The Jackson Five: September 2009

Monday, September 28, 2009

It's Picture Day!!

Ally brought home her school pictures today. Had to share our big 1st grader's picture. She looks so much older than six...can't believe it.

The Jackson Five headed south for fall break and landed in Navarre Beach, Florida...a small, quiet beach area about 30 minutes west of Destin. Friends of the family own a condo down there and if the place was not rented for fall break, they were going to let us go for a few days of fun in the sun. This is the 3rd year in a row we have visited Navarre and their condo and it never disappoints. We are so thankful for the Pyecha family and their generosity. Words can't express the thanks they deserve for the time we get to spend there.

We arrived in Navarre on Wednesday afternoon. It was nice to see sunshine after the week of torrential rains and flooding we had here. We made our usual stop at Publix before crossing the bridge and heading up to the condo. It's funny...you'd think we were stranded miles away from everything by the way we plan our trip. Once we get there, we don't leave. We pack food and fun for the days we are there and we don't venture past the pool or the beach. So, really, there's not much more to this story. We spent all of our mornings on the beach under our big tent that proved to be so useful with the kids. We came up to the condo for lunch and nap. Then, we headed back to the beach and pool until dinner time. And this was our daily schedule. One morning we got up to take pictures...which proved to be even more difficult with a baby...but it is what it is. We came back home on Sunday afternoon and tried to get unloaded and ready for the new week.

Check out the Shutterfly site for a sampling of pictures. There were over 500 pictures once I downloaded all of them, so I had to pick and choose the best ones. Enjoy!!

http://therealjacksonfive.com/

The best family shot we got...

The kiddos...

Hangin' with my sister and cousin Ian.

Drew's first time in the ocean...lovin' it!! Excuse the hat...the poor boy just grows too fast. It's a 6 month hat on head that wears 9-12 month clothes. It looked better before it was wet.

Playing in the water...

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

The Tooth Fairy Strikes Again!!

So, amidst the high fever and complete lethargy, Ally found some time to play around with her loose tooth while she was sick all day Sunday. By Monday, Ally was feeling much better (although, after last night, I hope we are not relapsing) and her tooth was so loose. I couldn't believe it was still in her mouth. The new tooth was pushing up behind the baby tooth and the baby tooth was laying flat out in front. The only place it was attached was in the front and Ally was scared to do anything about it. After a little coaxing, she decided she wanted to be the one to pull it out, but she couldn't get a good grip. Finally, I think she just got tired of being defeated and grabbed a hold of it and yanked. She was in the bathroom all by herself and I heard her wince. She says it was because she heard a "crack" and then she pulled some more and the tooth came out. The tears were far less this time, although we still LOATHE the blood. We rinsed for hours it seemed. And then we tucked our tooth very safely into the tooth fairy pillow. That sneaky tooth fairy found some way to wiggle Ally's tooth out from underneath the pillow and left another dollar to go with the other 2 she has already lost. That's huge...because I know Tooth Fairies are broke these days!! :) Ally was very excited for her visitor and spent the morning thinking about how she would spend her new found money. It seems we will be seeing a lot of the tooth fairy in the coming months. This was Ally's third tooth to come out. She has already lost her two bottom teeth and this one was right beside those. Her other bottom tooth is already loose as are all 4 of her top teeth. If things work out just right, she might be toothless...literally...for a few days!! I hope the tooth fairy is saving up!!

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Apple Picking Time

Today, the Jackson Five headed out to the North Georgia Mountains for the annual apple picking trip. We have been every year for the past 4 years and it's a tradition we look forward to each year. We visited BJ Reese's Apple House where they have rows and rows of trees to pick apples from. We choose to go this time of year because this is the time that the Golden Delicious apples are in season...they are our favorite. Granny Smiths come in to season later...around mid-October...but I'm the only one who likes those. So, we do apple picking in September and do another mountain trip in October to the Pumpkin Patch.

Today's trip was sketchy at first, but turned out to be super nice. The weather was coming in from the south and we thought if we got there early enough we might be able to pick apples before we got drenched. And, that's exactly how it happened. We got to the orchards and headed up to the apple trees right away. The kids had fun picking apples and eating more than their fair share along the way. We filled our bag to bring hom,e and then headed back down the orchard to the farmhouse. Inside we bought yummy fried apple pies and a basket of home grown tomatoes. We hopped back in the car and as we headed back to the interstate, the rains came...perfect timing. The rain had held out just long enough and it kept the heat away...and the bees...for the entire time we were up there.

Head over to the shutterfly site to see all the pictures. Here are a few to get you started.

http://therealjacksonfive.shutterfly.com/

Monday, September 14, 2009

A Weekend with the Gators!!

Bo and I spent the weekend in Gainesville with his parents cheering on the Gators. It's the first game I've been to a game since finding out I was pregnant with Kelsey...5 years ago. We had done a few things to help Bo's parents get settled in here in Georgia and they wanted to thank us by taking us to a Gator Game. It was such a great weekend and it was so nice to get away...with no responsibilities. Jackie and Stefan kept the kids for us while we were away. We got to Gainesville around 4:30 on Friday. And before I go any farther, let me just say how AWESOME it was to be in a town where orange and blue is the norm. There was Gator stuff everywhere you looked and it felt so nice to be "home". After we got checked in to the hotel, we found our way back to campus for some shopping in the bookstore...which is now located in the Reitz Union and not at the Hub. After dropping a small fortune for gifts and Gator necessities, we drove around campus and checked out all the new additions. It was fun to travel around our old stomping grounds. We even got to see our first apartment at Spanish Trace...so weird to think we once lived at 3500 Windmeadows Blvd. Anyhow...we ended up at Ballyhoos, a new restaurant that has a very casual, beachy feel to it and actually enjoyed the wait for our table. That's easy to do without having kids tugging on your leg asking when it will be time to eat. We enjoyed a great meal and then headed back to the hotel around 11. The game was at 12:00 the next day and we had no desire to stay up late and feel horrible the next morning. 8:00 AM rolled around quickly and we were all getting very excited to get to the stadium for the Gator Walk...a new tradition that's been started since we've left Gainesville. The buses rolled up with all the football players around 10:30. The police stopped traffic on University Avenue and let all the fans in to the middle of the street. One by one, all the Gator greats stepped off the bus...the Pouncey Twins, Demps, Rainey, Moody, Coach Meyer, and finally Superman himself...Tim Tebow. The crowd ERUPTED as he walked past his adoring fans and at that moment it was so great to be a Florida Gator fan. I had goosebumps!!! We were so glad we made it there to see that. And we couldn't have stumbled in to a better spot...up on a wall above the crowd so we could take great pictures!! Once the players were inside, we walked around the stadium amidst all the orange and blue. We found our way to Gate 1 and headed in to our seats. We were there as the players were coming on to the field. And the nice part about being so early is that you can go down to the front row and take pictures of everyone warming up. Mr. Tebow himself was 20 feet from me as he came out to personally encourage every one of his teammates before he started his own warm-up drills. There's just something about a man in UnderArmour...Bo should invest!!! The game was incredible...after a slow start. It didn't seem to get rolling until the sky unleashed and the rains poured on us. For a 12:30 kick-off, we couldn't have been happier...tons of clouds and cool rain for an afternoon at the SWAMP!!! When the game was over, all the players headed to the corner of the end zone with the band while they played the Alma Mater..."where palm and pine are blowing". And then the players sang "On Florida" for the band...very cool. Tebow ran around the stadium and gave high fives to all the fans waiting around the circle and then headed in to the locker room...such a good guy. After the game, it didn't seem like there was much tailgating going on...which surprised me. Bo thought it was because of the rain. So, like everyone else, we headed back to the hotel to shower and dry off. After some Gumby's pepperoni rolls and some pizza, we relaxed, watched a little football and then headed to the Ale House for the Georgia game and the OSU game. We had some munchies while we watched the games and then we headed back to the hotel for some sleep. We headed out Sunday morning and got home just in time to have dinner with the kids. All in all it was a great weekend!!! And, we can hardly wait to get back to Gainesville...hopefully it won't be another 5 years!!

I can't post all of the pics I took here on the blog...there's just too many. So, visit the shutterfly site to see them all. Especially if you need a Tebow fill!!
http://therealjacksonfive.shuttefly.com/

Dinner at Ballyhoo's