Let's Go Fishing

I stole this picture from Luna. She took it while she and the kids were here visiting back in January. Kiah, Eli and Jackson are playing Let's Go Fishing at our kitchen table.

Side Note: I have not had a camera lately because I lost my battery charger and my camera battery is so DEAD. I am going to order a new one soon so I can start taking pictures again and putting stuff up on the blog...because you know a blog entry just isn't any good without pictures.

My friend, Luna, is doing this thing where she takes a picture a day. I don't know if she is still doing this, but I went and looked at some of her pictures and she has quite a few great shots so far. Just candid sweet pictures that capture that particular day. So on 1-24-09...They were at my house playing Let's Go Fishing...and various other things. Lu, you should have taken a picture of my living room after Eli dumped the box of cars all over the floor. Because we know that most of the time they were not sitting and playing quietly that day. Let's Go Fishing was a very cute moment though...Remember Kiah and Jackson were getting fish and Eli was putting them back in?

Anyway, as soon as my camera is up and running I am going to start taking a picture a day. And occasionally I'll post them on here.

Lou's New Car

We bought THIS yesterday! My husband is so happy. He finally got a new car. We have been talking about getting him a new car for a while now...and we finally did yesterday. We had a great experience too...Totally stress-free. It was a really good day. Lou is REALLY Happy. I love you honey! Xoxoxo

Peeing Ballet

Today Jackson let Simon outside in the backyard. He was watching him from the back sliding door and all of a sudden I hear Jackson say, "Oh my gosh! Simon's peeing ballet." I go to see what he's talking about and he goes, "He's lifting his leg up like ballet." Cracked me up!

Tour of California

Today is such a BIG day! The Amgen Tour of California is finishing Stage 4 in Clovis! When Lou and I first started dating he told me he was into cycling, but I really had NO idea just how into cycling Lou was until July rolled around and we were watching Le Tour de France for 21 days straight (early in the morning...like 5 am...before work). That was the year Lance Armstrong had his 7th consecutive win...It was exciting to watch...I mostly looked in the crowds for Sheryl Crow (she and Lance were dating that year)...but I did get wrapped up in the drama of cycling too.
And boy is there drama...with the worker bees (they don't call them that, but I haven't brushed up on my cycling lingo lately...so that's what I'm calling them)...Oh!...Domestiques (that's what they are called). Anyway, there is always one guy that each team wants to win...the worker bees just chase down the other racers and help the Queen bee (or King) to win.

I know I shouldn't be comparing them to bees, but that is just how it works out in my head.

Anyway, after 4 Le Tour de France's, several thousand miles Lou's racked up on his own bike, and one nasty accident (that was me...not him)...I've grown to love cycling too.

Today, The Tour of California finishes a stage in Clovis, and my cycling lover husband is going to be smack dab in the middle of Livestrong Alley. He went and gave blood and got a shirt (one of 1500) to stand in Livestrong Alley. I wish I could be there with him just to see his excitement.

Levi Leipheimer (he's in the yellow jersey now...that means he's in first place...for all you non cyclists) will be wizzing by, George Hincapie, Christian Vande Velde, Ivan Basso...all the greats that we've been watching on tv for years...THEY'RE ALL going to be here. And let's not forget...LANCE ARMSTRONG!!!!! Oh yes! But he's a worker bee (the #2 guy) in the race...so don't be expecting him to win. You see, He and Levi are both on Team Astana and there is never two Queen Bee's on the same team. Levi's won this race 2 years in a row now..."This is his race."

And yes...that's a quote...by my husband (my personal cycling expert).

Anyway, honey...I love you. I hope you see everyone you want to see, and maybe even get to snap a picture of Lance wizzing by at 40 mph. I will be thinking about you today. I hope it's a great day for you. Don't hurry home! We'll see you tonight.

Daddy For President

The other morning Jackson wandered into my room while I was getting ready for work and Good Morning America was on. He's been doing this a lot lately and is actually kind of enjoying the news I think. Anyway, this morning President Obama and the First Lady were talking to a group of second graders, and since Jackson is a fan of President Obama he was quite interested. Jackson was watching and paying close attention to what the children were asking the President.

One of the kids asked what the White House was like and if they liked living there. Michelle Obama answered..."We have a bowling alley, and a movie theater, and a candy shop..."

Jackson blurts out, "Oh I hope they pick Dad to be the next President!"

I didn't have the heart to tell him it doesn't quite work that way.

Two Peas and a iPod

The other day I was putting clothes away in Jackson's room and he was on his bed with Simon. He said, "Look at me and Simon." and I said, "Just like two peas in a pod." Well I guess Jackson never had heard that expression.

Before I knew it he was organizing this:

Jackson is the iPod

Shannon and Simon are two peas

We are squished together on his bed.

"Dad, come here." Lou comes in the room. "Look, two peas and a ipod."

The Birdhouse.

One day durning Christmas vacation, Papa Woody asked to have Jackson over to help him build a birdhouse for Grandma Bev. Jackson packed up his tool box and Lou dropped him off. Papa Woody got Jackson to work right away. They actually nailed the house together with Jackson's hammer. When Lou went back to pick Jackson up this is what he found.... Jackson dug a hole and put the pole right down in there....

Here is Papa Woody and Jackson with the birdhouse they built.....He really loves his Papa and especially loves to help him build. Thanks Papa for such a fun day.

New Year's Eve!

We hardly ever go out on New Year's, and actually prefer it that way. This year was no different. We had our good friends, the Tuttle's, over for Chinese food and great fun. Skip, Corona, Jack and Antonio came over around 6:00pm. Lou and Skip went to pick up Chinese food and Jackson and Jack started playing right away. They played with every toy in Jackson's room. At one point in the night I went to check on them and found them using Jackson's bed as a ship of some sort. Skip and Corona and the boys didn't make it till midnight...They headed home about 9:30 and Lou, Jackson and I stayed up. We barely made it to midnight, but we did. Here are Lou and Jackson with the noise makers on the patio. We all yelled Happy New Year and were in bed by about 12:10. Happy New Year.

Christmas - 2008

I know this post is terribly late, but better late than never, right? Christmas Day was a nice day for us. Christmas morning Jackson just had to see if Santa came. Of course he did and boy did he deliver some great stuff.
Some candy...
Boy, does Santa know what Jackson likes or what?...
Later on that morning we went to Lou's mom's house and opened presents over there...
Jackson is trying to hold up his Hot Wheels track for me to take a picture...
Lou and Jackson got a couple gifts together...Remote control helicopters and some cars that race on the walls and ceiling...They were pretty excited to get these....
Jackson gave Lou a present (that was just from him)...A Willow Tree "Father & Son"...Jackson bought me some really nice earings and a beautiful ring. I absolutely love them both and wear the ring every day. Lou bought me a Blackberry Storm and I bought him a bike helmet. Jackson got a ton of gifts...and even as late as I'm posting this blog...I still don't think he's played with everything yet. We had a nice Christmas dinner that Lou cooked. We had my family (mom, Bobby & Brittany) over on Christmas Eve and then Brit came over again on Christmas night. We had a very nice kind of low key day.

Jackson's Christmas Program

Jackson's school had their Kindergarten Chrstimas Program and we were so happy to be able to go. They did it right in the middle of the week in the morning, but Lou and I were both able to get off work a little bit to see the great performance.


Here is Jackson sitting in the cafeteria.... Jackson's class performed about 4 songs. One thing that we thought was so cute...During the performance, Jackson spotted his Grandma Bev and started waving like crazy and blowing kisses to her. He totally forgot he was supposed to be singing. It was so cute. His class did so well. We had a lot of fun watching them.

I was trying to put a video up, but I couldn't get it. It's really cute.

Another one about Lou...

Kind of fun survey about my husband.

What is your husband’s name? Lou

How long did you date? We got married exactly 2 years from our first date.

How old is he? 39

Who eats sweets? We both do, but will not be eating them anymore after the 1st. Right honey?...

Who said I love you first? I think I did, but I'm not 100% sure.

Who is taller? Lou is taller

Who can sing better? My husband's a singer...I think we all know he sings better than me.

Who is smarter? He is definitely smarter...at most things.

Who does the laundry? We both do the laundry.

Who pays the bills? I do.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? He does.

Who mows the lawn? Lou does, but we just decided to get a gardner...we are too busy.

Who cooks dinner? I usually do, but tonight Lou is cooking for me.

Who drives? He does.

Who is the first to admit they are wrong? I don't know on this one...we really don't disagree that much.

Who kissed who first? Cute story...Lou kissed me first.

Who asked who out first? I am pretty sure he did the actual asking, but I remember when we he was asking me out for the weekend and it was Wednesday (yes I remember it was Wednesday), I was like...Well, what are you doing tonight? I don't want to wait until the weekend. He didn't either so we went out on Thursday.

Who wears the pants? He wears shorts (even when it's cold outside).

Love you honey. xoxoxoxox

Lou's Birthday - Dec. 13th

Sometime in the midst of all the craziness (from Thanksgiving to now), Lou had a birthday. We always try to make birthday's special in our family and Lou's day was no different. We got up early and gave him our presents...Jackson and I can hardly wait to do the presents. We ate a good breakfast. Lou and Jackson went and signed up for T-Ball, and then we went to the movies....We saw Bolt. After the movies we came home and rested for the afternoon, and that evening we had a few people over for a little celebration. My mom, Brittany (my sister), Bobby (my brother), and Lou's mom, Bev, all came over. I got Lou his favorite, German Chocolate cake from Charlotte's and we also had some cupcakes. It was a really nice evening. I just love you honey. A few things about Lou....

1. He is an awesome husband and father.
2. He is very determined.
3. He is a hard worker.
4. He has a HUGE heart...He'll do anything for anybody.
5. He worked very hard for his master's degree and got his first REAL teaching job this year.
6. He did a triathlon last spring with two other teachers and they got second place.
7. He sings in a band, and is very good.
8. He has ridden his bicycle 3,104 miles this year. There are still 3 days left in the year...I know he'll do more.
9. He is a great cook....Ooh I just love his mexican food.
10. He has a sweet and special relationship with Jackson.

I love you Lou!!!

Disneyland Trip - Nov. 2008

This year we were so lucky to get to visit Disneyland. We had talked about going for a while, but never had the time or money to go down. Since Lou and Jackson both had a whole week off at Thanksgiving, we decided to take a few days and finally get down to Disneyland. We had reservations at The Disneyland Hotel and we just loved every minute of our little vacation.

This giant Mickey Mouse was right out in front of the hotel.

On Main Street...waiting to get some autographs...

We got Pluto's autograph...He signs his autographs on his nose. We thought that was so funny.
We got Goofy's autograph...We had to chase him down to get his. We got the Mad Hatter & Alice's autograph too...And we weren't about to leave without Mickey's autograph...We did some fun stuff while we were at Disneyland....Lou and jackson had a shootout...We played on Tom Sawyer island....Got our driver's license so that we could drive Autopia...Jackson drove me around on that ride. We were giggling the whole way...He's quite the driver. At the Lego Store in Downtown Disney...This store was on our way to our hotel. One of the coolest things we saw while we were at Disneyland was the Holiday fireworks display. At the end of the show it snows on Main Street. It was spectacular! We loved that!We had such a great time and decided that we definitely need to go back more often. It was neat to see the park all decorated for Christmas. It was just beautiful. We were sad to leave after our three day visit, but we also wanted to get home in time for Thanksgiving with our family. Here is Jackson about 5 minutes after we got into the car to go home....

A Little Christmas Spirit.

This is fun! Thanks Heather

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping Paper! The bags are not as fun to open.
2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial...We like to put our tree up right after Thanksgiving (actually that night) so the artificial tree doesn't dry out, and they are less messy...No pine needles everywhere.
3. When do you put up the tree? Thanksgiving night...or the following night.
4. When do you take the tree down? March...Just kidding. Before New Years. Usually a day or two after Christmas.
5. Do you like eggnog? No...But my husband and my sister do.
6. Favorite gift received as a child? Probably Teddy Ruxpin
8. Easiest person to buy for? Jackson.
9. Do You have a nativity scene? No.
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mailed.
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I can't remember getting any really bad gifits.
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? I like a real old one...Holiday Inn. and The Grinch Who Stole Christmas with Jim Carrey...So Funny and good.
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Usually not until like the 20th of December, but this year we did Black Friday...and actually got a lot done.
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Yes...I like what Heather said...One man's junk is another man's treasure.
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Grandma's good cooking...Candied yams (oh yum!), and my husband's stuffing.
16. Lights on the tree? Of course...we like the white lights.
17. Favorite Christmas song? White Christmas.
18. Travel for Christmas or stay home? Stay home...most of our family is in town.
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeers? Yes...We actually named them all last night looking at Christmas lights. Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, and Rudolph
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? We don't have a tree top this year...But we like the star on top.
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Morning for most of them, but Lou and I exchange ours on Christmas Eve before bed and before all the craziness.
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Crowds Everywhere...And nobody is nice.
23. Favorite ornament theme or color? Red.
24. Favorite Christmas dinner? Turkey, Ham, mashed potatoes...Yeah we have it all.
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? A new cell phone, some fuzzy slippers, a new purse, someone to wash my dogs, Tori Spelling's book, a few extra days off work...Nothing too fancy.

Ok... I want to read yours... I don't do the tag thing. Let me know in a comment if you do one and I'll go to your blog and read yours.

UPDATE - Coming Soon

I have been totally unmotivated lately. I don't know what is wrong with me, but I feel so uninterested in blogging. I have so much to blog about, but just really no motivation to upload pictures and put them on here. I will start updating soon...Hopefully by this weekend. Here are some blogs to look for:

Disneyland Vacation
Lou's Birthday
Baby Sophie's Visit
Jackson's Christmas Program

I'll be back....Really I will. Hope all are well.