Rattlesnake Trail

We took Jackson on a hike up the Rattlesnake trailhead yesterday...such a beautiful day, Jackson did great on the hike (I didn't bring the jogging stroller, so he had to walk most of the way.) Really wore himself out and slept like a log last night:)He started out with energy to burn and ran most of the first half of the trail, stopping only to pick berries to feed to the birds or collect cool rocks or sticks. I showed him how to spot wild rose hips so I didn't have to worry about him picking the poisonous white berries, so by the end of the hike we had about half a pound of rose hips, one giant walking staff, one smaller stick, three rocks and alot of leaves. When he wasn't running he was crawling like a "wild beast"...or a dinosaur, or a coyote...
When he did finally start to wear out, luckily Grammy was there- she carried him the rest of the way back to the car:)I love the sly look on his face, ahhh it's so nice to be spoiled!!

Fire Season

One of Jackson's favorite things to do is have Matt make him a fire in the fire pit and then go around gathering up pine needles and pinecones to throw in. We had one small incident last summer where he learned that fire is ouchy, and now he is very careful not to get himself too close.


He alsways asks before he throws in anything that isn't wood...can I burn dirt?rocks?And if you have a fire...you have to roast marshmallows, of course. (He actually calls marshmallows "roastmallows").

I love how he is sitting with his legs crossed in this picture:)

Big, Ugly Chair

Here's a couple of shots of the guy bonding that has gone on in Matt's new birthday chair. As you can see it is both big (they can both sit in it and Jackson almost gets lost) and a hideous fuzzy brown (that is meant to disguise stains and absorb odors-hopefully) that qualifies as ugly. And both he and Jackson are in love with it, which is all that matters.
For those of you not privy to the situation, Matt has wanted a Laz-E-Boy for years...and I finally caved for his birthday this year (many thanks to Mike, Sandra and Scott who helped make this purchase possible:). Anyways it is firmly ensconced in Matt's room now-right next to his computer desk chair of dubious beauty, large computer, enormous computer desk and huge TV. I think his male collection is now complete.Thank god he has his own room for all this stuff, it keeps marriage peaceful:)

Potatoes are Ready!

My Mom came out yesterday to dig up the potatoes-and boy was Jackson happy to help. My Mom kept trying to make the experience educational, telling him all about potatoes; that potatoes are in the Nightshade family along with tomatoes and peppers and Jackson would say "Yep, Grandma, and Blueberries!" Or "Look Grandma an Easter Egg, we're Easter Egg hunting!"

Juno, inspecting the produce. Although she found the potatoes unappealing, she is never far behind Jackson.

Despite his imperviousness to potato education, he had a blast and finished up the whole patch...good day of grandma/Jackson bonding:)

Thank You Auntie Jenna

So, Auntie Jenna periodically sends Jackson a package in the mail with a special surprise in it. He got one last night, and this one had a musical card in it...his FAVORITE (he calls these cards his "singers"). The other part of the surprise was a box of chocolates (he took his clothes off before he opened them, because he said he was going to get messy:) which of course was cool, but he took card he took to bed with him and slept with it all night. Thank you so much Auntie Jenna!!

Going to the Mall

He's taking off on his own today...and driving to the mall. He's getting to be a super speed demon on his trike, the car doesn't go fast enough for him anymore, but it still has a sweet horn!

Snuggle Puppy

I haven't had anything to post about for several days, as Mr. Jackson has been on a trip with his dad to visit his Grammy Ellen and Grandpa Jack. He had a blast and won't stop talking about his Grammy Ellen's french toast:) But he's back, and the animals are all overdue for some love (Juno just about had a nervous breakdown while he was gone, pacing back and forth, going to the door whining...) These pics are with one of our Chihuahua puppies; he's drug his old bouncy seat off the shelf in the garage, it's his "cozy seat" for playing with the puppies. It's great to have a built in puppy socializer, every one we raise is preschooler approved:)

Happy Birthday, Uncle TY

Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you...since we can't be with you today, here's some past moments of Jackson/Uncle Ty bonding. (Check back as this post will grow, lots of my cute pics are on my computer at work.) See Ty, its not so bad having your picture on a blog...Jenna would promise to only post ones in which you looked really, really handsome:) OK this is all in place of the birthday spanking I can't be there to give you today, happy, happy birthday!!

Beautiful Day

It was so nice outside today!! Such a beautiful Fall day, we decided to move everything outside for a little playtime on the patio. We built several awesome block cities...read stories...drank juice...perfect day:)
" Llama, llama having fun, blocks and puzzles in the sun..." (For those of you who have kids and haven't heard that one get Llama Llama mad at Mama, it is too cute!!).

Good Morning

Out bright and early to gather eggs, don't you love the galoshes over the footsy pajamas?

Playdough Playdate

We had a playdate today with Jen, her sister Roxy and their cute kiddos Lucy, Johnny and Buddy ( thanks Roxy for hostessing:)We made some homemade playdough, which is a favorite at our house and was a big hit today, even with the younger kids.

Sorry for so many pics in one post, there were so many fun ones...





Playdough hats, playdough lips, we even let them make balls and toss them around. Needless to say Jackson's bath tonight was not optional:)

Ice cream all around!!!

After everyone had enough playdough, Johnny (the big kid) gave everone a ride; he has a super cool tractor that really drives. I don't think Jackson even knew that toys that awesome existed before today. They spent some time in the sandbox and then Jen gave everyone rides in the hammock, which by that point in the day nearly put each of them to sleep.

Thanks everyone for such a fun day!!!