Go Beavers!!!

We are so excited that football season is here....well, I should say Jason is! We got our Beaver orange on and cheered on the Beavs as they played Stanford on Thurs. Unfortunately, they lost, but we all had a good time clapping and rooting on the Beavs.Wow, we actually got a picture of Jack smiling normally. I love this picture of him!!!
Uncle Jeremy came over to watch the game with us....apparently, he got the memo and wore orange as well. The boys look VERY excited for the game to start.
Great pic of the Beaver Believers!

Black Butte!!!

We spent five days in Black Butte with the Freise's, Schreiber's and Kleps'. We had such a good time. The kids had a blast playing in the pool, going on walks, feeding the ducks and playing on the deck outside. Nice jammies, Lauren and Alexa!
We even look alike....it is fun to suck on fingers before bedtime!
Swinging in the park right by our house.
The dads taking care of the little kiddos.
What a treat....what a mess!
Bathtime! We had to wash the dirt and dessert off of Jack, Claire and Emily.

Can you say bubbles? They liked their bubble hats.
Jack did this puzzle at least five times a day everyday. I love this picture of Lauren. She is crawling like crazy now. And, she is SO proud of herself. She loves discovering things on her own now.
So proud of herself...and so cute too.
We are on a walk and Jackson is looking at the map telling us which way to go.
Claire, Jackson and Emily feeding the ducks.

This doubled as Jack's walking stick and drum stick on our way home from feeding the ducks.
After a long day, the kids winding down watching a show on TV. Look how tired they look!
Here is Lauren swinging. This is right before she decided to lean forward and come out of the swing. She was literally hanging by her waist from the chain. A little scary, but she was ready to swing again soon after that happened. What a trooper.
Schreiber with Alexa and Lauren. Geoff watched Lauren for me while I showered. Both kids were in good hands, even though Lauren looks petrified.
Swimming at the pool. Jack LOVED jumping in the pool. Before Claire and Emily got in the pool the first day, Jack didn't like going all the way under the water and getting his face in wet, but when the girls came in he pool, Jackson had to show off all of his tricks. He started jumping in the pool and going all the way under. He also liked pushing off the edge of the pool with his feet and "swimming" to Jason. It was so cute that he was trying to impress his friends.

Little swimmer.
Look at Emily jumping in the pool.
Claire loved her "muscles" and would wear them even out of the pool.
One, two, three jump. Jack, Emily and Claire jumping to the dads.
Lauren and I hanging out at the pool.

Feeding the horses in the meadow.
What a happy girl.
What a cutie.
Big group pictures...thanks Jill for taking it!!
Lauren and Claire playing at the pool.

New set of golf clubs

Jackson got a new set of golf clubs from his grandparents, so we went to the golf course to try them out.
I haven't gotten a good picture of Jackson smiling in ages....here is our cheeseball~
So cute...he actually looks like he is a real golfer heading to the range. (Kind of like his mommy...looks the part, but that is about it!)

If you look closely, you can see the ball heading to the left.


Jack's number one fan, Lauren. She had so much fun watching Jack hit the ball. It won't be long until she is on the range with her clubs!



Surprise surprise...I got a video of him hitting the ball. He did a really good job and can't wait to go back.

Crawfish???

Last week, Jason came home with a bucket full of crawfish and a "great idea." Great idea, huh? Well, even though I was grossed out, Jason and Jackson had a good time. Who had more fun?....well, that is still up for debate. Check this out---Look at the "crabs"
For those of you who don't know, Jack likes to walk like animals....he has mastered a polar bear and penguin walk. Here is a picture of his crawfish walk. He has his pinchers out...
Daddy put this fishing pole together for Jack.
Getting the bait ready. I bet you didn't know that crawfish liked hot dogs, did you?
Here is jack fishing. Yes, this is the pool that Jack and Lauren swim in. Jason promised me that he would clean it after these dirty things were in it. =)
I was inside making dinner and Jason was in the garage when I heard Jackson call from the deck, "Got one!" I didn't believe him, but went out to check it out anyway. Well, I guess I should have listened. He actually caught one! He was so excited, as you can probably tell from the picture.
Jackson got pretty good at catching the crawfish. He likes to catch and release. When I asked him if he wanted to eat what he caught, he turned me down. Thank goodness!!!!!

Check out Lauren's new tricks (and a few new CUTE pics)

Here are a few pictures of Lauren. She turns 9 months tomorrow. She is really starting to blossom. She is just starting to crawl and can go from a laying down position to sitting up. She is also taking a few steps ( when we are holding her hands)

Here are her latest "stats"

17lbs 12oz- 35%
28 inches- 70%

Even in Lauren's ultrasound pictures, she had her hands in her mouth. Pretty funny that she still loves to suck on her fingers.

Check out those HUGE blue eyes. I love them.

This picture represents Lauren. She is always smiling and happy. Pretty amazing when you think about what she has gone through in her short life.

When we are out running errands, it seems that we can't go anywhere without people stopping me to tell me how cute Lauren is. They usually comment on her big beautiful smile and sometimes her blue eyes.

Lauren is so proud of herself. She loves trying to crawl after her toys. After she crawls a few "steps" she sits up and claps for herself. Super cute!

Some people might not consider this crawing, but her proud mommy does and that is ALL that counts. It may be slow, but there is a bit of forward progress. Check it out...

Sorry, this video is a bit long, but here she is laying down and by the end of the video clip she is sitting up. What a big girl she is now.

Mr. Independent

Each morning while I take a shower, Jackson either reads books or watches a show in our bedroom. When I am in the shower, I like him in our room, so I can hear what he is doing. He is not allowed to leave the room until I get out of the shower.

So, the other morning, while I was in the shower he got up from reading his books and came in the bathroom. He said, "Mommy, I can go downstairs and get my juice?" I thought, how much trouble can he get in? His cup is on the couch in our family room. So, I told Jack he could get his cup, but he needed to come right back upstairs. A few minutes later, I got out of the shower and Jack was still downstairs. So I wrapped the towel around me and marched downstairs to help him find his cup. Well, this is what I saw when I went downstairs.I asked Jack what he was doing and here was his response. "Well Mommy, I opened the closet door and got my 'ladder' out. Then I moved it over here and climbed WAY up. I sat on the counter and got out my cup for apple juice! See I'm a big boy, Mommy!" After that response, I was trying so hard not to crack up and I told him he could only get his "ladder" out when I was around. I guess my little guy is growing up and a little more independent now.