A Trip to the Beach

We finally took our first vacation of four!  Jackson and Katherine enjoyed the getaway, but I think Zach and I need a vacation from the vacation!  We went to the beach and it was the first time for the kids to actually get in the ocean and Jackson LOVED it!  Katherine walked into the water and after getting knocked down once, she had enough and stayed behind to play in the sand.

It rained the next morning, so we changed our plans, backtracked some, and visited the U.S.S. Alabama and U.S.S. Drum.

Jackson really enjoyed all of the cannons and guns.

 Somewhere on board, they both came down with a case of the 'hungries'

and life quickly became difficult.

Not long after, we were starting to smile again.

Button-happy in the submarine

 After supper, we played goofy golf.

Jackson took the game seriously.

 When Katherine wasn't placing her ball right next to the hole, she was helping us play.

I'm happy to say we survived our first vacation together!

I guess we'll have to muster up enough courage to make a return trip since Jackson had the time of his life playing at the beach!

Pirouette

Katherine had her first ballet lesson tonight!

 I put her ballet shoes on her last week for the first time and she immediately put her hands above her head and started turning around.  I'm not sure where she learned that!  Her class also teaches tap and tumble, so it seems like she will have a fun hour!  The school prefers that parents don't watch but once a month, so I didn't get to see too much of what she did, but she said she wanted to go back next week!

The Beast

We have discovered that Rex loves chasing after Jackson's helicopter, and Jackson and Zach are more than happy to cater to this new-found love!

 {It's blue and in the middle of most of the pictures if you're trying to find it!}

 Occasionally, Rex lucks up and catches it.

 Once the batteries are worn down, Jackson likes to play chase.

Everyone joined in on this round!

 Typical Katherine in the back!  

She's always making us laugh.

 She's still in love with horses, so she gets a piggyhorseback ride whenever she can!

  And before we headed inside to call it an evening,

Jackson and the beast chased one last time.

School Days

The lazy days of summer are now behind us.  Katherine started 3 year old preschool this past Monday, and Jackson started kindergarten today.

Katherine's first day picture was moved to the backyard after a couple of wasps started chasing us, and since the sun isn't in their faces in the back in the mornings, I decided to take Jackson's there as well.

Katherine's 1st Day, August 5!

 Katherine is at the same preschool she started last year and thankfully is in a class with the friends she made last year and over the summer.

Jackson's 1st Day of Kindergarten, August 9!

 It's hard to believe our fella is in kindergarten.  When did he grow up?!  Zach actually took him this morning since his school starts at 7:35.  Jackson seems to do better when Zach drops him off, so I stayed home and waited for Katherine to wake up.  Thankfully she woke up early just as they were leaving . . . I was tearing up watching them leave and not going with them, but Katherine was a welcome distraction!

Zach took a picture at school for me since I wasn't joining them!  As predicted, Jackson walked right in, made himself at home, and started playing with his new classmates!

Our babies . . .

we're looking forward to a new year and many fun times!

{Oh, I failed to mention how excited Jackson has been about his red shoes!!  His dress code last year was pretty strict with only red or white shirts, blue shorts, and gray shoes.  This year, however, he has a choice between 5 different color shirts, a couple of pants colors, and several shoe choices!  He was probably most excited this morning about those shoes!}

Party Time!

Jackson has been counting down the days to his birthday for months now!  Once he woke up on Tuesday, we were finally able to answer 'yes' when he asked if it was his birthday!

He started off with a candle and some presents!

He was sweet and let Katherine help him open some of his gifts.

 Jackson started making a birthday gift list a couple of months ago . . . one of the Super Soakers he's been requesting!

I had some errands to run, so Zach took Jackson and Katherine for some doughnuts!  Later in the afternoon, Grandma and Grandpa arrived.  Their arrival meant more presents!

Godzilla cake!

Grammy and Grandpa made it and brought even more gifts!

Talk about a loved and spoiled little boy!

It was finally time for Jackson's party at Chuck E. Cheese.  He went to a party there in December and has wanted his party there ever since.

Partying with one of his friends.  

I'm not sure where Jackson learned the guitar stance!

Jackson was wired the entire party!  He was having so much fun with his friends and running around that he was red-faced and covered in sweat by the time he sat down to eat.

Chuck E. Cheese came out to celebrate!

They both loved seeing him, but Katherine was enthralled!

Getting down to business!

Jackson has been looking forward to getting into the Ticket Blaster, and we've been talking about how he was going to catch the tickets and cram them into his pockets.

Buutttt, the lady turned the blaster on and Jackson almost froze!  It was loud and the wind inside was a lot more forceful than any of us expected!

Thankfully, he didn't let it bother him and freak out!  He didn't get too many tickets while in it, but not to worry, he had 1,900 tickets by the end of the night!

We had a wonderful day celebrating Jackson 

and are so happy he had such a memorable day!