Thanksgiving 2010

This fall has really flown by! The boys have been busy with school, and in early November Cooper had his tonsils and adenoids removed. It was a tough recovery that affected our whole family, we are SO happy to have him back to his old self.

We enjoyed a fabulous Thanksgiving holiday with Jeff's family - John, Cathy, and Kevin, at Bald Head Island in NC. The night before we left Jackson performed in his school's Thanksgiving program. His Indian name was Broken Arrow, and he helped the teachers design his costume. He was so excited to have a solo - he got to come forward and place a pear in the cornucopia.




The next day we picked the kids up from school and left for Bald Head. It was so relaxing and calm! You take a ferry there, and both boys loved that. Once we got there Papa met us and our vacation began! We had alot of fun playing on the beach, doing puzzles, playing Wii and eating!!!






On Saturday, we did some sightseeing and Jackson climbed to the top of the Bald Head Lighthouse "Old Baldy" with me! He was the ONLY one who would go with me, I was so proud of him - 108 steps! Once we were up there we saw some awesome views of the harbor.






We were sad to come home, but it was nice to be back in our own beds!

School Time!

It's fall, which means it's back to school time! And guess who's joining Jackson this year? Cooper!! He started walking in July, which means there's no reason he can't go! He goes Tuesday and Thursday mornings, while Jackson goes 5 mornings a week. Even though Jackson's 5, we decided to wait a year on full kindergarten. He's in a transitional K program - they do a kindergarten curriculum, but alot more play based and smaller size. So far, he's loving it!

First Day:


Now i'm not so sure!:


Brotherly Love:


And a couple end of summer pictures- here's Jackson getting his trophy from t-ball:


One fun part of living in NC, this lovely black widow was in our garage!! When the bug man came he said "Wow, that's a big one"

10 Year Anniversary trip

I know i'm SO overdue on blogging, but with Jackson home this summer it just seemed like I never had more than 10 minutes to work on it. I promise to be more regular now that school is back in session.

Jeff & I celebrated 10 years of marriage on July 8. It is crazy to me since I certainly don't feel 10 years older, and it seems like just yesterday we started dating (1994). We spent a long time deciding where to go and finally settled on Asheville, NC. We got engaged there at the Grove Park Inn in 1999, so it definately had meaning for us, and we hadn't been back since. We went from Monday- Thursday and crammed alot of stuff in! We stayed in Biltmore Village at the Grand Bohemian and had a fabulous stay. We went white water rafting (my first time ever) and visited Chimney Rock. And had some of the best food I've ever eaten!!!

Our hotel:


Our awesome room:


The view up to Chimney Rock:


Looking down onto Lake Lure:




Jeff does NOT enjoy heights!


Hickory Nut Falls (from Last of the Mohecians!)





The Grove Park Inn:


Happy Anniversary to us!! We don't look 10 years older, do we???

Emerald Isle 2010 - Part II

We had such a great time at the beach and the pool, but also discovered both our kids loved the water park! Jackson was able to do all the slides alone, but Cooper had just as much fun going down the slides on our laps. On Friday night my parents watched all the grandchildren so that my sister, brother and all our spouses could go out to dinner. I cannot remember the last time we were all alone without children!!! It was a blast, and we stayed out until the unheard of time of 9:00 pm. :-)

Jeff, Rich and Wayne at dinner:



Me, Rich and Kris:



Jackson going down the waterslide:



Jeff taking Cooper down the slide:



Splash!!

Emerald Isle 2010 - Part I

We had our yearly family vacation to Emerald Isle, NC in June. It was a great time - the kids had a blast, and so did the grown ups! We went with my parents, my sister and her family, and my brother and his wife. We spent lots of time in the ocean and the pool, but also visited the aquarium where we discovered Cooper LOVES turtles. He couldn't get enough!

Jackson catching some waves:



Cooper playing in the sand:



Cooper discovering the turtles:




Pirate Jackson:

Soccer Star

Jackson has been playing soccer this spring and is having a blast! We are sad to see the season end...he's grown so much in his skills and confidence.

Birthday Boy

Cooper turned 2 on April 16. We had a nice, quiet celebration with just the 4 of us. He spent the morning at the park with his friends Eli and Sam, then had a fun dinner of pizza and a special cake that I worked so hard on. It was a great day, and we are so blessed to celebrate 2 wonderful years of our special little guy.

Birthday...Part 2

We made sure to make Jackson's actual birthday (March 17) a special day, even though he'd already had his party. At every meal that day he got a birthday candle - and picked his favorite dinner (pancakes and bacon).

The "scary" castle from Mommy & Daddy:





And a photo of Cooper, just for good measure!!

Guess who's FIVE????

I cannot explain how quickly the past 5 years have flown by! It seems like just yesterday we were anxiously awaiting Jackson's arrival - now he's a big boy! He had a week-long celebration, starting with a party on Sunday, preschool class cupcakes on Tuesday, and the big day on Wednesday. Happy Birthday, Jackson!

Enjoying his party at Jump Zone -