A New Year

So December hit and that was the end of blogging, I suppose. I've done a pretty good job keeping up with the baby blog, but not this one. Truly, since the holidays have ended, the baby has consumed our lives...a nursery, a 4D ultrasound, Dr.'s appointments every 2 weeks and now almost every week. So...it's been easy to keep up with that one so far.

As for the Jackson Five (almost), we have been busy. I typically remember January being a very slow month, one that seems to drag on forever. Maybe it's because money is tight after the holidays or maybe it's because it get so cold outside that we can't go out and get some exercise. But whatever it is, it has not been that way this year. January has flown by and we have gotten lots done. Aside from all the baby stuff, we have enjoyed hanging out with friends, spending time with the girls before baby Drew's arrival and watching our Gators win our second National Title in 3 years. Sports Illustrated is on the way!!

So, even though I haven't made any New Year's resolutions, I promise to be a bit better at updating the family blog. My intentions for December were good...a blog about how wonderful our Christmas was, how we spent celebrating the new year, and what's in store for us this year. But, you know how it goes. And now that things have slowed down a bit...for at least this week...it's time to get caught up.

Happy New Year!!!

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!!