FuN aT tHe fAiR

We used to go to the fair every year (which really means we went like 2 consecutive years), but we haven't been in awhile (which means we missed last year). So, we (I) decided to reinstate this old family tradition and go to the fair again this year. After all, its always fun to spend obscene amounts of money on rides that may or may not deliver you back to the ground safely, and eat food that you won't be able to forget because you will see it everyday afterwords deposited on your new larger butt. Well worth it. We all know that the real reason to go to the fair is to people watch. For example, Nicole got her seat next to Jonny stolen by a one legged old woman wearing short shorts. Here are some pics of the boys enjoying the few rides that we were able to afford.

 

Here is Drake looking longingly at the merry-go-round that we did not have enough tickets for him to ride.

 

Here are the dad's looking thrilled to have their hard-earned money wasted on filthy frivolities (note that Jonny was not in this picture because he was wasting his money riding the filthy and frivolous merry-go-round).

 

Here are the boys in the 4H barn petting small dirty animals. See the animal in the bottom right corner? Bunny? No, guess again. If you guessed baby jackass then you would be correct and a smart creature of the same name.

 

Good times.

Firsts

We've had a whole lot of firsts this last week, so now it's time to document. Last Monday Jackson started his first day of preschool at Grayson UMC. We had been telling him about the upcoming day for months and he seemed genuinely excited. The morning of his first day rolls around and this is how Jackson looks...

He started complaining about a stomachache at breakfast and then said he just needed to lie down for awhile. He even began to dry heave a bit. I was worried that he might actually be sick and was seriously considering keeping him home, but Justin was certain that Jackson was just nervous, so we took him to school anyway. This is how he looked after he got to his class...

I have never seen Jackson get so nervous before. Though the stomachache was gone as soon as he entered his classroom, it came back like clockwork the next two mornings before school. And on the third night he pooped and the stomachaches were gone forever. Here are some shots of him in his new weekday habitat...

This is what Drake and I did while Jackson was at his first day of school. Finally Drake gets some one-on-one time with Mommy!

Check out how huge this backpack is one Jackson...

Last Tuesday Jackson got his first real injury at school. We were told that he wasn't watching where he was going and at the last second he turned and his head met a pole rather abruptly. In this picture you can see the welt that was beginning to form on his forehead...

Below is a collage of the injury's progression. None of these pictures really do the injury much justice, but as you can see the bruise got darker, his nose began to swell, and the inside corner of both eyes started turning black and blue.

The crazy thing is he has never complained about it hurting him. He seems completely oblivious that he has a second head growing on his forehead that makes him resemble a creature from a science fiction movie.

Jackson had his first T-Ball game last Tuesday as well. He is one of the youngest players on the team and he had just hit his head rather hard at school, but he managed to do a great job regardless of the cards stacked against him. He hit off the Tee and made it to first. He also managed to get a run. In one of the pictures below you can see him running to second base. There is also a picture of him in the outfield facing the wrong direction, but I'm sure he had his reasons.

 

Jackson and his friend Jones had quite the crowd come out to support them. Together they brought 20 people to the stands. Their fans made up 90% of the onlookers and consisted of family and friends. The boys might not have noticed how many people were there to love and support them, but I sure did! Thanks everyone!

 

On Wednesday Justin had his first day at his new job at Spectrum Health Policy Research (SHPR). It is a small company that is located nearby and Justin is their new head of IT. We are very excited about this new job because it makes his commute much shorter and the prospects of growing with a small company are very appealing. Plus the owner of the company is LDS, which makes the transition even smoother because his goals and priorities are similar to ours. I haven't taken any pictures of his new workplace yet, but they might be forthcoming.

Also on Wednesday, my brother James had his first 27th birthday! We had a small party for him on Friday night. Nicole provided this awesome cake (I added the clown head and candles).

 

Happy birthday little brother!

On Saturday we watched the first BYU game of the season with Jessica and Andy. James showed up at half time with wings. It was a close game, but BYU pulled off the win against Washington. We love BYU football!

 

On Sunday Jackson gave his first talk in Primary. He did a great job! He repeated everything I said very clearly. His talk was on "Obeying the Lord because I Love Him". What is interesting to me is that he was nervous about starting school but standing up in front of a room full of people and speaking is a piece of cake for him. Go figure.

 

So that was our week of family firsts! Stay tuned because there will be many firsts yet to come!