Las Vegas Birthday Celebration

Mandy and I managed to talk Jeremy and Tommy into taking us to Las Vegas to celebrate our 30th birthday! :) We had a great time - stayed at the Paris Hotel on the strip, walked about a million miles, and ate a lot. Jeremy and I had never been to Vegas before, so we were amazed at all the beautiful hotels - and I was especially surprised by the big crowds. WOW! We went to the Taylor Swift concert - and were potentially the oldest people there (without kids). Please imagine with me - 10,000 screaming girls, all singing EVERY single word to the Taylor Swift songs in unison. Pretty funny. At one point, I looked over to one of the girls across from us and she was singing her heart out and just having a blast. I told Mandy, "That was me 20 years ago at the New Kids on the Block concert." Yikes! But, we had fun being silly and just laughing a lot. . .Happy 30th to us, Mando! Here's to many more fun memories!!!

And just a little taste of the Bellagio fountains. . .

Goodbye Aunt Pat

We went to say goodbye to Aunt Pat today (she leaves tomorrow). We love you, Aunt Pat - see you in December!

And a picture with Grammy. . .(Yes, Jackson has mosquito bites on his forehead).

Jeremy and I didn't get to see Aunt Pat very much because we spent a long weekend in Las Vegas with Mandy (my college roommate) and her husband, Tommy. Jackson stayed with Mimi and B.B. and had a blast (he wasn't really all that excited when we picked him up on Monday afternoon). Pictures and a long post on the Vegas trip coming soon. . .

Jackson and Aunt Pat

My great aunt (Jackson's great-great aunt) is in town visiting from Ohio! We went over to Grammy's to hang out with them yesterday. Jackson and Aunt Pat read some books and then Jackson talked her ear off. :) We had a good time laughing - it's been over a year (maybe closer to 1.5 years) since Aunt Pat has seen Jackson. A lot has changed!

Jackson and Aunt Pat

Jackson and Grammy

*Today when I picked Jackson up from school, he asked if we were going to Grammy's. :) We love you, Aunt Pat!

Grilled Cheese = Chuck E. Cheese

We met Lauren & Sydney at Chuck E. Cheese this week - and the birthday twins had so much fun. Honestly, Lauren and I were worn out when we left. J & S LOVED the slide, but were not big enough to climb up to the slide. So, Lauren and I took turns climbing in and lifting the twins up. Whew. Needless to say, we didn't get a lot of pictures because we were busy.

As we left, Jackson says to me - "Had fun with Sydney, Grilled Cheese." So, thanks Chuck E. Cheese (also known as Grilled Cheese to Jackson). :)

Jackson's Golf Swing

Jeremy has been analyzing Jackson's swing. Do we have a lefty? :) The funniest thing about this video is that Jackson is doing exactly what his daddy does (Jeremy practices his swing in this very same spot).

*In Jeremy's defense, yes, the grass needs to be cut, but this video was taken last week in between all the rain storms, so this was right before the grass was mowed.*

Fun with Uncle Matt

Uncle Matt went with us to the Greek Food Festival this past weekend - Jackson was mesmerized by the dancers (he was not happy when we had to leave).

Then on Saturday morning, we stopped by Uncle Matt's house - and he showed Jackson how to play Rock Band. . .

And gave him a quick piano lesson. . .

Jackson's Favorite Books

For my memory - Jackson has always loved to read. And now he's really into putting off bedtime as long as possible. :) Therefore, the 5 books below have become a staple read almost every night (lately we've been able to get away with reading only 2 out of the stack).

Not really a bedtime book, but he's really into dinosaurs right now.

*Reading from this Baby Bible is my favorite. Jackson really started getting interested in it a few months ago. When we first started reading, we would talk about the characters' pictures by each story - and he kept calling Noah "Santa." Pretty funny - as they both have white beards. Now he'll finally say "Noah" when we read the story of Noah and the ark. :)

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to Mimi, Grandmother,
Mama, Grammy, and Granny!

Hope you had a great day!
We love you,

Jeremy, Melissa and Jackson

Trip to Memphis

We decided to take a short family trip over Jeremy's vacation week. So, we headed to Memphis for a few days and had a great time. . .

A few memories from the trip (this is mainly for me - please do not feel like you have to read):
- Jackson cried for about 15 minutes when we first arrived in the hotel room. He kept crying for "home" and running to the door to open it and leave. It was nap time and he'd been in the car for a few hours. But, I do have to say that Jeremy and I looked at each other and both thought that this could be a LONG trip. (FYI, Jackson was fine after a nap).
- We stayed at a hotel right across the street from the Gibson Guitar Factory. As soon as Jackson went down for his nap, I sent Jeremy to go tour it. He talked about it for the rest of our time in Memphis. :)
- We went to the zoo on "Tennessee residents get in FREE day" (evidently every Tuesday). It was a little crazy. One of the zoo employees told me that it was always crowded (every day).
- We spent one morning at the Children's Museum of Memphis. Jackson loved it. It was also a little busy as a large school group was there - but it was fun. By far, the water table where you could "fish" was Jackson's favorite. When we left, his shirt was soaking wet.
- Jackson napped well while we were there. Going to sleep at night was another thing. He was wired - and I think all of us sleeping in the same room was different/exciting for him. One night he called the hogs (woo pig sooie) while Jeremy and I ignored him and tried not to laugh. Once he got to sleep it was fine - it was just hard to get there.
- Overall, it was a fun and not-too-busy trip. I'd say it went pretty well for our first family trip (not visiting family/staying in a hotel).

Visiting Camden

We spent a long weekend in Camden with Jeremy's family - the beginning of our "vacation" week. Jackson had so much fun - he cried when we left ("Camden play" he kept saying on our way out of town). The cousins really interacted this time - it's fun to see their little personalities now. Enjoy the pictures. . .Coming soon - pictures from our family trip to Memphis.

Judson is not sure about riding with his cousin!

Sweet boys

Jackson would not let anyone put their hands on this bubble machine once he got his hands on it (well, maybe Aunt Heather or Aunt Glenda so they could refill it)

Judson picking up sticks (his favorite thing to do at Grandmother's house)

And Jackson still with the bubbles

*Please notice the sweatshirts the boys have on. Grandmother was cleaning out some closets and found Jeremy and Jarrod's old sweatshirts. Too cute.