What a summer!!

Okay, okay. I KNOW it's been 4 months since I've blogged. It HAS been one of those summers, though! We moved from NC (goodbye lake house, goodbye pool, goodbye boondocks- HELLO civilization!) back to Radford, VA. Jackson and I (and sometimes Alan) spent three weeks with my parents enjoying their very warm hospitality and all the fun that Lake Montclair offers! =) During that time we spent many days at Dolphin Beach (where Becky was lifeguarding...following in my footsteps ;-)) swimming and meeting new friends. Becky graduated high school so my Grandma and Grandpa B came out and Jackson got to be reacquainted with his great grandparents! My cousin Kelsey, whom I hadn't seen in 6 years came for a visit and it went way too quickly. Jackson and I got to catch up with Katie and Caleb and they came to visit us at the lake and then we joined them for a great day at the zoo. I was able to catch up with my long lost friends (Ashley and Kari and Maryam- my three bffs during my high school days). I went to WMZQfest (an all day country concert) and a Dave Matthews Band concert (fulfilled a lifelong dream of mine! =)) with them! I got to spend a lot of time with my parents and my sisters which is ALWAYS my favorite thing to do. Alan, Jackson, and I spent an awesome week at Virginia Beach with my in-laws and that was definitely one of the highlights of our summer! We put our house on the market (for sale by owner) and sold it in just two weeks and made a great profit! We house-hunted in Roanoke and within a week, we found an adorable 1927 Bungalow in a really cool neighborhood close to downtown. Alan officiated two weddings this summer for two of our favorite couples- Cassie and Andy and then Curtis and Laura. Jackson was a ring bearer in Curtis and Laura's wedding and loved it! Alan and I celebrated our 6 year anniversary and the next day we moved into our new house and did lots of painting, started remodeling the kitchen (we're still in the process) and began unpacking. Later that week, Jackson turned two and we had a wonderful birthday party with LOTS of family and some friends. It was a firetruck theme and he had a jumping moon bounce which he loved. Alan turned the big 3-0 and I got him tickets to see the Redskins/Cowboys game later this fall which he's very excited about since he's an avid Cowboys fan. It has been a very busy and very full summer. We love our new home and love Roanoke! We are excited about our new church and about reconnecting with our friends who live here! We feel so blessed and definitely feel like God's hand has been in all the details that got us to this point. And now for a LOT of pictures. Please feel free to skip to my next entry if you would like since this is basically going to be a photo album. I plan to start blogging again! I've just been dreading this "catch up" blog so I've been putting it off. So if you want to read all the captions, you can suck it up and go through them. If you don't, skip right on ahead! I'll try to update with the most recent stuff in the next couple of days!

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How's that for picture overload!?! I'll put Jackson's birthday party pics, first day of preschool pics, and a few other recent ones on a separate blog soon!

Our first 5k!

We DID it! =)
This was the first 5k race that Mom, Dad, Liz, and I ran together. It was the National Police Week 5k and we all ran the whole way and passed a lot of people (aaand...got passed by a lot of people, too ;-)). We all finished right around the 31 minute mark which was pretty good for our first race. I think we all want to run some more. I'd love to keep working my way up to further distances but we'll see.

Jackson representing in his FBI shirt.

The runners and our fans! The whole family minus Danny and Becky (who had prom the night before)!

Speaking of, here she is with her boyfriend, Stephen. I got there just in time to see her and her 30 friends leaving in their party bus.

And here is Jackson on his first Metro ride. He called it a "choo choo" and looooved it! We'll definitely be riding the Metro lots this summer.

Just for the record, we don't usually let him have his pacifier unless he's sleeping, but he was especially cranky that day so we gave in.

Jackson and his Daddy at one of the stops.

Katie and Caleb's visit...

One of my best friends, Katie came down to stay with us for the weekend and she brought her adorable 11 month old son, Caleb. Jackson was very interested in Caleb and for the most part did really well with him. There were a few times when I had Caleb in my lap that Jackson would get jealous and try to use his bum to push Caleb off and sit on my lap himself. ;-) Katie and I had a blast together like we always do and I wish so badly they lived closer. =( But we'll see each other a lot this summer while I'm in NoVa.

This is Caleb in Jackson's wagon.

This is Jackson crying because he hadn't had a nap and Caleb looking at his mom like "what's with this kid?"

Katie and Caleb at lunch. We went to "The Twisted Fork" and ate on their patio and it was such a gorgeous day.

Jackson playing with the "Thomas the Tank Engine" set at Barnes and Noble. He has spent HOURS on this thing. He throws a hissy fit every time we leave.

The boys playing together.

My favorite. You can tell Jackson likes Caleb! =)

Catching up...

I'm so bad about being a consistent blogger. It'll probably be easier once summer is here cause I'll have Alan home to help out with Jackson!! YAY for being a teacher's wife! ;-)
Here's a few catch up photos:

Just a Jackson up close shot that I love.

This is Jackson's 3rd cousin Sharla dancing with him. She kept telling Jackson that they needed to go get married. I'm personally opposed to this idea.

Here's Jackson at the park near our house riding the "hosey."

Here he is waving good-bye and looking like such a little man.

And here he is swinging on the big boy swing. He hates the baby swing which is unfortunate because he falls backwards off of this swing more often than not. Oh well!
Coming up next in future blogs: Katie and Caleb's trip to visit us, pics from the 5k I ran in D.C. this last weekend, and pics from the Janney's last visit down. Get excited! ;-)

Our Dog

This is Lacy. She swims across the lake to visit us most days.

Jackson always gets really excited and starts shouting "Dog! DOG! Cheeyos."

So then I give him cheerios (cheeyos) and he feeds them to Lacy. She's a sweet yellow lab and makes me want a dog. We usually throw a ball for her and she comes with us on walks a lot. We're going to miss her when we move in a few weeks.

Recent pics...

I haven't posted any pics recently and these are a month or two old, but I'll be posting more now that the weather is nice and I have a new camera.

Jackson

My smiley boy.

Jackson and his wand.

Jackson loves to lay down in the middle of the road. It's great.

Pensive Jackson (taken by his Gpa).
Jackson spent the last week with his Gigi and Gpa and Auntie Boo Boo (Becky)while his mommy and daddy went to the beach with his Auntie Annie and Uncle Danny!! He had a wonderful time and learned all kinds of new words and tricks.

Jackson and Gigi.


Jackson and his Gpa (before Gpa shaved off his mustache).

And while Mom and Dad were keeping Jackson, Annie (my sister), Danny (her hubby), Alan and I went to Myrtle Beach for spring break. Yes we are all in our mid to late 20's but that is NO reason to let spring breaks end! ;-) It was our first week away from Jackson and he had a blast. We missed him a lot but it was so relaxing and so much fun! =)


I'm totally a beach over mountains girl. I think it's so peaceful and I loooove sunshine.

Alan flying his kite.

Totally candid. I never pose for pics. ;-)

I got a little camera happy at the beach.

Alan's viewpoint.

Alan and I.

Anne and Danny at Barefoot Landing. We'd just done a wine tasting AND fed a swan.

My Annie and I. She's been my best friend since the day Mom and Dad brought her home from the hospital. And no, we're not identical twins even though I KNOW the resemblance is striking. ;-)

Anne and Danny at the 30$ a person seafood buffet. You can see some of the evidence of the MASSIVE amount of crab legs that Danny ate. It was SO good! =)

Alan and I. I was so full it hurt to smile.