Christmas Pictures

So...we're 10 days from Christmas and I am finally getting a chance to post the annual Jackson Family Christmas pictures and our visit with Santa. The family pictures are starting to go much smoother now with a 3 year old and a 5 year old. Just in time to add one more to the mix. Hopefully he'll like the camera like Ally did as a baby. And our visit with Santa this year was filled with excitement as always. Ally could hardly wait to get to see him and she had her entire spiel ready to go. "Thanks for always bringing me presents. I've been a good girl this year. Can I have a pink camera this year?" Kelsey, on the other hand, was all talk and no action. She was super excited to see Santa sitting in his chair. She had her own spiel ready as well..."Can I please have a blue elephant?" But, when it was go time...we stood frozen at Santa's chair and look terrified. So...daddy put her on Santa's lap, we got this "fabulous" picture of the both of them and then, with a little coaxing, Kelsey actually answered Santa's question when he asked her what she wanted for Christmas. In the faintest voice possible...which I never knew existed because we surely don't have that voice here at home...she asked him for a blue elephant. And all was right with the world. Maybe next year we'll get a smile???

Tag...you're it!!

Ok...so I think I followed the rules of this game. The 4th picture in my fourth folder comes from my Calendar Pictures folder. Here was the calendar cover for 2007. Kelsey was so little. Hard to believe we'll have another one in our family picture soon. And since Lisa took all the people from my blog...I guess this little game will end with me!!

Trip to the Aquarium

It is the beginning of a fun and busy week for Thanksgiving. We spent the morning at the Aquarium visiting all of our favorite fish. We were sad to see that they had already moved the seals to another aquarium in order to begin building for the bigger and better Dolphin exhibit set to open some time in 2010. We were also sad to see they had moved the penguins to safe and QUIET location while the remodeling took place. But, at least they are still there...just behind the scenes. As always we loved watching the beluga whales and spending time at the huge tank where the whale sharks call home. We ate lunch, petted a few sting rays and we were off. On our way home, we stopped at Northside to cheer up Aunt Jackie for a few minutes and then we even stopped at Bo's school to see him for a few minutes. Needless to say we missed nap and it is off to bed early tonight to dream about our underwater adventure!!

Thanksgiving Play

Ally's kindergarten class got together with another class and put on a Thanksgiving play for all the families the day before Thanksgiving break. All of the kids were dressed up as different characters. Ally was a Pilgrim woman. There were Indians, turkeys, and ears of corn. They told us the story of Thanksgiving, how the Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth Rock and why they were coming to a new place to live. All of the children sang songs and played hand bells. It was very well done and quite cute. Ally was very proud of her part in the play and was so excited to have us there to cheer her on.

Celebrate Good Times, C'Mon!!!

There's a party going on right here!! A celebration to last throughout the year. So bring your good times and your laughter too. We're gonna celebrate a win over you. C'mon now...Celebrate our win, C'mon!!! Wa-hoo!!!

As you can imagine, the aura around our house is quite light and fun after a steamrolling of Georgia this year!! And while Bo has put a kibosh on all the fun I could have had with our big win, I can at least write about all the things I have observed this year and all the things I wanted to do, but didn't. So...here is my list of vicarious fun!!

1. I learned that Gary Danielson must have graduated from UGA because he defended their losing rear ends to the bitter end. Someday Erin Andrews will broadcast from the booth and we'll get to hear about how awesome the Gators are even when we're losing by 30+ points.
2. I learned the AJC has absolutely NO IDEA what it means to write about a good football team. They can never decide if Georgia is good or bad and there is never any cohesion in writer's opinions from day to day when a big game is at stake. Jeff Schultz tops that list...
3. I learned you really don't want to be the team to upset Urban Meyer because you will pay for it bitterly...and legally...when it returns to bite you in the rear.
4. I learned that it is so much fun to play and win with passion and confidence after a year of listening to those friggin' fans squawk about their "big" win last year. 3 in the last 19, really. I guess they have to celebrate when they can.
5. I wished I could have set up my big 8 foot Gator in the middle of my neighbor's yards and pasted 1000 score card copies all over their cars and houses, silly strung their bushes and trees orange and blue, and spray painted the final score in orange on their grass for payback from last year. It sure would have been nice to hand deliver the AJC that morning!!
6. I hope my neighbors remember (years to come, of course) that I DIDN'T do it. Because we've been there before.
7. I learned that defense wins you games, but it sure is fun to watch an awesome offense!!

I'm sure there are plenty of fun things I have left off my list, but that's what I have so far. I'd love for you to chime in with your own additions to the list if you have any. Looking forward to an awesome year of celebrating!!! GO GATORS!!!

Trick or Treat...Smell My Feet!!

The air was cool, the kids were excited and that made for a perfect night of trick or treating. Everyone around here got together for pizza and the old tradition of Trick or Treating through the neighborhood. We missed having the Whites with us this year, but Ava and Stefan did a good job filling their shoes. It's so nice to have them here with us now. Next year Jackie and Baby Blum will be joining us...thankfully!! The girls stockpiled candy and had a blast doing it. This was the first year Kelsey really participated. By the end of the night, her Piglet costume was coming unbuttoned and she was dragging herself, and her bag of goodies, to the last few doors. She was so much fun to watch...absolutely innocent and completely excited!! When we got home, it was business as usual. We started a fire, put a blanket out on the floor, dumped all the candy in to a pile, and feasted on sweets while we watched "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown". By the end of the hour, the kids were on a sugar high, but it had no chance at overcoming the sheer exhaustion of running from door to door through the neighborhood. We carried them upstairs and they were asleep before their heads hit the pillows. And we were right behind them...just as tired!!

Fun at the Zoo

Is there such a thing as "Backblogging"? The Jacksons have been so busy lately that I haven't had a chance to keep up with all of our fun. On the 23rd of October Bo and I took Asher, Ava and Kelsey to the zoo for the day. Unfortunately Ally was at school and missed our fun day. The weather was a bit chilly, but that didn't stop us from having a great time. We got to see all the animals we know and love...the giraffes, the monkeys, the kangaroos, the reptile house, and the Panda bears. The baby was on closed circuit TV with mom, Lun Lun, so we didn't get to see them "live", but it was still cute. Yang Yang and Mei Lan were taking a mid-morning nap and cared nothing about the hoarding crowd who came to see them. Our favorite parts were the train ride around the kids section, riding the carousel, playing at the playground and the petting zoo. Kelsey loved chasing all the goats around. We tried to pet one that was eating and he butted his head at her to get away from his food. After another attempt to be nice and another head butting, Kelsey's feelings were hurt and we found another goat to play with. Thankfully I was there to yank her back...I think he might have nailed her had I not grabbed her out of the way. At the end of the morning, we piled in to the back of the car, ate some lunch and headed home for nice, long naps. It was a great time for all of us!!

Wicked Good Weekend!!

The Jackson Four and a Half had a great autumn weekend. On Friday, Bo and I met at his school, and headed downtown for a fun evening out. We started the night at Cheesecake Factory...a restaurant we had never been to. And we were so glad we went. The menu alone was over 20 pages long and we couldn't get passed the appetizers and salads. We decided to get a few appetizers and to try the ones that sounded super yummy. So...we got something called Buffalo Busters...buffalo style chicken breasts wrapped in a rice wrapper, breaded and fried, served with bleu cheese and hot sauce. And they were FANTASTIC. They give you 8 HUGE triangle filled wraps, so we each had one and put the rest in a box to bring home. The other app we had was something called Fried Macaroni and Cheese. They were large helpings of macaroni and cheese, serve like a large meatball, breaded and fried. They were served over some kind of creamy marinara sauce and it was probably the best appetizer I have ever had. And so filling!! So, we each had one of those and brought the rest home. Then for dinner we each had delicious chicken entrees that we got to finish off as leftovers for lunch on Sunday. And for dessert, there was plenty of cheesecake to choose from. Any kind you could ever want. And since we couldn't decide, we got a piece to eat there and brought home 3 extra pieces. We ate the Peanut Butter Fudge Ripple at the restaurant and brought home an Oreo, a Godiva Chocolate and a Key Lime Pie.

After dinner, we had some time to waste before our show so we went next door to ESPN Zone where we had never been before either. It was amazing to see such a huge sports venue. The main screen was as big as I had ever seen and there were huge screens, 3 deep, to each side of the main screen. Then there were rolling screens with ESPN.com and all kinds of computer sites about sports. The tables were set up like a theater and were situated on rows that tiered down toward the main screen and each table had it's own TV for sound. And that was just the main room with the bar. The other 2 rooms were large rooms as well but closed off for private events. The bigger one of the 2 had a stage and it had big, black leather recliners set up on stage for the real sports fans. I imagine they move those for their live broadcasts because the room was equipped with "On Air" lights for guests to see. But, the funnest part of this place was upstairs in the arena area. It is filled with all kinds of fun sports games. Bo and I played some kind of football throwing game and did pretty well. Then, I had to beat him in Air Hockey...5 to 2. And finally, we played some type of foosball hockey game that I had never played before. It was Bo's favorite game growing up. Being the competitive person I am, I had to beat him at that game as well, but he won the second game.

Then it was off to Wicked at the Fox Theater. Neither of us had ever seen it, but we had heard it was incredible and the music I have heard was very good as well. So, for our anniversary, Bo got us tickets to go. And, it did not disappoint. The show was a perfect mix of smart, witty humor and drama. It was a thoroughly enjoyable performance. And I would go see it many times more. The best thing about it is that you don't have to be a theater buff to enjoy it. If you know and like the Wizard of Oz, then this show is just for you...a story about the witches of Oz before Dorothy interrupted their lives.

After the show we headed home and got to go straight to sleep. Ally and Kelsey were spending the night at Aunt Jackie and Uncle Stefan's. And it was such a relief to come home and relax for the night. It's great to have family in town!!! And so close!!!


On Saturday Bo played golf with some neighborhood buddies. I worked at a craft fair and we watched football all afternoon. That night we had a fire in the back yard, watched more football and ate up the yummy cheesecake we had brought home the night before.

On Sunday, we went to church, spent the afternoon getting organized from the weekend, and went for our fall family pictures. Can't wait to get those back. They all came out so great. And then it was off to Johnny's Pizza for dinner.

Can't remember the last time we had such a busy, but fun weekend. Now, we just need the week to recover from all of our adventures!! And yes, I am quite aware that the bulk of this posting was about food. I'm 5 months pregnant...cut me some slack!! ;)

A Day at the Patch

On Saturday, we spent the morning at Burt's Pumpkin Patch in the North Georgia Mountains. We always get up super early to beat the rush because Burt's is a very popular place to visit this time of year. When we got there, the girls had a great time playing in the big pumpkins...a crowd favorite. Some of them are bigger and heavier than our girls. Then we always spend time looking for a cute baby pumpkin as well. We went on the hayride with yummy popcorn treats and slushies. And when we got off the hayride, it was time to search for the perfect pumpkin. We found on pretty quickly this year. The crop was HUGE compared to years past. We noticed it at the apple orchard as well and most of the farmers attribute it to a rainy summer...which we haven't had in several years. So, we loaded up our pumpkin in the wheelbarrow and went to find a few smaller ones the girls could paint. After we found those, we checked out and headed over to Amicalola Falls State Park...just in time to miss the growing crowd. We played on the playground and had a yummy lunch at the picnic tables. On the way home, mommy requested that we stop at the apple orchard one more time for some more apples and, of course, a fried apple pie!! The girls (and us!!) spent the rest of the day relaxing from our fun and busy morning.

The Tooth Fairy Makes Her Debut

The Tooth Fairy visited our house for the first time this weekend. While we were eating lunch at Amicalola Falls this weekend, Ally crunched down on her already loose tooth and by the end of nap time, I couldn't believe it was still in her mouth. The tooth had gotten SUBSTANTIALLY looser in just 4 hours and was ready to come out. After some strong convincing, Daddy tried to pull out her tooth using some tissue. I begged him not to use the string until a last resort because I thought that might scare Ally. And after several tries, Ally said she was finished with it. So, I asked her if I could try just once...being the expert first grade teacher and tooth extractor that I am...and she graciously allowed me...SHOCKING!! With a little extra tissue, mommy got right in there, put a little pressure on that tooth and pulled it right out. Daddy did a good job getting it ready :)



After a few screams at the blood, she rinsed out her mouth and smiled for the first time with one less tooth. Ally was so excited that the Tooth Fairy was coming. She placed her tooth in the tooth pillow...a fun creation from mommy's sewing machine, of course...and put it under her pillow for the night. When she woke up on Sunday morning, the Tooth Fairy had left a whole dollar for her pint-sized tooth. I can only imagine what the mark-up is on molars these days!!! Ally is very proud of her new gap!!

Back to Life...Back to Reality

The Jackson 4 1/2 had a wonderful time in Navarre Beach over the weekend. It was so nice to be away from everything and have nothing to do but play with our kids and relax. The girls had a fabulous time playing in the sand, splashing in the ocean and staying up way too late watching movies. We enjoyed relaxing in the sun, playing on the beach with the kids, napping when we wanted and getting to bed earlier than we are used to. It was very sad...almost depressing...to leave there this morning. But, it's the day to day work that makes those quick trips more special and relaxing. We have plenty of fun memories to keep from this trip.

2 Hours and Counting

The Jackson 4 1/2 are headed south for a few days of R & R. And we can hardly contain our excitement. It is going to be such a nice relaxing break after a rush rush start to the school year. At first we were a little worried some of those hurricanes might thwart our fun. But the weather outlook is beautiful. The girls are very excited to go to Mrs. Lynn's Tower again. And we are so thankful to them for thinking of us again. We'll be sure to post pictures and tell you all about our fabulous time when we return.

Hope you all have a great weekend!!! Go Gators!!! Beat them Vols!!!

Apple Picking

We spent Saturday morning in the North Georgia Mountains at Reece's Apple House picking apples. This is the third year in a row that we have gone there and every year it seems to be more fun. The girls were as in to picking apples as they were eating them. The weather was perfect..cloudy at first and then it warmed up. But, I think it kept the ever present wasps and bees away while we were there. After picking apples, we spent quite some time at the new petting zoo they have there. The girls were very brave and ran right in to pet...more like chase...the animals. There were goats, pigs, chickens, a very noisy turkey, and sheep. But, our favorite was the bunnies. Both girls decided to get in the little pen with the bunnies to pet them and play with them. After picking and playing we loaded up the car with all our fresh fruit and several samplings of fried apple pies for the drive home. And now it's time for the real fun...homemade apple pie!!!

The Jackson 4 1/2

So, we're not officially "five" yet, but we are on our way. Doing a blog is so much easier than just posting pictures to Shutterfly and having people guess what you did for the day or the week. So...this new blog is here for all of those fun family outings we do. And even for those quiet times at home when we're relaxing and enjoying each other's company.

There's much to come for this blog...moreso than the baby one right now. This weekend we are going apple picking in the mountains and next week is fall break. We are headed to the beach for a few days of R & R. Hopefully the storms will stay away so we can get a little sun and time in the sand. Look for the fun new stories coming soon.