Chief Mountain

MacKenzie and Jackson climbed Chief Mountain this afternoon while I was at home studying. They had a nice hike, but decided it was still far too snowy to take the family up next weekend. I'm glad he scouted it out for us.

MacKenzie at the top of the mountain looking down on creation. Look at those dirty little paws. She came home and was promptly showered.
Jackson only had his iPhone camera so this is not the highest quality photo, but you get the point that it was an awesome view.

Jackson came home with this nasty bloody leg. He fell through some snow and he thinks a rock cut him. I almost vomited and ushered him to the shower just as quickly as the dirty little dog got ushered there. He also thinks that he sprained his ankle. People ask why we don't have kids. This is why: I've got a 33-year-old kid to watch over! ;)

Study buddy

It never ceases to amaze me how much studying bores MacKenzie. I was sitting there in the empty spot on the couch hunched over my notes studying and soon I hear her snoring! She was sawing logs right behind me. I just laughed and then stood up to snap a picture with my iPhone. (What did people do before picture phones? Honestly.) I feel her pain, though. Studying for finals is getting old. Thankfully, this is my LAST time to study for a graduate school final. WOOT! :) (Notice all of the hedge language about last final as I just might get into law school and have finals again.)

Side note: When I got online to post this photo, I notice that my computer had turned on iChat. My grandma was sending me messages so I chatted with her for a little bit. I'm always so impressed with my Grandma for her computer usage. She is at a hotel in Alabama for the night on the way to meet Baby Alex for the first time. They are driving all the way from southern Florida. It is such a long drive. Anyway, this means that Grandma is not only on the internet, but travels with her computer. That's pretty awesome. It was nice chatting with you , Grams. I love you! Congratulations on keeping up with the times.

Daily dose of cuteness

My sister sent me photos of Alex this morning. He is such a cute little guy.
Again with he is so cute that her choice of fishing attire cannot keep him down.
I much prefer the baby pacifier (this big blue one see above) to the big boy pacifier in his fishing photo. I don't want him to be doing "big boy" things already- he's not even 2 months old yet. I really appreciate any photos I get of the little guy. I just love him!

Jackson is certain everyone is sick of seeing me post about Alex. I assured him that I read blogs that are only about people's kids so I can post about my nephew from time to time. Hmp!

Daniels Park

We got up early this morning and ran errands. It was so hot here this morning that we were certain that we would be too hot to hike, but a storm-front rolled in and cooled everything down. We decided to try a new hiking place called Daniels Park. It was a fun, easy hike.
Normally, you would see the mountains in this photo. Darn clouds!
You can still get a feel for how pretty it was up at the park.
You can somewhat see "Devil's Head" mountain in the distance.
There was this stone at the top of the trail that I thought was pretty neat. There were signs everywhere about rattlesnakes. Thankfully, we did not see a single snake. Whew.

That was about it. I took the day off from my studies as my brain literally ached after yesterday's study marathon. I felt like the exam went really well, though, so that was awesome.

Small Graduate

We found this little mortar board hat today and had to buy it for MacKenzie. Does she not looks so stinkin' cute?! Oh my goodness. I cannot take it. She hated it. We just laughed. It's terrible. I can't wait to take a picture of the two of us in our hats! :)

Fountain of Youth

This is my oldest brother, Aaron, and his son, Justin. Don't they look so much alike? I always tell Justin that it must be nice to know what you're going to look like when you get older. Can you believe that Aaron is 37?! He looks so young. He needs to pass on those youthful tips to his baby sister (besides the whole running mini-marathons in ridiculous times because that's not just happening here). Aaron is seriously the best dad to Justin and I'm so proud of him.

Do I not have the best nieces and nephews ever? I know. I'm so proud of all of them. :)

Grace and Grammy

This is a photo of Susie and Grace on CeCe's 10th birthday. I love it! I always tell people that if I could be promised a little GIRL as cute as CeCe that I'd get pregnant tomorrow. I just think she's such a doll. Grace is so lucky to have such a good Grammy to celebrate life's special days with her! Anyway, I it seems that Grace had a great birthday which is exactly what she deserved. :)

Cute little guy!

I slept in this morning. It was great. Then to start my day off right, I had photos of Alex in my inbox. It doesn't get much better than that for this proud Aunt. The photo above is my FAVORITE. I love him with his pacifier in his mouth. I just think it is the cutest thing.

Here is he with Grandma Carolyn- Guy's Mom. Carolyn and Kylie used to work together at Sears when Kylie was in high school so I'm sure Carolyn was happy to meet her precious little guy.
I like this one, too, because he looks like a grumpy old man. It makes me laugh. Thanks for the photos, Mom! They're just what I needed to wake up to on the day of a 3 hour final. :)

Twins!

I'm so happy to report that my best friend from college, Danielle, had her twins yesterday. Their names are Reef Kain and River Kai. They were born at 8:00 a.m. with Reef weighing 6lb 15 oz and River at 6lb 2 oz. Can you believe that she carried those big babies around for 38+ weeks? Whoa. Congratulations Danielle and Jaysen! We cannot wait to meet your little bundles of joy! Also, here's wishing Danielle a speedy recovery from her C-section. Love you, D!

Bragging rights

I just wanted to take a quick blog post to brag on how great my husband is. It has obviously been a busy time for us with tax season wrapping up and then graduate school coming to a close. Jackson has gone to grocery store nearly every single time we've gone since January, I think. Last night we picked up our comforter from the dry cleaners only for MacKenzie to have an accident on it. GRR! So this evening Jackson took all of our bed clothes to a laundromat. (Side note: there are not many laundromats in the greater-Denver area. The one that he found was, well, questionable at best. I met him there after my class tonight to keep him company. I felt quite thankful that I was not there alone.) When I need time to study he gets out of the house. (Poor kid has to go golfing or to the driving range quite a bit. Let me get my sympathy ready. Oh, wait. No.) He helped me recover our bench- again. He helped clean the carpets. And to top it all off, we got his report card in the mail today and he got another "A" in his graduate school class. YAY! He's taking the summer off of school so that we figure out where we're going to land, but I know that when he goes back he'll do just as well. I love you, Jackson, thanks for all of your support, help and love. You're the best and I'm so proud of you!

Outta Dodge

I am seriously ready to get the heck out of Denver. I thought today about the fact that, after next month, we have nothing keeping us here. (I have to finish this Auditing class to be eligible for the CPA exam so even after graduation I'll still be a student. Eek.) That's a freeing feeling. People keep asking me if I'm excited to graduate. Of course I am. I'm not excited to be finished with school- I love school- but I'm ready to cut ties with Denver. Isn't that sad? I can never put my finger on just why I haven't taken to Denver like I expected to. I just have not. I appreciate my time here. I think I've grown into a much more independent person. I think Jackson and I have grown as a couple. MacKenzie has survived a scary attack and is stronger for it (or so I tell myself. She's not talking about it.).

In addition to leaving Denver, I'm excited at the thought of having evenings. I cannot imagine having all 5 evenings to do whatever I want. Holy cow. I'm excited to read for fun. I have a long list of books to catch up on. I'm excited to make travel plans and not worry about timing of a class, exam or project. That has not really ever stopped me, but it has been annoying. I'm just plain excited. We still do not know for sure where we'll end up next, but I'm ready.

Jackson- let's roll!

Vegas, Baby, Vegas

In just about a month, Jackson and I will be staying at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada with my Dad and Step-mom, Diana. We're super excited as Dad and Diana certainly know their way around Vegas and will be excellent tour guides. (No pressure. Ha! ;) I do think they've been there at least 10 times.) We're hoping to win some cash while we're there. :) Hey, a girl can dream, right? ;) We also fully intend to watch "The Hangover" again while on the plane to Vegas on Thursday June 24th. YAY! :)

Happy Birthday, Grace & Tom!

Today we are wishing our dear little Grace "CeCe" Coomes a happy 10th (GASP! My little CeCe is getting so old!) birthday today. Today is also her last day of school and she worried that her birthday would be forgotten in all of the excitement of school ending- I do not think it will be as I hear she's taking in donuts to her classmates. Yum! (Jackson thought her concern about her birthday being forgotten sounded like something I would say. Never. ;)) I cannot wait to take Grace shopping for her birthday present since she'll be here soon! :)

I remember this photo like it was yesterday. Now it is YEARS old. Sigh.

Her dad, Tom, also has a birthday today. I won't advertise how OLD Tom is getting because he makes the world's best sweet tea and I'd hate to be cutoff. ;)

We hope you both have wonderful birthdays today. We love you!

I couldn't resist

My Mom sent me some more adorable photos of Baby Alex last night and I could not resist sharing them. He's so stinkin' cute!
My Mom loves this little bodysuit.
He's getting so big and actually had little rolls on his legs. Unbelievable! Today was Kylie's first day back to work and I think she had a tough day. I'm sure it is hard to leave this cute little guy at home with his nanny. Hopefully the time at work will go quickly for her and she'll be reunited with her little guy before she knows it!

Alex

Oh my goodness. My Stepmom sent me this photo of my little nephew Alex today and my heart melted. Look at that baby goodness. Oh, I love that little guy!!! :) He's just perfect. I cannot believe after how awful Kylie's pregnancy was that he is just so perfect. God is good. :)

Little green

You all know that I LOVE to clean. I had a cleaning shower as one of my bridal showers, folks. I mean it. I love to clean. I find it so relaxing and rewarding. I am also a perfectionist and it helps "restore order to the world." Anyway, I had been longing for this little steam cleaner for what seems like forever. I was so happy to see it for sale in Bed, Bath & Beyond yesterday as I had a $30 off a $100 purchase coupon. I called Jackson when I got home from shopping to see if I could justify spending $70 on a steam cleaning vacuum. We decided it would cost us at least that much to have the carpets cleaned before our family came to town so I got to buy it! Woo hoo! We spent a couple of hours last night steam cleaning our carpets. They look awesome!!! :) (Are we not the world's best renters? I don't think many other renters voluntarily clean carpets. At least not our tenants...) I'm so sore today from all of that manual labor. Seriously. It is kind of sad. In my defense, we did spend like 2.5 hours on our hands and knees scrubbing. The new vacuum gets an A+ from me. I love it. I now have 3 vacuums for an 800 square feet condo. Obsessed with cleaning? Noooo. ;)

A "we made it" present

Yesterday, Jackson got his "we made it" present: a new golf bag! Isn't it pretty?! I loved it. He had been admiring them around his birthday so I waited and got it for him as a graduation present. I feel like he deserves presents for making it through graduate school with me. It has not always been easy. In fact, most of the time, it has been a pain in the butt! I have always had evening classes and have had to spend a lot of time away from my family. Jackson has never complained and has helped out around the house when I was simply too busy to get certain things done. He has gone down to school nearly every quarter and picked up my books because my work schedule was hectic. He's been a champ. Thanks for the support, Jackson! I love you. We made it!!! :)

As you can see, we tested out the new bag with a trip to the driving range last night. Jackson bought himself a new-to-him (used!) Nike driver the other day (golf is an expensive hobby- let me tell you) and he is hitting it very well. We joked that since I sit behind him and tweak things in his swing that I should hang a sign about my coaching services. We would tell people that Jackson just started working with me 2 months ago and already hits drives right down the middle 350+ yards. HA! :) I would make so much money. We thought that was pretty classic. Obviously I am not that much help, but I do know his swing so well that I know when something is off. We're a good team. :)

You might be a bad dad if...

"Mommy, do I look fat today?!" - MacKenzie

you forget to feed your dog so you feed her really late and take her to McDonald's for ice cream! Yes, you read that correctly. Jackson was a little off his fatherly game yesterday while I was at school and mistreated poor MacKenzie. Today she has asked for multiple walks because she feels fat from eating ice cream 2 times in one week. Tisk, tisk Mr. Petefish. ;) (This is just one of the reasons why we're not reproducing.)

Poor little guy!

Today my sister sent out an excited e-mail titled "Big Boy Clothes." I was so excited to see Alex that I promptly rolled out of bed (today is my day off) and came to check him out. Imagine my surprise when I see that she has him in the goofiest baby outfit I've ever seen!
The poor little guy looks like a farmer! It is a good thing that he is so cute that my sister cannot cramp his style even if she tries! :) He was supposedly getting all "dolled up" for Grandma to visit. I figure my sister just wanted my parents to feel at home since this is how most old men in Upland dress. That's just a guess. HA! :) I cannot wait to hold this little guy again! I hope he'll start wearing some of his outfits from Aunt Jenna soon, too.

Squint

It is finally nice in Denver. I was actually able to put my top down on the way to school today. Woo hoo. I told Jackson that if doctors would prescribe convertibles instead of antidepressants, the economy would be healed and so would people. :) It is the best. Jackson is even out playing 9 holes of golf after his work day. (I'm in between classes my two hour classes. Life. is. so. unfair.)

My drive to school made me very aware of something that I do a lot of: squinting. I am convinced that my glasses are aging me by causing me to squint in the sun. I have decided to sell a kidney- I could use the weight loss anyway- to get laser eye surgery. That's it- that's my plan. I will be lighter and on my way to less wrinkles since I'll be able to wear my huge sunglasses whenever I feel the need. Score. I just told Jackson the other day that my mother-in-law sent me an email forward that made me have a panic attack. It was all about aging. I don't want to age. I won't do it. (I don't understand why my friends of similar ages are not freaking out about this. Maybe they are and just aren't as verbal about it as myself. I mean some of them have kids already- eek!) This email said that women get more comfortable with themselves as they age. No they do not. They long to be young again. These people aren't fooling me. I will not go down without a fight.

Anyway, that was an odd tangent, but it took me a little bit to type so I'm not deleting it. Jackson still, thankfully, has a baby face so we can use all of our plastic surgery money on mine! I better start looking for someone who needs a kidney.

Busy little bees

Things have been pretty crazy around here. I actually had the day off today- praise the Lord-so I slept in. It was awesome. I seriously rolled out of bed at 10. After two 14 hour days in a row, I needed some extra sleep. This extra night of class on top of studying for finals just might be the death of me. Jackson has been working on his golf game most evenings. He is really trying to get his back on track. Anyway, today I met Jackson for lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant that is near his office. It was great. We rarely ever get to eat lunch together anymore. After that I came back to the house to do some studying, job hunting and napping with Miss MacKenzie.

Tonight we ran errands and finally went to the grocery store. We'd been putting that off since we returned from San Francisco. MacKenzie got to play "chuck-it" in the yard tonight with her buddy Marla. She then had to get a bath because she was FILTHY! She has no hair right now so the bath was not as traumatic as it usually is for her.

I know that this was the most boring post ever, but that is what has been going on here. Sorry, folks. :)

Macy!

I was having a rough day and then I got this photo of Miss Macy! Thanks, Mom. It made my day. :)

Pup treat

Who could say "no" to this little face?
We took MacKenzie with us for ice cream tonight only to find out that Good Times (a Steak-n-Shake type restaurant) now has special puppy ice cream treats for only $1! It was awesome. It was vanilla custard, three milkbones and a peanut butter sauce. She LOVED it!! We sat out on the patio and let her lick away. She's such a good girl. :)

Happy Graduation (EARLY)

I finished my homework and decided to head to the mall because my Mom & Guy sent me a graduation present that is right up my alley: a Coach bag! I didn't like the one they sent- sorry, Mom- so I exchanged it for this beauty. Mine is actually dark brown. It is really pretty! I am currently upset with Coach's recent gaudy designs, but this one was simple and classic. (I consider myself quite simple i.e. plain and somewhat classic so I thought it worked.) I also got a card this week from my grandparents- thank you!

While I was at the mall I also found my graduation dress. I was in the dressing room trying to zip things up myself and felt very lonely. Just then the girl next to me yells, "SHANNON! I NEED YOUR EXPERT OPINION!" And I may or may not have shed a tear because I missed MY Shannon! :( There are just times that one needs a friend to tell them how it is! (Love you, SRD.) With the help of some store employees- because they're so not biased ;)- I was able to pick out a little black dress. And some new shirts and some new necklaces. Oops. I guess that is what Jackson gets for spending his whole day golfing. :)

Burnt Out

Excuse me while I whine for a minute or two.

Jackson is out golfing and I'm at home cleaning the house and studying. I am so tired of having homework and reading to do. For the next two weeks, I have class on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday night. Next week, in addition to classes 3 nights of the week, I have a 3 hour final on Friday. Then it is Memorial Day weekend which I will spend doing homework for my auditing class and studying for my other final on Wednesday evening. AHHHHH. (When am I going to have time to scrub our condo to have company in town?! I need a clone.)

I am fully aware that the end is in sight, but it feels far away right now. I'm just burnt out on school right now. I want to be able to read for fun! I went to a bookstore the other day and was overwhelmed with how many interesting books were out. I haven't read a single one of them! :(

Even when I graduate I will still have to go to my Monday night auditing class because it is for the CPA exam, not my graduate degree. I have class on my birthday for heaven's sake! That's just wrong. As soon as I finish that class it will be time to go to CPA exam study classes (which are expensive as all get out) so that I can sit for that exam. My. brain. is. so. tired. Seriously. Let's not even talk about that fact that I have to write law school admissions essays soon and prepare for the LSAT.

Excuse me while I go cry because I'm so stressed out.

Driving Range

Last night Jackson and I went to the driving range so that he could practice and I could coach. I'm a pretty good coach- if I do say so myself. ;) Mainly because he's already so good that all I have to say is "slow down" and he hits it like a champ. He had a great practice session.

As I mentioned previously, I got him some new golf clothes for his birthday. I accidentally got him a pullover nearly identical to one he already had so we returned that and I got talked into buying him a $110 new club to replace it. Let's see: return a $30 pullover and get a $110 club? I think he came out ahead. He also got a new golf glove. Spoiled. We were seriously in Golf Galaxy for hourS. I thought I was going to die. Jackson was in a long drive contest there, but he lost. Boo. (He blamed it on not having his own driver. Whatever. Coach doesn't do the excuse routine.)

Ok, I'll get back to my story about the driving range now. We obviously had to go to test our his new club. Jackson takes practice pretty seriously. I occasionally find my attention moving to other golfers while he's adjusting things in his swing or switching clubs. I like to watch hacks hit the ball like 2 feet and then look around to see if anyone saw that. Yes, sir, I did see that weak shot. Sorry. ;)

A lady last night was out with her pink bag and accessories and after she would swing and MISS the ball, she'd look at her date for help. I'll help you lady- LOOK AT THE BALL!!! When she did actually hit the ball she would grunt like it was a tennis game. I saw where her drives went- there was not that much effort but into it. She was an embarrassment to the entire population of females.

(Disclosure: I have a very gender neutral Indiana University bag. I love it. There is not a single pink thing in my equipment. I intend to pick up my golf game as soon as I graduate. I couldn't take the stress of the game while I was in school. Jackson says that golf is a good game for perfectionists because you'll never be perfect at it. That makes me want to never play, honestly.)

Bieber

Yesterday I was feeling pretty sick so I slept and hung out on the couch catching up on DVR'ed Oprah shows. Jackson HATES Oprah so I have to watch them when I'm home by myself. I'm never home by myself unless I'm sick. Ugh. Vicious cycle. Anyway, I caught an Oprah where she had this teen singer, Justin Bieber, performing. I had heard of the kid in passing, but never paid much attention. Well, HELLO people he's so cute. I love his "Baby" song. I found it on YouTube and have been rocking out to it all afternoon in my office (with the door closed, of course). The kid is only 16- he looks like he is 12 to me- and is on like the level of the Beatles with girls fainting when he sings. Weirdos.

Anyway, I called Jackson to see if he'd want to go to lunch together today. He declined stating that he had already dined. I promptly let him go to get back to my jam session with Justin Bieber. He texted me to see why I hung up so quickly and our conversation went like this:

Jackson: "Why'd you hang up so quickly?"

Me: "Justin Bieber came on."

Jackson: "That better not be the truth!!!!"

Me: "Oh it is. Baby, baby, baby thought you'd always be mine!"

Me: "I make myself laugh."

Jackson: "About listening to Bieber?"

Me: "Yes, it is on repeat in my office."

Jackson: "I am feeling ill as in very, very sick."

Me: "Whatever. It makes me feel 10 years younger."

Jackson: "Don't you mean it makes you feel 10 years old?!!"

Me: Can't type because I'm cracking up

I love Jackson!

Update:

My sister felt strongly about this post and had the following random text conversation with me about it:

Kylie: "Justin Bieber? Really? He drives me nuts!"

Me: "He makes me feel young again."

Kylie: "I agree with Jackson on this one. Justin joked about Kim Kardashian being his girlfriend and she got death threats. Tweens are physco!!"

Me: "Ha! Classic! I love Kim. She's the prettiest person on earth, in my opinion."

Kylie: "She is gorgeous."

Me: "I know she is- so unfair. Anyway, Justin Bieber helps with my 'what am I doing with my life' midlife crisis."

Kylie: "Think how unfair it is for Khloe Kardashian! To have Kim as a sister! Kourtney Kardashian is adorable though. Khloe is, well, unfortunate."

Me: "Khloe is plenty fortunate with a huge ring on her finger and fat wallet. And Kourtney is old, but a super cute mini-Kim."

Kylie: "If you feel so old watch Sesame Street! Kourtney is only 30!"

Me: "I'm not going for that young. I just miss being a teenager."

Kylie: "Well Backstreet is back alright!"

Me: "Huh? What?"

Kylie: "They were around in your teens and *pause for 30-year-olds screaming in delight* they're back!! Use them, not Bieber."

Me: "You're too much."

Ask and you shall receive

Ah, my plea for Alex to join the internet was answered. He didn't get a blog (my sister claims to not know how to blog), but I did get an inbox full of photos! :) YAY!
Look at that little sleeping beauty. I just love him! And I think he looks a lot like my sister in this photo, too.
Nevermind that my sister looks a little possessed with the weird eye thing going on- she's surrounded by all of her loves! Peter the dog at the end, Maggie the cat and Alex! She's also still rocking winter pajamas, but we'll let that slide.
This is my personal favorite: "Yes, Alex, do you have a question?" HA! :) It is always so good to see the little guy. I don't think he's grown too much since I met him so that's a relief!

Birthday boy!

Today we celebrated Jackson's birthday. Susie was upset that MacKenzie's birthday photo didn't get posted so here it is. :)
Jackson is certain that this is his first birthday where there has been snow on the ground where he lived. GRR. Stupid Denver weather.
I made Jackson's favorite birthday treats- "birthday brownies." We went downtown to The Keg, Jackson's favorite steakhouse, for a lovely dinner. He got some new golf clothes and a hat from me, too. :) Jackson says he had a really nice day and appreciated all of the well wishes. It was a fun day!

33 (!!!) YEARS

On this day, 33rd years ago my favorite accident ever was born. (Jackson was an unintentional result of a concussion. Susie had to keep Charlie awake all night somehow and 9 months later the love of my life arrived. Surprise!)

When I asked Jackson what he wanted for his big day he said this: new shoes (check), money (check, thanks Susie), gift cards for new clothes (check, thanks Kathi), the Mike & Mike book (check, thanks Mom & Guy), some fancy work shirts (check, thanks again Susie) and a write-up on the blog similar to my odes to Madison (my parent's dog) on her birthday every year (check!).

I have more fun with Jackson than I ever knew was possible. I have spent the majority of my time with him since Thanksgiving 2005 and only get sick of him about 4% of the time. That's pretty strong. Since Jackson and I met at work, he will always be "JXP" to me- so much so that when I have to know his real initials I have to stop and think. (Only people from American Funds will get the JXP thing. Move on.) Jackson is a great provider. He is always willing to do whatever it takes to keep our little family afloat. He has had jobs that he HATED, but he continued to show up everyday just to keep money in the bank. (He just recently lost his job as our family travel agent, though. The hotel in Monterey was unacceptable, Jack. Unacceptable.)

He puts up with my temper tantrums (they're fewer and more far between than they used to be, but they're still not pretty), my obsessive cleaning disorder (poor kid never gets to leave him dirty socks on the floor) and is the best grocery shopper to ever live. He taught me the 51/50 rule that I now live by: if it costs $51 and you only have $50 then you cannot afford it. (This is not always my favorite rule.) Together, we have built a tremendously fun life.

Jackson can go 4 months without picking up a golf club and still hit the ball like a professional. (I love golfers.) I enjoy going to the driving range with him and tweaking his swing- just call me Hank Haney. He is always down for a hike, a game of tennis or an attempt at Rollerblading. (Jackson has the worst balance in the world and turns skating into a comedy pretty quickly.)

He takes such good care of MacKenzie and will almost always play ball with her until she finally tires out. He takes her with him on all of his errands because "she wants to go." Sure. ;) He drives me to work on snowy days. He cooks food at night just so I'll have a lunch to take the next day. Sometimes he even remembers to take out the trash! He is always down for a getaway. He treats my friends with respect. He refers to all of my parents (I have 4 so it is kind of a lot) as my "folks" and that makes me laugh. He loves Ivanhoe's and Upland almost as much as I do.

Through Jackson I got to become a Petefish! (And constantly tell people how to pronounce it, "Pete like the boy, fish like the swimming animal.") I loved teaching Mary (Jackson's late grandma) the secret "fish handshake." I have loved watching Gracie grow up, though I wish she'd slow down. I picked up my two favorite clients from this marriage. :) The most important quality of all is that Jackson is my very best friend.

Happy 33rd birthday, Jackson Edward. Here is to many, many more! I love you. :)

I MISS ALEX!

Gosh darnit, I miss Alex. I seriously do. I miss him more than I ever thought I could miss something that was not "mine." He is just so cute and precious. (Anyone who tells me to have my own will be banished from my life so do not even start.) Anyway, I wish my sister- who now reads the blog- would start a blog or at least email his Aunt Jenna some photos every now and again. Seriously. I need to see his cuteness on a regular basis. I am starting a one woman petition to get Alex a blog. BRING ON ALEX! BRING ON ALEX! It will not be the same as holding the little guy, but it is a start.

Hi, Grammy

Since her Grammy had asked after her, MacKenzie asked me to take a photo of her and post it to the blog. Here it is. She just came in from the snow- yes, snow- on May 11th. I hate Denver. MacKenzie has a haircut in the morning so she can look really pretty for her Dad during his birthday dinner tomorrow night (not that she gets to go to the steakhouse, but it is the thought that counts, right?).