Jackson and I went to the bookstore today and while we were there, I picked up this magazine. Now I want to make this strawberry cake that's on the cover. As if I really need that. I just spent last week in a bathing suit, but I guess that wasn't traumatic enough. Anyway, I may try to make this over the weekend. I guess summer and strawberries just go together!

Well, it's official, Jackson is going to stay this age forever. I asked him tonight if he would stay like this forever and he said yes. I even had him promise. If it were only that easy. He is growing up so fast, which means I am growing older fast too. Yikes!

He threw a hellacious fit because we wouldn't go outside tonight after he wouldn't eat his supper. Going outside was contingent upon him eating his supper, and so when he didn't, we wouldn't take him outside. So he threw a horrible fit and sat in time-out screaming his head off. But I still wish he'd stay two and a half forever.

We got to see our beach pictures online today that we had taken. As I knew, my hair ruined every picture I was in. Seriously, it was just that windy. But there are four pictures that I really like, so now I just have to figure out what sizes I want them in. I'll post some on here once I get them in the mail. The photographer is supposed to be mailing me all of the proofs.

Here are a couple of layouts I did with some beach pictures. I am not happy with them, but it's all I've gotten done so far!

Have a great weekend!

The Chuck E Cheese Experience

We had a really nice, relaxing Memorial weekend. The weather wasn't so nice on Monday and Jackson had been wanting to go outside since he got up, so I told Tom we needed to do something fun with him. So we decided to give him his first Chuck E Cheese experience.

He really had a good time in there. I was expecting it to be a nasty, sticky, yucky place, but actually it was pretty clean. The food was so-so, but I was prepared for that. Jackson really had fun on all the rides and games, and he liked to put his tokens into all the machines himself.

We ate in the part of the restaurant that has the big hairy animal jug band, or whatever they call themselves. It's about five animated big furry animals. And it made me wonder: This is probably the only restaurant in the world where it is acceptable to have a big hairy rat as your mascot. Wouldn't that be the last thing you'd want to see in a restaurant? It was a little unsettling to watch it up there dancing and singing as we were eating.

We were pretty excited to have the machines spitting out all these tickets and couldn't wait to see what kind of a prize Jackson would get with 60 tickets! It must be something nice, right, with all those tickets? Wrong. It was a little -- and I mean little -- blue rubber dinosaur whose tail was ripped off before we even got home, I think.








Here are some pictures of Jackson on the digger that we had in our backyard for a couple of days. He really liked watching Daddy digging up the yard. He would wave to him. It was kind of like Daddy was on a ride at the fair or something. So cute.

Jackson has been doing this funny "Ghost Train" thing lately and it makes me laugh. I had him do it for a video, so here it is. I think he got it from a combination of his GeoTrax video and Scooby Doo. I'm not sure. Either way, it's cute.

Sorry, but there are TONS of pictures on this slideshow, some of them duplicates, no doubt.

Well, we are settled back home after vacation. It was a long trip home, but we are glad to be back. I really wish Jackson had liked the ocean better, but all in all, it was a great vacation. The weather could not have been better. Back to life as usual, I guess!

Tom has started preparing the backyard for Jackson's playset that still has to be put together. The backyard has to be leveled a bit, and it has been a big job for him. At first he rented a tiller, thinking that would loosen the ground enough to push it around and make it level. But that was slow-going. So yesterday he rented a digger, as Jackson says, and he's been working with that, which is going faster because it has two scoops on it. Jackson thinks it is really cool having a digger in his very own backyard!

Our neighbors came over last night to grill out and let the kids play. I am noticing more and more how aggressive Jackson is with other kids. He likes to wrestle and roll around on top of people, but not everyone is a big fan of that. He was shoving Sadie around inside the bouncy house. I don't worry about her, because when she gets a bellyful, she'll hold her own, I'm sure of it, and he'll wish he hadn't messed with her.

The pool in our community opened this weekend, but I'm sure the water is too cold to swim yet. Every day, as soon as Jackson opens his eyes, he's saying, "Outside, outside." So I'm going to have to come up with stuff for us to do outside! I hope his playset gets put together soon!

Until next time...

VACATION IS OVER ALREADY?

We are on the last night of our vacation. My, the time flew by! The weather has been great, and I LOVE the beach and ocean, but, really, we're ready to get back home. Since Jackson wasn't the biggest fan of the ocean, we didn't spend much time on the beach. We were only out there two days for a couple of hours each time. Plus, he's napped really well while we've been here and that takes up about three hours a day.

Today, while Tom worked here in town, Jackson and I went to Destin Commons, which is a shopping area that has water fountains that shoot up from the ground and a playground, which he loved! I didn't have my camera on me or I would have taken some pics. He didn't want any part of the fountains because that would mean getting wet!

Tonight we met my friend Lana and her family at a local restaurant. Lana and I graduated high school together. I must say, she hasn't changed in my eyes. I love those friends that I can see after years and years and it doesn't feel like we've missed any time away from one another. She has a great family, with three very sweet children, Christen, Braden & Ryan. Here's a picture of the two of us. We don't look a day over 18, do we? Thanks for meeting us out, guys! Next time you're in Tennessee, you better call me!


We will be heading home tomorrow. We had our pictures taken last night. The wind was HORRIBLE. I had been so looking forward to some great beach pictures, but I'm afraid they will be a mess. Seriously, I couldn't even see the photographer from all the hair in my eyes. Now, there were some really cute ones (I think) of Jackson and Tom. And really, if I can get one good one of Jackson, then I'll be happy. He looked so cute in his little clam digger pants and white shirt. Actually, he looked like a big boy, which is sad! Once I get the gallery link, I'll post it on here so you all can take a look at them, unless I am just so hideous!

I'll post more pictures once I get home and get clothes washed and get settled. I have lots to edit!

Until next time...

This picture was taken on Saturday, the first time Jackson saw the ocean, and he was not impressed, I might add.

The next several pics were taken at a little kiddie ride place called The Track where we got free tickets every day from the place where we rented our condo. Jackson LOVED riding the go-karts, but he was all business, as you can see.

Then he wanted to ride these little airplanes. I was afraid it would scare him because they went up and down, and I didn't think he was aware of that, but he really liked them. He waved every time he got around to where Tom and I were. It was like he was in his own little parade.

Here is Jackson and his friend Ronald McDonald. We ate lunch there on Saturday. Jackson calls it AcDonald's Estaurant (McDonald's Restaurant), which makes it sound chic, don't you think? And we probably could have turned around and gone back to Tennessee after he ate and played in there in the little play area. He was over the moon happy in that place. I swear they put kiddie drugs in their food.

These pictures were taken from our hotel stay in Pensacola.

Grandma and Grandpa Hart got in last night and we went to eat at The Back Porch, which was pretty good seafood. They come over to our condo around 9:00 and we went to the beach. Tom and Jackson tried to fly the kite that Tom bought, but there was some malfunction. It wouldn't stay in the air. Jackson was still cautious near the water and he did not want Tom going near it. Tom got in it to swim and Jackson went running out there screaming "Get out, get out!"

After the beach, we came back and swam in the pool for a while. Jackson really, really loves to swim, and I've got him in swimming lessons that start the first of June. He actually does pretty good with the kicking and all. Mary Jo put together a little lunch spread in the condo and we all ate lunch. After they left, Jackson went down for a nap. He has been taking a pretty long one today, which is nice. He was SO exhausted. We're going to meet Grandma and Grandpa Hart out to eat tonight.

I'll try to update again tomorrow!

GrEeTiNgS fRoM tHe BeAcH!

Yes, we are finally here and really enjoying our vacation so far. We left Friday at 2:00 and arrived in Pensacola around 9:00 or after that night. We got up Saturday morning and drove the rest of the way to Destin. It was just an hour or so away.

This was Jackson's first overnight hotel stay. I think he had a good time. It was quite eventul. Around midnight, someone started trying to put their card in our door. Click-click, click-click, click-click is all I heard. I told Tom to get up and see what in the heck was going on. Well, sure enough, someone was trying to get in our room. Thankfully, their card didn't work, so they left.

Tom stuck out the DO NOT DISTURB sign and went back to bed. Minutes later, click-click, click-click, click-click, they're back, with the manager this time. So now they're all trying to get into our room. This time Tom yelled through the door: "You've got the wrong room!" And then he opened the door and inquired as to the problem. The manager says, over her shoulder, as she's walking down the hall with these people, "Sorry, this room was issued twice. It was done on the shift before me. Sorry." Tom says, "Sorry's not good enough," as he comes back into the room and she goes on her merry way.

So I get on the phone and call this manager lady and told her that we had just driven seven hours and now we weren't going to get back to sleep and my husband's points needed to be put back on his account. So our first hotel stay was free, which it should've been!

Jackson is not a big fan of the ocean. He thinks it sounds like thunder, and therefore it scares him. Tom was trying to build sandcastles with him, but every time the tide rolled in, he would gather up his buckets and toys and run screaming towards me. I'm hoping he'll get used to it before we head home!

Here are some pictures. I didn't take my good camera out much because I'm afraid I'll get sand in it, which would most likely ruin the lens, so these pictures were taken with my old pocket-sized digital camera. I think it did a fair job.

Here is a picture that Tom took of me and Jackson on our balcony. It kind of shows what our view looks like. It's great! Also, you won't be seeing too many pictures of me because I have finally had the realization that I'm a cow. Seriously, I don't feel big, really, but when I saw some pictures that Tom took of me and Jackson on the beach, I was truly sickened.

Anyhoo, I ran this picture through my Portrait Professional program and I shaved some of the chub out of my cheeks and whitened my teeth and did some other magic tricks on it to make me look somewhat presentable.

I have LOTS more pictures to post, but I don't have time right now. It's 10:00 at night and Jackson is wanting me to come lay down with him. So I leave you with this video clip from today. I sound like I'm exhausted or something, but it's because I really wasn't sure if the video was picking up my voice or not.

Back to Vacation...

COUNTDOWN TO VACAY!

Here Jackson is showing off his new Spongebob Squarepants underpants! And his t-shirt says, "Get Your Own Mom, This One Is Mine." He wore that on Mother's Day. So cute.

He is looking so grown up, I think. He is becoming a handful, for sure. He told me today to hush up. Actually he's told me that more than just today, but it's because he hears me telling Buster and Barney to shut up, but I've told him it's not nice to say shut up and that he should say hush up. So on the positive side, at least he's minding me, right? Ha!

The pictures below were sent to me by my neighbor. They're already in Destin this week, and we'll be leaving on Friday. They'll be traveling home about a day after we get there. The pictures are of Sadie and Beck enjoying the beach! I can't wait to get some pictures of Jackson on the beach! I will definitely have plenty to post here. Aren't these the cutest pictures?

Until next time...

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY 2008

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day. I sure did. We got up pretty early and went to Cracker Barrel for a pancake breakfast. Before we left, Jackson gave me my present. It was a digital keychain that stores up to 60 photos. I really like it and it was right up my alley! It is a lot lighter than what I thought, too. I have had a great day.

I truly am blessed to be mom to such a wonderful little boy. He is my world! And I can't wait until this weekend when I get to see the ocean for the first time through his eyes. I packed his bag today, so he's all ready. It will be me that will still be trying to pack my bags come Thursday night!

Until next time...

EDDY GO DEECH

We went to Red Lobster last night to celebrate Tom's birthday, and I snapped some pictures on the way and a couple in the restaurant. It was a nice evening of some family time, which we never get enough of, it seems like.

* * * * * * * * * * *

We bit the bullet and bought Jackson an outdoor wooden swingset. This one below, to be exact. I think he'll like it. If he doesn't, too bad, it will be a fixture in our backyard for years to come! We also got him a bucket and some toys for the beach. One of the toys is a plastic dump truck with various scoops and molds in it, and I told him last night he could play with it, but that it was for vacation and he couldn't lose any of the stuff in it. So he played with it in the tub and then after his bath, I dried it off and he loaded everything back in it and said, "Eddy go, deech," which means "Ready to go to the beach!" He doesn't even know what the beach is, but he's getting excited too! So cute.

Who knows when it will get assembled, though. Tom is always busy on the weekends, and he gets home so late through the week. Maybe if he starts on it this weekend, it could be all put together by late summer! Ha!

I had someone come over today to give us an estimate on screening our covered porch in, and as he was ringing the doorbell, Jackson was looking at him through the little windows up front and peeing in the floor. I'm not sure why. He started yelling, "Potty, potty," and when I got up there he was just standing there looking at this man and peeing.

So I told the guy to go around back and I'd meet him back there after I cleaned my son up! I don't know why that's happening, but he is having quite a few accidents these days! We got a fair sounding estimate on the screened porch deal, so we might move forward with that. I guess it depends on what the patio will cost us, because we really want to have a patio poured this year. We'll see...

Until next time...

Today Tom turns 37!
Happy Birthday, Tom! Jackson and I love and appreciate you,
and we hope you have a great day!

12 DAYS UNTIL VACATION!!!

I am officially on a vacation countdown. I still have a lot of shopping to do before we go, but it will be fun! I have to figure out what we're going to wear for our pictures, too. That will be a little more tricky, I'm afraid! Anyway, here are some cute pictures of Jackson and his friend Sadie:

Above are some pictures I took last week when we spent the morning with Sadie playing at a park in Lebanon. Jackson loves to play with her, and I think they both had a really good time. I know I was pretty worn out after chasing Jackson around that big park. That picture of them in the wooden truck is so funny. Amy and I both were laughing, saying that it looked like Sadie was being a little diva and having Jackson drive her to an imaginery big event! That might be reality some day when Jackson has a truck, like most good Tennessee boys, and Sadie hops in the back for a night out! Just kidding.

I made this layout from a picture taken of Wesley a couple of weeks ago. I really need to do more digital scrapbooking, but it's hard to find the time. I'll put this in Jackson's scrapbook so we'll know what Wesley looked like when he was three, since he's Jackson's friend.

Pa-paw and Ma-maw Schneider were in this weekend for a visit, and Jackson had a great time with them. Tom and his dad went out and got him a new grill for his birthday, which is in two days. So last night we just grilled out and hung around the house. It was a nice visit, and Jackson hated to see them leave. I thought for a minute he was going to go with them!

Jackson is watching Alvin & The Chipmunks right now, but he does not appear that impressed with it. I think there are too many "real" people in it. He likes the chipmunks, but when there are people in the scene, he's not entertained.

Until next time...