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!!