Happy Easter!!

Love, The Jacksons

The hunt is on...

This morning we headed over to a neighbors home for a little Easter fun. We all brought eggs filled with candy so the kids could have a little hunt, had a light brunch, played a game of crack the egg and the kids ate more candy than I care to recall. The egg hunt was in the backyard. There are huge trees and a little stream that flows through the back. It was perfect and bit challenging for the older kids who hunted past the fence. Matt is ready for the challenge.Josh was totally excited and kept asking about it all morning.. Trey could have passed the 12 egg limit in under a minute. When we was finished he helped his brothers search for the goodies. They looked high and low and in between.
The girls were a bit lost by the whole gathering eggs bit. They kept a slow snail pace.Kaitlyn finally spied one.
Her one and only prized pink egg, though she got a few more when we headed inside.Brynn loved her Spiderman egg. Matt happily traded her for a plain one from his basket once inside.


HAPPY EASTER!

Signs of Life....

Spring has finally arrived! In honor of its first official day this year, the girls and I went for a walk yesterday and this afternoon in search of happy signs that the world really is coming back to life. Who can stay inside when the rain has cleared and the air is cool and fresh? It's a bit of heaven after a long, cold winter. Thankfully we weren't disappointed! Nope, not one bit! Though I have to admit, I am sure I looked like some crazed woman pushing a stroller snapping pictures. I even went into a few strangers yards to capture their pretty spring blossoms. Very glad no one came out and chased me away. Here's some of what we found....Buds on trees and a lovely clear blue sky
Purple Crocuses A flowering treeBright yellow Crocuses
Squirrels on UK campus. These were the girls favorite by far. They would squeal with delight when they spotted one and point and wave until they disappeared.
Bright beautiful daffodils
Purple and yellow Crocus Birds, birds, birds. I love hearing their tweets and songs in the morning. Makes me realize I need to fill up my feeder in the backyard.
The robins have been out and about feeding, flirting and eyeing possible nesting sites. I loved that we had 3 sets of baby robins live in our yard last year and was SO relived when they all managed to fly away. Not sure if I'm up for it again. I just worry day and night about those babies!
Snow white CrocusesViolet HyacinthsThere's nothing like a bright and sunny day to get people out and about. I love to see the herd of walkers coming down the hill from school. My boys will join their ranks in 2 weeks after spring break.Sadly, I also saw my first dandelion of the year. I have a passionate HATE for these weeds. Nearly every day I get out my handy knife in search of new ones to dig up. It's the only way to succeed in killing them. I also saw my first flies buzzing around the can on garbage day this past Monday, had a bee flew by my head tonight and I have already killed 2 spiders in the house. There is always good and bad, but I'll take the warmth and sun any day over the freezing cold and snow. You just can't be sad when there's sunshine all around.And I am very much looking forward to when we can spend most of our time here- our neighborhood pool and playground. Fun times ahead!

Happy 1st day of Spring!

Celebrate the Arts

Last night the kids and I attended Celebrate the Arts at the boys' school. There was lots to see and do, but we had to cram it all in 20 minutes since we needed to get Trey to baseball at Tates Creek High School. The festival included a piece of art work from each student displayed in the halls, the school band playing their instruments in various parts of the school, a book fair in the library and refreshments.

Every child made their own version of the all the different pieces shown in art, but only one was chosen to display. Matt's was a clown.
Josh also displayed his clown drawing. (Purple name tag)Trey had a piece of sand art. (green name tag)The boys had to get their faces painted.We ended up with 3 paws. Very appropriate since this is also on display in the hallway. All the kids signed it. Last year the school even got on the news because of their intense support for UK. The girls made a beeline to the fish tank in the library. They were mesmerized. We made a mad dash into the book fair, only to find the books very picked over. Matt and Trey were not pleased. Tears were shed as I drug they from the building to get to baseball on time without purchasing any new books. They sadly gulped down fruit punch and munched on cookies from the cafeteria as we drove away. Hopefully a lesson was learned about proper book fair etiquette. If not, I don't think book fairs will be in their future!

With that said, it was fun to run around their school searching for the pictures. They get so excited and talk 100 mph (must be related to their mom!) and just grin from ear to ear when they found their piece. Very fun night. Well done boys!

Let the MADNESS begin...

"DANCE THE DAY AWAY"

I've been humming the CBS opening lines for the NCAA men's basketball tournament this morning. The boys are in blue and white (brainwashed for UK) at school today, while Rich, the girls and I are sporting our new Stanford gear. The big day has finally arrived. It's not Christmas eve anymore, Christmas day have arrived!

There are so many games to follow over the next 48 hours. ESPN.com is blinking red LIVE! feeds everywhere your eyes scan. Their is an excitement in the air. I can feel it. Sure, I will only view some of the games later on SportsCenter. But each game matters, even if I can't tell you the name of their starting point guard or 6' 11" center. Why? Because of my brackets baby! Once you write a team's name down to advance, you are rooting for them, pulling for them to come out on top. Like I said, it's magic! (Same thing happens at a horse race, but you didn't hear that from me....)

I was up until 1 AM filling in my ESPN fantasy brackets. I really know little about most of the teams, but that doesn't stop me from wanting to WIN! Rich's family set up the Jackson Bash, while my family has Nance Madness tournament bracket competition. This year it's not just about beating Rich, there is a whole new level of smackdown. And that makes it even more exciting than before. It's not for money, it's for bragging rights for the next 12 months. A lot is at stake.

As I type I have the Xavier vs Georgia game on CBS on low volume. I don't need to watch the actual game, but just knowing it's on, hearing the occasional whistle blow makes my heart leap for joy. Xavier is down by 9 at half time. Can we smell that sweet fragrance of upset? Gotta play those last 20 minutes. Anything can happen. UK vs Marquette tips off in an hour (2:30 PM EST). Stanford tips off at 4:35 PM in Anaheim. Can't wait.

So, if you need me over the next few days. You know where to find me. In front of the TV my friend. Hoping that by Saturday, April 5 I still see North Carolina, Kansas, Memphis and UCLA alive and well. Here's to wishing... I mean winning!!

GO STANFORD!!!!

Random Thoughts...

I think Lexington might float away. We have had 2 days of rain, with today's being "intense" at times. I actually delayed my trip to Sam's Club for 3 hours because I knew my cartful of items plus the girls in tow wouldn't stand a chance in the downpour. At school pick up this afternoon I noticed the river by the school is swollen beyond its banks and we have standing water by the side of the house, something this girl from the desert state of Utah rarely saw growing up. The thing that surprised me the most is when Josh asked if they were going to cancel school for rain. That would be a NO Josh. See, we're whimps out here!

I put the girls down for their nap a half an hour ago so I could put away groceries, start homework and clean up my house that looks like it exploded. That is what I SHOULD be doing. Instead here I sit typing, while I can hear the girls up singing and yelling behind a closed door. Not quite the rest I was hoping for. Am I going up to get them, even when they call, "Mom, Mommy!" ? Nope, gotta get something done around here! I'll give them 30 more minutes and then take them out. I don't think that makes me a mean mom. I'm just trying to remain a SANE one.

Ran into various stores today in search of some fun goodies and toys for the kids' Easter baskets. Felt good to find the MUST have items (Webkinz: buy 1 get one 1/2 off, videos $8.88 at Sam's and a used $9.99 PS2 game for Trey- Love great deals!) The bunny around here hides the basket that has been attached to yarn (Rich's mom's tradition) and the kids have to follow their line that criss crosses the house and even goes outside a bit. It's fun, but after 20 minutes of following the trail, they deserve to find more than just some plastic eggs. Plus, after I read about everyone's fun St Patrick's Day traditions and feasts, it seem like I need to make it up to my kids. Rich was on call and I didn't put on green until 2 PM. Party pooper, I know.

The boys school is having another Blue and White day tomorrow to support UK men's basketball team in their first tournament game. They start brainwashing them early around here. I think I'll just pull out my new Stanford shirt and go to lunch with the boys. They probably won't appreciate it since UK would play Stanford if they both win their first game. I don't think UK stands a chance of winning in round one. We'll just wait and see....

Last night as I got into bed, I thought about what my skinny, mini Matt had eaten the last few days. Thankfully Rich grabbed nuggets from Burger King for dinner after baseball, but before that I know he only ate 1/2 a peanut butter sandwich and an 80 calorie Sunny-D for lunch (I was sitting next to him) and swallowed a few bites of a too crunchy for his liking Eggo that morning. To make matters worse, the night before I don't think he ate more than a cookie and some chocolate milk for dinner because Rich was on call and the kids seemed to eat in shifts. I didn't notice until later that he kind of got skipped on the food department. Oops. The kid simply doesn't eat. Why the heck not? Food is our friend fella! No wonder he's skin and bones. But I have figured out how he survives. We go through a huge 2 quart jug of Mrs. Butterworth's syrup every other week. Sad, but true. The boy loves sugar. I guess that is why is he EXTRA sweet inside and out.

I watched my weekly dose of youtube American Idol this morning and checked out Brooke and David A. in ten minutes flat. Too cool. I have to say I LOVE the Beatles. I listened to tapes of them cranked up loud in my little red convertible Geo Tracker in high school. I have all of their songs now on CD. I think they're fantastic. Side note: I also LOVE the Mamas and the Papas too. They were probably #1 on my high school playlist (of course that was BEFORE playlists were invented) followed by Sting, who I adore. Anyway, back to AI. Love Brooke, LOVE Hear Comes the Sun, but wasn't too thrilled with her performance. She knew it too. Thought David did a great job with a Long and Winding Road. He's great.

I HATE Crest kids toothpaste. Sure it keeps their teeth nice a shiny, their breath fresh and hopefully guards them against dreaded cavities, but if I have to wipe dry, crusted blue smear off the cabinets, floor, carpet, walls, bedspreads and today off Brynn's face and hair (nice) one more time I think I may toss the stuff and make them use the spicy white flavor they detest. Maybe...

I had to give a huge shout out to all our fun mail we have gotten recently. The girls are starting to expect presents delivered to our door everyday, but I guess that starts to happen when you have a birthday in less than a week. Thanks to all for the cute cards, holiday packages and thank you notes people sent (my birthday ones are still sitting on my counter- BAD!). Thanks to our parents for the new jackets, Easter goodies, Sunday clothes and our new Stanford gear. So fun to have Rich's parents spend time in SF last week and send some Palo Alto souvenirs our way just in time for the tournament. THANK YOU!

One last thing. What has gotten into news stations these days? I was shocked when I turned on the Today show this morning saw some poor reporter in Missouri (I don't even think he was a meteorologist) not on the banks of a treacherous river, but standing IN the water. Really? Why? It's not like I want to see him swept away by the furious undercurrent as he explains that the river is a bit high. Ah, we know.

Have a great day!!!

Tuesday Tell All: Collections

The TTA topic this week is about collections we have kept past or present. I automatically started to think about collections that people I love have. My Grandma Nance collects plates and thimbles from places she's visited. The plates are above the cabinets in the kitchen. The thimbles are in a glass case by the back door. I have purchased thimbles for her from trips I have gone on because I think of her when I see them in gift shops. My mom has a lovely collection of Lladro pieces in the hutch in the living room. My dad has brought home sand from different beaches he has traveled to. Rich's mom has beautiful porcelain dolls in the cabinet upstairs. Rich's dad has a display of golf balls in the den. My brother Rhett has a binder of Pokemon cards (though he has since out grown them and shared a few with my boys). Greg, Brad and Jeff had baseball cards. Rich had baseball, basketball and football cards as a boy. Our sweet neighbor Ken Swenson collects spoons.

When I thought about me, nothing really stood out. I have never stuck to one thing. While I would love to say I am a collector of art, I really just am the recipient of generous Christmas gifts. I did come up with a few things, but I thought it would be fun to start out with the kids....TREY: Yu-Gi-Oh cards. While others loved Pokemon, Trey went straight for the newer version of Japanese collectible cards. It pains me each time we spend $4.00 for a pack, but he loves them, even if they spend 99% of the time in a Ziploc tucked in the closet. Better there than scattered all over the living room!JOSH: Stuffed animals, mainly dogs. When he makes his bed, there are so many friends it's hard to see the bedspread! He doesn't actually sleep with them. He pushed them to the foot of the bed when he climbs in for the night. Wise move!

MATT: About a year ago Matt wanted to start collecting "credit cards" as he calls them. They are gift cards I have "taken the money off" to quote Matt. Every store I went to I tried to pick up one and soon he had a very large collection. When we were at Wal-mart he would pick them out and then I would add $5 dollars to each card. We then would use the cards to pay for our groceries and I would hand them over to Matt as we walked out the door . Tricky huh since they don't just give those things away! He hasn't gotten any new ones for a while, but now tells me he wants them WITH the money still on them. Smart kid. Very smart.
BRYNN: Her favorite collection is her ever growing pile of shoes. She changes her pair every hour, so it really is nice to have options!
KAITLYN: Her beloved stack of blankets. If you can believe it that isn't even all of them! She loves her blankets. She adores them. When I get her out of her crib, she tosses them over the side. She drags them around the house, they come in the car and once in awhile they tag along into shops and such, though we're trying to avoid an attachment like Matt's yellow blanket- far too many witnessed the wrath of Matt when it was missing! (Right Kristi?!) I love each blanket because I think of the wonderful women- friends and family- that handmade almost all of them for my baby girls. What gifts of love.CHERYL: As a young child I started a sticker collection. Through most of elementary school I saved all the stickers people gave to me and stored them in this little metal tin. As I looked through it today (it was stored in my cedar chest) I found a little piece of paper that had 3o2 stickers scribbled on it. Quite the collection. Check out those Michael Jackson and Gremlins stickers- totally 80's!One summer I started a coin collection. I think I only ended up with a few pennies, quarters, nickels and dimes of no importance, but I did find this 1943 penny. It's the only coin that I kept over the years besides a 1977 (my birth year) 50 cent piece. The 1943 silver colored penny is a wartime issue made of steel, and coated with zinc. During World War II, copper was so badly needed for the war effort (to make shell casings) that the U.S. penny was made out of steel that year, which is why most 1943 pennies are silver colored. They are worth about 12 to 15 cents each in circulated condition, and as much as 50 cents or more if uncirculated. Not a lot of monetary value, but it was a treasure find for me that summer.As I thought about what I have collected as an adult, my mind drew a blank. I really don't collect things. The only thing I have tried to get over the years weren't very hard to come buy. In fact they were quite cheap. They are McDonald's Happy Meal toys. Before you think I'm completely nutty, there have only been 4 toys since Trey was born 8 years ago that I have wanted to get. They were the Ty Beanie Baby animals and bears, the Build-A-Bear animals and the Madame Alexander dolls.
These cute animals came out when Trey was a baby. With the help of my mom and brothers, we got quite a stash. I kept them in a basket in Trey's room and took them to church as play toys. They have been stored in a box since they move so it was fun to pull them out today and look at each one.These bears came out a few years ago. The boys had fun seeing which one would come with their meal. They too were in storage. Matt happily grabbed one of the green ones to add to his green toy collection. They had these when the girls were babies. My boys go to Build-A-Bear each year on their birthday, so to find smaller versions of their dolls was a real treat. We didn't get them all, but we got a lot. (Thanks again to my mom, Kurt and Rhett!) The rabbit is my favorite.
These are my favorite toys. I love these dolls. McDonald's has put out different dolls every few years and I have tried to get them all. When I only had the boys they HATED getting the meals with the doll, especially since I took it and stuck it in my cedar chest. I knew that if I had a little girl one day, she would love to play with these. My favorite doll is Rapunzel. Last year they came out with the Wizard of Oz dolls. The first McDonald's I called asking about which number they currently had, they said they had them all in the back room. I could buy one of each if I wanted. That saved me a lot of time and money trying to come back each week for a new toy. Hope they come out with more in the future!

What do you collect?