LABOR Day

Usually, Labor Day weekend means a chance to get away for a long weekend, perhaps a visit with friends or family, or maybe a last trip to the lake.  But not this year.  Nope, we decided to actually stay home and work this Labor Day weekend.  We've had a couple projects hanging over our heads and Vic and Betsey were nice enough to come give us a hand.

Dan has needed to re-wire our outside lamp post ever since our trees were delivered last fall and the guys who planted them "saw" a wire when they were digging.  Ironically, ever since that day, the lamp post stopped working and if it rained, I lost power in my office.  Good thing they didn't hit the wire (which is what they confirmed with me when they were here).

Dan and Vic buried new wire in the ground and Jackson was anxious to help with his little shovel.

He was also thrilled when the ladder came out and he got to stand on it just like Daddy!

I worked hard too, even though I don't have the pictures to prove it (no camera men available...see pictures above).  Betsey and I cleaned and organized the garage and I'm so proud of our work.  I would seriously consider letting Jackson eat off the floor in there now.  We have several bins for Goodwill and two big trash cans full of junk to be picked up.  It feels good to have gotten something accomplished, and we still have the actual Labor Day holiday to relax and spend time together!

Play-Doh

I realized last week that Jackson hadn't yet experienced all the joys that playing with play-doh can bring!  So off we went to Target where we invested in the little duffle bag with various colors, shapes and tools.  His favorite is the rolling pin.  Not to roll nice flat pieces, but to use the end to beat little circles into the dough until you can see the table underneath.  With time I'm sure he'll be creating genius masterpieces of art.  Until then, I don't mind if he beats it to a pulp!

Happy Birthday Ellie!

Last weekend Jackson got to go to his friend Ellie's 2nd birthday party.  We knew that he loved water, but at the party, it was confirmed that not only does he love it, but he has no fear of it!!  We thought the slide would just be for "big" kids, and maybe the little ones could just splash in the bottom of it.  Well, not if Jackson had anything to do with it!  He went flying straight down that slide about 25x!  He had a blast.  After a few tries Ellie joined him as well and the two of them were loving every minute, sliding down with their daddies' help and dunking under the water at the bottom.

They also played on the splash mat together, but their favorite activity was to take buckets/cups full of freezing cold water and dump them on their heads!  They did it over and over and over again, right on their faces and heads, and as soon as they could catch their breath...they'd do it again!  Cute little pals :)
Brrrrr!

Cousins

Jackson had a great time with his cousin Lindsey Beth

She taught him the perfect form for jumping on the bed
And she loved reading to him at bed-time.
I also got to see my cousins....below is the bride Alicia, with her sisters Michelle and Christine.
And here's Jackson with my cousin Jay.  He worked so hard to get those boots on, then he wanted to walk around in them!

Iowa

Iowa has a special place in my heart because it's where my mom was born and raised and it's where I spent time with my grandparents.  So I was thrilled to go back in early August for my cousin's wedding.  My mom, my sister-in-law Amy, and my niece Lindsey Beth flew in from Virginia and we drove to Iowa for a long weekend.  It was such a special time together and it was perfect to be able to share it with Jackson.

He fed the pigs with my cousin Curt.  He cracked up as we all threw corn cobs into the pen.

He walked to the park with Grandma.  This is "in town" in Grundy Center, across the street from the pool and the Maid-Rite where we always went in the summer growing up.
On my cousin Curt's farm - the weather was absolutely beautiful and the crops were doing great, despite massive flooding earlier this summer.
Grandma was teaching Jackson about the corn and we wanted to document how tall is was.  "Knee-high by the fourth of July" is a bit of an understatement these days!!
I think this picture is beautiful - something about the colors, the barns, the trees....I love it there.  And Jackson loved the doggies - Junior and Tiny :) 

Elkhart County Fair

We have lots to catch up on from this summer!  Late in July we joined our friends Alex, Erica and Lane at the Elkhart County Fair. This was Jackson's first time up close and personal with a cow...

Walking through stables...
And standing on a big tractor...
He also got to hang out with his buddy Lane.  Jackson is exactly one year older than Lane, and this is the first time they've really been able to "play" together.  It was a great summer day with friends!