B-U-S-Y! (new house...)

This all happened SO fast! I guess when it's meant to be, it's meant to be. (From signing to final agreement = 2 hours, 15 minutes... no kidding. We were shopping in Walmart in the baking aisle, on the phone with the real estate agent trying to bargain with the buyers.) We got a screamin' good deal on this home (purchased for $25K less than the appraised value!) and are really excited to make the necessary changes, move in and enjoy FINALLY living in our very own home (and paying significantly LESS than we are renting our current residence for). This is crazy! Almost surreal. My parents buy homes, not Parker and I. It's like we're real grown ups.

Anyway, here a few pictures of the outside. I want to wait and post the inside pictures AFTER we finish the inside because the before and after pictures should be a pretty incredible contrast! The yard is just shy of 1/4 acre, but as you can see most of the lawn is in the front and side, so we're going to build a little picket fence around the front so I can still let the kids run outside and not have to worry--though the road in front of the house has very low traffic.

Normally I don't talk much about finances, but this was too big of a step in our lives not to post. It's not new (built in 1997) but new to us and the inside will be good as new when we're finished with it! I'm not going to post the address here for obvious reasons. I will send out an e-mail when we close (by May 15) with our new address... toodles!

Smoothie face

We all love it when Daddy makes smoothies for dinner, but I don't think anyone enjoys it quite like Jackson does!

Playing outside... more sun

Well, it's really starting to get warm around here and we're enjoying these "warm" days in anticipation of the "hot" ones (which neither Jackson nor Mommy handle well... hot day = headache for us). It's still nice though, warm with a gentle breeze. Perfect shorts weather!

We had to buy a bigger tent for our camping trips this year so that the 4 of us and our stuff can all fit inside, safe from the bugs. Jackson and I set it up while Kate was taking a nap. Good thing we live in the country... or we may have had neighbors wondering why we had a huge tent set up in our backyard.

Jackson had fun zipping and un-zipping... the zippers work, glad we got that taken care of!

Jackson through the mesh window of the tent (I was still on the inside and he wanted to say cheese from the outside). Silly boy!

He has been bee-watching. Our backyard is literally infested with dandelions... they are EVERYWHERE. Parker and I have been trying tirelessly to dig them out, but it doesn't even look like we've done a thing! So, as a result, our yard is also honey-bee infested. Jackson has been going around hunting for them. When we sees one, he crouches down right over it and just watches it. I've tried to explain that the bee will sting him and that he will get an owee, but he loves to watch the bees. (Luckily, he has already been stung, so we know he's not allergic, but it still makes me nervous that he'll be stung a few times before the summer is over.)

Look out Ronaldinho! Jackson practices everyday and he's getting good! He can dribble and pass, strong and straight. Go Jackson!

We're also teaching him how to drive... so far, so good.

decorating cookies

Cheesy smile just like his Daddy!

Not bad for a 2-year old!

Parker had the camera... apparently we needed a side view

Jackson had lots of fun frosting his "spring" cookies (we can't call them Easter cookies, because Easter has come and gone, so they're Spring cookies)

Definitely chEEEzy!

There's a "real" smile! I love this little boy!

Tickling baby Kate

Kate was trying hard to be patient, but it was tough to watch us decorate these yummy treats and not snatch some for herself. I thought one little nibble wouldn't hurt. It was sad when I took it away.

sidewalk chalk = FUN

Sunny Sun SUN!!!

Slow with pics... and Kate is 8 months old today!

I've been a little slow with pics and posts lately... well maybe just always. My life feels like a constant chase, trying to keep up with the day-to-day stuff and everything else that randomly gets added to my already long to-do list. It's slowing down a little to manageable now that I have finished school. But then after renting and feeling sick about throwing all that money away each month, we decided to look into the buying process. All I have to say is, at least I'm not pregnant right now... not that I don't like being pregnant or the joys of another little one that come, but it's nice to tackle big obstacles one at a time. So... we've been busy with life as we know it. The kids are so happy and healthy as usual. I can't get enough of my little Kate and Jackson. Parker and I are so proud to have such good kids, who already seem fairly well-behaved and well-rounded.

Oh, yeah... Kate totally crawls. She's actually getting pretty fast too. She loves to follow Jackson around. I love it when he gets down and crawls with her, waiting for her to follow him. Yesterday, Kate was crawling toward me and kind of whining (she was WAY ready for a nap) and said (for the first time) mah, mah, mah, mah, mah! Yeah, that pretty much made my day. Jackson and I have been practicing with her, but she finally said it all by herself! So cute! (However, it's not her first word... appropriately, for those who know my HUGE baby, she already says: bah, bah, bah, bah, bah... meaning bottle, food, or just I'm really happy and feel like talking.) Anyway, there's an update for you! Enjoy the pictures I've posted!

p.s. Happy 8-month Birthday, Baby Kate! We're so glad you're part of our family!

Making "Spring" sugar cookies

Since we all arrived home Saturday and were tired, we didn't do much for Easter (in the way of traditions). However, we had every intention of making sugar cookies... so we did! Jackson had so much fun with the process. Actually, he REALLY got into the frosting part of the ordeal. He loved choosing which colors to "paint" which eggs, butterflies, and flowers. He did a pretty good job and they tasted great! Kate used her "go-go-gadget-arms" to steal a little frosting before I could catch her too... apparently she is a big fan of frosting as well. Thank you, Betty C., for creating such delicious frosting; my kids love you!

Happy Easter! Jackson's 3rd, Kate's 1st

Easter morning... holidays get more and more fun as the kids get older (and we have more of them). I didn't even think to do very traditional things this year, since all 4 of us had just returned from trips. Parker spent the week at UC Davis (California) participating in a conference for work. The kids and I spent the week in Utah visiting my sister (Tiffany) and her family. We were all so tired and busy getting back into our own routine that we completely spaced coloring eggs or making a traditional Easter dinner. Parker and I had steak and potatoes, Jackson had his typical M&C and Kate scarfed down her Apples & Chicken (baby food), cereal (really, she likes KIX cereal), and milk.


Kate liked the little butterfly car that Grandma Breshears got for her the best... it moves and you can chew on it. Jackson was SO excited to finally be able to open the candy portion of Grandma's Easter surprises and of course, chose the huge chocolate bunny as the one he would eat in the morning before church (smart kid!). However, once Jackson saw the fishing pole that Daddy picked out weeks ago, he couldn't wait to try it out (in the house). Hopefully, we'll get to go out and use it "for real" soon.