Jackson is 5!

I'd like to know when this baby boy of mine turned into a man child?! It's so hard to believe we are in Jackson's last year of preschool and he soon will be joining his older sister in "big school"! I am trying to soak in every moment of our time together this year realizing he is growing up with or without my approval ;).

Jackson is a little fireball of energy. He loves being the center of attention and when noticed, he turns it "on". We like to call him the class clown because I'm certain that will be a title of his in future years. But along with all the silliness, he has such an unscripted sweet side to him. He will give compliments, give out affectionate hugs and kisses, and just be the biggest snuggle bug! We just love every aspect of who our boy is and know that all of his personality traits will serve him well in the future.

Jackson, happy 5th birthday! As I always tell you, this is your last birthday and you don't get to be any older...but we both know you won't let that happen. :)

We love you so much!

NAME: Jackson Lee

HEIGHT: 45 1/4"

BEST FRIENDS: Micah, Max, Judah, Kevin

AGE: 5

GRADE: PreK

SCHOOL: Sycamore Hills Baptist Preschool

PETS: Kelsey

HOBBIES: Soccer, Camping, Legos, Transformers, Superheroes, iPad, Playing with Lily

SPECIAL SKILLS: learning to write his name, goal-scoring soccer stud, good shot on the BB gun, dancing machine

WHAT I WANT TO BE WHEN I GROW UP: The Hulk

FAV SINGER: TobyMac

FAV SONG: Feel It

FAV COLOR: Blue and Green

FAV FOOD: Potato soup (except he doesn't like potatoes....so crazy :)

FAV DRINK: Soda pop

FAV TOY: Transformer

FAV BOOK: Mouse Paint

FAV MOVIE: Home

FAV ANIMAL: Lion and Cheetah

FAV HOLIDAY: 4th of July

FAV CANDY: Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

FAV T.V. SHOW: Paw Patrol

FAV SPORTS: Royals baseball, soccer

FAV PHRASE: "Crazy head!", "Oh yeah baby!" (he gets this one from his Daddy and Grandpa B)

SEVEN WORDS TO DESCRIBE JACKSON: Silly, Stubborn, Affectionate, Imaginative, Talkative, Adventurer, and Sweet.

August 2015 highlights

As I back track a little, here are some highlights of August. We were able to fit in a sleepover with cousin Lola and a camping trip to Watkins Mill with family and friends. We definitely ended summer with a bang! ;)

watching Minions 3D at the fancy AMC with recliners!

we were able to meet up with Aunt Sarah for a bit too!

sleepover with cousin Lola

Lily had been wanting to do some baking so we tried lamb cupcakes

Watkins Mill camping with cousins and friends!

the boys had to help Uncle Chris build the fire

girls braiding hair (and poor Powell suffering through the girlishness) 

one month apart and such good buddies

no idea what was happening here....I believe a made up game of some sort :)

and here they are! our crazy crew!

First day of school 2015

We are now back into the school routine! Phew! :) I sure love our summers and all the fun, but when the trips are done and we only have a couple of weeks left, boy do we feel it! This family thrives on routine so I believe we are all thankful to have some sanity back in this place.

But as I say that, I also get this twinge of sadness as they start another year as it's a reminder that they are growing up so quickly. I am so proud of these two and the young people they are becoming. Daddy and I look at each other all the time and grin as we watch their personalities develop. Super excited for the new school year!

1st day of 3rd grade

1st day of Pre-K

Mr. Melton- 3rd grade teacher
(don't you love those "first day awkward teacher shots"? :)

So technically this was her "2nd day" but she was just so cute, couldn't pass up a pic

Later that week, her new glasses came in. She loves them!

And here is our Pre-K boy! Back to school night with Mrs. Christina.

with church & preschool buddy, Kolsten

finding his hook

with buddy, Max

Summer California Trip 2015

The end of July, we headed out for a 10 day trip to CA. Sadly, Daddy wasn't able to join us due to his work schedule. We spent a week at the beach house and a few days at Grandma & Grandpa's house before heading back home.
As always, we had tons of fun at the beach. Lily has become a very good boogie boarder! She jumped in the ocean immediately and rarely came out! She and Sam were two peas in a pod all week and enjoyed spending time together.
Jackson is still very cautious about the waves (thankfully!) so he was happy to have his buddies, Charlie & Ethan, to hang out with on the shoreline. The three of them are so cute to watch. Jackson enjoys being the "older boy" and the leader of his younger cousins since that rarely happens at home. ;)

Enjoy some pictures of our fun trip:

Boarded the plane in KCI. This is one of Jackson's favorite parts of the trip- he loves riding in the airplane ;)

Grandma spoiled us girls with pedicures before we headed to the beach

 

We arrived and immediately took off to the beach. Of course, they were soaked within seconds :)

Down time in the morning

Jacob and Lily enjoyed playing board games

My beach babes!

One of many waves the surfer girl caught

Since Daddy wasn't here, it put me on "sand dollar hunting patrol". I wasn't thrilled about getting up early every day to fulfill my responsibility but the kids just love it. How could I turn them down?

Uncle Phil came loaded with cool toys for the kids. He had a rocket launcher and two huge dragon kites. The kids loved it!

I believe I take a similar picture of Jackson every year in this position. He was just sitting in the sand, talking to himself in his imaginary play, perfectly content. 

Aunt Sarah turned the kiddos into mermaids/men!

We spent one day visiting Leo Carrillo Beach and all our friends camping there

Of course, leave it to Lily to raid the tidepools to find the most interesting (disgusting!) sea creature. This sea slug was so gross but was the highlight of day!

These two cracked me up. They set up their compound about 20 feet behind all of us! Totally reminded us of teenagers who wanted nothing to do with their parents! (This is happening already?!)
I asked Lily what they were talking about back there?
She replied :
"I sat down, put my chair back, and told Sam...'This is the life' ". Then Sam said "Yes. Yes it is."

Hahahahaha!  

Miss Barnacle Eye :)

We spent our last day in CA at Liz's house swimming and having fun!

We had a great time! Now home to see Daddy!

Summer Lunch Program

One of the most rewarding activities we have been a part of this summer was assisting with the non-profit organization, Coldwater. This faith-based organization provides a variety of services throughout the year to reach out to a community in need and in the summer months provides sack lunches to children and their families.

I had been praying for an opportunity to serve the community with my kids when a good friend contacted me late Spring asking me if we wanted to volunteer! What an answer to prayer.

The best thing about this program is that as adults, we are to facilitate, but truly the program is designed to allow kids of all ages to participate and do something tangible to help those in need. Many programs I had researched similar to these only allowed older kids, so it was a perfect fit for all of us...including Jackson! Not to mention, a fun group of church friends were our "crew" every Thursday so the kids had fun hanging out with their friends too :).

We had to sanitize and wear gloves when handling the food, as well as keep it at the proper temperature to abide by health guidelines. The older kids (Lily) made sandwiches and cut cucumbers to put in baggies, while the younger kids (Jackson) assembled the paper bags with a piece of fruit and a tub of ranch dressing. We packaged all the cold stuff in coolers, filled up a water cooler for drinks, and loaded the cars. We then visited different housing complexes and delivered the lunches to the kids and their families. The complex we visited more often had a playground nearby so our kids played together with the other kids. 

When I think of how to practically live out my faith, serving others is one of the first things that comes to mind. I'm so thankful we had the opportunity to be a part of this program. After the first week, the kids asked daily when we were going back to help!? What an impactful experience for them, and for me as well. I look forward to many opportunities like this in the future!

Lily and Ellie making sandwiches

Jackson and Trace putting ranch tubs into lunch sacks

These boys were hilarious. We loaded a wagon with 100 apples to wheel back and load in the lunches.

Trace was taking the rear to make sure none of the apples fell off :)

One of the services the program offered was a visit by a couple of police officers (one of which I knew from church!) during our lunch drop off to educate on firework safety. I was thankful my kids were glued to her instruction along with the others :)