Fun Run!

Jackson's school had a fundraiser race tonight, so we signed up!  I ran the 5k and Jackson ran in the 1 mile fun run!  There were over 600 people pre-registered for this race so it was crowded! 

The three of us after I ran.   Zach brought Jackson and Katherine so they wouldn't have to wait around for the entire 5k and it was sweet seeing them at the finish line.

 

 Waiting for Jackson's race to start!

 

After his race!  Jackson ran the ENTIRE mile!  He's run with me a few times, but never a distance close to a mile, so I expected him to take a walking break at some point, but he and one of his new friends ran the entire time! 

Zach and I are so proud of him!!

After we took pictures, he announced he was ready to go home!

I think the fun completely tired him out! 

Here's hoping we get to sleep in a little tomorrow!

Dirt

Zach has been laying some more sod! 

This time he tackled the backyard and it's looking great!

 Jackson is pretty fond of dirt and all the fun dirt entails,

so he didn't share in our sod excitement.

His favorite place to ride.

 These two pictures remind me of sitting on bales of hay at my grandparents.

 Laying our carpet of green!

 

 Someone slipped in the bucket when Daddy wasn't looking.

When Jackson was around 2 years, we were driving through the Delta to see the grandparents and as we were passing one of the fields, he said, "Look Mama, dirt." The brown stuff still holds a special place in his heart.

 Time to get rid of the shoes.

 Throwing dirt makes him smile for the camera.

 Before we headed inside for baths,

I caught them walking around together for a few minutes.

584 Pieces

Jackson discovered Lego trains and was adamant that he needed one. 

He wanted a speed train, but ended up with a nice little steam engine.

 That nice little steam train consists of a nice little 584 pieces. 

None of which is pre-assembled.

The 5 year old that plays with it didn't last 10 minutes during construction, but he has a grand time playing with it.

 The 5 year old's sister hasn't had too much action on the blog lately.  She's still making us smile and laugh daily at her antics.  The sweet little girl is still little though.  I put some big girl undies on her and this is the smallest size we know of . . . they look like shorts on her.  She's not in the least interested in getting rid of diapers.

A Little Juice

Jackson decided he liked lime juice and poured himself a little glass.

I think, maybe, he changed his mind.

Rawr!

There's a new obsession brewing over here.

Don't worry, he's still just as obsessed with his trains.

Muddy Puddles II

A couple of months ago I mentioned that Jackson and Katherine liked muddy puddles.  That hasn't changed any, and for the last week it's been raining almost every afternoon.  All of that rain sure makes for some good fun!

I asked him what he was doing and he replied, "Relaxing."

 They were both so filthy they needed to be sprayed off

before coming inside for a bath.  Jackson was happily waiting for the water!

 The water hose is just as much fun as jumping in puddles.

 It wouldn't be complete if Jackson didn't strip down or rehydrate before heading inside.

School Days

The time has come again for a new school year! 

Actually two new schools this year.

Katherine started her new 'school' this past Monday.

 The sun was so bright on this morning, that neither could keep their eyes open.

I'm sad Katherine won't be returning to the preschool where she and Jackson have been.  We only changed her to a new school to better match the hours that Jackson would be in school. Otherwise, I would spend the entire day on the road and Katherine would never get an afternoon nap. And speaking of nap, it's an adjustment for Katherine. She is now a big girl and is supposed to take a nap on a nap mat. She hasn't done too well yet, so we're keeping our fingers crossed she'll catch on in the next week!

Wednesday arrived and it was time for Jackson to start his new school!

 Although he's smiling in the picture, Jackson wasn't excited at all about a new school.  He wanted his teachers from the past year, didn't want his shirt tucked in, and wouldn't wear his belt.  We knew if we could just get him to school, he would have fun.  When we picked him up the first day, I asked how his day was and he said, "I played and slept."  I don't think it gets much better.

We were up early to get out of the door on Wednesday.  Poor Katherine had only been awake a few minutes when we plopped her next to Jackson for a picture.  She has a dazed look on her little face! 

Although Jackson turned 5 last week, we made the decision several years ago that we would hold him back and let him start kindergarten late.  Over the years, we have heard stories from friends that have older children (especially boys) with a birthday late in the school year that wished they had held their child back in the beginning.  Last year we discovered a 4k program at a local Catholic school that is set up very similar to kindergarten, so we decided to enroll him there.  You always wonder if you're making the right decision for your child, but now that the first week of real school is behind us, we're excited to watch our big boy grow and learn so many new things this year.

You're off to great places!

Today is your day!

Your mountain is waiting.

So . . . get on your way!

Am I five yet?

For the last couple of weeks, Jackson has asked every morning whether he was five yet.  It really started when we mailed his party invitations and as soon as they were in the mailbox, he asked if he was five.  Each time he asked, I hated to break his heart and tell him no, while at the same time I hated for the day to get closer that he would turn five.  The day has come and our baby is most definitely no longer a baby.

He's finally 5!!

 Jackson had his party last Friday night and we saved some presents for him to open this morning.  Apparently all of this present-opening has him spoiled.  Once he finished opening presents this morning, he ducked his head and sheepishly said he wanted more presents.

 Every gift this morning was dinosaur related.  It's becoming his new obsession.  I can't believe how many dinosaur names roll off of my tongue each day, much less all the names Jackson has learned!

 We headed to Krispy Kreme for a birthday breakfast this morning!  I had a candle to stick in his doughnut, but he informed me candles were for cakes.  My bad.

 He loves the doughnuts almost as much as the doughnut machine!

He is always asking to watch the machine.

 I tried to get a picture of the 2 of them.

I think this pretty well sums up our life with these two.

 Jackson did sit still for me to get a quick picture of the two of us!

 From here on out, I'm backtracking.

  The Sunday before Jackson's party, Grammy and Grandpa came down and we took Jackson to pick out his birthday present from them--fish!!  We found an aquarium and he picked out a blue, red, and gold fish.

 He and Katherine love feeding them and Jackson likes to put his dinosaurs in front of the tank pretending like the dinos are about to have an easy dinner.

 Fast forward to Friday . . . it's time for a party!

 Although Jackson is obsessed with dinosaurs, he discovered Angry Birds several months ago and said he wanted an Angry Birds party!

 Getting a glimpse at his cake!

 Headed to the party!

 Jackson's party last year was at a jump place and that's where he wanted it again this year.  Jackson with William and Nicholas.

 Grandpa even got in on the fun with Katherine!

 The big moment!

{If you look at Jackson's friend in the white and red shirt in the picture above and below, he was getting ready to blow the candles with Jackson!}

 I feel like I'm cutting the fun off abruptly, but after cake and ice cream, the boys jumped a little longer and we headed home to open presents.  A couple of his friends were crying when they had to leave, so I think it's safe to say they all had a good time.

We've had a fun time celebrating our FIVE year old!  We can't wait to see what this year brings with all of the new adventures we're about to have!