The Lives of the Jacksons

Happy Valentine's Day

2012-02-14T18:35:00.003-08:00

Yes it is Valentine's Day. I have mixed feelings about this day.

1. It is a day to tell those you love them, buy them little red, white and pink gifts , etc.

2. Why do you need a holiday to tell those, whom you care about, that you love them? Shouldn't you be doing that each and everyday?

Just my thoughts on the matter.

On a side note, I do make it a fun day for the kids, with Valentine's and all, but I tell them and Vaughn that I love them each and everyday, sometimes several times a day. Life is too precious for us to just hold it to one day.

On another note, I remember as a kid that we would kick Valentine's to other kids' doors instead of just taking them to school and putting them in a box. Funny how traditions change!

February...When Will You Be Over?

2012-02-07T21:21:00.000-08:00

I can truly say that I don't hate many things, but I HATE the month of February. This is one of those months that so many bad things have happened in my life.

- Mom had a brain aneurysm (was in the hospital for a month)

- Dad was diagnosed with cancer

- Dad died

- Vaughn was really sick

- and the list goes on...

Who knows how much I will blog this month just because I loath it. I do try to enjoy Valentine's Day but after that it is just "how fast can the month move."

Tyson Cut His Shirt

2012-01-29T18:48:00.000-08:00

My two kids can be a hoot sometimes. And the more I think about this the more I laugh. Here is just an incident that happened last week that still makes me chuckle.
Tyson was working on his home work and I was helping him with a math problem, when I looked over at the sleeve of his shirt and noticed that it had three scissors cuts down it. One was about 1/2 inch and the other 2 were about 1/4 inch long. So I questioned him about it.

Mom: Tyson, what are those marks on your shirt?
Tyson: I don't know. (little stinker knew exactly what they were)
Mom: Tyson, (in a controlled voice) this will go a whole lot better for you if you will just tell me the truth.
Tyson: I cut my sleeve with scissors.
Mom: WHAT?!? (little calmer) Why on earth did you do that?
Tyson: Because my other friends were trying it so I did.
Mom: So if your other friends jump off the school building are you going to follow them?
Tyson: No!
Mom: So why did we do this?
Tyson: (classic answer) I don't know?
Mom: ARG!!!

We then had a talk about why we don't cut our clothes and that I cannot fix them and about the expense of clothing. He and I made a deal that the next shirt he wanted he was going to have to buy to understand the value of taking care of things you have. Plus I threatened to tell his dad, at which point he about had a come apart and promised not to do it again if I didn't say anything to dad. Okay, problem taken care of, back to homework.
An hour later Vaughn comes home from the hospital and what does little miss do:
Taryn: (running towards her dad) DAD, DAD, DAD guess what Tyson did. He cut the sleeve of his shirt.
At this point in time Tyson is trying, with no avail, to stop Taryn from tattling to her dad about what he did and I am trying to do the same. The damage had been done, and Tyson got another lecture from his dad. Not a pretty sight. Taryn totally tattled on her big brother.
NOTE TO SELF: Do not discipline Tyson in front of Taryn, she will tell everyone about it! Good Advice!

Jellyfish Funnies

2012-01-29T18:37:00.000-08:00

Taryn goes to a little preschool conducted by myself and a few other mom's out of our homes. Two weeks ago they were working on the letter "J" and they had made Jellyfish out of paper plates and tissue paper. She loves to tell Tyson about her day at school when we pick him up from school. Here is the conversation I heard in the back seat of the car:

Taryn: Tyson, Tyson, guess what I learned in school today? (she never waits for an answer) I learned about the letter "J".
Tyson: That is cool Taryn.
Taryn: Yeah, and we made Jellyfish at Miss Abby's today. And they have chemicals that will sting you and wrap around you.
Tyson: They have what?
Taryn: Chemicals that sting you really bad. (at this point I figured out she was trying to say "tentacle's" and was laughing at her pronunciation of the word)
Tyson: Taryn they are not chemicals, they are tentacles.
Taryn: No they are not Tyson! They have chemicals!!
Tyson: Yes, but they are called Ten-ta-cals, not chemicals.
Taryn: You don't know Tyson, I went to school and this is what Miss Abby said.

HA HA HA. I am about to pee my pants with laughter and finally had to intervene between the two or it would have escalated into a screaming match. Taryn is not one to back down and will tell you what is what, even if she is wrong. Love it. Such fun memories!! She will read this one day and laugh.

The Pinewood Derby 2012

2012-01-28T19:11:00.000-08:00

There it is. #13 The War Tank. I was so proud of Tyson for building this car, mostly by himself and doing most of the paint job as well. He was bouncing off the walls all day waiting for the race to start. There were 40 cars that raced and they were all so unique and fun to look at. Not only did they have the race, but the scouts got to vote on the cars that were the most patriotic, most realistic, best paint job, fastest looking and most creative. If you look at car #15 it is the Nimbus 2000 off of Harry Potter. What a creative idea!

Tyson was sitting right in front to watch his car race.

It was quite a track and all computerized. They had a big screen up above where they showed the winners as they crossed the finish line. I was impressed at how high tech this thing was turning out to be. We didn't win the derby, but Tyson had a great time cheering on his car and the cars of his little buddies.

He was picked by his peers of having the Most Patriotic car in the race. He received this big metal and was all smiles. You would have thought he was the overall winner of the derby. And to me, that is all that mattered. He was so happy!

Taryn loves to be in pictures with her brother. So proud of you Tyson. Your first Pinewood Derby and you did awesome!!

WBIR Scouts on TV

2012-01-25T05:00:00.001-08:00

The mighty, mighty, Tiger Scouts. For one of our "Go-Sees" we visited a TV news station, WBIR News at 4:00. I was a bit leery as to how all of these little boys were going to act in a closed and quiet environment. Usually it is hard to keep them all quiet at den meetings.

Here they all are holding up the scout sign for QUIET! Gotta love that.

Tyson looks very intrigued as he listens to his scout master talk about what they will be seeing and doing at the news station.

Here they are waiting to go on TV. They got a full tour of the whole news station and were able to ask all kinds of questions. Then, they were allowed to watch a live taping of the four o'clock news and be on the news. The camera man was a hoot. He told these boys to wave at the camera when the RED light went on. So they practiced a few times and it took some of them a few tries to understand what was going on. HA HA HA.

Mr. Cheesy Grin. He thought it was so COOL to be on TV. What a great experience for him. He sure loves being involved in scouting.

Mom, can we have a picnic inside?

2012-01-19T20:02:00.001-08:00

The other day Taryn asked if we could have a picnic. We looked outside and sure enough RAIN. Then my smart little girl says, "Mom, we can build a tent inside and have a picnic under it." Brilliant! Two chairs, a blanket, the piano bench, and 10 minutes later we were having an indoor picnic. As an added bonus, Taryn decided she wanted to watch She-ra, while we ate. This little girl read my mind. Love moments like this!

2 Weeks in Prime Review

2012-01-18T05:50:00.000-08:00

It was high time that we take a visit to the dentist office. It has been since we lived that first year in Michigan that Tyson and I have seen a dentist. We asked around and the Marlow's steered us into the direction of Dr. Nations, which is only 2 miles from where we live. His office is wonderful. The staff: so nice, the nurses: kind and considerate, Dr. Nations: very gentle and knowledgeable, and great with Tyson. Then came the bad news, Tyson needed to have a cavity filled and I needed a filling replaced. What else is new?

I didn't tell him about the whole numbing process, because I knew the kid might not be very happy about the shot in the mouth. Dr. Nations was very good and Tyson never flinched when he was given the shot. He didn't like the feeling that the shot gave him on the side of his mouth. he kept saying, "It feels like my lip is huge." Here he is trying to suck out the spit from his mouth.

All finished. I am so proud of my little boy. He was such a trooper, never moved or cried or anything. He just sat there like a champ while they worked on him. That is mommy's kid! YEAH! Needless to say he is a lot tougher than his momma; I hate needles. When it was my turn to have some dental work done, I go all natural. I do most of my work without being numbed. I hate the feeling. The nurse thought I was crazy, but I assured her that I wouldn't flinch or cry out. She didn't believe it, but I made good on that promise. Finally, some clean, well taken care of teeth. Now I need to get Vaughn and Taryn in for their cleanings.

Two beautiful princesses. The other day we had Julia over to play and the girls dressed up immediately, and then it was off to set up the tea set.

After the "tea party" it was time for the painting of the nails part of the party. Pretty in pink and blue were the chosen colors. Look at those pretty nails, wish mine looked that good.

Off to the Knoxville, Ball Park Olympics. Our friends, the Daily's were having a make shift Olympic Games at the park and we were invited to participate.

It is a foot race to the end. Taryn, bless her little heart, ran as fast as her little chubby legs would go. She is a hoot to watch run. She gets her arms just a pumping. She runs like her Aunt D which is a good thing, because if she ran like her mamma, it would be scary.Next, the older kids ran. Tyson had some older kids with longer legs in his race, but he still ran well. He was a bit disappointed when he didn't win, but then I showed him their height and leg span he understood why he didn't win. That helped.

The "Roman Shield Race." The kids lined up and down the run way every 25 yards, and then handed off a shield to the next runner. Just like a relay race in track. Taryn was right on Rylan's heals the whole time. Love watching this.

"I got this." My son's exact words as he Long Jumped across the cement. He has some hops. Not like his momma. Good thing he get that athletic ability from dad, else we would be in some serious trouble.

This was the javelin throw, but we used noodles. Rachel Daily, the lady in pink, organized this whole fun filled afternoon. Thanks Rachel for the fun and food. At the end of the games she even had a little medal ceremony where she crowned the winners with Laurel Leaf crowns. Tyson got one for the long jump. He was way excited!

The Tank is Finished...Bring on the Race!

2012-01-09T18:01:00.000-08:00

(Drum roll please...)Introducing the Tank which will represent Tyson at this year's Pinewood Derby on Jan 28th. Check out that tough looking tank. It will instill fear into all the other racer's hearts. HA HA HA. Okay, so it may not do that, but it looks COOL! Tyson and his dad worked really hard to put this together. I also added my flair, the camo and the flag were my idea.

This is to show support for all our troops. We love you all! This one is for you!

Taking down Christmas

2012-01-04T18:13:00.001-08:00

They are so enthusiastic about taking down the Christmas tree. I have two of the best kids in the world. They are quite handy and helpful. Here we are cleaning up the rest of Christmas. They were both sad that Christmas was really over, but after about 10 minutes they forgot about it and were happily taking the branches off of my tree. Notice: Taryn is in her princess outfit. Yeah, we wore it all day!

And she wore her crown when she ate too. This child loves to dress up as a princess. She says she wants to be one someday. AHH...She is mommy's princess and daddy's. What a doll!

Happy New Year

2012-01-01T19:12:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!!! I am amazed that it is 2012. It has been 17 years since I graduated high school. YIKES! That dates me. Yes I am old, but in my defence I do not look that old. (At least that is what I am told. If I am being lied to, that is okay. It is a good lie.)
We spent the New Year's Eve night hanging out with some friends playing Catch Phrase, eating good food and laughing till my sides hurt. It was a great night! What a way to begin the year.

And to throw in some fun, we had 9am church New Year's Day. YEAH! That didn't go over well. We made it, on time, but my kids were less than happy. Welcome 2012.

The Makings of a Derby Car

2011-12-30T18:59:00.001-08:00

Our very first Scouts Pinewood Derby Car race is coming up on Jan 28th. Vaughn had a few days off and so it was time to make a car, or in this case, a tank! Tyson was intrigued with his Uncle Brett's car that was actually a tank, and it won when Brett raced it. This convinced Tyson that he was making a tank instead of a car. Tyson and Vaughn spent the better part of one of our warmer afternoons outside cutting and sanding this block of wood. We don't own the fancy jig saws, just a plain little hand saw and a knife to cut out the tank. Love our ingenuity. Once the pieces were cut and sanded well, it was time to paint. Tyson wanted the American Flag painted on top of his gunner. Anything to add some flair!

Once painted, we began the gluing process. We are half way done with the tank. More updates to follow as we travel this journey to the Pinewood Derby.

The Day After Activities/Lumberjack Feud

2011-12-26T21:16:00.001-08:00

Once Christmas was over we still had a lot of playing around to do. We took the family down to Pigeon Forge to find some fun and games. The boys had their eyes on the slick tracks after they saw about 5 different ones. Then it was just finding the right one to go to. Now the weather up till this point had been beautiful and fairly warm, but not this day. IT WAS COLD! And riding in those cars in the cold, didn't actually appeal to me, so Sue and I watched the boys and Taryn ride. Tyson loved every minute of it, Taryn...not-so-much.

Taryn rode with Papa and she was none too happy to be in the car, going fast around the track. She was mad, to say the least. Every time they came around the track she was either crying or had this look of disgust on her face. It was funny to us, not to her, but to us!

Uncle Trey was in the lead the whole time.

Tyson and dad, the race car boys.

It turned into the demolition derby at the end. If you look at the left side of the picture you can see Taryn's little body slunk down in the seat. She was hating it!

Tyson's reaction is one of pure excitement. He wanted to go again, Taryn did not. So the boys went again and I took Taryn to the car to warm up and to let her have a good cry. Sometimes you just have to cry and then all is right with the world.

After fun at the slick tracks and some grub at McDonald's, is there anywhere else, then we went to the Lumberjack show to "Get Our Plaid On!"

Here is the stage that we would look at for the next 2 hours. There were two sides to sit on: the McGraw side, which was the side we were on, or the Dawsons' side. These were the feuding families in the show. Right as we sat down, one of the actresses on our side walked up to where Vaughn and I were sitting and introduced herself to Vaughn. (I thought she was hitting on my sweetie and was about to show her that we Circleville girls don't take kindly to strangers moving in on our territory) Then we found out why she was being so friendly; she wanted Vaughn to participate in the "logging games" for the McGraw side. This was going to be good.

We watched each side participate in logger games such as: cutting logs with chain saws, axes, standing on trees and cutting trees, water games and races of all kinds. We won the first 3 games and then the Dawsons won a few.

It came time for Vaughn to show his stuff. They had him and another guy harnessed up to the tall trees in order for them to climb up them while the lumberjacks pulled on a rope. Vaughn had spikes clipped onto his shoes to stick into the tree as he climbed and was told to take his harness and throw it up the tree and climb up to the yellow stripe 3/4 of the way up. Come to find out, Vaughn was racing against a marine. (I figured we were beat) Vaughn later comments that I had no faith in him which isn't true, I had lots of faith he could do it, but I figured the Marine was going to just sickle up the tree.

Showing Vaughn what to do.

Up the tree he goes. I was impressed with Vaughn's speed. No wonder he was called "The Jet" in high school. He still has it. He threw his harness up over the yellow line just before the marine did and won!!! I was yelling as loud as I could the whole time. Everyone knew who his wife was, because of all the noise I was making.

Lots of congratulations all around for the McGraw side. Vaughn won our side another event and clinched the winning trophy for his efforts. The McGraws beat the Dawsons. Tyson loved the fact that we won and that his dad won as well. It was an awesome show and such a fun night.

Santa Came To Town

2011-12-25T19:11:00.001-08:00

Christmas came and so did Santa Clause. The kids didn't wake up till about 8ish and Vaughn was actually able to come home early, so we waited on him to get home and then let the kids come downstairs to see what they got. Tyson was thrilled to get roller blades and a Thundercat sword.

Taryn wanted a Pop The Pig game and a Lalaloopsy doll that has moveable hair. They were both tickled to play with their new toys. We then had a big pancake breakfast and then it was off to church. It was just sacrament meeting with the two wards and I was under the impression that it was only going to last an hour, but much to my surprise and many others, it was almost 2 hours long. WOW! My kids were going crazy with anticipation to open up their other presents.

A quick family photo before we opened gifts. Left to Right: Tyson, Trey, Sophie (the dog) Papa, Taryn, Grandma Jackson, Vaughn and myself.

The Jackson's.

The other half of the Jackson's.

This is my new black dress from my in laws. I loved it!

And then it began...the kids torn into their gifts.

Tyson has been asking for some camo so that he can go hunting with his dad, and he got it. Look out deer, here we come.

The kids didn't care what gifts they opened, they just opened gifts. Taryn was opening gifts that didn't even belong to her. HA HA. The excitement of ripping paper was just too much for them. She was grabbing them from under the tree and then opening them before we could stop her. What a child. She finally was stopped and was a little put out that we made her only open her gifts.

Here she is again, helping Tyson open up a gift. At least she was getting into the spirit of it all.

Tyson got a tractor from Papa. This makes two for the collection. Some day we may have them all.

Taryn got a Princess scooter and she was tickled pink; we love pink. She couldn't wait to try it out.

Grandma T gave Tyson a telescope. I used to have one when I was young and I loved it. Tyson always asks about the stars and now he gets to see them up close.

The Princess robe was a hit!

The sleigh dumped at our house. Thank you to all our family for the wonderful gifts. We were spoiled this year. Thank you, Thank you!

After the presents were opened and while they were being played with, we fixed a delicious dinner. My good friends the Laney's and her mom and dad sent me a complete Christmas dinner. (Thanks Laura) We had Honeybaked ham, green beans casserole, sweet potatoes and cheese cake. We added some rolls and Voila, a wonderful meal. Once the meal was consumed, the kids were begging to go outside and try out their scooter and blades. We just had to show Taryn how to ride the scooter one time and she took off. She loved it and hated it when we had to leave.

Tyson, on the other hand, needed some help to get started.

After a few falls and some encouragement, he finally got the hang of it. He is able to sort of skate on his own. Give him a few more tries and he will have it all figured out.

The kids had a ball and when it was time to leave they didn't want to go, but we were all frozen. Such a great day. I loved it all. A very memorable Christmas.

It's Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T20:24:00.000-08:00

It is Christmas Eve and Santa has already set up early this year. No princess kitchens or Wolf Mountains to assemble this Christmas Eve. Lucky for me, the kids asked for things that just had to be taken out of the box. Vaughn is working but hey, I am grateful for that one. (because that means he is healthy) This is going to be a much better Christmas than last year when all heck broke loose. I am even lucky enough to have my in laws and my brother-in-law Trey here for the festivities. We have just been blessed to have family for both Thanksgiving and now Christmas. It doesn't get any better than that.

My tree is my most favorite thing. Not many things can I claim as mine, due to the fact that I have children, but the tree, she is all mine. I love my Santa Clause decor.

We are rebels and give our Santa Coke and cookies instead of the traditional milk and cookies. I figured that Santa needs to have a little pick me up since he has to run all night long delivering presents all over the world.

On a side note, we were able to Skype with my brother-in-law Brett who is out on a mission in Mexico. He looked great and sounded just like a Mexican. His Spanish is well spoken. He was able to talk to all of us and the kids loved that the most. They haven't seen him in over 1 1/2 yrs. It was a real Christmas treat.

This Santa is going to bed. Let the games begin in the morning...

Randomness

2011-12-21T18:11:00.000-08:00

PRESCHOOL
Four other moms and myself have taken it upon ourselves to have a little twice a week preschool for our children who need a little more than just being little. We started this preschool back in September and it has been wonderful for Taryn. Each mom takes turns teaching and being a teacher's helper. We have a letter of the week, work on writing their names, crafts, songs and memorizing. This month was my month to teach and I have had a ball. I miss teaching anyway, so to be able to come up with fun ideas to introduce letters has been a blessing to my un-used brain. I am missing two kids from the picture below. This was taken on Tuesday at our Christmas party. Left to Right: Lauren, Madison, Taryn and Aaron. Taryn really enjoys going to preschool and learning and playing with other kids. It has been good for both of us, because when I am not teaching or helping, I have 2 uninterrupted hours to do something for me. (which doesn't always happen, but hey).

TARYN'S TALKINGS

Lately my little princess has taken on a whole new language. It is SASSY! (and not the cute kind, well...I guess it is a little cute).

Her new phrase is "Awe Come On". This is used whenever she is told that she cannot do something right now, or have something. Her response is "Awe Come On". She says it in such a cute way that it will leave us in a fit of giggles. Which, in turn, makes it extremely hard to tell her "no". Thank goodness I know how to stick to my guns.

Her second saying is "The deal is off". Vaughn was talking to her a few weeks ago while she was all dresses up in her darling little princess outfits. Right in the middle of his sentence she looks him straight in the eyes, puts her hand up like she is a police officer saying "stop" and tells her dad "The deal is off". I lost it! I laughed so hard I cried. It is the most hilarious thing I have ever seen her do. She is constantly keeping us in stitches.

Pellissippi Ward Christmas Party

2011-12-18T17:20:00.000-08:00

Ah...the annual ward Christmas party is always fun. I asked Melinda to come with us this year to enjoy the festivities. Here is Brother Rankin telling the kids a story about how the candy cane came about. Surprisingly they all sat and listen. If you look towards the front of the kids Tyson is staring and Taryn is smiling at the camera.

The primary kids ready to sing for everyone.

Taryn knows all the primary songs so when they called for the Primary kids to come up and sing she ran right up. She hasn't graduated to Primary yet but in two weeks that will all change. She almost yanked up her shirt to her belly, luckily we avoided that scene. I was sitting there cringing about it though.

Next came my performance with a bunch of ladies I work with in the primary. Stormi came up with this cool idea to do the song "Santa Baby" and have us do the upside down singing thing. She made all the Santa outfits. We just had to be crazy enough to perform this nutty act.

It didn't take long for all the kids to come up and try pulling off the dresses from our faces and tell us "Hi mom." HA HA HA. I just kept singing and laughing.

I am the one on the end.

There I am singing away.

Then the biggest surprise of them all, SANTA came. Taryn was so excited to see him, but when it came time to stand next to him, she was a little timid. The meal was great and seeing everyone and their families is always a good time. They had some games for the kids in the classrooms. My kids especially liked the presents race. They stood in lines and raced presents from one end of the room to another. Another great party; now we have one more week and Christmas is here.

Chilly Time In Dollywood

2011-12-13T11:17:00.000-08:00

Yes we are the idiots who go to the amusement park when the lines are low and the weather is FREEZING!!! Vaughn got free tickets to Dollywood for this past weekend and since we have never gone, we went, freezing cold temps and all. We invited our friends Adrian and Melody and their two kids to come brave this crazy ride with us.

Our kids have never been to an amusement park. It was an over load right from the start. We rode the 3D Polar Express ride first and then Vaughn lost his glasses, the ones he needs to work and read. So we all ate lunch as he looked for them and then we went to the county fair part of the park where it has lots of rides for the little kids. The Ferris Wheel was our first stop. Taryn loved it and so did Tyson.

Our faces were frozen in these smile, but we really were having a great time!

Next it was time for the adults to take a spin on a ride. Here are Vaughn and Adrian getting braced for this whirl around ride. This ride went up and down and then spun you in all directions.

Melody coaxed me to get on with her and the boys. Tyson was bracing for the ride to start. Xander was less than happy to be on the ride. He wanted off, but there was no way he could get off, we were strapped in.

I laughed the whole ride, trying to convince my stomach not to hurl. Whirl rides make me so sick, but I love to go on them. Tyson loved the ride and wanted to go again. Xander finally liked it when it was over and Melody had a ball. Next it was off to the spinning Tea Cups. YEAH, my stomach was hating me! After that, I was glad not to get on another spinning around ride for a minute.

There was a flying bee ride that all four kids could get on. They had a ball.

All smiles, even though we were chilled to the bone.

The kids patiently waited for some hot chocolate. They had so much fun amid the cold temperatures. We were able to watch an ice skating show, which I thought was pretty cool. We tried to catch one more ride before going home, but it was too cold and they had to shut down the rides.

They have a sanctuary for Bald Eagles that have been hurt in the wild. It was awesome to see them up close. Some they will release back into the wild, but some are not able to survive on their own, so the park takes care of them. These majestic birds are lovely. I loved showing the kids all about them.

Such a cute picture of all the kids. It was such a great time. We will go back again, when it is a bit warmer. On a side note, Vaughn did find his glasses. Some good Samaritan turned them in. It was a blessing in disguise. So glad that we don't have to pay for new glasses.

Christmas Family Pictures

2011-12-13T09:40:00.000-08:00

When my mom was here for Thanksgiving we had her take family pictures of us by our Christmas tree. We haven't had a family picture since Taryn was a baby. It was time for a new one.

My eternal sweetheart. He is my best friend, the only one I can be myself around and not worry about offending anyone, and my biggest support. I love you babe!

My loves! I have two of the best children in the world. I love them both so very, very much and cannot imagine what I would do without them in my life. They make each day a new adventure.

Two handsome dudes.

Nothing cuter than a little girl and her daddy.

My little shadow. I love this little girl. She is so fun and so girly and yet she loves to be rough and tough.

My little buddy. Tyson is and always will be my first buddy. He is such a good kid and keeps his mom grounded. Love you!

So handsome!

Miss Gorgeous!

Once our family pictures were finished we had to get a picture of Grandma and the grand kids.

Me and my beautiful momma! Thanks mom for taking the pictures and for coming out to see us. We love and miss you.

Turkey Day Plus Black Friday

2011-11-26T17:57:00.001-08:00

She came, she came, Grandma T came to see us for Turkey Day! Vaughn found my mom a good deal on a flight out to see us for Thanksgiving and she jumped at the chance. YIPPIE! It has been 6 months since we have seen her. The kids have changed so much since she last saw them. Lots of hugs and kisses were giving on that first day.

We planned out the perfect feast. Here is the top item on the list, the pumpkin pie. YUMMY! Next to the turkey, this is the most important part of the dinner.

Tyson and Grandma T getting the pie ready to bake. I wish I could describe the smells in our house. They were divine. Like a little piece of heaven in my kitchen.

Vaughn had to work the night before Thanksgiving and usually he takes care of the turkey, but this year it fell to me. YIKES! Once it was all thawed I shot it full of the garlic and herb seasoning. MMMMMmmmmm... Then back in the fridge for tomorrow's cooking.

Vaughn put the fryer together and prepared to cook the turkey.

1...2...3...here we go. Dip the bird in and hope that it doesn't catch on fire. Since oil and water don't mix very well, you have to make sure the turkey is free from water or ice. Luckily for us ours was and we didn't have any early 4th of July fireworks in November. We also learned that if you place an onion in with the turkey the bird tends to cook without burning.

The side dishes, and desserts were ready, we just had to wait for the turkey to cook. Grandma T always brings games to play to keep us all entertained.

The bird is cooked. Tyson likes to be dramatic about everything these days. He didn't like the look of the turkey as it came out of the pot.

Doesn't this look like a good spread? We ate and ate and ate. The kids were introduced to sweet potatoes and they weren't very happy about them at first, but then after a bite they asked for more. I love it when they try new foods and actually like them. I am so glad they are not like I was went I was young. (I was a very picky eater)

Even though we stuffed ourselves silly, we all still had room for pumpkin pie. Ahhhh! It was delicious.

Tyson had two pieces of pie. He is growing so quickly that his stomach is getting bigger. He is like a bottomless pit most days. I cannot get enough food into him without him saying, "I am still hungry." Holy Cow. What will the teenage years be like?

After dinner we made a foam train that Grandma T had given us last year, but with all the craziness of last Christmas we never did make it. So it worked out perfect. The kids love to make things and it was even better that Grandma T was there to do it with them.

Time for a little relaxation. Once dinner was finished, and the craft made, we all settled down for a minute and then it was off to bed. The kids and Vaughn went to bed and mom and I headed out in the cold to go Black Friday Shopping. I love to shop Black Friday and get good deals. My mom has never gone and so I was going to introduce her to the wonderful world of late night shopping.

We began at Kohl's. We got there at 9:15 and they didn't open till midnight, but there was some specific items I wanted, and I wasn't going to lose them. We were the tenth person in line and after waiting in the car for the first hour, which we were parked at the front, we saw a little bench and snagged it. We sat there and talked with another lady for the next few hours and then they opened the doors. The line was back about 1/4 of a mile or more, but people who weren't in line were waiting like vultures to slip into the line. A lady slipped right in front of my mom and I was about to say something, but I was too busy thinking about running to grab what I wanted. Oh well, so she got in early. Mom went one way to pick up stuff and I ran the other, and we met in the middle. We grabbed everything we wanted and headed for the check out. We only had to wait 20 minutes. Not bad. We were in and out in 45 minutes and headed to the mall. I figured it would be absolutely crazy, but it wasn't as bad I thought it would be. We headed to the Disney store and a few clothing stores, found what we wanted and headed out to another store. Around 4 a.m. we were pooped and had purchased almost everything on our lists. We saved $600.00 between the two of us. YES! I love big savings.

It is so much fun when Grandma T comes around. We enjoyed our time and were very sad to see her go. Hopefully it isn't another 6 months before we see her again.

The Little Doll

2011-11-20T14:20:00.001-08:00

This is my little DIVA! She comes in the other morning while I am cleaning, poses by the foot of my bed and says, "Mom, can you take a picture of me?" Oh how cute! I loved it! And of course we had to take a few pictures.

Taryn is turning into quit a little girl and yet she loves to be rough and tough with her dad and brother. She is also the BIGGEST tease in the whole house. She will have her dad and Tyson up in arms within 10 minutes. I wonder what this has in store for the future?

11-11-11

2011-11-11T16:26:00.003-08:00

Only comes around once in a life time: 11-11-11. I remember when I was in college the date was 01-01-01. We all thought it was so cool to be around on that monumental occasion. My kids wanted to prove to the world that they were around on this very date. Tyson is 6 and Taryn is 3. We are living in Knoxville, TN and Vaughn is in his 2nd year of residency.

Virginia Fun

2011-11-11T16:26:00.001-08:00

The Jackson crew took a needed, quick, fast mini-vacation to Virginia Beach, Virginia.
This is our cheerful kiddos at the beginning of the trip. Little did they know that they would be in the car for 8+ hours. Yeah! This cheerfulness didn't last long.
Vaughn got a shot of me telling the kids, for the umpteenth time, that we still had several hours to go. Halfway to Virginia Beach we had some car trouble, so we stopped in Roanoke, VA at an Auto Zone and had to get the battery checked. 45 minutes later, and a new battery, we were on the road again. Thank goodness we didn't break down in the middle of nowhere. That is usually our luck, but we were spared the adventure of being stranded, and I was okay with that. We saw several funny town names, Troutville, Fisherville, you would think they ran out of names and just started adding "ville" to anything that sounded good. HA HA HA. I loved it!
After many long hours we finally got through the cut-throat traffic of Richmond, VA, and into Virginia Beach and this cool tunnel. That evening we ate at the closest place available to us, Denny's, and then crashed in our lovely motel room. AHHH! It was nice to sleep.
We were up early the next day. When you only have a few days to have a vacation, you get your butt out of bed and head sight seeing. We headed down to the pier to see the battleship Wisconsin. They had a chalk wall, that anyone could write on, which was for the boys and girls in the armed forces. I am a BIG patriot, and I take any opportunity to tell our soldiers how much they are appreciated.
Here is the ship, well...part of it.
They retired the battleship Wisconsin after several tours and now it is a floating museum. It was enormous. I was shocked that something that huge could float. Tyson loved the BIG guns that were attached all around the decks.
The chains were as big as Taryn. Sheeze! Had to be big to hold down that BIG ship!
I always have loved listening to my grandpa's stories about WWII and how he was in a battleship on route to the Philippines. Looking at this ship in person, made all those stories come to life.
Just totally awesome looking.
There were all kinds of plaques around the pier surrounding the battleship, telling about the many parts of the ship. Tyson really liked hearing about the "Quad 40 Mount" guns and how it took several guys to arm, shoot and reload them.
Here is a picture of the guns. My dad would have thought they were cool. I was amazed.
"Wisconsin Square" is what they call the place where the battleship is settled.
Nice family photo.
Since we were by the sea, there were tons of mermaids all around as decorations. Taryn thought they were pretty and wanted to get pictures by all of them.
Another mermaid.
My three angels. They tried to lift the 3000 pound anchor of the "Wisconsin". Look at the strain in those cheeks.
Tyson and Taryn left trying to lift it and decided to lay on the anchor and bask in the sun.
My two sweethearts and a mermaid.
Taryn loved the mermaids. She found this one in a little lunch shop. It was made out of styrofoam.
"I am the king of the world!"
They had a lot of ships in the harbor that they were dismantling or fixing, we couldn't ever tell.
Next, we headed to the beach. Tyson can't remember living on St. Maarten for 2 years, and Taryn has never seen the beach, so when they got there they begged to wade in the water.
They were so excited to put their toes in the sand and surf.Photo by the beach.
And here is the two munchkins before the crash of the waves. See the oncoming wave...it took Taryn out!
You can't see it from this picture, but she was soaked. The wave took her feet from under her and she face planted it into the sand and sea water. I thought she would freak out, but it was just the opposite. She loved it. She was covered in sand and didn't care. She wanted to keep playing, even though the water was cold.
Still playing in the cold water and loving every minute of it.
They didn't want to leave and it was hard to make them. We have decided that we need to come back to Virginia Beach when it is warm and let them play all day in the sand and surf. I know they would love it. Since Taryn completely soaked and sanded her only jacket, we had to find a Target to purchase a new one. We then went to McDonald's for some needed lunch. The kids love McDonald's but we don't go very often, so it is a treat when they get to go. They savored every minute of it. That night was dinner at the Macaroni Grill, which is always delicious. After we had stuffed ourselves, it was time to sleep. We had crammed so much into the past two days and we still had one to go.
Early Wednesday Morning we stumbled onto this man made hill and park called "Mount Trashmore." It was literately a landfill that they had turned into a park. OH Heavens!
This was the hill and people were running up and down it, walking around it and working out on its six sets of stairs.
On the top it actually had a nice view for a landfill.
The kids running on top of the landfill, Mount Trashmore.
Nice view from the top.
Dad and daughter, too cute!
There was this amazing park for the kids to play on and since I knew we had a long drive ahead of us, I let them play for a good hour on all the fun playground equipment.
My two loves!!!
King of the hill.
This is my favorite picture. It is times like this that we cherish. Our year has been full of many ups and downs and this vacation was an escape from all of that. It was so nice to just be a family without all of life's interference. The long 8 hour drive wasn't as bad as we thought it was going to be, but waking up for school the next morning after getting home at midnight wasn't pretty.

Tyson's Last Baseball Game

2011-11-02T05:04:00.000-07:00

The last baseball game of the Orioles. This was Tyson's little coach pitch fall baseball team. He had a great coach who really tried to help the kids learn how to hit and catch well. He was really
good to help Tyson out.

After the serious picture, they all wanted to do a funny one.

We were fortunate to have Xander play with Tyson on the same team. These two are such good buddies, and it was so fun that they could play on the same team.

Each boy got a game ball at the end of the season. This ball was the biggest trophy for Tyson. You would think it was GOLD plated. He loved it! I am so glad that he loves to play sports. I think it teaches them so much about sportsmanship and how to work with others.

Trunkerfest at Church

2011-11-01T10:36:00.000-07:00

(This post is also out of order and should have been posted last Friday, October 28, 2011.)
AHHH! It is the Pumpkin Monster Taryn. Taryn scared the crap out of me this morning when I walked into the kitchen. Little stinker. She had found her treat bag and her pumpkin mask and decided to scare me.

Not that we haven't been having lots of Trick-or-Treating, but we had the church's Trunkerfest tonight. The kids could go and play games, trunk-or-treat and then the whole family could have dinner. Sounded great to us. Once again the kids were able to use their costumes. I love it when they are used and not just worn for a few hours. (makes the cost of them, worth it)

Vaughn decided to give Tyson a little "trick". He held up the treat bag and said, "Get it!" Yeah right. Poor kid. Vaughn is such a tease with the kids.

The many, many curls of Taryn Jackson's head. I am so blessed to have a little girl who will hold still while mom takes 30 minutes to make lots of little curls all over her head, and then pulls it all up. WHEW! We have performed this small feat for the past 2 nights. I was glad to see that she would let me keep doing it.

I always dress up like a witch because the costume is easy, but this year I decided to break out of the mold and be something else. I chose a cowgirl costume. I was told I cheated because I used to be a cowgirl and had everything for the costume at my house. What can I say? I go for the easy costumes.

We added a little flair to Taryn's costume and put a little sparkly eye shadow and black jewels on her face. She liked it!

My Jedi in training. He had more fun with this costume. He loved pretending that he was Obi-wan Kanobi. I love it when they use their imaginations to have fun.

Just a cute photo.

The church had rented a BIG blow up, double slide. Taryn wanted me to take her down. It was a rush and I inherited a nice burn on my elbow to slow us down, but it was still fun. After I took her down the first time, she decided that she was a big enough girl to go down herself. She went up and down at least 100 times. No exaggeration there. It was another fun night.

BOO at the ZOO

2011-11-01T09:38:00.000-07:00

(This post is out of order. It should have been made several days before, but when one looses the pictures, things like this happen.) Don't they look ready to ask for candy? Our fun filled time with Kariann and Grace Ann is still going strong. I decided that they needed to get some use out of these Halloween costumes more than once so we took them all to the "Boo at the Zoo".

Certain nights during the month of October the local zoo has an evening event where the price is half off and the kids can come trick-or-treating at the zoo with the animals. We didn't make this event last year, but I was determined that we were going to go this time.

Our first stop was the Scary-go-round. Their merry-go-round was decorated all Halloween style and instead of going forward, it went backwards, hence the "scary" part of the ride. The kids all had a ball, I about threw up, but didn't. I don't do well with things that go around and around, but I took one for the team and braced for the wave of nausea to be with my kiddos.

Throughout the zoo were all kinds of people dressed up as all characters. Tyson was thrilled to see a fellow Jedi master and storm trooper. We had to get a photo.

My kids love Looney Toons. A picture with Bugs and Sylvester couldn't be passed up.

The cat in the hat with thing 1 and thing 2. Grace Ann didn't want to be near them. Kinda funny.

Watch out for the camels they spit!

The "belly" dancers. There was a group of real belly dancers at one of the animal stations and they allowed the kids to dance with them. Taryn was less than pleased that her mother shoved her into this situation just to get a picture. She will thank me later.

Scooby, dooby do!

They even had the tradition Halloween graveyard decorations. It was nice weather, so walking around the zoo at night was pleasant. No one complained. YEAH!

The princesses. We couldn't pass these three ladies up without taking a photo with them. Tyson was a little scared to sit too close to Snow White. Such a boy!

The kids trick-or-treated down the trail and ended up with lots of candy and toys. Then it was off to the big white tent for some Monster Mashing Dancing. All three of them were dancing fools. Tyson is especially talented as a dancer and I am not being bias. The kid has moves and rhythm. HA HA HA. His dad will love that!

After several long dancing songs the kids were pooped! It was past every one's bedtime and so we packed it up and headed home. I am glad we were able to go and experience this fun time at the zoo. We will definitely be going back next year.

It's HALLOWEEN!!!!

2011-10-31T14:45:00.000-07:00

After a full week of playing Halloween the "Official" day has come. We were fortunate enough to go trick-or-treating with our good friends the Thompsons. They said their neighborhood was a great place to let the kids go door-to-door asking for candy. (You never know these days where a good, safe place is to trick-or-treat) So we jumped at the offer. I got some action shots of the kids saying trick-or-treat and then "Thank you". We really practiced the last part.

Some of the home owners were even dressed up, which makes it all the more fun.

Tyson said he had his light saber out to warn off any bad guys in case they came to steal their candy. My little hero. Always looking out for everyone. Love him.

Ella the mermaid and Taryn the pumpkin fairy. Two cute little friends. They enjoyed riding in the wagon when their little legs started to give out from all the walking.

It was a faboolous way to end the Halloween Holiday. We now have two grocery bags full, and I mean full, of candy. Thank goodness I can hide it and ration it out a few pieces at a time. Although, Vaughn seems to find the stash and takes a good share of the candy. HA HA HA Gotta love it! Happy Halloween.

Trunk or Treat at CBES

2011-10-28T09:03:00.001-07:00

Are we ready to trick-or-treat? Tonight was the annual Cedar Bluff Elementary School trunk-or-treat fest. One damper was the rain, so instead of trunk-or-treating outside they changed it to an inside festival. Each class is asked to decorate a trunk for the kids to trick-or-treat at, and since I was over Tyson's class last year I knew what a BIG deal this was going to be. It started at 5:30 in the evening but we were standing in line at 4:45 and there was already a line to get into the school gym. Luckily when the rain started, the kids and I were standing under the walk way's over hang and we stayed dry. I asked Melody and the kids to come with us. It is always more fun when you can do things together with others.

It's the Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi. I went to great lengths to procure his costume this year and the reaction on his face made it all worth it. He loves Star Wars and dressing up like a Jedi was pure fun.

As we got into the school there was a station where the cat in the hat was serving green eggs and ham.

Taryn was looking at him like, "I might like to try them here or there." HA HA HA. It was great.

The Jedi and the pirate. The kids enjoyed trunk-or-treating together.

Princess Belle and the Pumpkin Fairy. Two cute little friends.

Not the best picture, but the gym was so dark and my less-than-wonderful-picture-taking-skills and camera weren't up to par. I just wanted proof of her trunk-or-treating. We had practiced saying "trick-or-treat" and then "thank you" all afternoon. She did it well. I didn't even have to remind her about it.

A princess, Jedi, pirate, and pumpkin fairy all happy about their candy loot. Now the question was, "When can I eat my candy?" I was thinking the same thing!

Halloween at the Library

2011-10-26T17:57:00.000-07:00

It is Halloween time! Yes! I love this time of year. It is my favorite holiday and I have made that impact on my kiddos too. They like dressing up for the season. Once again, the Cedar Bluff Library had a Halloween party/story time. The kids are allowed to dress up. Last year it was packed with all kind of cute kids dressed up in costumes, but it was different this year. Taryn and a few other kids were dressed up and the rest were in their regular clothes. Party poopers. It didn't bother Taryn, she loves to dress up no matter what the occation.

Her is Taryn and the story time lady. (Funny thing is, I don't know her name. We have been going to story time for over a year and I don't think she has ever said her name). Taryn loves to listen to her tell the stories and sing the songs.

Before we went to story time, the Pumpkin Fairy had to get all dolled up. This is last year's costume, but she wanted to wear it again, and who am I to get in the way of that. It actually fits her this year and so looks so darn cute!

She wanted an orange wig, and we could find all colors of the rainbow, except orange. So mom had to come up with a different plan. I told Taryn we would puts lots of curls up on top of her head. 30 minutes later, this was the result.

She was satisfied with the end result and forgot all about the wig. WHEW! I dodged a tantrum on that one. The Halloween story time was just as fun as last year. Bring on the rest of the week of Halloween fun. Taryn has her costume all worked out and all is right in the world.

Tyson's First Pack Meeting

2011-10-25T20:16:00.000-07:00

Tyson had his first pack meeting and was so excited because he was received his Bobcat award and a belt loop for baseball. Here he is reciting his Cub Scout Promise. He takes a lot of pride in scouting.

His pack master, Mike Masters, giving him his awards.

If you look at the smirk on his face, he was beaming with pride that he had worked so hard and was given recognition for it.

After the ceremonies, the troop had fun and games for the boys and their siblings. Tyson was all about the donut eating contest.

The problem was trying to get the suspended donut to hold still long enough for him to get a bite on it. It was fun to watch.

My little scout is now a Bobcat. I am so proud of him and all his accomplishments. I know this is just the beginning, but it is a great start to something BIG!

Aunt Kariann was able to be with us on this night of awards. It is always fun to have extended family present when things like this go on. I know Vaughn enjoyed having his sister in town to laugh and hang out with.

The last game was "Making a Mummy." Tyson made his partner look like a pretty good mummy.

The whole night was fun. Tyson enjoyed the pack meeting and receiving his awards. He is now in the process of working on more achievements. So proud of you buddy!

Taryn Turns Three

2011-10-24T05:27:00.001-07:00

There is my little princess. Last year when she turned 2 she was still a baby, but now she is a BIG Girl and all princess. We were so fortunate to have her Aunt Kariann and cousin Grace Ann fly in for her party weekend. Since Tyson had a BIG party, Taryn decided she wanted to have a party as well. So, we planned a princess party and she told me who to invite. Tyson didn't want to be in the princess party, but he wanted to be in a photo with his sister and cousin.

Here are all the princesses who came to Taryn's party. We sent out little invitations that looked like purses, made by Grandma T. I didn't think everyone would show up, but we were so lucky that they all did. We asked that they all dress up in their favorite princess outfits. As we waited for all the girls to show up, Cinderella II was playing on the TV. By ten o'clock in the morning, all the girls were there and it was showtime. Luckily my sister-in-law and Caryn Marlow stayed to help out with the princess party. We all headed into the kitchen and proceeded to make princess crowns with jewels and glitter flowers. The girls had a ball decorating their own Princess Crown. I was so glad it turned out to be a success. Once they had them all decorated we had to take pictures of all the gorgeous princesses. Taryn was the bell of the ball. She was so happy to have all of her friends at her house for her party.

Grace Ann and Taryn haven't seen each other since they were babies, literately. Each one played well with the other and having Gracie here for her party was wonderful. Here are pictures of the other little princesses:

Madison Lambert

Taylor Rambo

Kylie Ritter

Julia Mueller

Kate Rambo

Kamren Taylor

Lauren Lambert

Iris Marlow

It was so much fun to take all their pictures. I felt like we were all in a little fairy tale. Once the pictures were over we took the girls back into the kitchen, because it was too cold outside, to hit a pinata. I bought this cheep pinata and figured that the girls would each get maybe one hit and it would fall apart. I was SO wrong! They all got to hit it once and it didn't even have a dent in it; so, we tried again. I let them all hit it several times during their turn, and nothing. Then I let Tyson hit it, hard! Still not a dent in this thing. I let them all go one more round hitting it, and some of those little girls could hit it hard, and still nothing. I ended up tearing it and then shaking all the contents onto the ground. We had it stuffed with sparkly sunglasses, little flutes, necklaces, rings, stickers, and a few pieces of candy. The girls all loved grabbing the goodies and putting them in their princess bags.

Then it was time for cake. My friend Megan Schultz, made this amazing Princess Aurora cake with the three fairies. This picture doesn't do it justice. It had yummy butter cream frosting. Needless to say all the little girls loved the cake and ate their piece all gone. Last was the presents and Taryn's little friends were so generous to her. She received all kinds of Princess items and girly things. Thanks so much to everyone for all the presents and the kindness.

Taryn and Grace Ann after the party, all dolled up in their treasures from the pinata. It was a successful party, but the party day was only partly over. We still had fun things to do.

That night at the Thompson Bowl Area the Shriner's Circus was in town. I thought it would be a great way to end my little princess's day. She lasted the first hour and then fell asleep in my arms. She was too tired to finish out the circus acts. So we only stayed until intermission, which was about 2 hours and then we left.

They had all kinds of rides the kids could handle, but they were pricey. So I allowed Tyson to ride the big slide. He had a ball and that was all that matters.

I was able to get down on the floor and take a picture of all the circus stuff.

Tyson found little little niche up above our seats, and he and Taryn thought they were cool sitting up in the nook, watching the circus. Then Taryn became tired and the rest was history.

The opening ceremonies. It was pretty cool to see all the masons who work so hard to make the circus possible.

I love the high flying trapeze artists. They are probably my favorite to see in a circus.

I loved the whole day and I think Taryn did too. Happy Birthday to my little princess. We love you and are so glad you are in our lives!

Halloween Decor

2011-10-05T15:51:00.000-07:00

The kids have been begging me to decorate for Halloween, but honestly we just haven't had a free day or night in which to accomplish this task. Today we didn't have anything going, which doesn't happen very often, and so the kids and I decorated till Taryn said it was a Haunted House.
The kids made the spiders and we hung the webs for them to put their creepy creations on. Since we move ever so often, my decor is limited, because I know that in a few years I will just have to pack it all up again. I try to keep it small, but when we are finally settled into our own house, I will go crazy and have TONS of decor for every season.

Tyson's thumbs up sign means we are ready for Halloween. Now they ask me, "When can we dress up and go Trick-or-Treating?" It is going to be a long month!

Darn it!! Go Away!

2011-10-03T16:54:00.000-07:00

I have been sick now for the past 7 days and I am still trying to kick the stuff out of me. It all started last week when I lost my voice. This is typical for this time of year and so I didn't think much of it and knew my voice would return eventually. Several days later, the aches, stuffy nose and tight chest came to play, and it hasn't been a fun game. Today I have some what of a voice, but I still cough every five seconds. My chest is beginning to hate me! Add to all of this the fact that I have had NO energy and my kiddos are suffering from mom being sick and not being able to play. This bites the big one!

The Boy Is Now A Scout

2011-09-26T17:43:00.000-07:00

I am still in utter shock that I have a son old enough to be a Tiger Scout. We were fortunate enough to have one of Tyson's good friend, Davis, from school ask us to sign up with him for scouts. Davis's dad is the scout master for the Tiger Den. Tyson has all of his friends in his den with him and so scouts has been a blast so far. He was officially made a Tiger Scout tonight at one of their outings, where he received his neckerchief and his Tiger Trail badge. He is pretty proud of himself. He has been working for several weeks to memorize the motto and promise of a boy scout, and to understand all about scouting. I am one proud momma! Way to go buddy!

Happy Birthday Vaughn

2011-09-25T17:19:00.001-07:00

At the beginning of this year, I didn't know if we would make another birthday, but my sweetheart has come back fighting and is doing so well. Vaughn turned 34 today. We were fortunate enough to have the Winters watch Tyson and Taryn for the afternoon so that we could enjoy a date all by ourselves. We about didn't know what to do without kids, since we take them everywhere with us. We settled on a movie and then a later lunch out on the river at Calhoun's. It was such a nice day that the waitress talked us into eating outside and I am grateful she did. It was peaceful and just the right place to eat and talk. (we are usually talking over the kids or at the kids during any kind of conversation) After our nice afternoon it was time to pick up the kids at the Winters'. They had a ball with the kids and vice versa. They even told us that anytime we want to take off and go out on a date they would watch our kids for us. That was so kind of them! I hope this is a sign that there are many more birthdays for us to celebrate.

It Is Orange Time in Tennessee

2011-09-17T20:35:00.001-07:00

"Rocky Top Tennessee!" Yes, it is that time again folks. Time for Tennessee VOLS football.

We had an amazing opportunity to watch the VOLS play Cincinnati last Saturday. Around 1 p.m. Vaughn received a text on his phone from Dr. Belack that he had four, 5th row tickets to the game and he wasn't going to go. Anyone that wanted the tickets needed to text him back, first come-first serve. We jumped on that one! In no time at all we had the tickets and were putting our orange on for the big game.

We were directly behind the team. It was awesome. You could see their faces. (that is how close we were). The seats were amazing. I have never been that close to a game before and neither had Vaughn or the kids.

Through out the game I kept trying to get a picture of Derek Dooley, the head coach for Tennessee, but he was a moving all over the place. So I got this back of the head shot as he passed by the microphone. We were so close to the team that I could see his brown penny loafer shoes with his bright orange pants.

Like I said, the seats were incredible.

The camera man kept going back and forth along the little path down in front. The kids enjoyed watching him film the game. Also, look at that sea of orange. It is so completely awesome to see all the fans in that place. There were over 98,000 people there at that game. WHOA!In the huddle. What a great shot. They were on fire that day.

I was so close that I could take this picture of the punt teams' helmets.

GO VOLS!

This is kind of an odd picture to throw in there, but during half time, this bride and groom came down out of the stands to be married on the steps of the stadium. Love it! Nothing like being married at a Tennessee football game. I was just surprised her dress wasn't orange!

The boys! Tyson had a ball cheering for his team. And we loved the fact that we got to spend a whole afternoon with Vaughn. He has been working his tail off lately, so this was a needed family outing.

The "princess" was not amused that I wanted to take her picture. She wore her cute little Tennessee cheer leading outfit. Everyone around us said how cute she looked.

Taryn's eye's are priceless while my face is contorted in a grimace. I couldn't get the camera to do what I wanted it to do. ARG!

During half time the band and dancers came out on the field. My little cheerleader danced right along with them for about half the time. Then she decided that it was "too loud" and placed my hands over her ears while she continued to grove around. HA HA HA priceless!

By the middle of the third quarter, she had passed out. Thank goodness the great tickets came with padded seats and back rests, or else she wouldn't have been able to sleep for the rest of the game. Momma's arms would have given out.

This was a massive pileup.

Another game shot!

After the game, Taryn woke up. How she slept through all the noise, I will never know. We all had a great time and ended the night with pizza. Thanks Dr. B for the tickets. Love watching the VOLS play!

This Is Where I Found Her

2011-09-08T16:28:00.000-07:00

During the course of the afternoon I couldn't find Taryn upstairs. She was very quite and I began to wonder what my "Little Miss" was getting into at that moment. Down the stairs I went and this is what I found. She had passed out asleep on the first three stairs. I giggled!

Here is a good back side shot. I figured as soon as I took the pictures she would wake up, but I was wrong. It took a good 5 minutes to get her to wake up. And she wasn't happy that I had woke her from her nice nap.

Taryn Started Preschool

2011-09-06T08:53:00.001-07:00

My little princess is off to preschool. Today was Taryn's first day at preschool and right at first it was a little touch and go. Yesterday and this morning she was convinced that she was not going to school. She flat out told us that she didn't want to go to school. We kept asking her why and she would just keep saying "I don't want to go to school." Okay. This morning she wasn't much better. I got her up and dressed before we took Tyson to school and she didn't really like that very much. She was less than happy to eat breakfast before being able to watch cartoons. It was only after her dad made such a BIG fuss about how much fun school was going to be that she decided that maybe it would be okay to go. Then it was all business. She wanted her new shoes, pants and shirt with a flower in her hair and let's not forget the backpack and her school supplies. (Thanks dad).

I couldn't drive to Abby's fast enough for her, and when I dropped her off she said, "bye mom" and was gone. I thought I would break down like I did when I first took Tyson to school, but I was just glad she went without any tears or tantrums... My baby is growing up. How exciting! Love you baby girl.

Tyson Turns 6

2011-09-04T16:10:00.000-07:00

My little guy isn't little anymore; in fact, he is a big boy who turned 6. Tyson wanted a big birthday party this year. Well...this mommy had a heck of a time trying to find a place to host a party that was under $150.00. All the places I checked were $200.00 or above. HOLY COW, for a kid's party? I figured that we were going to have to just have another family party and that would break his heart. Then we went to the YMCA for our daily swimming and I saw a flier about their birthday parties. It was under $150.00 and he could invite 20 people. Perfect! I called and booked our reservation and sent out the invitations. Tyson was thrilled to be having a "real" party.

It was wonderful for me because all I had to do was bring some drinks and cupcakes and let the kiddos swim for 2 hours. Great! Everyone we invited came, and all had a good time swimming and going down the slides. Tyson even coaxed me to going down the slides with him. I probably looked a little silly coming out of the slides, but it was fun.

My little man showing off his muscles. He invited his buddies from school and church and their mom or dad. So we had a gathering of people. The best part of it was that our party was the first of the day, it was nice and warm and there were hardly any other patrons but us. The kids had the run of the pool all to themselves.

After the hours of swimming were coming to a close, the kids were eyeballing the cupcakes and asking, "When do we get to eat?" Here are Taryn and her friend Ella, picking their seats by the goodies.

The YMCA was so good to us. They had these fun signs up for his party and they came and gave him a YMCA party t-shirt, which Tyson thought was so cool. All the life guards were so accommodating and fun. I sure was glad that they were so nice, it made my life a lot easier.

We have never been lucky enough to have grandparents around when it has been the kids' birthdays, but Grandma and Papa Jackson surprised us and came into town on the weekend of his party. YIPPIE! That was a great present for Tyson and for me as well. I had help from Sue with making the cupcakes and frosting them.

I think the cupcakes were a hit. What do you think?

Kids enjoying the cupcakes and Capri suns. Olivia, Rylan, Anna, James and Zack--all kids from church.

Tyson opening his gifts. James gave him a football, just for little guys like him. He was excited. It has been hard to throw daddy's BIG ones. Davis and Brody and Andrew are sitting next to Tyson. They are buddies from school.

More gifts...

And more gifts...

And even more gifts...

Tyson was spoiled by all his friends. We have never had such a fun, big party and so many gifts. We have such good friends!

Taryn enjoyed just eating cupcakes and playing with Ella. The pool party was a success and I was glad Tyson and the other kids enjoyed it. After it was over, the clean up was easy and then we were done for the day. (Other kids that came, not shown in pictures: Noah, Xander, Sarah)

Since we had the party the weekend before his "real" birthday, I decided that he still needed some kind of festivities for his birthday day! So... I decorated his door, like I always do, and I decorated the kitchen with balloons and streamers and Happy Birthday signs. I made pancakes and stuck birthday candles in them.

Tyson had to go to school on his "real" birthday, but he was okay with that. He took party treats to his class and enjoyed the day. When he got home, he was able to open up gifts from Grandma T, Aunt D and us. I think this was a birthday to remember.

Tyso n's First Day of 1st Grade

2011-08-15T06:37:00.000-07:00

Oh the excitement was all over our house this beautiful morning. Tyson started his first day as a BIG first grader. He got up without me having to drag his body off the bed, was dressed and ready to go faster than I had expected. (I know this won't last for long, but I am going to enjoy this happy attitude as long as I can.) He couldn't wait to go to school, see old friends and make news ones. He asked me about 50 questions last night about what his teacher will have him do, and where he will be putting his stuff and where he will sit....etc. The bombardment of questions went on and on. And, of course, I had no answers for him. All I could say was, "You will have to wait till you get to school tomorrow."

Taryn was also up, dressed and ready to go to school. She was a bit heartbroken that she couldn't stay with Tyson at school. Ahhhhh. So cute. She loves her big brother and wants to do everything he does. The traffic was just as crazy this first day as it was last year, and so we decided that we had better leave our house 10 minutes earlier tomorrow. GEEZE! Oh well, the joys of living in a city.

On a side note, I finally finished my first class. YES! And I passed it with an A! I have never had a solid A in any college class, they were A-. I was thrilled. All the late nights of studying and worrying paid off. I now have one more class to take in the winter and then I can reinstate my teaching license and begin teaching again!

An Anchor?

2011-08-09T17:19:00.000-07:00

So this is my conversation with Taryn the other day:
Taryn comes running into the kitchen while I am making lunch and says to me,
Taryn: Mom what is this in my mouth?
I looked inside her right cheek and found a little canker.
Me: It is a canker sweetheart. Don't mess with it and it will go away.
Taryn: An Anchor?
Me: No, a canker.
Taryn: Anchor?
Me: Canker
Taryn: Anchor!
By this time I am laughing so hard that I just let her go. Later on that day when Vaughn came home Taryn had the same conversation with him. We cannot get her to say canker. It is an Anchor. HA HA HA. Funny things kids say.

Tennessee Smokies Baseball

2011-08-01T21:47:00.001-07:00

Our first Tennessee Smokies Baseball game. August 1st was LDS family night at the stadium and that meant we got a discount. WAHOO! Neither the kiddos or myself have been to a "real" baseball game other than a high school one. Even thought the Smokies are AA ball, it was still awesome to watch.

Taryn was more impressed to dance to all the various music being played and watch the mascots run around and goof off.

A family photo at the stadium. The kids saw these foam hands in the gift shop, and me being the softy that I am, bought them each one. I remember that my dad always bought me some kind of souvenir when we went to a circus or a zoo and I still have many of those souvenirs. They remind me of those precious times I had with my family experiencing all kinds of fun entertainment. I want my kids to have those same kind of memories.

Tyson enjoyed waving his "big hand" for the Smokies. Taryn enjoyed using hers as a BIG fan. It was quite hot during the first part of the game.

In between innings, the Smokies are warming up.

Towards the middle of the game we noticed other fans eating ice cream from these little baseball caps. My kids started to beg for this treat, and after about 3 more innings, we gave in. I must admit the ice cream was yummy and the little hat was cool as well. It was a good way to end the game. We had so much fun that we are headed back to another game soon.

My Treasure Hunt

2011-07-30T18:10:00.001-07:00

My new love is shopping at consignment sales. I don't mean the consignment shops, but the twice a year BIG sales from DuckDuckGoose and Jack & Jules. I consigned at Jack & Jules two weeks ago. I took about 98 items to sell and sold all but 15 of them, making myself a little over 160.00. YAHOO! That is money for the kiddos birthdays. And since I consigned and worked the sale, I was able to shop the sale early. Below are a few of my purchases.
Taryn in all about dressing up these days. The second I got into the store, I ran to the little girl section and grabbed 4 dress up outfits. I love this little Tinkerbell one.

Taryn likes it because it has wings and now she can fly!!

A Cinderella dress.

This Belle dress is my favorite. It came with a big hoop skirt underneath it and the crown was included.

My little girl loves Fancy Nancy and when she saw this Fancy Nancy dress, we couldn't pass it up.

Tyson found this Halloween mummy shirt that lights up in the eyes and mouth. I couldn't resist. Besides these few items, I bought Taryn some light up tennis shoes, Twinkle Toes, and most of her winter clothes. The older boy section doesn't always have that great of a selection but Tyson was happy to have the Halloween shirt. I only spent 60.o0 on all my stuff, which if I would have bought at cost I would have spent over 200.00. Love it! The whole process reminds me of a Treasure Hunt. You gotta look quick to find the good stuff, the loot, and grab it before another person. There is another sale in 2 months where I will consign at and definitely be a shopper as well.

A Truly Awesome Birthday

2011-07-26T20:26:00.001-07:00

I have decided that I am no longer going to get older. HA HA HA Wouldn't that be wonderful, but such is life and mine has tacked on another year. Tyson woke me up by singing "Happy Birthday to Mommy". He had made me 4 different kinds of drawings and attached a sucker to each of them as my birthday gifts. I love these kinds of gifts. I had to quiet a cry because of his kindness towards his momma! Vaughn had the day off, but had to work the night shift, so all of us spent a day at the YMCA pool soaking up the sun and the water. Then it was an early dinner at Wok Hay in Turkey Creek. It is a new Asian restaurant that just opened up and I wanted to try it out.

Tyson loved the fact that he figured out how to use chopsticks. It took almost the whole time we were there, but he did it. However, he didn't actually eat much of his food. He said the teriyaki chicken didn't taste like "mom's" so he didn't want to eat it. It was nice to hear that he likes my cooking but, on the other hand, it was a waste of food. Thank goodness for To-Go boxes.

And here we have our little princess making her attempt at the usage of chopsticks. She was the entertainment of the evening. I had to borrow her chopsticks to show Tyson how to use them and she was less than pleased. She grabbed them out of my hand, while simultaneously knocking over her FULL glass of Sprite, sending it flying all over the floor beneath the table. Vaughn was steaming and I was laughing. "What else is new." This happens at home, during a meal, at least once a day. Why should eating at a restaurant be any different? (: So....we ate our meal with our feel stuck to the floor in Sprite. Oh well. It made for a memorable day.

I Have Been Blessed............

2011-07-24T20:58:00.000-07:00

There is that song that says, "I Have Been Blessed," and I have been. I am so grateful that my little life, even though I have trials and tribulations, has been blessed beyond measure. My litany poem:

I have been blessed with a loving family,
I have been blessed with two beautiful, sweet and loving children,
I have been blessed with my husband who is my best friends,
I have been blessed with the life of my husband, (because I could have lost him six months ago),
I have been blessed with a house to live in,
I have been blessed with food to eat,
I have been blessed with clothes on my back and shoes on my feet,
I have been blessed with good health and a good mind,
I have been blessed with the opportunity to go back to school (even though it is harder now than it was before)
I have been blessed with the friends that I have made in life from elementary school, to medical school, MI, TN and beyond,
I have been blessed with my calling in the Primary Presidency,
I have been blessed with my membership in my church,
I have been blessed with my faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ,
I have been blessed with the opportunity to be a mom.
I truly have been blessed and sometimes I have taken these blessings for granted, but I hope to be better at realizing and being grateful for them.

(And on a side note: writing has always been very therapeutic for me and with this class that I am taking, I am able to write a lot, again. I have missed the process that goes into writing and am so grateful that I haven't lost the ambition to do it.)

My Gardening Efforts

2011-07-14T13:22:00.000-07:00

My first attempt at being a gardener is paying off quite well. This is my green pepper plant that I planted out front of my house. I thought it would only be a pretty little green plant, but gosh darn it the little plant grew and has been producing nice peppers. I am not one to say I have a green thumb, my momma has one of those, but I didn't get that gene. I am chalking this up to sheer luck. But I will take it!

This is my mini pumpkin patch! It started out with a little mound of dirt and some pumpkin seeds, and look at it now! Holy Cow!

It is going to encroach my whole backyard and I love it.

A baby pumpkin. I have a few of these growing. How exciting. They start out as just a little pea and grow into this gorgeous fruit. (This picture was taken 5 days ago and the pumpkin is now twice that big).

This is my pride and joy of my little pumpkin patch. This is the first pumpkin that grew in our little patch. It is three times as big as this picture shows now. The kids are having a great time in helping to take care of the little pumpkin patch. If nothing else, we have shared some great bonding experiences. I just hope we have some nice looking pumpkins for the Fall Season. That would be the icing on the cake.

Happy 4th of July

2011-07-04T21:05:00.001-07:00

My children woke up to BLUE pancakes for the 4th of July. I had to put them in the patriotic spirit and what better way to do it than with BLUE pancakes. (The red ones turned out to be pink, so I went with blue.)

Both of my kiddos loved the BLUE pancakes. Vaughn had to work all day on the 4th and Tyson decided to come down with a nasty cough and flu like symptoms the night before, SO......I had to make our day festivities my own way. We wouldn't be making it to Pigeon Forge's 4th of July celebration so I would bring the festival to us, at home.

After the hearty helping of the blue pancakes, we got ready and made star cookies.

We had planned on a picnic outside, but the weather decided to rain and we were stuck to improvise again. No worries! We turned our chairs around, sat on the floor and ate lunch while listening to the thunder outside. The kids thought it was cool!

The time came to decorate the cookies and Taryn gave them a generous DUMPING of sprinkles.

This particular handy work of my daughter's will give you enough sugar for the next two days! She informed me that she was decorating the cookie like Fancy Nancy would. AH HA! That is why there are so MANY sprinkles.

The finished product. We incorporated the red, white and blue theme of the day.

After cookie decorating and eating, Vaughn came home and we BBQ some hamburgers and hot dogs. We had a traditional 4th of July meal with macaroni salad, watermelon, lemonade, chips and lots of laughter. And what meal wouldn't be complete with some ice cream. We headed down the road to Bruster's for some black raspberry cheese cake and butter pecan ice cream. YUMMY!!

With ice cream in hand we got back into the car and set out to find some fireworks. We happened to find a big place with lots of people setting on blankets and chairs looking up into the sky. That will work! Vaughn found us a parking spot and we spread out our blanket among the other spectators. Here is Tyson asking his dad for the umpteenth time, "When are the fireworks going to start?"

And the rocket's red flare,

The bombs bursting in air,

gave proof to the night that our flag was still there. Loved it! They were awesome and we had front row seats to the show! Taryn was the only one that wanted to leave after the first firework blasted in the air. She didn't like the BOOM of the bombs in the air. I put my hands over her ears and she was content to watch the rest of the night sky show. (giggle, giggle) She cracks me up. It was a great 4th of July.

The Hardest Thing I Have Ever Done.......

2011-06-30T20:15:00.000-07:00

The hardest thing I have ever done isn't getting a college degree, or getting married, or having children and raising them while we trip all over the country and the Caribbean, or even dealing with Vaughn's leukemia. NOPE! The HARDEST thing I have ever done is pulling up Taryn's wet swimming suit after she has gone to the potty during a bathroom break at the pool. Do you know how hard it is to pull up a wet, skin tight garment over a chubby body that moves while you are trying to pull? It is about impossible! But after some tugging, crying and throwing a fit, and that is just from me, we eventually get it on; only to repeat the process 45 minutes later!

Time With Friends In Atlanta

2011-06-21T20:41:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday we actually were able to leave town, on account that Vaughn had a little bit of vacation time. (Not much time but enough to take a quick 3 day vacation.) Our friends, the Laney's, live in Atlanta, Georgia; and they told us to come down for a good time. We packed up the kids and drove the 4 hour drive down to Atlanta. I have to say, the drive was a good one up until we hit Atlanta rush hour and it was anything but rush. We were only a few miles away from our friends' house, but it took us more than 30 minutes to get there. (I couldn't do that kind of traffic every day. I would have road rage for sure.)

When we were living on St. Maarten, the Laneys were the first ones we became friends with and the bond has lasted a long time. Tyson and Peyton, pictured above, were the best little buddies. Looks like they picked up right where they left off 3 years ago. It was fun to see them get along so well after being away from each other for so long.They took us to the Atlanta Aquarium, downtown by Olympic Park. While we were standing in line for our tickets, a hoard of protesters were demonstrating their first amendment rights. They didn't like the fact that the aquarium had a dolphin show. But that isn't the highlight of this picture. Vaughn and I watch the show Whale Wars on Animal Planet. And if you look to the center guy, with the bald head in the photo, he is from that show. In fact, last season he was held in a Japanese prison for boarding one of their whale killing vessels to stop them from illegally whaling in the Antarctic seas. We heard his voice over their megaphone and both Vaughn and I whipped our heads around and knew who that Australian accent belonged to. I wanted to get a picture with all of us and him, but we were right in the middle of the line and it was too long to go to the back and start over. So this shot will have to do.

The second we got into the aquarium the kids ran to the nearest observation window and stood there to watch all the fish dance in the water. Peyton, Jacob, Taryn and Tyson.

Look at how huge this Sting Ray is! They were all over the place. I love to watch them swim. They remind me of a dancer under water.

This guy was the main attraction at the aquarium, a whale shark. And they had two of them in the same tank. The tank was massive. (That is a poor description) It took them years to build it. And what an amazing sight it was to see. The tank held an arrangement of fish. Tons of them. We sat memorized, watching the fish glide through the water and do tricks.

A beautiful Manta Ray. This one would do flips in the water. The kids loved watching, and I admit I did too.

Tyson and Taryn acting like they were swimming with the fish.

I think this was a Grouper fish. That thing would feed my family for a month. It was as big as Tyson.

I love this picture of the sharks. They look like they are coming towards the boys for their lunch.

My kids could have sat and watched the fish swim all day. They love animals, all kinds, and they loved the Gatlinburg aquarium so much that I knew they would love this one.

More fish.

Seeing a whale shark this close was amazing. They are such a big fish. I would freak out if I was swimming in the ocean and saw one of these monsters.

I couldn't get enough of the rays. I think they are such a beautiful fish.

Tyson was fascinated with the sharks and how close they came to the big glass.It's the jellies dude! Whenever I see jelly fish I think of Finding Nemo and Dory getting stung by them. (That was Tyson's favorite show when he was little and he would watch it over and over.)

Look at that! So cool! Vaughn even turned around for the picture!

The touching pool. Tyson and Peyton got to touch the sea anemones. The guide showed them how to touch them without being shocked. I was for sure someone was going to get shocked, but miraculously they didn't.

The Beluga "white" whale. They had two of them at this aquarium. They were magical to watch swim through the water.

Look how pretty. This was the whale that Herman Melville's used in his famous novel Moby-Dick. The only difference is that this whale is a lot less scary than the one in Melville's novel.

This is the face of pure joy! She was so happy during the time we watched all the fish.

My best buddy! Laura and I met 5 days after I moved to the island and we have been great friends ever since. Love ya girl!

This was towards the end of the tour and Taryn was not happy because she didn't get to sit on the rock behind them.

One more touch pool and it was with little sting rays. Tyson about fell in trying to touch this one, but he got to feel it and he said it was kind of slimy.

The Jackson crew in Atlanta.

The boys. Vaughn and Jason became really good friends right off the bat as well. They studied together and hung out a lot. It was nice to rekindle those friendships.

After the fun at the aquarium we went to a niece of Jason and Laura's birthday party. She had it at a little gymnastic gym and the kids had a ball. Once Taryn learned that it was fun to jump into the "pit" she wouldn't get out. She wanted to stay there for the rest of the day. It was a little hard to get her to go home when it was time.

Tyson learned how to hang on to the rings and swing. He was a regular monkey. We all had such a good day with our friends. It was one of those days you wish you could draw out just to be able to have more time.

Sunday morning we got up early to make our drive back to Knoxville. Vaughn had to be back at
the hospital at 4:30 a.m. the next day. So, we had to drive early enough that he could go home and rest before another grueling week. One last picture of the kids before we left. They sure had fun together.

Before we left the state of Georgia we found the temple there and took a few pictures of it. It was on the way home so we really didn't have to go out of way to see it.

Quite a pretty temple. Bigger than Detroit and Nashville, but still smaller than St. George or Salt Lake.

Two eternal sweethearts. I love this man! A great way to end the weekend. Thanks to the Laney's we were able to have a mini-vacation with them. Thank you all. We love and miss you already. We will be going down again to see more of the sights as soon as Vaughn has another day off.

9 Years of Bliss!

2011-06-15T19:01:00.000-07:00

That's right. Vaughn and I have been married for nine years, and counting. This past year has made me really appreciate this anniversary more than all the others because I didn't think we would get another one. I am happy for every day that I get to spend with my sweetheart. And I will be happy with every year the Lord lets me keep him here on Earth. This year instead of going out on a date, just the two of us, we decided to grill out with the 4 of us. Funny thing is......the weather decided not to allow us to grill. HA HA HA. So we had Mexican Lasagna on the night of our anniversary and then celebrated our anniversary with our grilling feast the next night. What ever works! The menu included steaks, jello salad, grilled corn, rolls, and then to top it all off we ate apple crumb pie with vanilla ice cream. YUMMY! Best Day Ever!

My Front Yard

2011-06-06T15:02:00.000-07:00

Back towards the end of April, my mom came out to help me with about one million little projects I hadn't been able to get started or finished. One of these projects was my front yard. I wanted to plant flowers and veggies, but I have never planted anything in my life. Thank goodness my mom has a green thumb.

This picture and the ones that follows are what it looked like before we got started.

See the mound of mulch on the right side, I had to dig that up before we could do anything. I started weeks before my mom came and I know that sounds like a good amount to time to finish something like this, but I didn't have a wheelbarrow to move the mulch. I had my little bucket. So....it took a while!

This plant was so pretty when we first moved in, but I think the sun killed it last year. So I dug it all up as well.

Here is what the island looked like after I finished with it. I like the rocks. They make it look very polished. And the up keep is easy.The right side of the yard. I cannot believe that I really did this. I usually kill anything plant like, but this is what is looks like 2 months later. This is the left side. In between the two bushes is a little plant of peppers. I hope they grow something more than just green leaves.
The whole yard, finished. I love it. Thanks to Melinda, the gal who I rent from, for letting me arrange the front yard how I wanted. And thanks mom for showing me how to plant flowers and take care of them.

On a side note: we planted pumpkins and tomatoes in the back. I have lots of green tomatoes and my pumpkin vines are as tall as Tyson. Maybe I can grow "green leafy things" after all.

The First Day Of Summer For The Jacksons

2011-05-31T20:08:00.000-07:00

Yep! We went to the first of many trips to the YMCA pool. Luckily none of us were fried by the 96 degree heat and almost 100% humidity. (remind me why I like Tennessee, oh yeah, the winters rock!!! Just gotta make it through the next 3 months and we are set) Tyson, Taryn and myself stuck out like little white beacons because of the fact that our legs and arms haven't seen sun for a while. Needless to say, people needed sunglasses to look at my white legs. HEE HEE
I feel bad enjoying the time at the pool, while Vaughn works his tail off. He is now doing a month rotation of Surgery and getting up at 3:30a.m. is going to kick his butt. About ten days ago, we started on a new chemo medicine. The other one wasn't doing all that it needed to do, so Dr. Hanna, the oncologist, wanted to switch and get this stuff into remission, now! The only side affect that this one has, so far, is excessive tiredness. Vaughn is good while he is at work, but the second he comes home, he eats, says hi to all of us and goes straight to bed. Poor guy. I will be glad when this whole summer is over for him. Not that I would wish my summer away, but his is going to be a hard one. No rest for the weary. Back to the sun tomorrow.

1st Lost Tooth

2011-05-30T07:39:00.000-07:00

Not only are we finished with Kindergarten, but now we are hitting another milestone.....loosing a tooth! Tyson wiggled and wiggled this one for days, and finally asked us to pull it. So we tried the string-on-the-tooth trick where you slam the door and supposedly the tooth comes out...yeah, didn't work. Next, Vaughn stuck his finger in there to pull it out but Tyson didn't like that at all. Last resort, get out the medical pliers and pull out the little bugger. I was surprised that Tyson even allowed his dad to do this, but it was his idea. So with the pliers clamped down and Tyson balking a little, we pulled out the tooth. He was ecstatic to see the tooth suspended in the pliers grip and then he tasted the blood.......tears flowed after that! He didn't realize that a little blood would come with the pulling of the tooth and he was not a happy camper. After about 10 minutes he calmed down and was happily putting his tooth in an envelope with a note to the tooth fairy.
And now......the other one is loose!

Tyson's Last Days of School.

2011-05-29T19:54:00.000-07:00

These are the wonderful, stupendous, ladies whom I cannot say enough great things about, that I had the pleasure of working with this year in Tyson's class. I was the head room mom, a title I am glad to relinquish. These 5 women made the job a breeze. If ever I needed something, each and everyone of them responded and helped. L to R Kelly Masters, Sarah Roberts, Jennifer Copland, Shannon Beck, Laura Mueller and myself. I have made lasting friendships with all of these women. What an awesome year it has been to be with them and their children in Kindergarten.

AH! It is the last days of school for Tyson. Here is Tyson signing names in their autograph books.

My little, big man. I can no longer call him my little man, because he is moving on to first grade. It is hard to believe that he is that old.

He is all smiles..........ready to move on. (Kind of) The funny thing is, when he was getting ready to leave, on the last day, Mrs. Smith had told them all that they owed her one last hug before they could graduate to first grade. Tyson, my too-smart-for-his-own-good child, told her, "If I don't hug you, then I don't have to leave." What a concept! He loved this class and was a little sad to come to grips with the fact that he won't be coming back to Mrs. Smith next year.

Mrs. Smith's 2010-2011 Kindergarten Class. This has been one of the best classes. Mrs. Smith said so herself. The kids all get along and have bonded well. And us moms, of the kids, have gotten along and worked together wonderfully all year long. It has been such a great experience.

Last Monday, the other moms and myself had this wonderful, fun party planned for the kids. We played REAL bingo. I have one of the old style BINGO ball turning apparatus. The kids loved playing the game and then picking out a prize if they won. We then had a cookie decorating station, where they could decorate their very own cookie with frosting and sprinkles and eat it. Mrs. Smith had an autograph book for each child, to sign that had a picture of everyone in the class. They then went around to each friend and had him/her sign by their picture. What fun! Tyson and the boys. From L to R: Christopher, Tyson, Sam, Issac, Miguel, Davis, Connor and Andrew. These little men were such good friends this year. It is too bad that next year they switch them all up into different classes.

Tyson's best buds, Connor and Davis. Davis's mom already has play dates scheduled for these guys through out the summer. In fact, one of them is this Friday. These boys want to stay in touch no matter if school is going or not. I am so glad that Tyson could make such great friends. He deserved it after moving around so much!The Miracle Lady. Mrs. Smith was one of a kind. She taught a lot like my mom. She was good with the kids, and made them tow the line, which I think is very important for kids to learn at a young age. I wish she taught 1st grade. We would be signing up already. So we chalk up this first year of school down in the record books, or the blog, and are ready to enjoy the summer and then be a FIRST GRADER!!!

My Little Piano Player

2011-05-23T16:22:00.000-07:00

This video speaks for itself. Here is Taryn in her Internet debut singing "The 4th Article of Faith" while playing the piano. Multi-talented Child!!!

Last Soccer Game

2011-05-21T14:42:00.000-07:00

My little all star soccer player. Tyson has been playing soccer with Upward Soccer this spring.
Today was his last game, and by the look on his face you can tell it was a good one. We started soccer without knowing anything about it. Tyson wanted to play so bad that we took a plunge and 3 months later he has turned into a pretty good little player.

Here is our little player running towards the ball. Tyson was always in the middle of the pack trying to get the ball away from the other team. Tyson and Zander. These two became fast friends on the first day of practice. (Zander reminds us of Tyson's buddy on St. Marteen: Peyton Laney) These two worked well together on the field. They would pass to each other and look where the other was to pass the ball and get it up the field.Everyone received one of these cool soccer trophies. This is Tyson's first trophy and he thought he was pretty neat. Not only did he get the trophy, play a great game, and have fun, but he also got this really nice back pack. Sweet! Now I don't have to buy a new back pack for school next year! He had such a great time playing soccer that we will do it again next spring. It was a great program. They really emphasised learning the basics, team work and having fun. I really enjoyed it, and I know that Tyson loved it! Great Job buddy!

School For The "Old Dog"

2011-05-19T19:00:00.000-07:00

They say, "You can't teach an old dog new tricks," but I am about to break the mold on that one. In less than 3 weeks I will be returning to the world of a college student. YIKES!!! I won't lie, I am very petrified, not just scared, but petrified. It has been 11 years since I graduated college and so much has changed since then. This class in an online class, which I have never done. It does have its up side:
I can go to class anytime during the day
I don't have to be dressed up, I can go to class in my P.J.'s

The down side is:
No professor to talk to, have to send an email and it will take 24 hours to get a response back
The grade is based on responding to the chat room and 4 different papers
I haven't had an stimulating "English" based conversation in 6 years
I haven't written in about 11 years.

I think that my biggest fear is not being able to articulate my words the right way. For the past 6 years, my conversations have been with my children 5 1/2 and 2 1/2. I can tell you anything you want to know about Bakugans, Beyblades, He-man, Star Wars, Cars, Disney Princesses and Strawberry Shortcake, but to talk about literary terms and use them correctly, let's just say I am worried. I bought the book for the course about 3 weeks ago and have been reading in it every other night, highlighting and labeling all the important information, (at least I think it is important).
The main reason for me going back to school is to renew my teaching license so that I can work again. I need 6 credits, two classes, to accomplish this. I feel very out of my element. Hopefully, as the class progresses so will my cognitive thinking process.

Tyson Making a Goal!

2011-05-15T13:32:00.000-07:00

Since I cannot find time to write about what we have been up to, I decided to put on a few videos of the kids and their activities. This first video is Tyson playing soccer. During this clip he makes the first goal for his team in last Saturday's game. He has really caught on to the dynamics of the game. He amazes Vaughn and I at how well he does. Good Job buddy!

We Were MIA.......for a long time....but now we are back!

2011-04-10T18:48:00.001-07:00

I know that it has been a long time since I last blogged, (like about 3 1/2 months) and for that I apologize. A lot of stuff happened in our little Jackson family the day after Christmas. In light of the fact that catching up for the last 3 months might actually never happen, and to explain everything in detail is another lost cause, I will just give a brief summation of the day after Christmas. DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS Vaughn's health had not been the best 4 days prior to Christmas. He was able to watch the kids open up their Christmas presents, but then he was back in bed for the rest of the day. The next day, which was Sunday, he did not improve, in fact he got worse. He looked like "death warmed over" and by about 8 pm that evening he was so bad that I put my foot down and took him to the Emergency Room. After waiting for about 3 hours, we found out that Vaughn had CML Leukemia. The reality of this hit us like a ton of bricks. He has always been so healthy, never sick, and now this! What the *&%$! He was immediately admitted to the hospital and I spent the night there. Luckily I had a very good family watching over my children. Neither of us slept and by 6 am I was on the road to pick up the children and tell them what was going on. That was the hardest conversation I have ever had to have. Tyson thought his daddy was going to die, right now, and it took me about a week to convince him otherwise. Over the months of January and February Vaughn was in and out of the hospital four different times. It was the hardest two months of my life and the lives of my family. We were so lucky to have a great ward out here, step up and help out where ever we needed it. We have also been so blessed with the many phone calls, texts, letters, cards, money, love and support from our families and friends. Heavenly Father has heard and answered many prayers on our behalf and Vaughn is on the mends. The leukemia is being managed with a chemo pill that he takes every day, and is close to being in remission which is our primary goal! We have been so blessed that the doctors who take care of Vaughn have been exceptional. We couldn't have been in a better place or have better doctors who have been so good in taking care of Vaughn and my whole family. We have just been SO VERY, VERY BLESSED! My prayers have been answered and the Lord has seen fit to let me keep my husband for a while longer. That is the biggest blessing in my life. I pray everyday that he lets me keep him one more day. Vaughn is my best friend, my comic relief and my eternal companion, and I cannot imagine life without him. So with that said........We, as a family, have changed our perspective on life. The material things of this life that used to matter to us, no longer have that meaning. What matters is FAMILY and spending time with each other as much as we can. Thanks to everyone who has helped us and prayed for us. We love you all and appreciate all you have done for us!! And a special thank you to our Heavenly Father who has blessed us immensely. We are eternally grateful for what we have been given.

Merry Christmas 2010

2010-12-25T17:57:00.000-08:00

Santa Claus came to the Jackson house! I figured these two would have gotten up at the crack of dawn, but I was wrong and BOY was I GLAD I was wrong. Since I spent the night putting Christmas together, I was glad that they decided to sleep in. So Christmas officially started for us at 9 a.m. That is the latest I have ever opened gifts. YES!

Taryn was so happy to get her "Princess Kitchen" and Tyson was over joyed for his "Wolf Mountain." That made the long night before worth all the time and effort it took to put it all together.

They just wanted to play with what Santa had brought them. It actually took some coaxing to get them to open their other gifts.

Tyson got a REAL bow with REAL arrows from Grandma and Papa Jackson. He wanted to go out and shoot it right then and there. (If Vaughn had felt better I think this would have happen)

Poor Vaughn, he was able to come down stairs and watch the kids open up gifts and open up his own, but then the Vertigo over took him and he went back upstairs to lay down.

The Bat Cave. Tyson wanted this FOREVER! Thanks Grandma T. This will provide lots of fun for this kid and for Taryn as well.

Princess Clothes. Thanks Grandma Jackson. Taryn had to put them on right after she opened them up. Too Cute!

Pinkalicious stuff. OH BOY! Taryn has just started to like "Pinkalicious" and so to get anything to do with her lit up Taryn's little face.

Here is one of the Princess Costumes......more to come.

The Princess in the Princess Kitchen. This was so darn cute to watch. I could have watched her play all day.

Tyson loved handing out the presents to everyone and then looking for ones that have his name on them to open up. I love watching the eyes of children when opening up a gift. There is nothing like it!

"Beauty and the Beast" We have rented this DVD from the library ever since we moved to Knoxville and Taryn finally has a copy all her own. She said, "This is Taryn's movie." Yep sis, this is yours. (We watched it twice today)

Cookin' up some "fake" hot dogs in the Princess Kitchen.

I started a tradition a few years back of making cinnamon rolls on Christmas Eve to eat for breakfast Christmas morning. They are delicious. I look forward to them every year.

Everything has been opened and now we PLAY!

After opening up the gifts, and breakfast, Vaughn headed back upstairs to lay down for a while. So the kids and I got all dressed in our new Christmas clothes and took pictures. Notice Taryn's pulled face. I told her to smile and this is what I got. HA HA HA

Take Two......she is still PULLING THE SMILE. (come on sis, you are killin' me)

Wouldn't ya know it! Now Taryn decides to smile NORMAL and Tyson does that! Geeze....I couldn't win. Oh well. They make for fun pictures. It was a good Christmas.

It Is Christmas Eve & All Through The House.......

2010-12-24T20:46:00.000-08:00

Everyone else is asleep but momma is trying to put together Christmas, namely one "Princess Kitchen." The funny thing about this is that I had talked to my friend Jenny earlier in the day and she said, "Ah, you can knock that thing out in 30 minutes." Well 30 minutes turned into 1 hour and 30 minutes. What ding-a-ling decided that this little kitchen needed 100 pieces to put together? Where is the snap, snap you are done version?

My happy face before I looked at the instructions. Funny thing is, that I should have taken a picture after I looked at the instruction. The expression was sheer panic!! The instructions were so VAGUE!

This is only half the pieces, the other half are behind me in this picture.

(Notice the concentration) I am flying solo building this toy for Taryn since Vaughn has something terribly wrong with him and has been in bed for the past 3 days. Needless to say, I could really use some of his brains and muscle right now but it isn't going to happen. Thank goodness I had a mom that taught me how to put things together. Otherwise I would be in deep crap right about now!

This little "Princess Kitchen" came with a vague instruction booklet and 30 tiny screws that really don't fit into the holes they are suppose to go into. Who came up with this?

Am I done yet?

AH! Finally! The darn thing is done. Why can't toy makers produce toys that are put together friendly? It took me an hour and 25 minutes to put this little project together. Next year, if it has to be put together I am either not buying it or I am paying someone to put it together. Or better yet, I will put it together 5 nights before and hide it in the attic. Then all I have to do is bring it out on Christmas Eve and go to bed.

Santa is finished for the night. And all looks well.

My Santa tree. I have been collecting and receiving Santa ornaments for years now. And I just love my tree. Tyson doesn't like the fact that it doesn't have a star on the top. Sorry son. Santa tops this tree.

Well.........here is the spread the night before Christmas. I wish I could hold this picture in time, because I love it when all the gifts are wrapped, Santa has come and there is a CALM about the whole Christmas HOOPLA! 6 hours from now this will all be a memory....LET THE GAMES BEGIN!

In An Instant.......

2010-12-24T12:45:00.000-08:00

We as human beings take so much for granted, it is just human nature to do this. One thing I think we all take for granted the most is our health. We never question our well being until it becomes compromised and then we remember to be grateful for good health. This concept has hit our family hard the past few days.
Wednesday, Vaughn called me from the hospital to come and get him, said he was too dizzy to drive. I picked him up from work, brought him home and put him to bed. He slept for about 20 hours and then woke up Thursday morning, still just as dizzy as the day before. He was unable to keep any food or liquid down if he sat up or stood up. But if he stayed in bed then he could drink a little bit and eat some.
Thursday afternoon he said it was serious and so we took him back to the hospital to be seen by one of his faculty doctors. The kids and I waited for 2 hours in the lobby while they did all kinds of tests on him. Finally, they told us they thought it had something to do with his inner ear. So we were sent over to the Ears, Nose and Throat doctors (ENTs). There, they gave him a few more tests and then sent him home. They figure something is blocking the inner ear thus causing the vertigo, but they cannot see anything blocking it. We picked up a band of prescriptions and brought him back home, where he has been in bed ever since.
I have never seen him this sick. And he confesses that he has never been this sick in his life. I am so grateful for all the prayers, blessings, calls, food and just general concern that has come our way. Thank you everyone! We will just pray that what ever is ailing his body soon repairs itself and he is made whole again. I also pray that myself and the children stay healthy and are able to take care of Vaughn.
(On another note, besides having Vaughn sick, Wednesday night Tyson threw up all in his bed and so Taryn and I slept down stairs on the couch cushions while Tyson slept in her tiny bed and Vaughn slept in our bed. Tyson is now feeling better, but was very sick yesterday while at the hospital. What a way to spent Christmas.)

A Garble Of Things

2010-12-20T12:25:00.001-08:00

WHO KNEW CHOCOLATE CHIPS WOULD MAKE ME THE MOM OF THE YEAR!
The other day the kids asked for pancakes. As I was in the process of making the batter, I saw some chocolate chips and thought, "Hmmm, wonder if the kids would like chocolate chips in their pancakes?" So I cooked the pancakes to look like Mickey Mouse shapes and then used the chocolate chips to make the face. When the kids came to eat they were astonished to see the Mickey Mouse chocolate chip pancakes. They scarfed down the pancakes and then asked for more. Tyson said I was the best mom! YEAH! Finally, I did something right and all it took was a few chocolate chips. It would have been nice to have known this little tid bit of information a long time ago.

CHRISTMAS SINGING
For the past month I have been practicing with the ward choir for our Christmas program. I have been singing Alto, which is completely out of my element, but I went with it. My mom has always sang Alto and I the Soprano parts of music, so for me to sing Alto has been a bit difficult. Anyways, we sang during our ward sacrament meeting and during the stake's Christmas Program. I have been really nervous for these two performances, and so have been privately practicing on my own, just so I didn't screw up! The choir's performances were wonderful and I didn't sound too bad either. I kind of like singing Alto. It is still hard for me to find the tone, but with practice, it will get better.

4 DAYS TILL CHRISTMAS
Christmas is approaching quickly. Faster than I want it to. I love the anticipation of the season, the decor, looking for good deals on gifts, and the time to really think about Jesus and his birth. I love that during this time of year, that becomes more thought of than any other time of year. This year, the kids bought a gift for someone else and gave it to the Toys for Tots. It did my heart good to see them give to someone else and be happy about it. I hope my children really learn the true meaning of Christmas, (and enjoy the gifts) but really understand that this is a time to do service for others and to be thankful for Jesus and all he has done for us.
On another note, my shopping is all done, the gifts are almost wrapped, baking is finished and now I can just sit back and enjoy the holidays and my family.

Snow Day

2010-12-13T18:46:00.000-08:00

Mark this in the "Books" we had a SNOW DAY here in Knoxville. What the heck? I was shocked. There was maybe 1/2 an inch and they called a snow day. Holy cow! It has to snow 2 feet back home for the buses not to run to school, for them to call a snow day. I laugh just thinking about it. So we took advantage of the so called snow and went out in the back yard for a good snowball fight.
Here are the kiddos all bundled up making their snowballs. Needless to say, I won! I usually will let my kids beat me in all other games, except when it comes to snow. I hate to be cold, so I won! (I know, I am a mean mom, but hey, survival of the fittest!) But the kids had a ball dodging and throwing snowballs and we played until Taryn said, "I'm done."

Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

2010-12-10T18:18:00.000-08:00

What is this crap on the ground? I thought I left it all back in Michigan, but it found me!!! I couldn't believe it when we woke up to snow the other day. Okay, so this isn't complete snow, it is just a skiff, but enough to freak people out around here. People were CRAZY drivers. I was scared just to drive among them. Not for the fact that I have to drive on the little bitty skiff of snow, but for the fact that all the Knoxville drivers had no clue how to drive on it. I watched several cars spin out and skid off of the road. YIKES!! Thank goodness for us, the snow melted by noon and all was well with the world. Tyson was thrilled at the snow and so ready to get his sled out and go sledding. HA HA HA. I hated to burst his bubble, but I told him that it was going to take a lot of snow for that to happen.
We had our Ward Christmas party and Santa came. Tyson informed me, the second he walked in, that it wasn't the REAL Santa, because his beard wasn't right. He then wanted to know why someone was impersonating the real Santa. (this kid is too smart for his own good). So I had to explain that Santa has a lot of helpers this time of year, because he can't be every place at once.
So........last night I took the kids to the Cedar Bluff Library to see the REAL Santa. Here they are patiently waiting in line to see him. I was informed, again, by my son that this Santa was the real Santa. I implored why this one was real and the one the night before wasn't? This is what he said, "Two things mom. One, he has a real beard. And Two, I heard him ask another child what they wanted for Christmas. So that makes him the REAL one." Okay! Perfect logic!
I didn't think that Taryn would sit on his lap, and I spent most of the time standing in line coaxing her about telling Santa what she wanted. He was an excellent Santa. He told her how pretty her pink coat was and that did it. She was all about that white haired man. (side note: she loves to be told how pretty she is or how nice her clothes are, what a diva) Taryn even smiled for a picture with Santa. YES!
Tyson also told Santa what he wanted and made sure that Santa knew where he lived and that he had been a really good boy this year. I love this time of year and having kids makes it that much more fun. I can't wait until Christmas day when they see what "Santa" brought them.

Do You Shop BLACK FRIDAY? I do.......

2010-11-26T18:29:00.000-08:00

Oh yes, I braved the crowds at Target this morning at 3 AM and waited outside in the rain and somewhat cold weather for that blessed hour of 4 AM to come and open the doors to savings. OKAY, so it wasn't that cool, but I did get some great deals on the things I wanted and I was pretty much up towards the middle of the line, so when I got into Target there were still carts and the people weren't that crazy.
I about didn't go anywhere this year, because most of the things I have wanted I have procured during the past few months during different sales. But my little princess, Taryn, recently saw a Disney Princess Kitchen on TV and has decided that was what she wanted for Christmas. I about died because they have been priced anywhere from 60-100 dollars. HOLY COW! That is a little steep for me to buy something that expensive for a 2 year old. So, I have searched all the stores' adds for this little prize but to no avail, until yesterday before Thanksgiving dinner. I looked at Target's add and there it was, the prized kitchen for 40 dollars. I knew, right then and there, I was getting up early to brave the craziness of it all to get her that kitchen.
So when I pulled up to Target at 3 AM I thought I would be in good standings for the line. JEEZ! I was SO wrong. Luckily I beat the rush of people and ran to a spot and wasn't about to be pushed out of it. When I did finally get into the store I figured I would be out of luck and all of the kitchens would be gone. Lucky for me, I got to the section of the store where they were located and sure enough, 2 left. Target workers were handing out the merchandise from behind a little rope thing, (like that was going to save them from the throng of crazy shoppers). Another lady and I both asked them for the kitchens and luckily there were 2 left, one for me and one for her; otherwise I was going to have to show her how we WESTERN girls do things!!! HA HA HA. Actually I probably would have grabbed it and ran as fast as I could to a check out line before she knew what happened, but luck was on my side and I didn't have to show off my sprinting skills, which are not as good as they once were!
Now the coveted item it safely put away awaiting Christmas day and the excitement of my little one's face when she sees what Santa brought her. I LOVE BEING A PARENT!!!!
(on a side note, I also got board games for 2 dollars a piece and some great door buster items. I just love the rush of the sale)

A Real Reason To Be Thankful

2010-11-24T20:31:00.000-08:00

My sister and brother-in-law are going to have a baby!!!!! I am so excited. She is due June 13, 2010, and this soon to be auntie couldn't be happier! This is their first child and since they live 1 1/2 hours from my mom, grandma will actually have a grandchild close enough to see whenever she wants. I am just thrilled. This is the announcement she sent me over the email to tell me that she was expecting. I was so excited when I read it I yelled for joy! They will make such good parents. We are so excited for you two.

Turkey, Rolls and Randomness

2010-11-20T17:41:00.000-08:00

Tyson's very own turkey. He had another project at school to make this turkey and decorate it any way he wanted to. He wanted to color it all first and then finish it up by using puff paint, and feathers. This project was completed all by him. I merely watched and gave support. I am so proud of him. Good job buddy!

HA! I finally have mastered the making of rolls. Now before all of this I have tried countless times to make rolls with much failure. They were either not fully baked, very very heavy or dry. Either way they were not good. But I kept trying. Well.....the other night at RS meeting the bishop taught us all how to make Lion House Rolls. OH SO EASY!! I love this recipe. It is made just for those like me who suck with yeast. I came home and baked my rolls, with the dough he gave us and they were good. So the next day I tried to duplicate the rolls again and guess what, I DID IT!! I really did it. I was able to make light and fluffy, yummy rolls. I am now off of the failure list of making rolls. Check that off the list.

Don't they look yummy?

Vaughn is such a sweet daddy. Taryn loves to be with him. He went to go and change the oil in the truck and she wanted to go with him. She loves him and gives him tons and tons of hugs. TOO CUTE!

So Thankful

2010-11-17T18:39:00.001-08:00

I know this time of year we are to think about the things that we are thankful for; which is something we should be doing all year. My little family has been so very, very blessed that I just have to thank my Heavenly Father for all the blessings, obstacles, and life that He has given me. Being in medical school wasn't the easiest thing in this world and not something we want to do over, but WOW, it taught us, and me personally, tons and I learned so much about myself and what I am capable of during hard times and good times. I am so thankful for obstacles and those "road bumps" that come into our lives. (Yes, you heard me right. I am thankful for the hard times) Those bumps and obstacles made me a better person and taught me life lessons I needed to learn. And I know that my Heavenly Father wouldn't leave me during those hard time, and that He was with me all the way, sometimes holding my hand.
We have been so blessed to have lived in some awesome places, and though they were and are far away from family back west, we have been able to see, do and be cultured in so many ways that we wouldn't have been had we stayed home.
In a nutshell, I am just so grateful for all that we have. We aren't millionaires, but we are a close family, who loves each other and finds joy in the small and simple things in life. And to me that is what counts, not the money or the fame, but family and love.

A New Look/ A Free Day at The Knoxville Zoo

2010-11-13T17:16:00.000-08:00

(bad picture)It doesn't look that different in the picture, but believe me when I say it is very different. A few months ago I needed a hair cut. I have not known where to go and decided that since I just needed a trim the Great Clips place would suffice. NOTE TO SELF: NEVER DO THAT AGAIN! Needless to say, it was a disaster and I ended up coming home crying at the butcher job the lady gave me. Vaughn had to take some of his surgical scissors and try to even out what the so-called hairstylist did. It was a nightmare and it has taken me this long to feel comfortable to go to another stylist. I talked to a lady at church who has darling hair and found out who she goes to have her hair cut and styled. I ended up calling "Pure Luxe" Salon and booked me an appointment. It was WONDERFUL! The stylist, Kristie, was so nice and really listened when I told her what I wanted my hair to look like. The whole place was so inviting and luxurious. I could have stayed in the motorized, massaging, hair washing chair the whole time. Everything was so professional and nice and I knew that I would like what ever it was she did. I ended up keeping my bob and just shortening up the back. She also gave me some soft bangs, which at first I wasn't too sure about, but now I love them. AH!!! I feel like a real, pretty looking mama again. Thanks to my mom for sending me the money for the hair cut, I can actually enjoy doing my hair again. (There is just something about getting your hair done for a woman. It can make you feel so much better about yourself and your appearance)So, after the enjoyable hair cut, I went home to find out what we were going to do for the rest of this fine Saturday. Vaughn actually had the day off. YAHOO!! What family activity can we do that is reasonably cheap, but fun too, the ZOO! And come to find out that today was the Zoo's annual Free Day. Yes, we went on the free day and I can honestly say I will not ever do that again. However, it was enjoyable and crazy and funny, but it was SO crowded!

The zoo gate workers informed us that there was about 13,000 people there at the time we arrived. YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING! Holy crap! It was like sheep herding back home. Just wall to wall people, and Yes, we saw Knoxville's Finest! HA HA HA. I have never seen so many missing teeth and heard so many southern drawls as I did that day. It was just a sea of people, and to look at an exhibit meant we had to push our way to the front.

Luckily for us, the kids were in good spirits and loved seeing the animals among the throng of people.

This is one of the zoo's pride and joy; the red panda. Kinda looks like a cross between a fox, small bear and a raccoon.

We got to see the zoo keepers hose down the female elephants for a bath. Then we came outside of the exhibit to see the giant male elephant. Taryn wanted to go for a ride on him. HA HA HA.

Taryn with her daddy. So cute. She has that daddy wrapped around her little finger. It is only going to get worse with age.

My little monkey boy. This actually fits Tyson. He still has a trace of those kissable, chubby cheeks he used to have as a baby.

The white tiger was not up for the mass of visitors and so decided to sleep for the duration of the day.

Two happy parents with two happy kids. Even though it was the most crowded place I have ever been to, we had an enjoyable time and have been talking about it all day.

The Smoky Mountains

2010-11-08T19:16:00.000-08:00

Here we are at the Smoky Mountains. I have always heard about them in Country songs but never thought I would be able to see them with my own eyes. Very beautiful.

Cute family picture by this pretty little pond outside of Cades Cove.

He is preparing to skip rocks. He is in the "ZONE."

Miss Cheezer herself. If there is a camera snapping, she is all about being in the picture with the biggest grin you have ever seen.

These two really love each other. Vaughn and I lucked out with our kids. They hardly fight, they love each other so much that when the other is gone it is a sad time until they reunite. I am so grateful that they want to play and be with each other.

Look at this picture perfect scenery. It is just breathtaking, and it looks like home....

The trees were acorn trees. Everywhere we walked, the kids were bending down to pick up acorns. Tyson's pockets were full of them. And Taryn kept trying to call a squirrel over to her to feed it.

The first thing we did when we got to the Smoky Mountains was eat! I mean, who can walk around these vast and beautiful mountains on an empty stomach. So we BBQ it up and cooked some hamburgers, hot dogs, chips and drinks.

Then it was off to drive the Cades Cove loop. I heard it was pretty awesome and had some of the best views in the mountains. What do you think?

An original log house off in the distance.

Smiley me, loving the trip.

And then there was Vaughn..........poor guy was sick the entire time we were there. He slept through most of it. So I took over the driver's seat and not only drove the whole way but I took the pictures and ran the video camera. You could say I am multi-talented. HA

This is just beautiful. I was taken away by all the trees and colors and just the shear beauty of it all.There are the mountains. They aren't as big as the Rockies but they are still mountains and after not seeing those in 2 years, living in Michigan, it was so nice to see.

I love red leaves. I think they are magical.

Another original cabin.

I love how the light shines through the trees.

We tuckered out the little munchkin. Love it! This is exactly what I love about trips. The sleep on the ride home.

The last beauty shot of the day. We stopped off on the side of the road to see these amazing little waterfalls. It was a great day and I loved every minute of it, and being with our friends the Kabonics made it that much better. They left the day after we went to the Smokys. It was such a wonderful, fast paced weekend. I wish it would have lasted longer, but Wendy and I decided that we need to have yearly family vacations with both families. Yippie! Can't wait to see where we go next year.

The UT vs Alabama Game with the Kabonics

2010-11-07T17:34:00.000-08:00

Every game, this BIG rock on the UT campus is decorated to match the event. It makes for a cool picture. We were fortunate enough to have some girls take our picture in front of it.

The cute Kabonic girls. We waited at this statue for about 1 hour while the boys looked for a parking place. We had fun watching the "Vol" fans walk about and strut their orange and white.We had Avery take this photo of Wendy and I. We were hoping for more of a head shot than a chest shot, but hey.....we take what we can get. Always makes for a good conversational piece.

Then there was this guy. All of the sudden, like he was dropped from the sky, this preacher man whipped out his bible and just starts preaching hellfire and brimstone right there in front of everyone at the Vols game. He told us, in a lot more words than what I am going to tell you, that we were all sinners for going to the game and would rot in hell. Ya, uh huh! Okay. Well I am still here and not rotting in hell, so....................... Let's go on.....

The walk of the VOLS was about to begin and so people were lining the street to watch the parade.

The K-town kids.

The Jackson Crew.

The boys, mixed in the sea of orange.

Cute gals enjoying the festivities.

Here they come......

The UT band played a few pump up songs to get the crowd geared up for the BIG game.

Look at these two boys. They are so cute. Tyson is a ham...

The kids climbing up the painted rock.

Paul and Vaughn went to the game while Wendy, the kids and I stayed to watch the UT Football players come and walk down to the stadium. The hype was well worth the wait. Lots of yelling and a mass of orange and white. Good times. I am glad we got to experience it.

The Kabonics Visit

2010-11-06T18:43:00.000-07:00

Hallelujah!! Hallelujah!! Our best buds "The Kabonics" came to Tennessee to visit us for a fast, fun filled weekend. We all have been best buds for over a decade, OUCH! That makes us all OLD, but we still act young. Just a quick break down of how we all know each other is:
Wendy and I danced together at Dixie College back in 1996 and stayed friends since. I knew Paul AKA "Skinny", that summer while working in Kanab, Utah and have been buds since.
Vaughn and Paul went to high school together in Kanab, Utah and have been best buds ever since. And when Paul and Wendy got married, needless to say it was a wonderful union and our friendships have grown. They came to the Caribbean when we were there 2 1/2 years ago and now they have come to Knoxville to see us again. I love it!
The Boys! Paul and Vaughn, before their trip to the UT football game.

Our families are also very similar. We both have one boy and one girl and the kids are about 1-2 years in age difference, but they get along with out fighting and have so much fun together. Tyson and Cooper were pretty much inseparable.

Taryn loved having Avery come and visit. It was like having a BIG sister in the house and she got to do GIRL things, not just boy things.

The four munchkins were a ball to take around Knoxville. The only sad part of their whole time with us, was that Vaughn had to work most of the time. Oh well, he did get to spend Sat and Sun with us all. So I played tour guide, with my limited abilities, but we did get them around to some of the high lights of Knoxville.

I had to take them down the "Volunteer Walkway." They got to see the Kudzu, the boats all decorated for the big game, Volunteer Landing and the stadium. Hanging out together is so normal, it isn't awkward or difficult to have a great time, even if we are just walking outside. I think it is awesome that we all get along so well.

Happy Halloween 2010

2010-10-31T17:12:00.000-07:00

We want candy! It is another day of Trunk or Treat.

Time to put on the costumes again for the Pellissippi Ward Trunk or Treat. This time we got to decorate our trunk with Halloween decor. The kids were excited to wear their costumes again and I was smarter about Tyson's makeup this time. We used paint for his eyebrows and they worked out tons better than before.(Tyson took the picture) Vaughn dressed up as a cowboy and I was a witch. I love dressing up for Halloween. It's the Halloween parade.

The vampire was unhappy with mom. I was taking too many pictures and he didn't want to show me his vampire teeth. At least the Pumpkin Princess was smiley.

There were a lot of families there with their trunks decorated. I like trunk or treating verses the door to door trick or treating, at least here. I mean, if we were in a place like Circleville or Manassa, which are small towns and you know everyone, we could go door to door trick or treating, but here I just don't dare. Too many crazy people in a big city.

Mr. Marlow is so nice. He had a little girl about Taryn's age and he is always saying hello to us. Taryn learned how to say "Trick or Treat." It was cute to hear her say it to each car.

Iris Marlow and Taryn. They were both pumpkins. Taryn thought it was cool that someone else was a pumpkin like her.

Taryn, Olivia Allred, Tyson and Olivia Olmstead. These girls love Tyson and are his good buddies. The church trunk or treat was a success. They even had some games before the candy began to flow. Thanks to my good buddy Holly Ritter, it was a ball. Thanks Holly for all your work!

Halloween Cookies, Spiders & Pumpkin Carving

2010-10-30T08:19:00.000-07:00

October 30th, the day for our Halloween tradition, a craft and Halloween cookies. We were happy that we could have Olivia over to share in the festivities. (I have been meaning to help our her mom, who just had twins, by having Olivia over but we have been sick and then family comes and then we got sick again. Finally we were all better and without visitors, so we could help her out and have Olivia over for the afternoon to give her mom a break) My kids love to make things. This year we made spiders out of styrofoam balls and pipe cleaners. (I forgot to take pictures of this event) After the spiders we decorated Pumpkins and Ghosts. Instead of making the ghosts white, we frosted them green and the pumpkins orange. The kids had a ball decorating and made all kids of creepy and crazy cookie creations. (say that 5 times fast) Taryn even got into the cookie decorating. I thought she would just lick off the icing, but surprisingly she didn't. She took the candy and made some good looking cookies!
And once the cookies were decorated we all tried one, just to make sure they tasted okay. They were YUMMY! That evening it was time to carve pumpkins. Now usually we would have done this long before now, but I was told that if you carve the pumpkins too early here in Tennessee they will mold and go bad. So that is why we are doing it later.

I was teasing the kids, telling them I would eat the pumpkin. Grossed them out!!! Both my kids are squeamish about sticking their hands into the pumpkin to pull out the "pumpkin guts" as my dad always called them. We had to force Tyson just to stick his hand in last year. This year we didn't have to force but we did have to coax him just a bit. EWW! Gross mom! He was totally grossed out and had a hard time cleaning out the pumpkin, but I gotta give the kid props, he did clean MOST of it out. Now getting the munchkin to help out was a whole other issue. She first had to have her shirt off like Tyson. (She wants to do everything her big brother does). Then she would look into the pumpkin and say "No Way." But after a while she did stick her hand it and grab some "guts" but then quickly said,"That yucky mommy." My kids are pansies! The vampire pumpkin!

We also carved a Tennessee T pumpkin, in honor of where we live. GO VOLS!!

Our scary pumpkins. I love this time of year and all of the fun activities it brings. Happy Halloween.

Halloween Story Hour/CBES Trunk or Treat

2010-10-28T20:53:00.000-07:00

My little Pumpkin Fairy! This year for Halloween Taryn was finally old enough to get the whole dress up thing and I really wanted to dress her up like a princess, but...............she had other ideas. She wanted to be a pumpkin. Really? Okay, I looked all around for a cute pumpkin costume, but to no avail. I have been trying all month to coax her into the whole princess costume theme, but she wasn't hearing it. Finally I found this costume. It even said on it "Pumpkin Fairy." Okay, I can compromise with this. Half pumpkin, half fairy. Works for me and it worked for the munchkin as well.She had to have picture with the scary man in her costume.

Wednesdays I take Taryn to the library for Toddler Story time with Miss Dyane. She is such a fun little lady and this week was dress up in your costume story time. Taryn enjoyed the little stories and the party afterwards, and then she was ready to get the pumpkin fairy costume off. Luckily I anticipated this to happen and brought other clothes.

On Thursday, Tyson's elementary school had their annual "Trunk or Treat". Each class had to decorate up a trunk with a "Literature Theme." Really? I can't use anything about Halloween? ARG!! So the other ladies, who are room moms with me, came up with the book Run Run As Fast As You Can, You Can't Catch Me I Am The Gingerbread Man. It was the first book that Mrs. Smith, their teacher, read to them at the beginning of the year. So we thought it was fitting to use for the trunk. We had the kids decorate gingerbread men. We were fortunate enough to team up with another Kindergarten class so we had TONS of gingerbread men. I thought it turned out really cute!

My little Vampire and Pumpkin Fairy. It took almost 30 minutes to get Tyson's makeup just the way he wanted it. (I am no make up artist. I can hardly do my own everyday make up). He wanted it to be just perfect. And then it was time to curl Taryn's hair, which never holds a curl for more than 2 minutes. Needless to say, we used lots of hair spray to make it stay.

The child Vampire.

Miss Pumpkin Fairy.

"I want to suck your blood."

Totally not paying any attention to the picture I was trying to take.

These were two of the mom's who helped hand out candy from the two classes.

The kids and I were able to Trunk or Treat at the front of the line because I was a worker at the deal. We went through and got lots and lots of candy, and then the kiddos had to stay in the car while I handed out candy for the rest of the night. (Vaughn was on call and unable to be there) They were troopers and didn't eat as much candy as I thought they would. However, they did consume some but not enough to have them bouncing off of the walls.

Kind of a bad picture of Mrs. Smith. (She turned as I took the picture) She was great to help out with my kids while I handed out candy and while we set up the trunk at the beginning. Tyson just loves her for a teacher and so do I. She is wonderful. The Trunk or Treat lasted till about 7:30 p.m and then it was a while before we could leave the parking lot, seeing as how we were all shoved into these tiny little spots and had to leave in domino style to get on to the road. The kids and I had McDonald's for dinner, which they totally loved and all became right with the world. Check off one more thing on the to do list this week, now it is on to spider making and Halloween cookies.