M-I-C-K-E-Y...

...M-O-U-S-E! Mickey Mouse! That's right, we will soon be off to The Most Magical Place on Earth with Papa, Mamma, Uncle Stevie, Aunt Amy and cousins Ryley & Emma! We are very excited about the kiddos' first trip to the Magic Kingdom! They are all going to love it (I hope!)!We'll take lots of pictures to share when we get home! See ya real soon!

Adventures at the Strawberry Patch

This morning I took Jackson down to Bladenboro to spend the weekend with my parents. After his nap, we rode over to Morris' Farm to pick some strawberries. Jackson had never been out to a strawberry patch, so I was excited to see what he would think. And of course, he loved it! I mean, strawberry picking is a lot like treasure hunting! At first, he would just pick the ones that we pointed out to him, but after a while he decided that he wanted to choose his own...even a couple of green ones. He was having a good ole time! He was super funny carrying around the box to put them in. He carried it out to the patch, but I figured that he would give it up when he started picking strawberries. Not so much. He wanted to do both and insisted on carrying the box. However, after he dumped our picked strawberries on the ground for the second time, Nana was able to convince him that it would be better if she carried it.

"Oh, I found another one!"

Trying to convince Jackson to let me carry the box...

So, looks like we had fun, right?? Well, we did! But the fun was just about to begin. As I walk over to my car to get out $$ to pay for our berries I realize...

...the doors are locked and there are my keys. Peeking out next to the DMD. Not cool at all. And also not cool is the weather...it was hot! It was like 85 degrees today and this was at about 3 o'clock! So, after a quick call to AAA and another call to my Dad on the way home from work, we found us a nice shady spot in the grass to try and stay cool. Well, we had only been sitting there for about 5 minutes when Mrs. Morris came out of her house going to her car. She walked over to say hello and I'm sure to see who these folks were that were just hanging out and then recognized my mom. It's a honor pay system, so there was no staff out there, just us. One of the many things to love about a small town...you know everybody and in this case, I think we are kind of distantly related to the Morris'. So anyway, when we tell her we are locked out, she kindly insists that we come inside for a glass of water. And I don't think Jackson had heard a better idea all day! He got inside and chugged some water -- he was one thirsty little boy! Actually, all three of us were! Mrs. Morris was very sweet though as we waited on my Dad to get there -- he was leaving work when I realized that the keys were locked in, so he ran home to switch cars and get the car seat.

So I was very excited when the locksmith arrived after only about 45 minutes. I thought, "This'll be pretty easy."

Not at all! Turns out that there's some anti-theft thing that disables the power locks, so when he got the door wedged open and pushed the unlock button, nothing happened. He tried both doors several times, but nothing happened. While he was calling another locksmith for help, I was calling everyone at the dealership to find out if there was something we were doing wrong. Everyone thought that they should unlock. Well, they didn't. After about 20 minutes or so, I started thinking, "Sean is going to be so excited when I call him to say I need him to drive to B-boro after work w/ my spare keys!" Finally, the locksmith rigged up another tool that he had and was able to manually unlock the passenger door. Whew! I was thrilled -- I'm pretty sure I even hugged the locksmith. Kudos to you, Mr. Locksmith!

Jackson really enjoyed the strawberries once we made it back to the house. And they are really good, if I must say so myself! Even worth the wait!

"Here Pa-Jack, you try one."

Look at 'em all. Sweet, juicy goodness!

So what was supposed to be a quick trip to the strawberry patch, turned out to be an all afternoon adventure. But you know, when you're surrounded by people you love, it doesn't much matter what kind of situation you're in. You just turn your hat around right and enjoy the ride! And in the process, you might just learn something. In this case I did...it's that I need to stash away one of those hide-a-key thingies.

Isn't this flower pretty? My Grandma has always had the most beautiful flowers in her yard. I just couldn't resist stopping to enjoy this one.

Here's Myrtle the little sun turtle. My dad rescued her from the midst of pallets and forklifts a few days ago and I was able to convince him to keep her as a pet until Jackson could see her. I have always loved these little turtles. When I was little, I remember Daddy would sometimes go fishing and bring one home for me. I was only allowed to keep it for about 3 days until I had to release it into the pond. When I left this afternoon to head back to Wendell, Myrtle had found a nice home in the fountain. But I know it won't be long before she heads down to the pond. Nature belongs in nature. But isn't she just too cute??

Fins and Flip-Flops

I just love summertime! I know it's only April, but man, nothing beats flip-flops and 85 degree weather. And how perfect was it that we kicked off this stretch of beautiful weather last night w/ none other than Jimmy Buffett. As always, it was a very fun time!

Goal Update

I am proud to say that I have completed one of my 2009 goals. My recipes are now organized in one binder, separated by tabs, and neatly displayed in sheet protectors. I am very excited to have this one completed, b/c now all I have to do is add a page when I find a fun, new recipe. And surprisingly, it didn't take all that long to complete. Rounding up and sorting through all the recipes was certainly the most time consuming task. Here's my finished product...

Weekend in Wilson with Gramma Malay

We spent most of the weekend in Wilson hanging out with lots of family. Sean's Gramma Malay, Aunt Terry, and Aunt Kathy and Uncle Tom were in town from Chicago and Michigan. Saturday morning we went over to Ryley's soccer game. She was goalie for the first half of the game and didn't let anyone score on her! GO RYLEY!! Is that still a shutout in soccer?? I need to get up on my soccer rules and lingo.

"Assistant Coach" Stevie and Ryley, during a quick water break.

Ryley kickin' it in!

After the game we went back over to Pat and Beth's and enjoyed the beautiful day! All the little kids just love their Aunt Terry! Here she is with Jackson on the trike...

...then on Ryley's pink bike!

Jackson wants to do everything, I mean EVERYTHING, that he sees Ryley do. Here is his attempt at jumping rope. It was cute! He was trying so hard!

Saturday afternoon we grilled hamburgers and roasted hotdogs on the firepit. Jackson really wanted to hold one of the hotdog skewers all by himself, but they just looked a little too dangerous for a wild little toddler to run around with, so he had to settle with helping me.

The plan was for some cornhole Saturday night, but Terry was the only girl that made it back outside after dinner. So we decided it was a great night to try out the new, indoor version of cornhole...Washerhole! I'm sad to say I have no picture of the board, but just imagine cornhole, but with a smaller board, a PVC pipe hole, and washers for tossing. And there are no teams...you have to carry yourself. Well, after a very hard fought battle, the tournament champion was crowned -- Gramma Malay! It was probably a sign when she sank her first toss of the night! Here are her and Amy in the finals.

And here's Gramma with her victory pose!

It was a great weekend spending time with family that we don't see nearly enough. Family is the most important thing in the world, so any time spent together is cherished. Here are a couple of pictures of Jackson with his Great-Gramma.

Looking at the little birdie!

Happy Easter!

Our weekend was filled with all things Easter, starting with an Egg Hunt in Wilson Saturday morning. I took Jackson over to see the Easter Bunny, but he was NOT interested. As we got closer, his grip on me got tighter and he just said, "No!" We thought that if he saw Ryley and Emma sitting with the Easter Bunny, he would change his mind -- not so much. He finally did give him a high five, but that was as close as he would get!


We attempted to take an Easter picture of the three cousins. You have to take what you get w/ a one and almost 2 year old! They aren't really into sitting still for a picture when there are lots of other little kids running around.

Jackson did great with the Egg Hunt! He ended up with lots and lots of eggs and had the best time collecting them all!

He even collected a little pine straw in his basket. Maybe he thought his eggs needed a nest! Such a smart boy!! :-)

Saturday afternoon we colored some Easter eggs! So I know, he's not quite ready for a project like that, but I really wanted to color some eggs, so we gave it a try. And he actually did pretty good with it. We started out w/ six hard boiled eggs, but as soon as he sat down he slammed one down on the table. That's what I usually do with them, so I guess that's what he thought he was supposed to do. Once everything was all set up (and I had him de-robed) we sat down to color. I think he thought it was pretty cool. He lost interest after three, but not before he had his hands colored in dye! It was fun and a great opportunity to talk about colors!

Now let's pause for a quick somersault!

Before Jackson went to bed he left his basket out for the Easter Bunny to fill. He also left a few eggs in case the EB wanted a snack before he hopped on to his next stop!

Here is Jackson's "hidden" Easter basket.

He found it!

A rake to help Mommy and Daddy in the yard!

"Look, I've got jellybeans!"

So, as you can see, we have had a great Easter weekend, full of lots of fun! However, fun is not what this weekend was all about. It is at Easter that we celebrate Jesus Christ' resurrection and give thanks to Him for giving us the hope of eternal life.

The Search is Over...

I have finally made a decision on brown spring/summer shoes for Jackson. I have endlessly searched online for the past two weeks, trying to figure out what shoes would be best for him for this season. I had hoped to find the perfect Pedipeds considering how much I liked his last two pairs -- last summer, this past fall/winter. However, when Pediped introduced their new spring/summer line, I was utterly disappointed. There wasn't a single shoe that even stood out to me. They were all just a little tutty fruity for my manly little dude. So from there, my search began. You know, shoes say a lot about a person, so it's important that I'm satisfied with the shoes I choose for Jackson. (You can ask my Dad about that one -- I explained the shoe thing to him many years ago.) So after 3 purchases, 2 returns and a trip to Cary, the decision has been made. I'd like to introduce you to Jackson's sweet new kicks...