Jackson’s first oreo.

Could a boy be any happier?

5 Star Ranch

We spent Memorial Day weekend at the Matthew’s family reunion and man, did we have fun! The weather was a little cold, but we enjoyed one day of sunshine full of canoeing, sitting outside, and of course, eating. We even got to see Shaela and Jared and Brad and Julie even brought up Matt! I still need to get copies of the good pictures. We had a fun ugly fashion show and a memory night to celebrate my grandparents 50th wedding anniversary!

And let's not forget to mention what a sport James is! He handles the differences in our two families SOOOOOOO good! :)

What's wrong with this picture?

Seriously?? It’s the end of may!! And yes, those are broken tree branches you see…

2 weeks in a row!

I've decided it's easier to count the blog as my journal, so maybe that means I'll write more! But, another week has already come and gone. Jackson was sick since last Saturday, and boy did that wear me out! We had some full days of training for work, and it took quite a bit of James' help as well...but we made it! Luckily his fevers were only high for a few days, followed by hives, and the doctors think it was just a virus. He does seem to be doing MUCH better and now, he just needs to start sleeping again!

James had another intramural softball game...and they actually won! The first game went a little something like this: James gets up to bat for the first time....swings the bat so hard that he falls to his knees...the bat continues to swing around his whole body... comes back around to the plate and hits the ball..... amazing but embarrassing. The next game, our team was down by a few, the bases were loaded, James gets up to the bat, and the pitcher claims it's now "too dark" for him to see. I guess the lights weren't working and they called the game over, James' team lost without even a chance. That was followed by a forfeited game, and so finally...the whole game was played, James actually had some good hits AND played pitcher! It's actually really nice to have something else going on during the week.

Neil, Megan, Grace, and new baby Kade (almost 2 months old) were up from AZ and we loved getting to see them. We didn't get to see too much of them, but it sure made us excited for our vacation in July! Their new baby is adorable, and just lays there, smiling (awww....remember when Jackson did that?) Actually, lately I have had some realizations that I am no longer the boss...he is. I wish this picture was better, but we went to the grocery store and because Jackson was throwing a fit about having to ride in the cart, the worker gave Jackson a little sucker. Of course, there was no getting it away from him and I drove home the whole time contiually turning around to makes ure he wasn't choking. By the time I got home, the sucker had gotten everywhere and his eyelashes were stuck open because they were so sticky. I had to laugh at him trying to rub his eyes but only making them more sticky. Too bad the picture didn't turn out but you can kind of see it on the left eye. But really, sometimes no matter what I try, he will win. James suggested after church today that it's time to teach him to sit still in church. He was SO loud and all over the place...banging his head on the pews, throwing his toys, crying whenever anyone said anything to him, etc. Even the bishop commented to James "Man, we sure heard Jackson during sacrament meeting today!" He threw his whole container of crackers all over in relief society, opened the lid to his juice cup, and poured it on the lady next to us, ripped some pages out of the hymn book, made the new little baby in front of us cry by scratching him, and that was all within 10 min! I tried the mothers' lounge, but as soon as you even walk in there he starts screaming and the poor nursing mothers give me that look of "get out!" Still, I laughed to myself when James said it's time he needs some discipline! When I asked if James had any suggestions, he was as lost as I was. Therefore, if anyone would like to give us advice...we're open for it! Until then, I try to focus on the fact that I do secretly enjoy getting outside every now and then for a little break!

Changes...

We just spent a day up in Provo canyon and it caused me to realize that BIG changes have been happening around here.... and I really haven't written them down!

~ First and foremost, James finished another year of school with his highest GPA so far! We are so proud of him!! He really does have an amazing ability to just keep on going!

~ We celebrated our 2 year anniversary with an ALL-DAY date alone!! Thanks to Clayton and Amber for watching Jackson for SO long, we went goofy-golfing, to the batting cages, and to Outback for dinner.

~ I celebrated my first mother's day as a "real" mom with James making dinner while I took a nap! He also sang with the elder's quorom in church (my personal favorite!)

~ My wonderful mom just turned 49! She sure is such a good mother, and the more days I spend as a mother, the more I realized how patient she really is! She spent the fay hiking, swimming, and getting new sandals....not to mention buying size 2 skinny jeans! If I can only turn out half that good on my 49th birthday!

~ James is now 23! Happy birthday to him! The only things he wanted to do were 1) have cousins over for the suns game 2) eat meatballs. Can a man be easier to please?

~Jackson's front two teeth (for a grand total of 4 teeth!) just came in allowing him to eat anything he pleases! Lately he's into "dirt-turds" You know those nice little logs created by aerating lawns? He loves those! He now weighs over 20 pounds, and even got a new car seat!

~ He has also mastered "crawling", and gets into everything. Let's just say people think he has problems... one guy said to me "he can crawl normally right?"

BEFORE AFTER

A sweet little boy, content to just sit and stare. Now, he's feisty and definitely a tease.

~ We have a new addition to our family!!! 2 new dutch ovens and a tent!! :) And let's just say, James is a new man... hopefully we can get a few camping trips in this summer. We did kick it off with some yummy cheesy potatoes and chicken... he really did a great job for his first time.

~Last but not least, I decided to go for the drastic change of a new hair style, without the help of my master stylist, my mom! I had to branch out to "Flora Lynn" and then, I decided to try the hair school's special of "summer highlights"...Let's just say, my mom does a much better job!! And somehow, I ended up with very bleached hair, that even after dying back dark, is now still a little blonde.... that, and the stylist even tried to convince me to get my nose pierced and have "peace, love, and harmony" tattooed in Celtic characters on my arm. I left crying, and they even charged me extra for the extra bleach it took to go that blonde! I only have the pictures from my phone, but more will come soon! Let's just say the most common comment is 'Oh...wow...you sure look.....summer'y!" After all is said and done, I will never take my mom for granted!