That time of the year

Well, flu season is approaching and all 3 of us were sick this weekend. We stayed home and rested the whole time, and ended up making a fort, because what else do mature adults with a one-year-old do when they are sick? Here's Jackson inside the fort. He actually really loved it!

Also, this week Jackson passed the 22 lb mark, so it was time for a new car seat. As usual with baby stuff, we got guilted into the whole "if you love your baby, you'll keep them safe" marketing ploy and we ended up buying a really expensive one. So I had it inside this morning and I was working on assembling the rear-facing LATCH straps and I went in the other room. When I came back, Jackson had climbed into it and was using it as his TV chair. I left it there all morning and he spent most of his time sitting in. Maybe now he'll be excited to go for car rides?

Pike's Place Market

Today we went to Pike's Place Market. Everybody said this was the place we had to visit, and it definately didn't disappoint us. We had a great time seeing everything there, and it was fun to go down by the water. This market is incredible. Magicians, musicians, artists, and A LOT of great food. They have the most beautiful, gigantic flower arrangements for $5. We went to see the famous fish throwers. They were very impressive. We sampled the smoked salmon and really wanted to buy some, but at $29.99 a pound, we decided we better save up for that one :) We did buy a lot of really fresh, declicious fruit that we have been enjoying all day. We had a great time and I would definately recommend it for anyone who visits Seattle. I think it will become one of our favorite Saturday morning activities.

Here are the fish throwers. The whole time we were there, Tyler kepts saying, "Where are the guys that throw the giant fish. That's what I want to see." The guys in the fruit stand also tossed some fruit around. What a fun place.

(Jackson and I are the tiny people in the bottom corner of this picture. Downtown Seattle is amazing, and really clean and pretty for such a big city. Even in downtown there are still trees and vines growing everywhere. )

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!

23 Days and Counting

We are counting down to our big move to Seattle. I have been collecting moving boxes from work. We've discovered they are a great containment tool for Jackson, and he actually loves playing in them

In the mean time I have been thinking a lot about moving. It's a big exciting change for us. There are definately some things I will really miss and some things that I am excited to be done with.

Things I will really miss:

• Working at Melaleuca (depending on the day)
• Our families
• My incredible friends
• Cheap groceries
• Our very nice apartment for such a low price
• Being able to get to work in 5 minutes and basically anywhere else in 10
• Idaho mountains (although Seattle moutains are incredible too)
• Boating and dirt bikes
• Island Park
• Our ward and our fun little 14 year-old Sunday School class
• Having a garage, a backyard, and upstairs bedrooms so we can open windows in the summer
• Our dishwasher

Things I will definately NOT miss:

• Working at Melaleuca (depending on the day)
• Being away from Jackson all day every day while I work
• Driving our old truck without A/C in the hot Idaho summer weather (We are selling the truck before we move. We will live close enough to UW that we are going to go down to just one vehicle)
• Idaho blizzards. We've had several people tell us that Seattle winters are much more mild, and I'm praying its true.
• Waiting... and waiting... and waiting... for dental school to finally start so Tyler will quit complaining of boredom.

Lake Powell

A few weeks ago we went to Lake Powell with Tyler's family. Jackson had a blast! The steering wheel was his favorite toy.

Jackson climbs his first tree

My sister sent me a cute picture of Jackson. Last weekend we went to Pocatello and Albion for a family reunion and we got this cute picture. Jackson didn't seem at all bothered when Tyler stuck him in the tree and left him there.

After a beautiful weekend... it's official!

More of the Boyds

Here they are. More than you ever wanted to see of the Boyds. One of my favorites. I love my cute boys! I'm a little cheesy looking, but so is he.

Jackson doesn't look like he's enjoying the kisses. My younger brother said that Jackson looks like an Abercrombie & Fitch model in his "serious" pictures.

We did get a few good smiles from him, usually only if one of us was standing behind the camera doing something silly.

I know they are really cliche, but I just love bridge pictures!

And of course, we got a few cheesy couples pictures. I won't post the kissing ones :)

Spring Picture Preview

We got a preview of the pictures that Caralee Photography took for us last week. Here are a few of the ones I really loved. You can see more if you go to her website. And I'm sure I'll post a lot more of them next week when I get the whole CD.