Happy Birthday to Jackson!! (& more from Grandma)

(I'll post captions later... I'm exhausted... but wanted you--Mom--to see how excited he was to put on his cowboy/ "huntin'" outfit, and might I add, how dang CUTE he is; a natural-born cowboy. Kate LOVED her cape--and Lucy's soft blankie BTW!)

Our First REAL Christmas Tree!!!

Well... it's not actually our first real tree, but the first GOOD tree. Our second Christmas, we went up to the mountains with our $5 Christmas tree permit, trudged through 2-3 feet of snow (no exaggeration)... I was 8-1/2 months pregnant with Jackson. When we got it back home, we realized it was a Charlie Brown tree. So sad! We were only home for 2 days to "enjoy" it before we left for a month to visit our families. Anyway, this tree is from a tree lot and we're pretty excited about it. Perfect fit for our house and we LOVE our Christmas tree window(s)!!
Parker pulled out a box of bulbs so the kids could help with a few before they headed off to bed.
As you can see, our kids are WAY into this whole Christmas thing! You should hear them in the car as we pass by Christmas lights.



We just LOVE this time of year!!!

Packages from Grandma & Uncle Christian!!!

I think he's really starting to catch on to what it means when Grandma says she's sending packages... he anticipated the arrival of "the mailman" (aka the brown UPS truck... as far as he's concerned, they all bring mail) for 2 days. Jackson was beyond ecstatic when the brown truck drove up... and I think his excitement made Brown's day because his smile seemed to be contagious.
I'm pretty sure Kate doesn't have a clue what's going on, except that there are new things to play with and new clothes to wear. But Jackson's crazy excited-ness is so extreme that she gets just as excited as they (Jackson) open the boxes and pull out the fun things!

These are two happy kids! Thank you, Grandma & Uncle Christian!! You made Jackson's whole year. I'm pretty sure we're not going to be able to match this at Christmastime... luckily he's not old enough to compare! ...now that Christian is 10 years old, he isn't as interested in some of his old toys, so he thought Jackson would enjoy them... boy, was he right!!! Totally random things, like a Mickey Mouse money bank and a baseball glove... Jackson is in heaven!!
Poor Kate... Jackson was just sure all of the cars were for him... don't worry, once they were out of the packages, he gladly shared.
Look... he can't even carry them all!
Ooh! Stickers... he just loves the stickers that Grandma sends.
Kate checking out some of the fun toys that Uncle Christian sent. Christian and Grandma cleaned out Christian's room.
Thanks for a little CHRISTMAS in NOVEMBER!!!

**The kids were so busy getting into everything and wanting us to open the packages that I put the camera down and didn't get pictures of them opening their clothes, shoes & other fun surprises. Even Baby Lucy got her very own box of clothes and blankies. Kate wanted me to take the soft blankies out for her to snuggle with... too cute!

Stylish Kate -- Thanks to Grandma!

Grandma recently sent this cute outfit (among others)... they have these SO cute pink boots that go with them and Kate thinks she is "it". (Such a girl... not sure what I'm going to do!)
Jackson thinks so too!
Looking so big and grown up!

Picking Apples

Before we left to pick apples, Jackson got to help collect some of the chicken eggs
He didn't quite understand... he tried to feed them to the chickens... does that make him a "city boy"? Or just has parents who haven't introduced him to farm life yet? I haven't quite decided.
Kate playing with their dog--chased it around giggling--LOVED the dog... Parker said this was a sign... I don't remember whether or not I commented in response... ;-)
All loaded up to head to the orchard
Some friends of ours offered up this fun experience of picking some of their apples... the kids loved it.
Actually, Jackson really loved the apple-picking experience; Kate just loved eating the unlimited supply of apples

Jackson up on the big ladder
Finding some of the big apples
Kate was in heaven with apples all around her. I just had to keep an eye on her because she had no preference between bug-eaten, mushy apples that were already on the ground and the fresh ones off the trees.
Jackson walking through the orchard