June 2010 update

We've had some impressive summer rain storms, and the girls have enjoyed a couple of them by running around in the warm rain. Don't worry. We keep them in when lightning is involved.

Emmaline has learned to ride a bike without training wheels, so we spend more time riding bikes as a family now. Evie and Elise enjoy gearing up to jump into the bike trailer.

Sara and the girls spent a couple of days with some friends down at the lake in June.

For Father's Day, the girls created this huge banner to let me know how COOOL I am. They also included some pictures of praise for our friend Bryon, who joined us for dinner that evening.

Towards the end of the month, the girls had a party with the kids that live next door. They had games and music ... and dancing. Can you see how funny Emmy thought it was that the neighbor boy asked her to dance with him. Sara snapped this picture and then showed them how to really dance.

May 2010 update

Eden participated in the Missouri Strings Project that partners elementary school students who want to learn how to play violin, viola, or cello, with College students who are majoring in Music at the University of Missouri. The college students have done a great job teaching the kids. This is an exerpt from a concert that they performed on Mother's Day this year.

There is an unwritten law that a Jackson must love ice cream. Our girls conform to this law with perfection.

April 2010 update

Finally, blossoms on our fruit trees.

















Exploring the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.













We visited the Bureau of Printing and Engraving and got to see millions of dollars being made. They didn't allow cameras during the tour, but we did get a picture next to "one million dollars!"


We visited the Washington mall several times, but really enjoyed getting to see the monuments and memorials all lit up at night. Here are the girls in front of the Lincoln Memorial. It was a long hike and a long evening, but the girls stayed very positive about it all.



Before we left Washington D.C., we really wanted to visit the temple and show the girls where Sara was sealed to her family for time and eternity. It was a special moment for us.




Our drive north took us past Sara's mom's cousin's home. We had such a great visit with Nan and Charles. We had lunch, talked, and played in the backyard.




Sara's family's former home teacher and his wife, hosted us after our long drive from D.C. to NY. In the morning, the girls played in the yard and had fun horseback riding in the tree.










We stopped by a few personal historical sites, like the home that Sara grew up in (and Glenn visited several times when he was a missionary) and the high school that Sara attended.


We also visited the grave-sites of Sara's father and Oma (Grandmother). We talked a little bit about them and about how grateful we are for the Resurrection.




As we left Sara's hometown, we stopped by the home of one of her closest friends. We enjoyed a delicious lunch and then watched as our kids had so much fun playing together.




We found time to stop in Palmyra and visit some of the Church historical sites. Here is a picture of us in front of a replica of the Smith cabin that was built on the site of the original one. Just a few hundred feet from that site we saw these little fox cubs playing.





Perhaps the most memorable part of the trip was walking through the Sacred Grove as a family. There was such a peaceful feeling there. It was precious to walk behind our girls and listen to them sing.






Here is one last shot, of Sara and the girls in front of the monument on top of the Hill Cumorah.

March 2010 update

We had fun at another one of the city's dog parks, where Clementine and the girls were able to run around and play off-leash.














These pictures show a little more of the work that was done on the basement this year. A friend and I put some finishing touches on some of the trim work. I replaced some drywall in the ceiling of the laundry room where a busted water pipe had leaked and done a little bit of damage.













This is just a silly picture of Elise being silly. She took some baggy pajamas and pulled them up to her shoulders and then danced around her room. I thought she looked like something out of Jim Henson's Creature Creation Lab.


















Sara wanted to buy a smartboard to use with the kids, but found them to be much too expensive. Fortunately I found some information online how one could make a smartboard using a flat screen TV, a wii remote, a bluetooth enabled computer (which we already have), and an LED pen. We went back and forth as to whether we should buy a new LCD TV for this purpose. Sara finally decided yes, so a few days later I found this great deal on a 42" Sharp TV. I called Sara at home but didn't get a reply, so I went ahead and ordered it. Later on in the day Sara called me back to say that she had changed her mind about the TV and to not bother with the order. Ooops, it was already in the process of being shipped. So after it arrived, we posted this picture on Craigslist and were able to resell it for what we had purchased it. Well, one of these days we may actually get and keep a new TV.




March brought another birthday. Emmy turned 7 years old. Sara made a cool cake that looked like a worm-eaten apple. Emmy really liked it.

















We had a spell of pleasant weather in March that was nice enough for the girls and I to campout on the deck. At first they were a little nervous about bugs, but they were soon overcome by all of the constellations that they could see.

January 2010 update

Wait! you say. Where was January? Since when does February come before January? Well, I couldn't find any pictures from January that told much of a story, so I skipped January, went straight to February, but then didn't want January to feel left out so I decided to go ahead and try to come up with something. Not that January was boring or anything, though it's true that we did not stay up to midnight on New Year's Eve.

The big thing that I remember from January was at the end of the month when we packed the family up and drove out to Utah for Great-Grandpa Jackson's funeral. Our girls always called him "Big Popcorn" because they call my Dad "Popcorn", and Grandpa Rex was "Popcorn's" Dad, therefore he was bigger than "Popcorn". Anyway, we made the 20 hr drive in 20 hrs, with only a few stops for food and fuel and other "essential" stops. The funeral was like a family reunion combined with a memorial for a great man. I am so glad that we made the effort to be out there for it.

February 2010 update

The girls wanted to get another dog, but Sara and I didn't think they (or the house) were ready for another Clementine. So rather than make a big commitment by adopting one, we thought we would borrow one of my friend Bryon's dogs and see what life would be like with two canines in the home. We all love Tiki, especially Clementine. It's fun to see these two dogs of such disparate sizes wrestling. Overall it was a good experience, but I still don't think we are quite ready for another dog.











Our girls love all holidays, but they really had a blast with Valentine's Day this year. Chocolate, candy, homemade cards, and the cupid game. I'm not really sure what the rules are, but it seems like it involves taking turns wearing wings and a heart shaped purse and prancing around the house delivering Valentine's Cards.