Pearly Whites...

Somebody had his first visit to see

the Dentist today...

and we are happy to say that we

received a good report!

He did not act like he was scared at all.

He sat and waited patiently for Dr.Beitel.

Austin has gone to Dr. Beitel for years

so naturally we took Jackson

to see him as well.

He practiced saying "Cheese" and showing off

his teeth!

He got to pick out a new tooth brush before his exam

started.  He wanted it opened right away and showed all of

the hygienists how well he could brush his teeth.

After counting, and measuring, and finding

a frog under his tongue...yeah...Jackson looked

surprised when he told him that...it was pretty funny.

We were all done!

He did really well up until the frog comment...

then he wanted this guys hands out of his mouth

and off that table!!!

But after a few blown up exam gloves,

and a few gloves shot across the room like a rubber band,

Jackson was back to laughing again.

Dr. Beitel is so good with the kids,

he takes his time and tries very hard to make them

laugh and entertain them in any way he can

to make it a fun experience.

Hopefully, Jackson will have healthy teeth like

his big brother and only have to see Dr. Beitel

every six months...

the only thing he told us to work on

was

the Paci...

(enter scary Duh Dun Dunn music here)

it's got to go...



Busy Easter Weekend

We had a very busy weekend!

We started out the weekend with an

Easter Egg Hunt.

One of Jackson's bible class teachers

had all of the little ones over to her house

for a big hunt.

She had bubble and sidewalk chalk

and fun snacks for the kids

Jackson thought it was fun to blow the bubbles into

the fish pond...

and then he just poured the bubble in...

sigh...

I'm going to be gray before I get him raised!

Then it was time to hunt for eggs...he was cracking my up!

He would run and pick up eggs and then look in his basket and we'd count...

And then he would chunk out any PINK eggs and run off looking for another

more manly color...

it was hysterical!

   He really did not want to stop and have

his picture made, but Janelle was

able to snap a quick picture.

           Then it was time to come home and get

ready for the Easter Bunny!

Notice that Jackson got a "no spill" bubble bucket...

if we had only taken this to the Egg Hunt!

Easter Morning the boys had fun opening their baskets.

Then it was time to get dressed and on our way

and do you think we stopped to take a family

picture in our Sunday Best???

NOPE!

After church we headed to Mama and Papa's house for some

family time!

Austin and Chris had fun playing PlayStation...

And Jackson spent the afternoon blowing bubbles with Papa...

Aunt Ann got him a no spill bucket too!!

     

We headed down to the old house to hunt Easter Eggs.

Mama has always hidden eggs for the kids and instead of putting

candy inside...she puts money!

Austin decided that he was too old to hunt for eggs this year,

but he helped Jackson hunt for eggs.

He was such a sweet brother!

He held his basket for him and

would help him hunt for the eggs.

It was very sweet.

He makes me so proud with the kind way he treats his brother...

he is growing up and turning into a fine young man!

Trying to stretch for one...last...egg!

Mama's rose bushes are in full bloom.

After egg hunting, we headed back to the house

and got things ready for an early dinner.

Mama fixed us a yummy meal and finished it off

with her traditional Bunny Cake...

it was sooo good.

We had a wonderful weekend with family

and friends and enjoyed

the warm weather!



Spring Time and Sunshine

Spring has sprung around here and I have
gotten in the mood to plant flowers...
LOTS
of flowers!

Now, this is where I need to tell
those of you who don't really know me...

I'm not good with flowers...
Austin tells me that I have a
Black Thumb!

He's right...
but for some reason this spring I am
in the mood to plant flowers and make
my back deck and porch bloom with
beautiful pops of color!

Mom had bought some flowers before she left and
came home with us.  She did not get all of them
planted, so we brought them south and gave them a
new home here.



Pretty Petunias for the front porch.

We filled the hanging baskets with Impatient's

And Pretty Pink Begonia's fill the big pots

I don't know what these are called
(cause remember...a green thumb I have not!)
but Mom said they will grow about 12 inches tall
and fill out these pots very nicely.
These we some cheap plastic white pots that I had
picked up at the end of the year last year.
Scott spray painted them with a textured
Rustoleum spray paint for plastics.
I like the way they turned out.

Impatient's again on the other side.
We also hung some Humming Bird feeders
on the back porch after a poor little
Humming Bird found himself stuck in the garage.
He found his way out, but has not found his way
to the feeder.  Hopefully they will find there way around and
we'll be able to watch them over the summer.

The little sitting area on the far side of the deck.
I am really wanting to spruce up the back deck.
I picked up some stain samples the other night
at Lowe's to get ideas for staining the wood.
I also want to find some neat planters
and more ways to decorate the deck
and make it feel more like
another room of the house.

So...that's what we've been up to this week.
I can't wait to see how the flowers grow...
hopefully I won't kill them...

Gone Fishin'

Today we were able to have a relaxing day in the country.

It started out with a ride on the lawnmower.

Anything that moves works for Jackson.

And the fact that the dog will ride in the little trailer behind him

was even better!

We also decided that we needed to take in a little fishing today

as well.  We loaded up and headed to my Aunt's farm

where the boys cast their hooks in the pond.

Jackson even tried his hand at fishing today too!

Austin jumped right in and had three fish in the bucket before

we could turn around.  Scott could not get bait on the hook of

one pole before he was turning around and saying

"Can you take this fish off the hook?"

And then he started having trouble...

it was a big one...

he even had to hand it off for Scott to help him

and then....

Austin's first "fish story" became a reality!

The one that got away...

This fish was HUGE!!!

He fought till he broke the line...

He and Scott were heartbroken!

They wanted to bring in the big one...

I felt so bad for Austin...

this fish would have been mounting worthy for sure!

Jackson even caught his first little fish.

He was not as excited as Austin was about fishing,

but had fun just the same.

It was a beautiful day outside,

a little windy at times,

but warm sunshine and good times!

And now we are under a Tornado Watch...

not such a good time...



Party Animals!!!

We continued to celebrate Jackson's big day

with a trip to the zoo!

Mom and Dad have a friend,

who actually used to be their Teacher in school.

She lives nearby and wanted to go to the zoo

with us so we planned a day while we were here to

meet up and see all of the animals!

We had a little time to kill before we met up

with Katherine so we

headed over to the

Bass Pro Shop!

This has got tho be the most

entertaining place that doesn't

cost a dime!

The adventure began in the parking lot.

It was a little weird...Just two days before I had

asked Scott where they keep the

Budweiser Clydesdale's'

when they were not being used in parades and such.

We googled it and found out that they stay at

a historic farm in St. Louis.

As we pulled into the parking lot,

we see these HUGE Budweiser trailers

and guess what...

The famous Clydesdale's we out in the parking lot!

We were able to walk over and see them

before we went into the store.

These horses are amazing!  If you have never seen one up close

you are missing out!  They are just so majestic!

And BIG!!!!

Their backside's were taller than Scott and

their heads are even taller.

And those big hoofs!!

Just amazing!

We headed inside to check out all the animals and such

that you can see there.

Here are the ones that did NOT get away!!

Jackson became Grandpa's buddy in the store.

Everywhere they went, it was

"Hey Grandpa, look at this!"

every time he turned around,

he would run for Grandpa's hand

and off they would go.

After we looked around,

we headed out for a quick bite to eat

and then went to meet Katherine

at the Zoo!

Jackson had a ball looking at all of the animals,

and especially had fun feeding the Giraffe's.

He was a little timid and would hold the cracker

just far enough away that the Giraffe's tongue

would not touch him.

At times that poor giraffe had to really

s-t-r-e-t-c-h

his tongue down to swipe the cracker from him.

Then we headed over to Jackson's favorite part of the day...

The train ride around the pond at the zoo.

Every time we would hear the whistle,  he would stop

and say

"did you hear that?"

so we all loaded up and rode the train.

The funny thing was, he loved that whistle all day long

but when we actually got on he train,

he hated it and would cover his ears!

After we were done visiting the animals at the zoo,

we headed back to Katherine's house and were

able to visit with our friend Connie before church last night.

Connie used to live in Madison

and was married to a very dear man

we have attended church with for the last 17 years.

Bob recently passed away and Connie moved back

to Missouri to live closer to her son.

She and Katherine go to church together now

and we were able to have dinner with her

and catch up before bible study.

It was a wonderful day.

The weather was perfect and

spending time with old friends has

been even better!



Happy Birthday to YOU!!!

Someone had a birthday!!!

Jackson turned Three today and we

had to take a break from our

Spring Break

to celebrate!!!

Mom and I made him a birthday cake

to have

Three Little Candles!

He was a little embarrassed when we

started to sing to him.

After a little cake and a quick present,

we headed outside to try them out!

Note to all Moms:

the new Crayola Color Bubbles...

cute idea...

execution....not so much!

I managed to get this quick shot as Tweedy RAN AWAY!!!

She has a big blue splotch on her back side...

And Jackson headed straight for the tub

after playing with his new bubbles...

I have a feeling that those will

"accidentally" be left at Nana's house!

We are planning a big birthday party with

friends when we get back home,

but today was a special celebration

with loved ones.

Sleeping Soundly in a Big Boy Bed

It's 10 o'clock and

he's asleep

in his

big boy bed!

We were able to get his room put together

this afternoon, the finishing touches

still need to be done,

but his furniture is up

and he's asleep in his bed.

I thought I might have to lay

down with him to keep him in his bed...

but when it came time to go to sleep,

Jackson asked to be read a bedtime story,

and

then told me to get out of his bed!

I still have lots of things to do before

I can say it is done,

but his bed is up and

ready to catch some zzz's.

It was funny to watch Jackson

"oversee"

the construction of the bed.

Scott built this bed for Austin when he was three

and now Jackson is getting

ready to turn three,

so it's a big boy bed for him!

He was very excited when we finally

got it all put together and the bedding on.

And now he is in there fast asleep...

all on his own...

no rocking...

nothing...

I'm a little sad.

He looked so big laying in his baby bed,

and looks so small laying in his bed tonight.