and then there was NONE!

So since our last post my parents and nieces came to visit, Aimee came two weekends later, and Jackson got his first pet, four goldfish.
Our visit with the parents was so much fun. We ate, shopped, swam, went to church, and just enjoyed each other. I love it when they come to visit! I can't believe how much Shelby and Regan are growing up. They make me feel so special and we have lots of great conversations. My parents are always so good at spoiling us. For my birthday they bought me a swing. I am actually swinging right now while I type this. We use it just about everyday!
Aimee came this past weekend and it was so great to have some sister bonding. We did not do anything exciting. Aimee surprised me and therefore I did not have time to plan anything exciting. She was simply forced into our world. Friday we went out to eat and to Wal-Mart. Saturday we went shopping all day and Sunday went to church. Monday we did some running around here in Ruston and then had community group that night. Tuesday we kept Arleigh and ate at Marmee's house. It was so great to just simple be around her. She was so great to cook some amazing monkey bread for community group and sleep in Jackson's room the entire time and get him if he cried. I think that a lot of the time he would end up in her bed just because she loved him being there so much!! Truth be known he probably liked it just as much as she did!!
To 'semper fi' our time together AMAZING!!
And lastly, Jackson's first pets were so much fun. He loved them so much. He would take any visitor to his room to see them and would tell them 'night night' before bed. The sad part is that they only lasted one week. We flushed the last one this afternoon! Tears.... Don't buy goldfish from Wal-mart!

Sorry so many words.. Now the pictures

Happy Birthday Paulie!

This past Thursday we went to Clarkco State Park in Mississippi with Aimee and Michael. It was a BLAST. The weather was perfect! We celebrated my birthday (Happy Birthday, Paulie) with some DELICIOUS bon bons and manicotti. We played outside the entire long weekend. The boys mountain biked several miles of intense trails while avoiding cougars. They also played many rounds of disc golf. Aimee and I played with Jackson at the playground and sat by the lake and got our tan on while having much needed girl talk. Every morning we fed the fish tortillas or bread. One night we went to Meridian and ate at the Outback and shopped some. We took Jackson into the Petco where he totally enjoyed the animals. We also filled our night with "Take two" and "Would You Rather" since we were without cable or internet. We had so many laughs and can't wait until our trip next year.

We saw the Real ELMO!!

Today, 2.24.09, the three of us went to see Sesame Street Live: Elmo's Green Thumb. This was Jackson's first professional stage production and he really seemed to love it.

picnik.com

I was looking at pictures on Facebook when I noticed that there was some fun editing done on a few pictures. I asked a student at the BCM just how it was done and she told me she used picnik.com. I decide to try it out. It is really easy and loads of fun. I thought I would share some of the pictures that I have been playing with. Hope you enjoy!!

Home-made Playdough

We found a recipe for homemade playdough, so we decided to make some for Jackson. It was incredibly simple, fun to do, Jackson loved it, so we figured it would be worth sharing.

3 cups white flour
1 1/2 cups salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
3 1/4 cups water
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
food color

Mix the flour, salt, and cream of tartar in a medium saucepan. In a separate bowl, mix the water and oil, then pour the liquid over the dry ingredients and stir. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring continuously, until the mixture holds together and gets too stiff to stir (it will stiffen even more as it cools), about 5-10 minutes. let it cool, then knead it briefly. Halve the ball of clay, then knead food coloring into each half, a few drops at a time, until you reach the desired shade.

Jackson really seemed to enjoy it!

Fun Videos of Jackson

Enjoy!! We are having so much fun being parents!! We love him so much!!

Funny Faces...

As I looked over our Christmas pictures I realized that I made funny faces with a few people and wanted to share them!! My favorite is Granny!! She is 91 and was so fun that day we hung out!!