finally decided to call the police.  As I was on the phone with dispatch, Matt called my other line.  They had found his bike.  Turns out, the last time he rode around the block, he saw a friend outside on the other end of the neighborhood.  He left his bike in the friend's backyard and went in the house to play.  He never plays with this friend so even thought I had looked in "circle" where he lives, I couldn't see the bike or Cole.  By the time I got home, Cole was home as well as a Sheriff.  The sheriff was close by when I called dispatch so he came right over.  Cole wouldn't come out and talk to him -- he was super scared and knew that he shouldn't have disappeared without telling me.