Happy Father's Day!!

We had a wonderful family Father's Day this year. So many people were in town to share this time together. Tracey and Ashleigh were visiting mom and dad Jackson in their new house. Great Grandpa Maguire came down for a weekend visit. Jenny and Kevin came up for the day. Sean and Niki were here with the boys for summer vacation. And the Blums were here as well. All in all, a total of 20 people came through our door yesterday so we could hang out together and have dinner together. It was so nice that everyone chipped in with food...ribs, corn casserole, rice, garlic bread, salad, and yummy desserts. We didn't manage to get a group shot of everyone, but we did get several family shots...including the all important 4 generations picture with Grandpa, Colleen, Bo, and Drew.

Bo and his kiddos.

Four Generations...

The Jackson Family...

First Day of Gymnastics

This summer we enrolled the girls in a set of 4 gymnastics classes at one of the local places. And today was their first class. Ally protested the whole way there that she didn't want to do it and that she didn't like gymnastics. She was nervous about not knowing anyone and was a complete downer. Kelsey, on the other hand, was super excited. I think this is more her style than dance...she's a rough and tumble kid. So, she's the real reason we're doing this...I wanted to see how she would do and if she would like it. I thought Ally might like it as well and the summer seemed to be a perfect time to give it a whirl.

Lo and behold, the girls were called to class and they both went in immediately...Kelsey because she was excited, Ally because she knows about school well enough to know to suck it up and go in there when you're called. After 5 minutes, they were both HOOKED!!! Ally came out half way through the session to potty and I asked her how she liked it and the grin that spread across her face reached from ear to ear. When I asked her if she liked this or dance better, dance got a big thumbs down. Hmmm....interesting...for someone who went in kicking and screaming to not be there. What amazed me about Ally was how natural she seemed to be. She was doing back bends and working on the balance beam with kids who had been there for awhile (I know because I chatted with the moms in the parent room) and she was doing as well as they were. She just seemed to "fit". And Kelsey was just as thrilled to be there as well. She had a full class of 4 year olds with her and they walked around a small area of the gym completing different tasks...somersaults, the uneven bars, balance beams, and other things. Kelsey tried it all, fell off a lot of stuff, but got right back up and tried again. Both girls loved the block pit. It's a huge "pool" filled with foam blocks that they could jump in to. The bottom is a trampoline, so it is extra springy for them. The foam looks to be about 5 or 6 feet deep so they have plenty of cushion when they jump from the platform about 5 feet in the air. That doesn't sound too bad, but when you see your little one on a platform so high and then they jump and sink in to oblivion, it's a little unnerving to see the first time.

So, the question becomes...what do we do in the fall...gymnastics or dance??? Bo and I aren't sure the girls should do more than one thing at a time, so it's hard to decide what they would do better at and what they would enjoy more.

Ally, in the black leotard, warming up and stretching.


Ally doing her backbend.


Ally chillin' on the beam.


Ally practicing her walk.


Ally getting on the beam...doesn't she look like she knows what to do????


Ally learning how to do a Cartwheel.


Kelsey warming up and stretching.


Kelsey on the beam.


Kelsey doing a sommersault.


Kelsey on the bars.


Kelsey on the Uneven bars.


Free time on the slide.

You Deserve this Award!!

So, my sister sent me an award for my blog. It came from a friend of hers and I thought I might pass it along to some of my favorite reads.

The "Love Ya" Award states: These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.

Without further ado, here are my award recipients.

1. Jackie Blum of In Full Blum - She's my sister, need I say more??? In all seriousness, Jackie's blogs are the perfect expression of emotion through words. She has a degree in Public Relations from UF, but writing is her true calling. No matter what her posts are about, there is an emotional element to them that tugs at my heart. She writes how I feel and how I wish I could write about my life happenings. Love ya dudette!!

2. Kristi Meldrum of The Meldrum Family - I have to be careful how I describe Kristi's blog because her situation is very special. And since this is an on-line posting, I am wary of how I describe this incredible woman and her family. They live in a world where Je..sus and G/od cannot be discussed openly. They have risked their lives (and continue to do so) to go to a country and fight for the sou..ls of those who have not found Ch/./ri-st. And, because of their sacrifice, any posting, letters, descriptions of them, to them, or from them, have to be broken up with hyphens, colons, etc. to protect them. They even have secure, encrypted e-mail accounts to communicate with people they know. Please take the time to click on her blog and see the amazing story of their new life with 3 kids in a country they believe the so-u/ls are worth fighting for. Their sacrifice is incredible and inspiring.

3. Michelle Robbins of Welcome to the Robbinsnest - Michelle is one of my closest, dearest friends and we have known each other for almost 10 years now. I have no idea where that time has gone, but we have lots of memories together to fill that 10 years. I know, even if we havn't seen or talked to each other in awhile, we can always pick right back up where we left off at a moment's notice. And, it helps that she lives next door to me!! We both lead very busy lives and that's why she deserves this award. Even though she doesn't have the time to blog as much as she would like, it's because she is busy working at school, doing the afterschool program, tutoring or taking care of her family. The new quote above her bed reads "We may not have it all together, but together we have it all." And in this day and age, that's alot!! Here's to you, friend!!!

Why I Love the Summer

10. Sun-warmed tomatoes I can eat right off the vine.
9. Slow mornings and lazy afternoons.
8. Fun times at the pool.
7. Grillin' and Chillin' with all my friends and family.
6. Projects can finally be completed.
5. Visiting family and friends we haven't seen in a long while.
4. Only 10 more weeks until College Football Season!!
3. There's no sense of urgency for anything...no where to be, nothing on the schedule.
2. Spending lots of quality time with my kids, uninterrupted.
1. Having Bo home with us!!

TAGGED!!!

My sister tagged me in this fun little game. Follow the rules and play along.
1. List Six UNIMPORTANT Things That Make You Happy.
2. Mention and link to the person who tagged you
3. Tag as many of your favorite bloggers to play along, and comment on their blog to let them know they've been tagged.


My six UNIMPORTANT things that make me happy are:
1. Trash magazines...like People and US Weekly.
2. A completed project...whatever it is, no matter how big or small.
3. Going to buy something at the store that you need and find out it's on sale as well.
4. A groovy ringtone...You know I like my chicken fried, cold beer on a Friday night!!
5. Family pictures every 3 months.
6. Watching reruns of my favorite shows...Friends, Golden Girls, Family Ties, Facts of Life, Three's Company, The Cosby Show.


You're it!!
1. Kristi Meldrum - can't wait to see how your list compares. I'm sure it won't.
2. Ardis Lussier
3. Can it be that all my other friends have been tagged already????

Daisy Scout Campout

As a kid camping always seemed like a fun idea. And the Daisy Scout camp out was just that...tons of fun. The girls got together at 6:00 for dinner and a scavenger hunt. On their hunt, they found all the supplies to make yummy smores. After snack, the had craft and game time...bear hunt, tag, making bug catchers, decorating flashlights, and catching fireflies. Around 9:45, we headed in to our tents and called it a night...although the girls didn't call it a night until after 10:30. A night on the ground under the stars is glorious for 6 year olds. But, most of the mothers, this one included, woke up(or should I say rolled over) with little or no sleep, an aching back, and hot and sticky. But, we all had smiles on our faces. Smiles and questionable looks...at what point did it become miserable to sleep on a hard ground and worry about whether or not you'd be able to walk in the morning??? Next time, I'll remember my air mattress!!!

Ally and Hannah not listening to directions :)

Making firefly jars.

Catching a firefly.

All lit up...

Daisy Troop 2305

Being silly...

Time for bed in our tent.

Home Again

The Jackson Five made it home safe and sound on Monday from a week long excursion at Disney World. We had an amazing time with Bo's parents. And with 3 kids, it was wonderful to have their help. We visited all 4 of the parks with Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom being our favorites. Ally rode her first "Mommy and Daddy" rides...Tower of Terror and the Expedition Everest Roller Coaster. We ventured on the roller coaster twice to see if we would like it better, but the second time proved worse than the first because we knew what to expect. Tower of Terror...probably won't see her on that one for awhile. Amazingly, all the spooky, haunting stuff leading up to the ride didn't scare her. Just the dropping of several stories at a time did :). Kelsey tried her first big rides as well. She loved Splash Mountain and Thunder Mountain after a little coaxing, but her favorite was Test Track at Epcot. She loved being in the car when it goes around the turn on the bank because of the speed.

We tried the dining plan for this trip and won't do without it again...it was so convenient and saved us a ton of $$$$. We had lunch with the princesses at the castle. We had dinner with Winnie the Pooh and his friends. We had breakfast and a BBQ with Mickey and all of his friends. Plus, we had a great dinner at a Japanese Hibachi Grill at Epcot. The girls had never been and really enjoyed the "show".

Here are a few memorable moments, pictures and lessons from the trip.

1. Our theme was "I'm just trying not to piss anyone off."

2. I worried about Drew and this long trip, but he was the best behaved out of all of us.

3. Closing down Magic Kingdom with the parade and fire works is, bar none, the best end-of-day feeling in the world.

4. The girls did WAY better than I thought they would with little sleep and long days.

5. Nursing in 90 degree heat is almost impossible. Opt for a bottle if you can...

6. When you ride the River Rapids ride at Animal Kingdom, the 12 foot wall of water comes straight down, not at an angle. However, if your boat moves in to said wall of water, you are in for a drenching!!!

7. Lunch with Cinderella and her friends.

8. Being there for mom's last ride on Tower of Terror. Bo told the Disney Management they had clearance to use mom's picture for any future publications they do for this ride...how genuine is her face?!?!?!

9. Ally's first big roller coaster.

10. Kelsey's favorite big ride.