Sweetest husband EVER!

Remember when I posted that we went shopping for Hawaii? Well I liked this tote bag for the beach but it was a little pricey and I didn't end up buying it for myself. Fast forward to the next evening and I came home to the bag AND A COOKIE! I thought it was so sweet of Jackson to go back and get it for me since I wouldn't splurge on it myself. I love the bag! Thanks, babe!

New beach bag and A COOKIE!!!!!!!!

Why was the cookie such a big deal? We have been doing the Whole30 (read about it here: http://whole30.com) which meant we weren't eating sugar that didn't naturally occur. Somehow chocolate chip cookies are not considered natural so I had not had one in weeks. I was weak. Jackson kept calling me a "cookie-less monster" so he finally caved and got me ONE. It was so good. And being limited to one kept me from ruining my natural eating too much. Win! He's a keeper. Sometimes.

Fall weekend in Indianapolis

I was fortunate enough to catch my dear friend from college, Megan, for lunch and meet her little guy, Wesley. He was just adorable and it was so nice to hear what Meg has been up to for the last couple of months!

Mr. Wesley Parton

Jackson met me and we did some shopping for our upcoming Hawaii trip. Indy also got a new organic grocery store, Fresh Thyme, that we had to visit. It was pretty awesome and worth the drive to the Fashion Mall area! It was such a fun Saturday just hanging out around town. We don't do that very often these days! :)

The next day we decided to take MacKenzie for a long walk near Geist. We love seeing all of the fancy houses on the lake. She enjoys peeing on their fancy lawns. It works out.

MacKenzie is a rebel. :)

It was a gorgeous day and we put in about 6 miles before MacKenzie looked like she was going to kill us if we kept going. 

Perfect fall day with the puppy

When we returned home she passed out in dramatic fashion to show her contempt for the death march she'd just endured. Guys, her life is hard. ;)

6+ miles later and she's finished!

Meeting Liam...

My friend Kortnee finally had her baby on Saturday, October 11th. He was a BIG baby at 8 pounds 11 ounces and 21 inches long. We were so excited to meet him. Jackson was traveling early in the week so I went with my friend Derrik to visit Sir Liam once he was home from the hospital. We took Kortnee and her husband, Jason, Pizza King so that they'd be busy and we could hold the baby. It worked like a charm. I got to hold Liam for hours. :) He was a perfect little guy. He didn't cry or fuss. He just hung out. The dog would come by and mess with him, much to my chagrin, and he would just kind of look around. I'm much more antsy about such things than his parents are. They're the calmest first time parents I've ever met. It was quite refreshing!

Adorable! 

Let's take a selfie, Liam!

Thursday, Jackson worked in Muncie and was finished two hours before I was off work. He decided to run Liam's gift, a growth ruler from HK Designs, out to him. He says he did hold the baby for a few minutes before getting nervous and giving him back. I must admit that I was so tense when I held him that my arms were sore for a couple of days. Clearly, we are not parents. :)

Liam with his Mom

We're very thankful that Kortnee and Jason are willing to share snuggle time with their little guy. He's a keeper, for sure!

Mr. Fixer

Jackson has been holding out on fixing the screen that MacKenzie burst through a couple weeks ago. I thought it was because it was a tough job. Nope. He was just going to do it in his own time. Men. :)

A man at work

Success!

MacKenzie has specific instructions not to burst through it again! Only time will tell if she listens to that request.

Boomer watching football

We did a bit of dog-sitting that day for MacKenzie's friend Boomer. We took them both for a walk and then came back to watch IU football. We were impressed when Boomer appeared to be watching, too.

Friends :)

We're trying out a new thing called the Whole30. You basically eat just REAL food for 30 days to clear your system of impurities. MacKenzie was down for the challenge and helped me with my apple one morning. I thought it was hilarious that she ate it exactly how I do.

Yum!

Jackson traveled this week so it was up to me to care for MacKenzie each morning. She's used to Jackson taking her out immediately while I made her wait a little bit for me to be dressed enough to go outside. I got a good chuckle at how annoyed she looked while waiting almost under the bed for me.

Mom, I have to PEE! 

Raleigh

You guys, I am in love. IN LOVE. Raleigh is my new favorite city. I've been here since Tuesday and if it weren't for MacKenzie and Jackson being back in Indiana I'd never leave. The people are friendly and the pace of life is a little slower. Folks call me "miss" and often mistake me for a college student. I told you that I was in love.

 

Meanwhile, back at home, MacKenzie is taking full advantage of being the sole lady in Jackson's life for a couple of days. She even got to ride along with him on a work trip the other day. Those two crack me up!

When Mommy isn't home MacKenzie goes to work with her Poppa

Friends, do you remember what Southern food tastes like? Heaven with a side of heart disease and diabetes, that's what. Yum! And getting to wash everything down with sugar water that passes as tea around these parts doesn't make me mad.


Fried chicken, mac-n-cheese, sweet potato fries and the best biscuit ever? Yes, please. Oh don't forget the sweet tea. Diet?! What diet?! :/ :/

I've been at another tax conference held on North Carolina State University's campus which is just gorgeous. IT has mature trees, rolling hills and it just magnificently maintained.

A gorgeous tree on NC State's campus

I snuck into the heart of campus today to hit the bookstore (we'd been here before and gotten t-shirts, but Jackson's got ruined somehow so I wanted to replace it!) and was just blown away by the beauty all around me.

Same tree, different angle, still gorgeous

It helps that the students are not on campus right now (Fall Break) so I had time to really just meander around. We didn't have that luxury last time we made our quick campus visit.

 

I tried something new this trip and signed up for an exercise class package at a place called "Barre 3" here in Raleigh. They had a package of 3 sessions available and since I was here for three nights it just worked out perfectly. I enjoyed meeting some girls my age, getting in a good sweat session and not spending lonely nights in my room. I highly recommend doing something similar if you're ever traveling alone. The girls in my class made such a fuss about welcoming me. It was very sweet. Again, I love Raleigh.

One of the only reasons to leave Raleigh

Jackson was concerned that I'd intentionally miss my flight tomorrow morning so he sent me the cutest photo ever of MacKenzie. :) No worries, I'll go home. For now.

Holiday World...

I got home from Phoenix on Thursday in the wee hours of the morning. This meant that I didn’t work Thursday which was awesome. I caught up on sleep and laundry. Oh my, the laundry! I did pop into work on Friday for the day. It was nice to see everyone and dig out of my inbox a tiny amount. Why is it that no one needs when you’re there and then you leave and no one can move without your input. Sigh. Job Security? Who knows? Anyway, we made plans weeks ago to go with my sister and Alex to Holiday World for their fall festivities. Saturday morning we got up somewhat early and headed South. The weather was a little iffy so we moved Holiday World to Sunday and decided to spend the day in Evansville. My Dad and Diana were also in town so we all met up at Kylie’s house.



The puzzle that nearly beat me.

Alex quickly sought out a puzzle so that he could beat me at putting it together and put me in my place. HA! ;) He is a master of puzzles, though. It blows my mind. I just don’t see things the way puzzle people do. I think it has to do with my attention span. Maybe.

Anyway, because my sister has always hated me, we went to lunch at a place called “GattiTown.” It was basically Chuckie Cheese. Their food was OK. It was pricey but Dad paid (thanks again, Dad!) so I cannot really complain. Kylie got a game card so after we ate it was on to the arcade. Jackson schooled me in pop-a-shot. Ugh. Alex and Kylie took on Dad and Diana on the wall light game. D&D had a decisive victory. Diana and Jackson played an intense game of air hockey. Diana was the winner, but it was a valiant effort on Jackson’s part. Dad and I started wondering if their game would ever end. I did have a great time beating first Alex (my competitiveness knows no ages) and then Kylie at skee-ball. Finally the card ran out of money and we got to escape GattiTown.

Diana and Dad playing arcade games

Diana and Jackson in a heated battle



Jackson is a goof!

The gang all headed to the Children’s Museum but Jackson and I had errands to run and other things to tend to so we skipped that part. We put together Alex’s Halloween bucket early since we likely wouldn’t be seeing him again before the holiday. We followed Kylie’s request of less candy this year. Lame! We did get him a ton of stickers and noisemakers. (I did mention that my sister made us drive 3.5 hours only to dine at a Chuckie Cheese-ish restaurant, right? She deserves a loud 4-year-old for such offenses.) We checked in at the hotel and actually had to take a nap to regenerate after all of the excitement of GattiTown. Whew.

Our Halloween basket for Alex

Wearing mustaches with Alex

Cool dude!

 Dad and Diana agreed to watch Alex so that we could go with Kylie to a movie. Kylie and I do not see eye-to-eye on much in life but we both agreed that Gone Girl looked like a great flick. We were right; it was excellent. I cannot recommend it enough. If you did not read the book you will be absolutely shocked at how it develops. It was 2.5 hours long and none of us wanted it to be over when it did end. That’s saying something! Jackson was pleasantly surprised as he thought it was a “chick movie” and it totally was not. Note: He likes “chick movies” so I am not sure why he feared such a fate.



GO SEE THIS MOVIE!

We dropped Kylie off and tucked in for the night. We needed plenty of rest to be ready for a big day at Holiday World.

We stopped in at Kylie’s before heading to the park to hang some pictures and change her air filter. She hates having me in town because I help her clean her house. Yes, you read that correctly. She does not appreciate my assistance. The nerve. ;) We said goodbye to Dad and Diana who were wise enough not to join us at Holiday World not joining us at the park.

Starting the rides early

It is only about 45 minutes from Kylie’s house so she has season passes. I’d only been once before and that was to the water park. It all started off well.

Lovin' the SCRAMBLER

We went on the scrambler and loved it. It was so fun that I just could not stop laughing the entire ride. Then we snuck down to the rollercoaster area. Jackson and Kylie like rollercoasters. Alex doesn’t. This meant he’d be getting some quality “Aunt Ninny” time. Hey, someone had to “sacrifice” and not ride the rides. I’m a giver, what can I say? ;) Kylie left me with $5 and said to entertain Alex. $5! In an amusement park! Jackson had all of my money so we were stuck. $5! $5! $5! 

Leo, Jackson and Alex posing! Notice Jackson's face!

Plan A: Alex wanted to play a game. It was $6. We couldn’t play! AGH! He was not pleased.

Plan B: We’ll go on some other kiddie ride. That will please him. WRONG! I didn’t know that that I was supposed to let him win at the turkey shooting game. I beat him by 1,000 points and he was NOT pleased. Listen, I don’t LET people win. I don’t care if you’re the Pope, fair is fair. I tried to explain to him that it was a valuable life lesson and I was just helping him to prepare for the future. Shockingly that doesn’t ease a 4-year-old and he repeatedly asked for his Mommy. CRAP! This exchange between Alex and I was highly entertaining for the father behind us as we exited the ride. I’d not seen a grown man laugh that hard in a long time. I was not entirely sure why he thought my ways were so funny…?

Plan C: Ice cream! What kid doesn’t love ice cream? We see a Dippin’ Dots vendor and head her way. Then I remember that I only have $5! CRAP! I beg and plead with the girl to give Alex a dish for this amount and she lets me know that I “only” owe her $4.21 for his small, icy treat. Praise the LORD! He wanted to hold the ice cream dish but old Aunt Ninny is not a slow learner. After watching him drop the donut I brought him that morning on the floor in his living room I was certainly not letting him hold this ice cream dish in a busy amusement park. Is the fact that I am not a parent apparently clear yet? Thought so. We sit down by the rollercoaster’s exit to eat his treat and wait patiently for his mother.

Total time spent entertaining Alex? Approximately 15 minutes. I’m now exhausted!

Happy boy with Dippin' Dots

Smiling through meltdowns

Jackson and Kylie come off the rollercoaster loving life. I’ve never been happier to see my sister. I turn her kid back over.

At this point I am up for anything. Jackson suggests that he thinks I'll enjoy the wooden rollercoaster he just rode on with Kylie. I think, "He's been married to be for what feels like 20 years. He knows me. If he thinks I'll like it. I'll like it, right?!" Friends, I was wrong. We got on that ride and I've never hated that man more.

The Voyager

What would lead him to think I would enjoy climbing 346 stories and then fall so fast that my butt left my seat for a good long time? (Real fact: the hill climb is 163 feet and you feel weightless for around 24 seconds.)

Is it my fearless nature? Nope. I don't have one of those.

Is it my love of heights? Nope. I don't love heights.

Is it my love of being beat to near death by a trashing wooden rollercoaster? Nope. I've always maintained that I'm not a huge fan of the rides.

To keep my mind off the beating I was taking on this horrendous ride I counted the seconds reasoning that it couldn't last long (that always soothes me). I was wrong. (Real fact: The ride lasts 2 minutes 45 seconds.) I moved to analyzing why anyone would enjoy this ride. I came to the conclusion that rides like this were everything that's wrong with America.

I then started worrying that my head was going to fall off my neck. I kept my eyes closed to whole ride because I just didn't trust my $4,000 eyes not to get something in them at a high rate of speed. (And maybe I was a little scared, too!) Jackson thinks my lack of anticipating the next move lent to my neck's soreness. Whatever. I think it may have been the whole wooden roller coaster going 6,000 mph thrashing me around that did the trick. (Real fact: The ride's top speed is 67.4 MPH.) Finally, God smiled on me and it ended. My head was still attached. I promptly bit Jackson's head off for suggesting such a ride to me when I was in a fragile post-childcare state.



I've used the official video but there are others available online that give a more accurate representation of the true beating offered on this ride.

SIDEWAYS. PEOPLE ARE SIDEWAYS.

We took another trip on the turkey shooting game and my sister let Alex win. HE DID NOT SCORE A SINGLE POINT! She did! What the world?! Jackson beat me fair and square so that was fine. Sure, I wasn't pleased but such is life. Note: I may have claimed that my gun was broken which resulted in his victory.

We had lunch at some Thanksgiving world place. It was pretty good.

He won a "forever" ice cream cone

MacKenzie also likes corn ;)

Jackson rode the pirate ship alone (he loves punishment) and then the tilt-awhirl with Alex. Alex looked so comfy next to him. It was hilarious. Alex liked it so much that he recruited his mom to ride it again with him. Notice Aunt Ninny didn't get the invite? I blame it on not letting him win. ;)

Riding the tilt-a-whirl with Jackson

Leo and Alex riding again!

Jackson and Kylie rode a few more rides and left Alex with me. He got less and less impressed each time. He wanted to hang with his mom!

We went through some off maze that my sister swore didn't have people hidden in it. Just then a person jumped out and scared the crap out of me. Ugh. It was getting to be time to leave and Alex wanted to do one more thing. He decided Uncle Jackson should take him through the Fun House. Kylie cannot do it because she's afraid of clowns. (True story.) Jackson said it was the craziest thing he'd ever been in. Midway through the house Alex was so scared that he'd jumped into Jackson's arms. They came out with Alex still clamped to Jackson. It was hilarious! I'm still not sure who got more comfort from that arrangement. ;)

Alex and Jackson terrified after a trip through the "Fun House"

As you can see, our plans for children have not been changed by our trip. Something about my nature just doesn't appeal to little ones. ;) We did actually have a good time, though. Thanks for hosting, Kylie!

Ramblings from 41,000

My conference in Phoenix finally ended. Imagine going to presentations about tax and only tax from Sunday at 1 p.m. until Wednesday at 1 p.m. I love tax. LOVE it. Adore it! I was also ready for a break from it. Part of the issue is that there are only so many topics that can be covered and I already know about those issues. (Darn you, University of Denver, for prepping me for my career so well!) A refresher is always nice. Meeting other college tax folks is always nice. Well, kind of. Surprisingly, some tax people are really boring. It always surprises me how different I am from the “typical” tax person; this just means that I actually enjoy social interaction.

I got word as our flight was landing on Thursday that my friend from my Deloitte Tax days, Jenny, would be at one of the conferences. Hooray! I had a dinner date on Sunday (we went to an uneventful Mexican place that did have awesome outdoor seating) after Jackson left so that was an exciting surprise. Monday evening we went to a restaurant close to the basketball and baseball stadiums called the Arrogant Butcher. We made it in time for happy hour pricing and had a dinner of appetizers. It was so fun to just have a girls night that I had no idea would happen. I have always enjoyed Jenny so it was awesome to get to spend time catching up! We went to the gym after dinner and just had some girl talk time. It was great. Then that conference ended and she headed back home while I stayed for part two. (It always sounds so appealing when I sign up months in advance to knock two conference topics out right in a row.)

I was on my own again. Wah! Tuesday afternoon’s seminars went quickly and then it was time for a happy hour sponsored by the conference. Woo hoo, a happy hour with 150 accountants. I’m just kidding. Kind of. I met some nice folks to chat with and even tracked down the outside attorney I’ve been working with for over a year and hadn’t met in person yet. That was neat. I decided to just grab dinner and head back to my room for the evening. Lame. I know. Did I mention my choice of company was 150 accountants? Right.

Wednesday afternoon the conference finally ended. Hooray! Indiana here I come. NOPE! I got word that my flight was delayed. WAH! I haven’t seen MacKenzie since Thursday morning and Jackson since Sunday afternoon. I was ready for a reunion. Alas, it was not meant to be. Yet. My flight now did not leave until 7:30 p.m. so I needed a plan to fill my time. I had to checkout of the hotel at noon so taking a nap wasn’t on the table. Bummer. I decided to go grab some lunch and happened to notice a movie theatre next door. Jackson looked up the movie times for me (my phone was dying) while I ordered lunch. He found that This is where I leave you was playing at 2:15 and he thought it looked like a good movie. I decided to go for it. I’d only been to one other movie alone that I can remember (Julie and Julia, if you’re wondering) and that was before the Colorado theatre shootings, but I decided I’d be brave and go for it. The movie was only $5 that time of day so I was elated. I love a good bargain. The movie turned out to be just awesome. I listened to Tina Fey’s Bossypants book earlier this year and have had a new appreciation for her ever since. She was one of the stars of the movie and did an excellent job. I laughed. A lot. I cried. A lot. I cried so much that as I was walking out the guy sitting closest to me asked if I was ok. He’d never heard someone just “let their emotions loose” while watching a movie before. This tells me that he’s never had a girlfriend and did not see the movie Titanic in a theatre.

Anyway, going to the movie alone really opened my eyes to how much of a stigma we as a society put on doing things alone. It is silly, really. While I think Jackson would have enjoyed the film, we couldn’t really speak during it without making fellow moviegoers angry. I think we all need to learn to enjoy our own company again. Being alone also makes me more outgoing and friendly. I found myself chatting with my taxi driver much more so than I normally would. (note: Jackson talks to our drivers normally. He loves to talk. I’m usually glad to have the break from being the receiver of his conversations! HA!! I’d say that I am kidding but he knows the truth so I won’t bother.) I made new friends at airport security of all places. The TSA agents at PHX were super friendly and engaging. One even called me “miss” which lead to the threat of a hug. Ha! (Note: I’m not kidding. I did offer a hug. It doesn’t take much to please me these days.) The group sitting near me at my gate had just hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon (a feat on my “bucket list”) so I got to hear all about that and see their photos. It looked awesome! I don’t think I would normally have spoken to them which is probably fine, too, but it was cool to hear about their journey! I’m wrapping up my trip now; blogging at 41,000 feet above the United States. I’m looking forward to a late, or is it early now that it will be around 3 a.m. when I get in, reunion with my little family. Tomorrow promises to be day full of laundry and catching up on things before I take off again for ANOTHER TAX CONFERENCE (UGH!!!) on Tuesday morning through Friday. You guys. My brain. It cannot take much more. I am not going to know how to talk about anything but tax by the time all of these conferences end. Consider yourselves warned. ;)

MacKenzie was happy to be together again, too!

My favorites!

Odd addition:

Talking to the women in the airport about their hike to the bottom of the Grand Canyon reminded me about the little “bucket list” I keep on my phone. I decided to revisit it to see how I’m doing on progress. As it turns out I am not doing that well. WHOOPS!

Hike to the bottom of the Grand Canyon

Finish the climb to the top of Camelback Mountain

See Mt. Everest

Stand in a sequoia tree

Eat a potato in Idaho

Visit Glacier National Park (the entrance likely doesn’t count)

Run a mini-marathon (I’ve “jalked” three. My first run will be in May 2015)

Swim with sharks (this is marked off on my list in a joking manner because I swam in Florida then saw someone catch a baby hammerhead. I meant more like dive with great whites in South Africa.)

Learn to swim properly (this might never be marked off…)

Drive a racecar around a track FAST

Cruise around the world (again, this will probably never happen now that I have actually cruised and hated it)

Live in a foreign country for one year

Read the entire Bible

Visit Africa

See a moose in the wild (Thank you, Alaska!)

Learn a second language

Publish an article in a reputable tax journal (Oops, my nerd is showing!)

Pass the CPA exam (beginning to study would help with this one…)

Rid the globe of cinnamon (A girl can dream, no?!)

Write a novel

Adopt a shelter dog

Attend a round of the Masters

Meet (and hug, tightly) Tim Tebow

Takeover Jim Nantz’s job when he retires (sportscaster)

Never walk by a homeless person without at least offering a smile, kind word and hopefully some cash without judgment about whether or not they’ll use it “properly”(I do this but it is kind of ongoing so I cannot really mark it off)

Continue blogging

Tell Jackson every single day that he is the love of my life and that I am his biggest fan

Do yoga two times a week (why is this so tough? I love yoga!)

Always make time to throw the ball to MacKenzie (good thing she cannot read. She may not agree that I “always” do this- whoops!)

Decrease my road rage

Learn to love people with opinions that differ from mine (I kid you not, my list reads “even though they’re clearly wrong.” Ha!)

Be an encourager, not a discourager (woof! This is hard!)

Have a forever young mentality

Always use every single vacation day

Buy Jackson a sailboat

Visit each of the 50 states by my 30^th birthday (WOOOOOOOOT!)

Live in NYC

Win the lottery and give the lion’s share of the money away

Be willing to smile- no matter what

This was a great way to waste some time high above planet earth. I promise my next entry should be a little more exciting. :)