October 2012 update

Here is a little footage from Evie's birthday party. The main item on her wish list for the past year has been a "rainbow unicorn dreamlight pillow pet". When she first announced this to us we told her, "That's nice. We'll add it to your wishlist." She often tells us about things she wants us to buy for her, and usually she forgets about the item and never mentions it again. Not so with the pillow pet. She did not forget, as you can tell from the video when she gets ready to blow out the candles.

And here's the video of her and her sisters just after she opens her birthday present.

September 2012 Update

 My new office. Yes, it has a window, although right now it overlooks a construction dumpster.

The girls were "helpful" with the unpacking that needed to be done. They enjoyed rediscovering old toys and dress up clothes. They even got Clementine to join in on the fun.

We are only a few blocks from the Omaha German-American Society. They had some fun festivities for Oktoberfest.

Sara and Evie have been to the Omaha Children's Museum a number of times with some new friends. There are a lot of hands-on activities there.

For Family Home Evening one week in September, we had a lesson on service. The girls got to "serve" each other dessert.

Sara captured this sweet moment. Evelyn loves her little sister. She will often try to help Eleanor calm down by singing to her.

August 2012 update

Eleanor Rose Jackson was born Thursday August 9, 2012. She is a sweet child, and her sisters adore her.

Mid- August I received a job offer from the Nebraska College of Technical  Agriculture. We took a trip with the family plus Grandma to look for housing in the Omaha area. The girls had so much fun playing with Grandma, eating in restaurants, and sleeping in the comfy hotel beds.

 

  

July 2012 update

One thing I forgot to mention in the June update is the sale of our house. In anticipation of my graduation and the odds of landing a job outside of Columbia, MO much greater than the alternative, we put our house up for sale. It didn't take long until we had multiple offers coming in. I think the hard work we had put into the yard created curb appeal that helped fuel the bidding war. The irony is that the garden is finally maturing. Just look at those peaches!

Our family participated in the annual Parley P. Pratt Freedom Run again this year. We opted for the mile run instead of the 4 miler. Emmy had been practicing in the preceding weeks and wanted me to help pace her. She came in first place for the kids with a time of about 7 minutes. Eden was first for her age division also.

Later in the day on the 4th, we visited our friends, the Robinsons. Eden found this critter. No prince charming, but he (or she?) was cute.

 Here's a picture of the girls enjoying some of that prize watermelon with their friends.

Sara's mother, Sue, was finishing up her mission in Nauvoo and visited us on her way back west. She went with Sara and the girls to some of the Church history sites around Kansas City.

June 2012 update

Something happens to our girls in the summer. All of that sun exposure affects their brains and makes them silly. Elise thought it would be funny if she had a mustache, so she used a sharpie marker she found in my room to ornament her face with a fine mustache. She was a little surprised when it didn't wash off .

Our garden produced a good crop of carrots again this year, including a couple of interesting growths. Elise called these the hugger carrots. She was more excited about them than her countenance here reveals. Call her Droopy Dog.

The big excitement in the month of June, unfortunately was when Sara (who remember was pregnant with Eleanor at the time) was rear-ended while on her way to pick Eden up from school. She called me up at work and briefly told me that she had been in an accident. I rushed over to the school, fearing the worst, but fortunately no one was hurt. I took the girls home and Sara stayed at the scene to finish up paperwork with the police. We are glad that no one was hurt and that our van is still functional.

Realizing that we would be moving during the summer of 2012, Eden had some friends over for a party, and boy did they party.

 Here are some shots of some of the summer fun the rest of the girls had during the month of June.

May 2012 update

I built a porch swing as an anniversary gift for Sara. It hung for quite some time unfinished. I enlisted the help of the girls and their friends to get the swing painted. It was a fun and messy activity.

We got to attend Eden's graduation from Elementary school. Sitting on her  left is one of her best friends, Jessica.

 

Eden did a great job during her violin recital. Unfortunately our camera work wasn't quite on par.

Emmaline has enjoyed learning the cello in the Missouri Strings Project. This is from her end of the semester performance.

 

Elise "loved" her class' field trip to the Runge Nature Center.

April 2012 update

The tranquility of April 2012 was broken, literally, when Evie slipped while jumping off of the cedar chest (no, this is not an activity her parents condone). Her crying brought an abrupt end to the Skype call we were enjoying with Lisa and Will and family. Between her sobs, Evie communicated to me that her elbow hurt. One look told me that it was likely broken, so she and I took a trip to the emergency room. Radiographs confirmed my suspicion, and the doctor scheduled her for surgery the following morning. It was close to midnight at that point, so the hospital staff chose to keep us overnight.

 

Family visited the following day to see the cool purple cast and to cheer up Evie (who was actually enjoying the hospital stay: private room, plenty of yummy food, cable television, a Wii, movies ...).

Evie stayed overnight one additional day so that she could receive a prophylactic IV antibiotic therapy. As much as she enjoyed the hospital, she was happy to say goodbye. Now if we can just keep her out of trouble (stay tuned for the Feb. 2013 update ... stitches). Where is Super Eden from the Shepard Boulevard Elementary School Safety Patrol when we need her? Oh, there she is, on the street corner.

 

In the Question of the Month from my friend Alvin's most recent monthly newsletter, he asks, "Have your kids had brushes with disaster? What lessons have you learned about keeping your kids safe that you’d like to share with others"

My crazy idea: have the kids sign a waiver form releasing the parents from all liability for acts of foolishness and the consequences that occur therefrom. Perhaps that would would help Evie get it into her head that she has responsibility for her actions and can't rely on us to hover over her, waiting to swoop in and catch her next time. Maybe then she'll look (or think) before she leaps.

I could segue into a political spiel at this point about government and personal accountability, but I'll refrain and keep this post clean.

March 2012 update

Glenn teaching Evie how to do a proper push-up.

Evie painting a craft project.

 Ron Paul came to Columbia, MO in March of 2012. Sara and Glenn went to hear him speak.

 Emmy (and Eden) showed much excitement for the gifts she received on her birthday.

One of Emmy's gifts was the game Twister. The girls have had so much fun playing it.

Sara made some amazing cupcakes for a Birthday party that Emmy had with her friends. A brownie substituted for a hamburger patty and colored coconut played the role of lettuce in the cupcake burger. The side dish cupcake was topped with lime skittles and cubed orange starburst candies that looked astonishingly like peas and carrots. The desert was a hit.

February 2012 update

 

Sara and I had exciting news to share with our girls. We decided that the best way to do so was with a special Valentine's Day activity. We created the above note, divided it into six pieces. As part of our Family Evening Lesson we talked about unity, and then the six of us worked together to piece together the Valentine's Day message. The girls were over the moon when they read and interpreted the note.

 

In this random video, we see Elise with some braids that Sara put in her hair. The braiding was done using a gift that one of Elise's friends gave her for her birthday. Elise frequently charms us with these cute little songs that she comes up with.

January 2012 update

 Here's Emmy rockin' her new haircut.

3 Musketeers or 3 Stooges? I'll let you decide.