Cuties!

My boys

Satuday afternoon Brice got Cole working with him in the garage. This wasn't hard to do because Cole loves to sweep! Go figure. They were such a cute pair, I just had to take a picture.




Have I told you how much I love my husband and son? Yes? Ok, then I won't bore you with the description. Let's just say I'm very blessed.

Spring Fling

What's a Spring Fling? It's just like a Fall Festival, but in the spring. Cole's school had theirs last Friday and what fun it was! Plenty of games, candy, and prizes. After two hours, he was exhausted and it was hot! It's nice that he's at the age where we can let him do his own thing with his friends and just check in every now and then. I'll eat those words later, but that day it was nice. Here he is with one of his friends from his class.

The young girl with the long hair in the background is one of his best friends. We JUST found out that she lives on our street, about 7 houses up! How have we made it through a whole year and not known this?? I told Cole this news and he said, "Yeah, I know." Boys!!

Friendly Visit

Last weekend my dear friend from Kentucky, Stephanie, came to Birmingham for her semi-annual visit to Talladega. She usually breezes in and out so quickly that I'm lucky to catch a meal with her. This time, she spent all of Friday night with me and a meal on Monday!! We had such a good time! There are people in my life that make it easy to pick right up, no matter how long it's been since we've seen each other. You know who you are and I love you!

Steph, thanks for being one of those people!

Movie Reviews

There haven't been many movies lately that I've thoroughly enjoyed. I don't think I'm asking for too much - good character development, definite plot, clear resolution (preferably a happy one), enjoyable storyline. I'm a big fan of the romantic comedy, but even some of those have been letting me down lately (with the exception of Enchanted). I was beginning to wonder if I would ever again be able to walk out of a movie with a contented smile thinking, "I really enjoyed that."


Well, the movie gods have smiled on me. I've seen TWO movies in the past two weeks that I really enjoyed and I'm going to tell you about them! I hope your city has a wonderful place called the $1 Theater. Fortunately, the one in our town is less than a mile from my house. Movies move so quickly through the mainstream theaters, it doesn't take long for us to just wait and see them for a fraction of the price.



Last week's movie: Definitely, Maybe

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Abigail Breslin
Elizabeth Banks, Isla Fisher, Rachel Weisz

Plot: Maya's parents are going through a divorce. She begs her dad to tell her the story of how he fell in love with her mother. He finally agrees to tell the complicated story of 3 loves in his life leaving Maya to guess which girl in the story is her mother.

There are funny, sweet, and tender moments. I cried like a baby, resonating with parts of the story. I found myself lost in the movie, trying to figure out who he ended up with. Plus, he's just adorable! I recommend it - maybe, definitely.






This week's movie: Penelope

Starring: Christina Ricci, James McAvoy,
Catherine O'Hara, Reese Witherspoon

Plot: An old family curse caused Penelope to be born with a pig face. The curse could only be broken if one of their own, a blueblood, learned to love her the way she is. Her devastated mother never gave up hope that some gentleman would agree to marry her daughter and break the curse upon her. Eligible men ran as soon as they saw her face. A leap of faith takes Penelope in a new direction of self-discovery and opportunity.

I loved this! It's a typical fantasy, Beauty and the Beast type story with a twist. The cast is perfect. It has a great message as well as a sweet story. I walked out smiling. Rent it when it comes out!

Flip it!

What you see above is the latest technology addition to the Jackson house - and we LOVE it! It's called Flip Video. It is digital video at the press of a button with an LCD screen on the back for viewing and zooming. The USB arm pops out for easy uploading and it has built-in software for editing. You can make movies or snap still shots from the video you've taken. Plus it's just the size of a regular digital camera! You can see its work in the posts below.

Ok, enough of the commercial. Just remember, Mother's Day is coming up so start mentioning it to the hubby now.

Music too!

I need another kid! Cole gets too much blog attention - it may go to his head!

Saturday afternoon, Cole and some of his fellow piano students gave a little performance at a local assisted living home. It was such fun to watch the kids - and the grown-ups! Cole played two pieces that he's been working on diligently. Both have duet parts with his teacher, Mrs. Nailen. Keep in mind, he's only been taking lessons since January. Can you tell I'm proud of him?

And listen to the end of the clip - a sweet old lady with no concept of volume yells out, "He's about as big as a minute!" when Cole was walking back to his seat. Hilarious!!

Soccer Star

It's spring and that means soccer season for Cole. He's playing in the Briarwood Soccer Club. It's been fun running into old acquaintances. He's got some athletic skills - definitely not from my genes! Here is a breakdown of a great kick he made:







Ready . . .








aim . . .







fire!






We also tried our hand at making videos this weekend. I'm really proud of this! :-) My mom and dad gave us a kickin' video camera! Below is a montage of some of Cole's shining moments, with music, created by yours truly. I think he's going to be a defender!

Atlanta with Pop

Last Friday, Pop surprised Cole by checking him out of school at 9:45 am to take him to Atlanta for a Braves game on their opening weekend! Cole was definitely surprised and so excited! Once they got on the road, he asked Pop if I knew about the trip and if he was sure that I was ok with it. So glad he thought of that!

Unfortunately, that night's game was cancelled due to inclement weather. But no worries, Cole was just glad to be on a trip with Pop - and stay in a hotel room! They passed the time playing Cole's new favorite game, Phase 10. We are so glad he is old enough to play now! Pop only beat him by 10 points that night!

They also got to visit the Atlanta Aquarium. From what I hear, he really enjoyed it.

He loves to take pictures! Here are some of his finer photographs from this trip . . .

Baluga whales, jellyfish

and tropical fish. Nice work!

Pop assures us he will take him again to actually watch the Braves play!