Friendly Christmastime Competition

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!

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!

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

Lilly

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

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

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

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!