Look on the bright side...

Our Little Celebrity

2009-05-26T16:10:00.001-07:00

Jackson was in the newspaper today! http://www.news-journal.com/featr/content/features/stories/2009/05/26/05262009_pythias_bikes.html

Simple prayers...

2009-03-06T22:08:00.001-08:00

"Dear Lord,
Thank you for this day. Please let Pawpaw feel better. Thank you for Mommy & Daddy. Let's have another great day tomorrow!
Amen. "

from his precious lips to God's ever-hearing all-knowing ears

Where's Waldo?

2009-02-25T18:19:00.000-08:00

Jackson is a HUGE Waldo fan. I love that he can sit for long periods of time, entertained simply by the mission of finding one goofy guy among millions of distractions. He gets so tickled by some of the things in the pictures, and he has an admirable sense of pride when he is able to solve a particularly difficult page. The point to telling you all of this is: I want to give him a "Waldo" birthday party in May! He'll really think it's cool and I will be able to avoid a super-hero theme party for at least one more year. WIN- WIN! Birthdays are a big deal at our house, and I want the party to be fabulous! I would love to hear any cute, original ideas you might have to help me pull this off. Put on your red & white thinking caps and let me hear what you've got! (THANKS IN ADVANCE).

Yummy recipes to recommend

2009-01-29T15:27:00.000-08:00

I've been going through a bit of a cooking spell (this happens rarely and doesn't last long). I have tried a couple of new things that I feel I have a moral obligation to share... they are THAT good. Last night, I made Bacon Cheese Chicken with Garlic Cream Sauce that I found on the Sunday Baker's blog. Click here to see the recipe and photos that will make you get in your car and head to the store for the ingredients. Honestly, I want to make this sauce to go with everything I cook from now on. Delicious!

I served the chicken with linguine and Paula Deen's roasted baby carrots. We never eat carrots, but I wanted to try something different. Jon and I both enjoyed the change. I found the carrot recipe in this cookbook. I've had the book for awhile, but never made anything out of it...UNTIL... a friend talked me into making the Lemon Blossoms. They are my new favorite dessert! Tart and sweet...yum!!

Ok, now that that's out of the way, I've gotta go pop a frozen pizza in the oven for dinner tonight.

Sorry I'm late...

2009-01-27T15:15:00.000-08:00

Well, I did it again... When I get out of blogging mode, it's really hard for me to get going again. I have lots of Christmas pictures to post, so here goes nothing...

We had a wonderful Christmas. We got to see many family members and spend time with friends.

I decided not to put up both trees this year, but I made a few decorative changes to our main tree.

I put extra effort into my giftwrap this year (with a bit of help from Jon).

Jackson can never have a relaxed smile in a posed photo. What a cheese ball!

Jon's gingerbread creation won second place in the annual contest.

Jackson assisted in making a variation of last year's Rudolph cookies for his class party.

On Christmas Eve, Jackson (finally) fell asleep using his favorite new stuffed penguin from Papa Mitch and Mama Lane as a pillow.

Santa brought him exactly what he asked for!!

I love this picture of Jon, Jackson and Drew trying to figure out all of Jackson's new Transformers.

Jackson giving Drew lessons on the new DS.

Jackson's very own PILE of gifts at Neane and Big Daddy's house.

It seems like we are still catching up from the holidays. Things are busy as usual around here. Jackson still has not finished all of his thank-you notes. (I really wish I had made him finish before school started back! It's a long slow process with him). Jon's band has been playing once or twice a month, and business is good for him at work. I've been working one or two days most weeks for a little change of pace.

Jon's grandfather has been very sick in the hospital since last Thursday. We finally got a good report today, and he seems to be on his way back. Praise God!

Jon was able to do some duck hunting in Arkansas with friends this weekend. I entertained my friend, April and her daughter Sarabeth while Jon was hunting. We had a lot of fun visiting and playing with the kids. I posted some pictures of Sarabeth on my photography blog.

I'm going to try to get back to picking up my camera and posting regularly. Stay tuned!

Honey DOES!

2008-12-06T11:46:00.000-08:00

Amazing things happen at our house when Jon's honey do list includes electrical tasks.LET THERE BE PENDANT LIGHTS!

We found these lights for a great price at Lowe's and I knew they were perfect for our kitchen. With free labor, it turned out to be a big bang for our buck! You know I love a thrifty project. The finished result is just lovely, if I do say so. Jon likes to be technical, so he still plans to put the new lights on their own switch. Not sure when that will happen, since I'm not exactly a "paying" customer.

My husband rocks!

Happy December!!

2008-12-01T08:06:00.001-08:00

A few years ago, we started a new Advent tradition in our family. I began collecting children's Christmas books and wrapping them like gifts on December 1st. Jackson gets to open one each night to read during the countdown to Christmas. He really looks forward to it, and gets so excited about some of the books he has forgotten about throughout the year. This year, he even picked out the wrapping paper at the store, although I'm still shocked that he chose shiny red and gold over a colorful and playful Santa print. This "new" tradition of ours really helps to get us in the spirit!

P.S. In the beginning, I didn't have enough books to last the entire Advent season. I wrapped the ten or so books that I had, then re-wrapped the favorites after they were read the first time.

Playing Catch-up

2008-12-01T07:54:00.000-08:00

Well, I knew it wouldn't take long before I started procrastinating on the blog again. It's been a busy couple of weeks, but I'm ready to catch up now.

We had a great Thanksgiving with famiy and friends. Our camping trip was cancelled due to wet weather, but it all worked out nicely. It's nice to get back into the "routine" after a long holiday weekend!

I'm planning to post more tidbits throughout this week, then get back on a regular blog-posting schedule.

I've posted new family portraits for my BFF, Shannon here. I have two more photo shoots scheduled for this week, too!

A week without pictures

2008-11-10T18:10:00.000-08:00

It was a busy week in our lives. I didn't get the camera out at all, unfortunately.

Jon and I have been battling cold-like symptoms.

I worked two jobs Tuesday & Wednesday.

Had an election night get-together. I misplaced my usual recipe, so I made this baked potato soup, which turned out very yummy.

Procrastinating the painting of my bedroom and the organizing of my closet...Maybe this week?

Bought Jackson's main Christmas present.

Jon's band rehearsed on Thursday evening while I started packing for the weekend.

Have been praying a lot for close friends and my uncle Roger, all in various stages of cancer.

Had a wonderful weekend with friends on a camping/ hunting trip.

Brushing up on my knitting after almost a year without practice- love to knit in the cold weather months!

Jackson got a flu shot today. Jon made chicken fried deer steak for dinner. We spent the evening watching Kung Fu Panda together.

The week that lasted a month...

2008-11-03T16:51:00.000-08:00

So, last week was a seriously long one! Started out with Jackson staying awake most of Sunday night. He stayed home from school on Monday due to lack of sleep. We stayed in our pj's all day long. He rested and played on the computer.

Jon and I refinished our soon-to-be, new hand-me-down KING sized bed on Tuesday. It was my first time applying wood stain and I loved it. Can't wait to find something else to stain! (I'll post a picture when we get it all put together).

Jackson continued to have trouble staying asleep throughout the week. On Thursday, I called the doctor out of sleep-deprived desperation. The things I was worried about were all ruled out, and we came to the conclusion that Jackson is freakishly scared of a Goosebumps character he saw on a television commercial. We came up with a special prayer that he now says everynight, asking God to make sure Grandpa Chuck and Mammaw will watch over him while he sleeps. He has done MUCH better- still waking once or twice, but going back to sleep. Thank you Mammaw & Grandpa Chuck!!!

On Friday, I went with Jackson on the first grade field trip to the zoo. (I won't be posting photos of the kids since the school name is on the shirts & I don't have the other parents' permission). It was a wonderful day to visit our fine zoo.

Can you believe the color? I had to stop and take a deep breath.

After the zoo, Jack and I both napped for awhile. When daddy got home, it was pumpkin carving time.

Then we all got into costume for a ride around the neighborhood in our brand-new toy with good friends.

Jackson aka"Ironman" had a blast trick-or-treating his way around the neighborhood and over to his grandmother's house, where we spent the rest of the evening eating chili dogs and treats.

Saturday was the last of the fall festivals and an evening with friends. Sunday was church, mexican food, and football.

Here's to another great week and a little more sleep!

Edited to add: I almost forgot this week's favorite project! I had an OLD flea market cabinet holding my cookbooks in a corner of my dining area. It was great in my old house, but never quite worked for me here. So, I took this Target bookcase out of my craft/music/game room and accessorized it. I love the result- especially my transplanted parsley that is actually really enjoying being indoors. Gotta love a free project!

brain exercise

2008-10-27T19:56:00.000-07:00

I know there's nothing I can do about the diminishing state of my brain cells, but I decided to start working crosswords to make myself feel smarter. I am really, really bad at them, but I'm determined to conquer! In my quest, I found these highly addictive little games. My gift to you:

quick-cross & up&down words

Enjoy!

A Week in the Life

2008-10-27T09:17:00.000-07:00

Since becoming a stay-at-home mom, people are always asking me how I spend my days. I'm going to document my time here in a weekly post complete with pictures. I got the idea here. I'm going to leave out the lazy, unproductive stuff, but you can figure in several hours of mindless tivo catching up from my comfy side of the bed.

Jon's been super busy at work. I think he needs a vacation.

Jackson's doing well in school. He's finally getting the hang of spelling tests, I think. His daily homework takes about 30 to 45 minutes- depending on how focused he is. We found a new motivational tool for him this week when Jon broke down and bought him his first set of Pokemon cards. I was really hoping we could somehow miraculously skip that strange rite of passage. No luck. He loves them.

Made polka dot pumpkins to finish off my Halloween decor. Got the idea here. I don't want to fool anyone into thinking that I have any fabulous original ideas or anything:-).

Moved my ferns into the house and replanted my urns. Jon and I also did a lot of work in the front flower beds.

Still have pansies to plant & I should really paint those faded shutters. I love fall!

Hung some fabulous new artwork.

Cooked two nights this week- spaghetti & meat loaf. Had lots of leftovers.

Spent $580 at the dentist on Monday.

Worked a contract job on Tuesday & took Jackson to a musical- Planet Funk.

Wished my mom a happy 52nd birthday on Thursday. Had lunch at a fabulous chinese bistro I've never been to.

Went to a costume party on Saturday. I have decided not to post those pictures. They are much too scary.

Posted on my blog for the first time in four months. What a week!

Jackson quote

2008-10-23T15:30:00.000-07:00

Before I forget, I have to share my new favorite Jackson quote (said while I was cleaning his ears with a q-tip): "Man, I wish I had another ear cause this feels great!".

Time flies when you're having fun!

2008-10-23T15:26:00.000-07:00

Wow! It's fall and I haven't blogged all summer. I'm sure the three people who used to read have stopped checking in by now. We had a fun-filled summer and have had a great start to the school year. I plan to post a bunch of photos soon. I also have something else up my sleeve... if there's anyone out there... stay tuned!

For a fun time...

2008-06-10T08:37:00.000-07:00

Sons of the Republic is playing at Bennie's Bar in Longview this Saturday at 9:00.

Summer School

2008-06-10T08:25:00.000-07:00

We're into our second week of summer break here. Before the school year ended, I had such awesome plans for Jackson's "educational" summer. We were going to:

1. Work on phonics and reading
2. Polish up addition skills and move on to subtraction
3. Improve writing skills
4. Make frequent trips to the library
5. Limit video game and tv time

So far, this is what Jackson has learned:

1. how to breathe through a scuba regulator
2. that he loves to skinny dip
3. it's much more fun to be thrown or pushed down the slip n slide than to do the work yourself
4. nothing fun happens in this house before 10am

He has done one math worksheet, which he aced. I'm not giving up, but I need to get a move on!

Look on the bright side...

2008-06-10T08:19:00.000-07:00

I've been messing around with the blog. I'm trying to make it a place that I will be motivated to come often. I put some thought into the title...didn't want anything too generic or goofy. I came up with this one because I think it pretty much sums up my attitude about most things in life. It will remind me to be optimistic, and maybe it will work for you too.

P.S. I'm trying to teach myself how to make a new {photo} header for the blog in PSE. If anyone out there has any pointers, I would be deeply grateful!

China Part 2

2008-06-05T13:56:00.000-07:00

So, we're in the car today running errands when we had this quotable conversation:

jackson: ya know what? (I hear this about 253 times a day)
me: what Jack? (I say this about 253 times a day)
jackson: Ironman has rocket boots
me: cool
jackson: yeah, really cool
me: I think I would like a pair of rocket boots
jackson: me too! I'd fly straight to New York City and get a big New York pizza! Then I'd fly to China and get a Chinese dinner for you and dad
me: VERY COOL!

NOTE: this ended up being a very long (mostly one-sided) conversation in which Jackson tried to decide if it would be possible for him and his dad to build a pair of rocket boots

Trip to China

2008-06-05T08:41:00.000-07:00

Jackson is constantly suprising me by some of the things he says. I thought it would be amusing to you too:

jackson- "mommy, I want to go to China"
me- "really? me too!"
jackson- "yeah, but I don't like their food"... "or their english"

I rated this one as his "quote of the week". Right above the one where he yells (at a church swim party in front of our pastor, several kids & their parents), "Mom, can I go skinny diving again?"

Kindergarten Graduate

2008-06-02T15:53:00.000-07:00

We're enjoying our first official Summer Monday. Jackson is so happy that school's out, which suprised me a bit. He loved Kindergarten and never once complained about going to school. He had perfect attendance the entire school year.

Today dad took us to lunch and we spent most of the afternoon being lazy. Tonight's movie night. Dad & Jack are going to see Iron Man while mom and the girlfriends check out Sex in the City! Now that the pace has slowed considerably around here, I'm going to make an effort to keep this thing updated.

"Sons of the Republic"

2008-01-26T13:03:00.001-08:00

Warren W. (bass), Eric A. (drums), Jon R. (vocals, rythym), & Greg W. (lead)

Jon's band has a gig on his birthday! Come celebrate with us at Leon's February 9th!

Stacey! Thanks for your comment- someone does see this stuff after all:). We're going to attempt a video, but the bar is really dark. However, Jon's recording with his edirol, so we'll have some audio! Greg wants to buy your telecaster- haha. He's been drooling over it.

Our Christmas Home

2007-12-23T12:09:00.000-08:00

Here's the complete tour. We hope you enjoy!

Cool little tip

2007-12-23T10:21:00.000-08:00

I have about 30 blogs that I read, and it's hard to keep up with that many. A friend recently told me about a site that will alert you to new blog posts: google reader. Try it out. I keep it open on my desktop all the time and check it when I check my email. Love it! (Right now, it's telling me that I have 69 new posts to read. I've got some catching up to do).

"All I want for Christmas"

2007-12-19T13:38:00.000-08:00

Once again, I failed to send out Christmas cards. If I had, this would have been it! MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Friendly Christmastime Competition

2007-12-12T21:53:00.001-08:00

We had a great time this week hosting and WINNING our first ever gingerbread house decorating contest. Here's the proof:

Out of the blue, Jackson decided to name our team: "Jingle Smells". I know this sounds like it had some influence from Jon, but I was there, and I swear it was all Jackson.

Here's our competition: (they couldn't decide on a team name) John, Chase & Jack

"Ho's on the go" was a late entry from our neighbor, Tim:

Chase & Jackson eagerly awaiting the big event: (yes, they stuffed their faces full of sugar for two hours straight)

Table O' Sugar: (before)

Table O' Sugar: (after)

P.S. There were actually no winners.

P.S.S. Team Jingle Smells ROCKS!

He believes!

2007-12-11T16:11:00.000-08:00

Santa and Mrs. Claus came to downtown Saturday night. Jackson visited with the big guy for a bit, then Santa told him, "Be sure to say your prayers, Jackson. We have a lot to be thankful for". Jackson asked him for an airplane. I thanked Santa in advance for the gift, since I'm hoping Jackson will fly us to the islands on it.

Happy Fall Y'all!

2007-11-03T11:49:00.001-07:00

Love this little scarecrow! Wednesday was "scarecrow day" at school. The kids made their hats and helped with the costumes. Jackson loved it!

Lilly

2007-10-05T13:19:00.000-07:00

She is old and crotchety.
She has bad, bad breath.
Her haircuts cost as much as mine.
She follows me around constantly.
I trip over her all day long.
She has bowel control issues.

She is so, so precious to me.
My first born.
My baby.

Lilly was a willing subject for an assignment for my new photography class.

Summer Highlights- Part 2

2007-10-05T11:21:00.000-07:00

At the end of June, we traveled to Glenrose for my family's annual reunion. It was great to see everyone, and we had a blast as usual. We scouted around and found some cool places for pictures:

After the family reunion, I "retired" from 9 years of social work to become a stay-at-home mom. I know, weird timing, but it was right. The next week, we were off to a week long vacation at the Hyatt Hill Country Resort in San Antonio. It was absolutely amazing! We spent one day at SeaWorld (which Jackson looooved, of course), and the rest of the week relaxing and playing in the pools and lazy river. I even got the chance to enjoy a massage in the fabulous resort spa. This is when I started to really enjoy retirement:). We were blessed to have my mom, brother and some of our best (and funnest!!) friends to share the vacation with.

Soon after our return from vacation, we had to move Drew to Stillwater. Still very hard to believe that my little brother is a freshman in college. He loves OSU and is very happy, and for that I am so thankful!

At the end of August, I was honored to host a baby shower for my friend, April. It was great to have her and Matt in town for a little while! The shower was a great success, mostly thanks to my co-host, Ashley. I can't wait to meet baby Landes this month!! I couldn't resist getting a picture of April's miserably swollen feet.

I guess that brings us back to where I left off, with Kindergarten starting for Jackson. He is doing great, and is especially enjoying making new friends. I am also loving all of the extra time we have together in the afternoons. He's always so happy to see me when I pick him up from school. It makes my heart happy.

Summer highlights and photos- Part 1

2007-10-01T15:23:00.000-07:00

I've wondered if anyone is reading this (if you are, please leave us a comment), and recently I've had a couple of people ask me when I'm going to get around to posting again. That answers my question. Here it is!

We had a super-eventful summer, so I'm going to start at the beginning- Memorial Day Weekend. That weekend my brother Drew graduated from high school, we threw him a big luau party and Jon and I celebrated our twelfth wedding anniversary.

In June, I had a couple of business meetings in Dallas and Arlington. Drew came up to stay with me and we went to a Rangers game. We got to see Sammy Sosa hit his 600th! It was so exciting and we had a blast. (these pictures were shot with my camera phone)

This one was snapped right as Sosa hit it!

We spent fourth of July watching the fireworks with Jon's family.

Much more still to come... I'll post part two later today.

The Ultimate Gift

2007-08-30T15:55:00.000-07:00

I went to the video store a couple of nights looking for a "chick flick" to sit down with after Jackson went to bed. I stumbled upon this amazing movie. It is definately not a chick flick, just a true feel good movie with a great cast and a touching story. Everyone should see it. If you check it out, let me know what you think!

Kindergarten

2007-08-28T06:05:00.000-07:00

Wow. It has been too long since my last post. This summer was amazing, and I promise rewind in the next couple of posts.

Jackson is a Kindergartener!! Yesterday was the day. He is such a big boy and that's hard for this mommy to accept. He woke up in a great mood, had a good breakfast and got dressed in his favorite new glow-in-the-dark dragon shirt. We made the .3 mile trek to the primary school in Dad's new truck. The three of us walked hand in hand into the madness that is the first day of school. It was much calmer than I had expected. There was one little boy in Jackson's class who had to be coaxed into the classroom, but we didn't see any tears. There was a special room for tears, but thankfully we didn't have to use it.

We had forgotten the nametag that his teacher gave us at open house, so we had to ask for another one. I know, bad first impression. Jackson went immediately to his seat and began playing with the Legos on his table.

He didn't talk to us after we got to the classroom, but he let us give him hugs and kisses. I realized later that day that he didn't even know we were there. He couldn't remember us taking him into his classroom! I'm thinking there was a little overload going on in his head.

Over the next few hours, Jon called me twice to check on me. I was fine. I did unfortunately let my mind wander a couple of times. Nonnie and I were first in the pick-up line after school. I had allowed myself to envision a very sad Jackson coming out of the school doors at pick up time. I pictured him with a pouty lip, tears and wearing different shorts than I had sent him in since I neglected to stop by the bathroom when I dropped him off. To my relief, this was what I saw:

Same shorts, no tears... YAY!! He had a great day. He loved his lunch and the playground. He told me about a book that Mrs. Stone read to the class. He made some new friends, but he hasn't learned their names. Success!

Monster trucks, movie reviews, great food and friends...

2007-07-01T16:18:00.001-07:00

Wow! Super-packed and fun weekend here. We went swimming at our friends' new pool Friday evening and had a great time, as usual. Saturday morning, Jon and Jackson set out for an adventure to our local Dodge dealership, where they had snow cones and a ride on the Raminator!

They both had a ball, although Jack wasn't so sure to start with. After a nap, we headed to the movies. Jon and Jackson saw Ratatouille, which got MAJOR thumbs up by both guys. I was a rebel and ventured to a 'grown up' show. I had been wanting to see Knocked Up for a couple of weeks, because I love "Izzy" from Grey's Anatomy. It was AWFUL!! The first twenty minutes or so got a lot of laughs, but then it just became crude and very, very long. So disappointing!

Today, we took a much anticipated trip to Uncertain, Texas and had lunch with friends at Big Pines Lodge on Caddo Lake.

As usual, the catfish was out of this world and the surroundings were beautiful. It was great to watch Jon tell Jackson about his memories on the lake as a kid. Jackson enjoyed the scenery while the grown-ups sat on the bank and unbuttoned our pants:). He picked me this beautiful weed.

All in all, a great weekend was had by all.

Hamburger Helper!

2007-06-25T19:15:00.000-07:00

Ok, Jackson wins the pickiest eater contest. I hate it too, because I am a horribly picky person and I hoped that was the one thing he would not inherit from me. Trust me, Jon and I have tried so hard to teach him healthy eating habits. We have always made sure he had a variety of foods to try and we have been encouraging. Still, he only has a few things he will really eat. Here's the list: pepperoni pizza, tacos, peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, fish sticks, chicken nuggets, grilled cheese sandwiches, spaghetti, macaroni and cheese, french fries, applesauce, cereal, bananas, string cheese... that's pretty much it. He won't eat burgers or hot dogs, much less anything resembling a vegetable.

So, a couple of weeks ago I was grocery shopping and happened upon Hamburger Helper. I remembered how much I loved it when I was little. I even thought surely Jackson would try it, since it is made up of things he does like. Tonight I worked a little late and Jon whipped up the HH. When I got home it was simmering on the stove and I heard Jackson say, "mmm, something smells good". We sat down to eat and it was just as yummy as I remembered! Jackson put one macaroni noodle in his mouth and spit it back out on the plate. I told him no snacks or sweets unless he ate his dinner, but he chose not to. I felt bad, but he kept telling me he wasn't hungry. Then, while getting him ready for bed, Jon said, "arent' you hungry?" and the five-year-old happily replied, "No, I could go for days without food". Where did that come from? No idea, but it cracked us both up. Also made me feel a lot better about sticking to my guns!

Most Heart

2007-06-04T19:46:00.000-07:00

Baseball season is over and it was a big hit! Jackson's coach gave him the "Most Heart" award. Keep in mind this was Jackson's first year, and to put it nicely- he didn't show any natural talent for baseball. He went several games without a hit. He enjoyed dancing in the outfield. He never complained or gave up. He lived for sno-cones! He was a good sport.

Jackson had lots of fans at the games. Nonnie, Uncle Drew, Neane, Big Daddy, Aunt T and Uncle D, Ashley, Jeff, Lil' Ian, John, Chase, Richard, Susan, Steve, Jill, and even baby Trent came to see him play.

I hope he wants to play again next year. It was an awesome experience. He is so proud of his trophy. He carried it everywhere for two days.

Spidey

2007-05-16T19:08:00.000-07:00

I still can't get over how Spiderman took over our lives on Jack's 5th birthday. I did a quick scrapbook page tonight using these two photos Jackson begged me to take:

Happy Birthday to Jack!

2007-05-10T17:25:00.000-07:00

Jackson is FIVE!! He started the big day with his gift from mom & dad- a Gameboy! He figured it out really quickly and didn't want to put it down.

His party was a grand slam! I think he went into over-stimulated mode. He had a couple of major fits during the day- especially when he realized he wasn't going to be the one to crack open the pinata.

It was a great day. Lots of friends, family, food, and gifts. I'm pretty sure he got every Spiderman toy there is- he was a happy birthday boy! Four days later, I'm still recovering from exhaustion!

My little brother

2007-05-01T19:45:00.000-07:00

My baby brother, Drew is all grown up. It's the end of his senior year, and I can't believe it. Since he's much too "cool" to have senior pictures made, my mom and I talked him into a little photo-shoot with sis. I got lots of great shots of him- this is just one unedited favorite of mine. I'm going to have to spend some time in photoshop with these considering he had two large hickies (how do you even spell that word?) on either side of his neck. I love my brother and I'm so proud of him. I know he's going to be an amazing man!

AMAZING stuff!

2007-04-30T10:12:00.000-07:00

I heard about this photography site awhile ago, and finally sat down to look at it. I was blown away. My mouth was hanging open! You won't be sorry....

george lange photo flipbook

I'm going to watch it again now. Can't stop smiling:)

Camp Jackson

2007-04-27T21:43:00.000-07:00

Uncle Will and Dad were welcomed to Camp Jackson this weekend. Here are some pictures of the boys enjoying some guy time in Jackson's fabulous new playhouse:

I should mention that Jackson is a pirate these days- nothing wrong with his eye.

Road Trip!

2007-04-04T11:29:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago, my wonderful grandmother had her 90th birthday!

She's so awesome! We made the trip to Lubbock to celebrate with her and had an amazing time. One of the added bonuses of our time in Lubbock was the couple of days spent with my dad and stepmom. I got to see my sister, Misti and grandfather, Chuck, along with many long-lost family members that came for Mamma's party. Jackson had a great time at PapaMitch's house. He also got to see a volcano movie at the OmniMax, visit the science spectrum and experience the freshest, tastiest Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Having to have my car towed two hundred miles home and replace the transmission was worth it, believe it or not.

Me and Jackson with my dad and his dad.

Mamma and her "kids".

Chocolate iced with sprinkles!

PS. Baseball has started! Stay tuned for photos and all of the hilarious details.

God Rocks!

2007-03-13T18:17:00.000-07:00

Jackson and I drove out to the daffodil gardens Saturday. He wasn't a cooperative photo subject, but we had a great time. While driving through four miles of trails, we saw tons of flowers, trees, a pond, streams with waterfalls and turtles. Jackson was hanging out the car window looking around when he told me "God rocks. When I grow up I'm gonna rock too". He's so true!

Important Public Service Announcement

2007-03-01T11:12:00.000-08:00

This is what happens when a 35 year old man tries to ride his four year old's hot wheels scooter.

Whatever happened to good ol Boones Farm and Marlboros?

2007-02-23T08:02:00.000-08:00

I met a junior high teacher this week. She told me that the kids at her school are crushing up Mucinex (yes- the cough suppressant) and smoking it. I was assured that the kids are not able to get high from this, but it disturbed me. To me this goes beyond normal curiousity and experimentation. Makes me wonder what the kids are looking for that they aren't getting. Parents- talk to your kids!

Here Goes Nothing...

2007-02-21T17:17:00.000-08:00

I am an avid blog reader. There are several I read daily (mostly people I don't know personally). My friend April encouraged me to start this blog. She's an awesome writer and I'm adding her to my "daily blog reading" so she better start posting more!

Our blog is going to be experimental. I will continue if I get good feedback. I'm not promising any really deep thoughts or inspiration, but you'll be able to keep up with what's going on in the Reneau family. What more can you ask for? (I know the pictures of Jackson will be a big draw, too. I took this one this weekend. He loves his new friend, Sniffy and takes him everywhere now).