Cherry Blossom Festival

Beginning about April 1st of every year, Jackson starts asking me "When is it going to be March again so we can go to The Cherry Blossom Festival?" To say that my little boy loves The Pinkest Party on Earth is a gross understatement. He looks forward to it with such joy every year. If you gave him the choice between it and Christmas morning, I'm really not sure which one he would pick :) So, of course, we have spent every waking moment that we can enjoying the many wonderful things the festival has to offer. We are sad that this will be our next to last Cherry Blossom here in Macon, but my friends here can rest assured that this is one event we will be back for every year...no matter where we end up on the map :) Here are the pics so far from our week of Cherry Blossom fun.

We couldn't miss the pink pancake breakfast
A ride on the roller coaster
Face painting

Luke is obsessed with rocks. Wherever we are, he finds rocks and carries them around. You'll notice in the pictures that he doesn't let go of them often :) Couldn't you just eat him up?
Luke and his Kikye
On the obstacle course...a new addition this year and a favorite of Jackson's

Down the slide
Luke wasn't too sure about the rides at first
Enjoying a slushie at the sea lion splash
Stella, Rose, and Kitty

Where else can you see a sea lion conga line?
A sweet moment with Chief (and his rocks)
A giant anaconda...gross
I was glad Jackson opted to pet the alligator with it's mouth taped shut instead of the snake
It wouldn't be a fair without a balloon animal

Chick-Fil-A turns their ice cream pink for Cherry Blossom...always a special treat
Luke finally started to enjoy the rides on the second day
Clutching his rock while riding in the jeep with "Jazzy"

Ok, now I have to tell a story (if you're still with me). Jackson has wanted nothing more than to ride the ferris wheel at the festival ever since we started going 3 years ago. You have to be 42" tall to ride. Instead of trying to explain that to him (or deal with him asking every day to measure him and see if he was 42" tall yet), we decided to tell him that you had to be 4 years old to ride the ferris wheel...thinking that at the rate he was growing he would surely be 42" by 4. If you know Jackson, you know that he doesn't forget a thing. The day of his 4th birthday, December 22, he told me "Yeah! Now I can ride the ferris wheel at Cherry Blossom Festival!" So the first day of the festival, we went straight to the ferris wheel. It wasn't even open yet because we were there early for pink pancakes, but we went up to the 'you have to be this tall' sign to check. He stood up so proud and we all cheered like a bunch of fools as we realized he was tall enough...or so we thought.

After our pink pancakes settled, we bought our tickets and went straight to the ferris wheel. Brad marched him up the ramp all ready to get on and the carnival man pulls out a different measuring stick, holds it up to Jackson, and says no, you can't get on. Talk about devastating! Well, truthfully, Jackson wasn't all too upset...it was really me, Brad, Chief, and Kikye that were heartbroken. We talked to Jackson, changed the age limit to 5, and he happily went off to ride the roller coaster.

Well, we weren't going to give up on our baby's dream that easily. Then next time we went back, we made sure Jackson wore his cowboy boots with the heel, and taught him how to stand up extra, extra tall :)

Dr. Dennis

I think Jackson may have found his calling. I guess it makes sense, though. Taking 2 of the greatest loves from each of his parents and combining them into one. Here is Dr. Jackson Dennis, veterinarian, with his first patient....sweet, sweet Alfie.
*I apologize in advance for the quality of the film. It was a little difficult to manage a camera and a somewhat nervous 4-legged patient. Also excuse the disaster state of my bedroom as I had just returned from a cruise and was in the process of unpacking :)

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Spring fever and savings

A random title for a post, I know. But I didn't want to do 2 separate ones. First, the savings. I have finally decided to take the plunge and join the world of couponing. Friends of mine have sworn by it for a while now, but I just didn't think I could add one more thing to my life. But, if you know me, I also have a hard time passing up a great bargain, so I decided to give it a go. After a few weeks of serious couponing (ecoupons, clipping, printables, bogos, store events, etc) I think I will probably continue on. I definitely see it as the type of thing that I will learn more the longer I do it....but so far, so good. Here is what I scored on my weekly trip. Included in this loot are....

-Dinner for my family of 4 for 5 nights this week (not including leftovers)

-Monthly supply of staples that we use frequently (juice, goldfish, cheese, etc)

-6 cans of sunscreen (in the next 6 months we are going on a cruise, to Hawaii, and to the beach...so this was a great buy! and yes, i checked the exp. date)

All of this loveliness for $64.36.

I am thrilled anytime I can go to the grocery store and spend less than $100, so I was very happy to spend this amount and get so much in return. So, for now, I will press on with the couponing craze :)

We had a few days here and there recently that got me and the boys itching for spring. We have a creek that runs behind our house and I think the boys would live down there if I would just pitch them a tent. So on one of those warmer days, we bundled up, put on our puddle boots, and headed down to have some fun.

I am so sad to think about leaving this house next year when Brad is finished with residency...but looking forward to making even more memories such as this one before it's time to leave :)

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Survey

for Erin :)


Welcome to the 2010 edition of getting to know your family and friends. Here is what you are supposed to do, and try not to spoil the fun. Change all the answers so that they apply to you. Have fun and be truthful! I want to see your answers. Link up at the end so we can share in your answers!

1. What is your occupation right now? wife, mother, and keeper of our home :)
2. What color are your socks right now? white
3. What are you listening to right now? Neal Boortz, Fox News, Thomas movie, and Luke saying "more juice mama"...it's a little over stimulating
4. What was the last thing that you ate? piece of banana bread
5. Can you drive a stick shift? no
6. Last person you spoke to on the phone? my dear friend, Annette, who just had a baby last night :)
7. Do you like the person who sent this to you? very much!
8. How old are you today? 29
9. What is your favorite sport to watch on TV? football
10. What is your favorite drink? fountain coke in a styrofoam cup with lots of ice
11. Have you ever dyed your hair? yes...children give you grays :(
12. Favorite food? I don't like favorite ?s....I love grits
13. What is the last movie you watched? Avatar 3D
14. Favorite day of the year? Christmas
15. How do you vent anger? healthy way-cry, non-healthy way-throw things
16. What was your favorite toy as a child? pink doll named Oddie
17. What is your favorite season? spring or fall
18. Do you want your friends to continue to post?
19. Who is the most likely to respond?
20. Who is least likely to respond?
21. Living arrangements? wonderful home in Macon that I am sad about leaving in the next year :(
22. When was the last time you cried? about an hour ago
23. What is on the floor of your closet? shoes, and probably a train or two :)
24. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending this to? I guess the friend who reads my blog that I've known the longest would be Meredith
25. What did you do last night? worked out and watched The Biggest Loser
26. Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburger? cheese
27. What are you most afraid of? losing those I love
28. What is your favorite kind of dog? I love all dogs, but my current fav is my beagle, Gus
29. Favorite day of the week? any day that our entire family is together
30. Diamonds or pearls? diamonds
31. What is your favorite flower? orchids
32. What is your favorite blog to read? there's no way I can answer this question...I love all of my friends' blogs!

Grocery store

When Brad is on call, the dinner/bath/bedtime routine can be a little tricky to manage with my wild boys. Tonight I decided to let L read books in his crib (given the path of destruction he had already created througout the day) while I bathed and pj'd J. After J was done, I sent him downstairs to play while I bathed and pj'd L, read stories, and put him to bed. When I came downstairs, J was standing there, so proud, and said (as he did a sweeping gesture with his hands) "Ta-da! Welcome to my grocery store. Time to go shopping!"

Well, you don't have to beg me to go shopping :)

So I got my cart, my list, and my pen. I made a big deal about looking through all of the food, asking J if he had certain items, planning out my meals for the week, you get the idea. He was so excited! He could hardly contain himself, he was just bursting at the seams with the excitement of this newly discovered game. I proceeded to the check-out with my goods and asked J how much I owed.

Ouch.

Orange..... $20

Potato..... $10

Fish.....$25

Zucchini..... $100

Chicken..... $5

Lemon..... $1

Grand total..... $181

I guess I shouldn't have bought 3 potatoes.

At least chicken was on sale this week (he did tell me that) :)

And I'm dreading breaking the news to Brad that we can no longer afford one of his favorite vegetables :(

I do love that little boy's imagination, and can't wait to shop at his store again....hopefully with coupons ;)

Christmas top 10

I have been putting off my Christmas post for a while now. I keep meaning to do it, but that task just keeps slipping futher and further down on the to-do list. So I finally decided I better get it done, and I thought that I would sort through all the pictures and pick out 10 of my favorites to tell a little bit about our Christmas story.
We had a wonderful Christmas, as we always do. Brad is fortunate to be able to take the week of Christmas off each year, and we LOVE getting spoiled by spending all of that time with him. We received way too much this year (as we always do) and were reminded of how richly blessed and undeserving we are. So here are the top 10 picture memories...in chronological order, not in order of favorites

#1 I love decorating our house for Christmas, and especially love trees. I decorate 5 throughout the house each year, and already have plans for #6 for next year. This year I went a different direction with our main tree, and was so pleased with how it turned out.

#2
The annual "in front of the Christmas tree" picture. I can't wait to see the progression of these over the years
#3

We have started a tradition with Brad's family on Christmas Eve. His mom, dad, and brother come to our house for Christmas Eve dinner. We let the kids open all of their wrapped presents under the tree (a tradition from Brad's childhood) and we open the TON of presents that his parents bring. I am always amazed at how many trips they make from the car to the house with armloads of gifts. Here are the boys surveying their loot.

#4

Luke loves big trucks ("biiiig kuk!"). This was one of his favorite gifts that he toted around all night. And, apparently, it drives the best in the kitchen wherever Mommy happens to be walking :)

And look how big my baby looks holding his biiiig kuk!

#5

One of my favorite gifts Luke received. He was made for hats :)

#6
Jackson is really into the idea of Santa Claus. We made special cookies, and Jackson picked out just the right carrots at the store for his reindeer (which I later chewed up and spit out all over the driveway as reindeer evidence). I love this picture of him inspecting the goodies to make sure everything is just right before the big guy comes.

#7
The spread on Christmas morning. And I realized 2 weeks later that we completely forgot to put out Luke's big item from Santa. I kept standing there Christmas Eve saying to Brad "Are you sure this looks even? I feel like Jackson has more." To which Brad replied "Luke is 1. He won't notice. Can we go to bed now?" And Luke's present is still in the attic.

#8 Waiting at the top of the stairs on Christmas morning awaiting the o.k. from Mommy and Daddy to come down...a Morgan family tradition that is happily carried out in the Dennis house. I also can't wait to see the progression of these pictures over the years.

*Oh, and another favorite is the matching Christmas pjs

#9
I love, love, love Christmas morning. It is such a special time for our family. I love to see the excitement on their faces as they discover each new toy. I love to sit back on the couch with Brad, drinking a hot cup of coffee, Christmas music playing in the background, and just look at each other and smile, knowing how blessed we are, and giving thanks for the true meaning of this special day. I also love what this picture captures so perfectly. They both have mouths full of candy canes, and are playing with the two new "Trev the Trains". For that entire morning, even with all those new toys, my 2 little boys are so sweet to one another. Such sweet words are spoken, such kind sharing takes place, and it just warms my heart :)

#10

This is Jackson opening presents at my parents house. There are 2 reasons why I love this picture.

1- Each of the grandkids gets to take their turn opening their presents. It is such a great way to make each one of them feel special as they sit in the special chair while everyone watches them open their gifts.

2- This is Jackson opening what might be his favorite gift he received this Christmas...The Touch 'n Brush. Yes, he saw the infomercial on tv one day and said he had to have that. So, of course, his Uncle Kenny was the one to get it for him.

And let me just state for the record, that if I had a picture of my dad coming out in the coconut bra and grass skirt to make his announcement at Christmas brunch, that TOTALLY would have made the countdown.

I hope everyone had as great a Christmas as we did and did not miss out on the greatest and most undeserving gift of all...the birth of our Savior.

Happy 4th Birthday, Jackson!

Our baby turned 4 today. Four years old! Do I really have a 4 year-old? I do, and he is oh so precious. Sure, you are stubborn, you test our patience, aggravate us at times, tire us with your everlasting energy and never ending questions. But, then again, you are 4....and I treasure all of those qualities even if they do make me crazy sometimes :) You have the sweetest little voice, always say please and thank you, are so very smart, love your little brother, are fascinated with trains, can memorize anything and seldom forget, are so kind and loving, and have brought us so much joy these past 4 years. We love you so much, Jackson!
Ok, enough of the mushy stuff. Since we had Jackson's party a few weeks ago, we celebrated his actual birthday today with just family. Kikye and D (grandma and uncle) picked him up early this morning and treated him to a special birthday breakfast at Chick-Fil-A. Then it was off to have our annual birthday portrait made...I don't think this child can take a bad picture. And next we headed down to Monkey Joe's for some jumping fun! Here are some pics..what I could get, anyway ;)

Luke was happy to just hang out in this truck...until I put quarters in it and it started moving, that is...then came tears.

A blue Icee to cool down

Check out the redness of the face

This video pretty much sums up each of the boys feelings regarding Monkey Joe's

Tuckered out on the ride home :)

We ended the day with Jackson's favorite meal (spaghetti) and a Family Movie Night. We laid out our sleeping bags, turned out all the lights, cozied up by the Christmas tree with our popcorn and M&Ms, and watched the magic of The Polar Express with our self-professed "train guy". What a special day...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JACKSON!!!