Schoooooool's Out for Summer!

I have two very happy boys at my house! School is out and they are free! Cole greeted me with wide eyes and big hugs when I picked him up today. They let out at 11:00 so I let him pick a lunch place. He picked Sonic - man after my own heart! So we had lunch together then spent the afternoon together at my office.

Cole finished the year with an S in each subject and behavior category. Next year will begin the A,B,C grading. Brice finished strong as well, gaining tenure and switching subjects for next year. He is moving teams, which makes him sad, but changing to math, which makes him happy. We believe the set curriculum and structure will be better for him.

Brice has also started school at Red Mountain Institute for massage therapy. He has class two nights a week and one weekend a month. It's been quite an adjustment not having him around as much, but we're learning how to make the most of our time together as a family.

No vacations planned for the summer yet. Cole is going to VBS, a few camps, and the beach for a few days. Brice and I are going to North Carolina for a wedding in early August. That's the only travel planned so far.

Happy summer, everyone!

Honors Day

This morning was the annual Honors Program at Cole's school. Students in grades K-5 filed into the gym as parents sat in folding chairs waiting to see their little precious stand up when their name was called. We were no exception. Brice and I sat on the 2nd row waiting to see our boy.

Awards were given for achievement in art, music, P.E., and overall academic improvement - one each per class. Any guesses on what award my Cole got??

Cole Jackson for Outstanding Participation in Music

Yea!! We are so proud!

Then we sat through 30 minutes of 3rd-5th graders getting recognition for A and A/B Honor Roll. We smiled knowing that our Cole will be on that list next year. Wow, 3rd grade! I can't believe how fast it's happening.

Mothers' Day

Sunday, May 11, 2008 - a day to honor your mother . . . and be honored as a mother

My day began with breakfast in bed at 6:45 am, provided by my husband and son: cinnamon rolls, banana/peanut butter toast, apple mango juice. Gifts and cards abounded as I ate. That green box there holds my very own fondue maker. Woo hoo!


The picture in the middle of the bed is the portrait my son made of me. I'd say he's got talent. Here's the close-up:

Brice headed off to class for the majority of the day and Cole and I headed to my parents' church. Who knew that would be the best gift I could ever give my mother? (Not Brice being in class all day, but going to church with them.) It was really fun to go back to my home church for a day. Saw many people I hadn't seen in a while and sang some hymns I haven't sung in a while.

We headed to lunch and surprise - Brice met us there. His instructor scheduled their lunch break so that he could meet us for our lunch. What a sweetie! (Brice and the instructor.)



Then came a grand photography session. Cole has become quite good with the camera and loves to practice. So feast your eyes on our plethora of pictures.

Anna with her Mother

Cole with his Mother

Cole with Anna's Mother

The rest of the day was spent playing games with my parents. It doesn't get much better than that. I learned that playing a card game with Mom takes twice as long as playing with my husband or son. Mom and I talk more than play because we don't see each other as often.

And Mom has always been a good listener. I remember coming in from events in high school and sitting on the edge of her bed where she was reading and waiting for me to come home. I would talk and talk about the evening and she listened to every word and never rushed me. It's really nice to be heard. She's a great gal, my mom. I sure do love her. I like her pretty well too.

And it's a good thing, cuz I'm turning into her more and more every day!!

Life in the desert

I had a conference for work in Scottsdale, AZ on Monday and Tuesday. I hardly ever travel for business so I felt very grown up and professional. Plus my sweet boss suggested that Brice go with me and we get there a couple days early to have some "us" time before the conference. Isn't he great?? So last Saturday, Brice and I flew to Phoenix.

Now, the biggest highlight of the trip was actually our layover on the way to Phoenix. You might ask, "How could a layover possibly qualify for a highlight?" Answer: we got to spend 3 hours in St. Louis! We were there long enough to go to my sister's house and spend some good time with their family. If you know me, you know why that was the highlight of our trip.

On that note, I would just like to take this opportunity to tell the world how grateful I am for my sister. She's an amazing person and such an inspiration to me. She's a great listener, giver, encourager, friend to laugh with, and the mother of three adorable, precious children. I love you, Beck!

Then it was on to Scottsdale!

We watched the movie Vantage Point while eating great food at Farrelli's Cinema Supper Club - great idea!! If we somehow win a million dollars, I'm gonna start one of those in Birmingham!

We also played mini golf, took a gondola ride around the gorgeous grounds of the Hyatt, saw a play, Barefoot in the Park, and ate some fabulous food! My boss recommended some places to eat and he definitely has great taste.

The area is completely different than the southeast. The desert has dirt, cactus, and not much green. Like this:

We did some shopping as well. We don't have a Crate & Barrel so that was fun to browse. We do have a Disney Store, but that was fun to browse too . . .

It was a nice trip and I'm so thankful to my boss for allowing us the mini-vacation!

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.