Missing Work

I have a confession. This past week, I have missed work a little bit. I have missed the productivity of a full day at Melaleuca. I have even had the occassional thought that I would like to go back. But then I take Jackson outside to play, and thoughts like that melt away in the beautiful sunshine.

Today Jackson learned about slides. I thought he would be scared... I should have known better. He went up and down at least 20 times and put up quite a fuss when it was time to go inside. I guess we found our new favorite afternoon activity.

Our New Home

Well, we finally made it to Seattle and we're unpacked (mostly) and settled. Our new place is much better than we expected. We have a great playground right out our back door. Jackson just stands at the back door and points to the swings until I take him out to play. He really loves being outside all of the sudden, so we've been doing a lot of walks and outside adventures. It's been sunny and gorgeous ever since we got here. We haven't had a crummy day yet. Who says Seattle is rainy all the time? I think their confused :) I'm sure there will be lots of pictures in the weeks to come. I hope everyone will be really good about keeping in touch! Our new apartment: We went on a walk around our neighbourhood this morning. We ended up being out and about for 4 hours because it is so pleasant and beautiful here (and because we got slightly lost). Notice Tyler's shirt. We already have purple UW shirts for all 3 of us. Apparently I am not excused from wearing the apparel even though I am not even a student here. And Jackson has a lot more space for spreading out his toys in our new apartment. Fun, fun! And here is our tiny little kitchen that actually has plenty of space. I was very worried about the size, but I started unpacking our boxes and there was more than enough room. In fact, several of the cupboards are currently empty. Maybe I lost a few boxes in the moving process? We hope to hear from all of you soon! We miss Idaho a lot, but are settling in quite nicely here and I think we are really going to enjoy the next 4 years.

My Little Stress Reliever

The past few weeks have been a little crazy. I was in Orlando all last week for business and we are trying to get our house all packed up and cleaned for our big move this Thursday. Sometimes I get a little overwhelmed, but it's always amazing how Jackson does these cute little things to keep me smiling. We've uncovered a lot of junk and trash as we've been packing. Jackson has been very cooperative about helping us unpack boxes just as fast as we can pack them. I was packing last week and I realized he hadn't been "helping" me for several minutes. I turned around and found out why. Jackson found an old chocolate kiss, and decided to help himself. I don't mind him having a treat once in a while, but I realized that the last time I bought chocolate kises was from Christmas at Eagles Landing (1 and 1/2 years ago). Yuck!

I'm actually quite impressed that he got the wrapper off.

I was also packing for convention, and was feeling quite bummed about leaving Jackson behind. I ran into the bathroom to grab something and when I came back, Jackson had climbed into my suitcase. He fit perfectly, and I really considered taking him with.I guess in busy times I'm just glad I have my cute little guy to keep me smiling. Won't it be great when my only stress is keeping him entertained all day?

Happy 1st Birthday

Jackson had his 1st birthday last week. The party was so fun! Here's a picture of Jackson with his cake. He wanted it so bad until we actually gave him a piece. Then he seemed kind of nervous about whether or not he could eat it.

That didn't last very long though. He loved the cake so much, he didn't even bother using his hands for most of it. Jackson opening his presents. He is incredibly spoiled!

The cool fire truck from Grandma Hawkins.

The party hat was fun for about 2 minutes. Then he decided he hated it. At least we got some cute pictures first.

Here's Jackson after his messy cake and his bath in the kitchen sink. He's playing with the Busy Ball Popper from Grandma Trish. He loves this toy. It's really funny to watch him with it. I'll have to get some video to post. Happy birthday Jackson and thanks to everyone who helped us celebrate!