Swing

Well I wish I had some photos to show you all of Jackson and his new swing set - but havn't got them downloaded yet - J got an amazing swing/slide and climbing set from Paw Paw and Grandma which he loves. yesterday it was nice and warm here, and he spent most of the day out playing on it and eating on it (it has a picnic table and bench attached underneath) i have no doubt when spring/summer comes we will have a hard time getting him to come inside! We heard him out on it yesterday saying "I like slide!" i have no idea who he was talking too, maybe Fred? It was too cute. Hope everyone has enjoyed the new posts, and I promise - more to come!

Christmas time

around midnight - Brad has had it - and takes a break from wrapping.
we went to Silver Dollar City - a theme park - which Jackson so enjoyed - he got to see santa - pictures below - we had to hold him back as he was SO excited to see Santa - finally when our turn came he ran to the old guy and threw himself on him - I think Santa was pretty shocked and delighted as the few kids before us had pretty much just cried or were shit scared. I am not sure why J loves Santa - as he had never really met him before, we just kept saying how much mum and dad loved santa and couldn't wait to give him a big hug, then Jackson said he wanted to hug Santa, and from that point on he just couldn't wait to actually see the man.
Obsession with Polar bears began well before this giant thing arrived from Santa..... he has a polar bear book which is a favorite every night, then any stuffed animal that is white is a polar bear, and now polar bear sleeps with him.
Jackson loved this princess in the parade.
Silver dollar city waiting for the parade to start (yes i know these are all out of order)
Jumping up to give Santa his long awaited hug
Proud as punch to be sitting on Santa's lap. And yes we all know he just turned two this month, and yes it is frightful he is almost as tall as Santa.

TURKEY!!!! Jackson grabed this and wouldn't let go - he ate pretty much the entire thing.

Hope everyone had an amazing Christmas like we did!

Jackson loved Christmas Day, in the morning Ole John and Joy were here to bring in the morning, Jackson loved everything he recieved, especially the robot dinosaurs which Joy thought may scare him. He got to open one gift at a time, we took it in turns from youngest to oldest. He would take his present to his spot and unwrap it and then say "WOW!" or "Awsome!" or random other words like "I like candy canes!" In the world according to Jackson Santa brings Candy Canes - he does this as after meeting Santa at Silver Dollar City, Santa gave our boy a candy cane - when ever you ask J what does Santa bring - its always the same answer with a few extras.. example
"Candy canes aannnnnddddd lollipop!"
"Candy canes aaannnnnnddddd polar bear!"

Jackson also loved giving gifts - in the afternoon he got to hand out gifts to Paw Paw and Grandma, while watching them get opened he did get to help so as to avoid meltdown.
I cooked christmas eve dinner - and Christmas day dinner - and probably too many cakes/desserts. Everyone enjoyed the meals - and I must admit they were heavenly, my coconut, bourbon and pecan pound cake was possibly the nicest cake I'd ever made. Menu for christmas eve was simple and light, followed by the pound cake and ice cream
Frenched lamb roast
Grilled Asparagus
Rice and dill
then for Christmas we had
Roast turkey with gravy made from the pan
Green beans in blue cheese and cream sauce
Grilled asparagus
Spinach, strawberry and feta salad with rasberry vinegarette
then i had made a apple cider bread pudding with a carmel pecan sauce - however we ate leftover cake and had the pudding the next night when Mrytle and Dave came to visit.

o.k the whole time I've been blogging Jackson has been crying - he does not want to have a shower/bath tonight - he has been enjoying baths lately but not getting out and not having his hair washed. He also never sits - EVER - he only swats. Brad is now done with him - it was almost a fight to see who have him the bath tonight - as I was blogging and brad was playing guitar hero i volunteered him, brad didn't think this entirely fair. now considering the whole time I've been typing J has been screaming, I think Brad wants to strangle me just a little bit. Thats what wii boxing is for isn't it?? :)

band of brothers

Brothers reunited

Allen: The only thing thats gonna help that bald patch is this magical German beer in a giant ass bottle
Brad: Whoooahhh thats some bald patch
Matt: Really? I have a bald match? no way man!



The visit was short and sweet, except for the dry retching which we shall not mention again. Jackson bonded with his Uncle to the extent that he only wanted Allen pretty much ALL the time he was here. I kinda felt sorry he had to deal with my kid who was missing his Dad who was iced in in Boston - the only airport you can never get out on time on, but on the other hand i was SO happy to see Allen and get to spend some quality time with him I didn't much care how dramatic Jackson was. Brad finally arrived home in enough time to drink some beers with his brothers. Such a simple thing for some families, but for ours times like these have been few and far between for many years, as we each ventured out on our own paths, countries and tours of duty.
Thanks for a wonderful visit Allen!

75 and counting

Ole John turned 75 and here he is admiring the stunning quilt from Angie, the original quilt squares were from John's mother, and Angie re-bound the quilt so he can now use it. It has seen the rounds of the local coffee houses, John is so proud of it and thinks it is the "nicest work he's ever seen" and I'd have to agree, it was so special. It has black and white photos on the material of John as a child and his mother.
At Jackson's birthday the kids had to make their own party hats - hmmmm, how do you make a cone out of paper? seriously - i couldn't - my rectangle green paper was too small - so we all looked like we had on unicorn horns rather than a party hat. I also played parse the parcel - a foreign game to the locals here who had like NO CLUE how to play. How do you explain to Bob (Paw Paw) NOT to take off more than one layer of paper at a time!! :) I may have used F$(*#& and Shit a few too many times in front of the children - I should hand out earmuffs when kids come to visit.

This is the best birthday ever! Jackson is thinking - that smile says it all - its the cat that ate the canary smile which we have grown to know so well.
This is my lounge room, post thanksgiving day sale shopping. Myrtle, Vicki and I braved 4:30 am crowds to snip up a bargin, or two.... or well lets just say we thought the economy was in such bad shape it was time to put our best effort into helping out America. At one point we almost had to leave Mrytle on the side of the road - it was her or the food - and we were HUNGRY!
Donna hosted an amazing thanksgiving - as you can see from her table setting that set the tone for a truley wonderful and civilsed feast.
blury yes... but you get the idea - Elmo live rocks on in our house! J is beside himself upon opening his birthday gift from Gina and the Hughes family! Thanks guys!

cooking

Jackson Angus Harris - 2nd Birthday!

When your inlaws start to comment on how little you have blogged since moving into new home you know you've been really slack! I am going to blog more often now, rather than just check other peoples blogs :) So here is J on his 2nd birthday back on Dec 6th. His cake was the EXACT same cake his Dad had when he was around the same age - made by Joy (Nee Nee) it was PERFECT and he loved it - in fact he loved being the center of attention.
Kammy did not like Jackson being the center of attention - cousin rivalry :)
I have no idea what Brad is doing with his face - but hey I look great! and my boy even better!
Our dear friends K K and Mike came down to help celebrate - along with around 30 of the extended and immediate family - we had an AMAZING housewarming and plan for it to be a yearly get together for Jackson.

Home - photos and more photos

So we all know it has been far too long since I have blogged.. and although it seems as though it is hardly ever checked - it actually is. So for those of you wanting a sneak look into our lives to date - here it is. Above - Master bath remodel/ update in progress - the 90's dark green floral was so not working for me.
We finally have twin sinks in the master bath, and a huge tub I've yet to get into due to remodell which is taking a lot longer than expected - and a shower with a seat - yep it has a seat.
Guest bath which we are all using right now.
Our bedroom, in progress - and our KING SIZE BED! Thanks Nee Nee!!!! I like to make a my space corner in here near the chair - I have a watercolor Angie painted of my home town beach framed and a glass jar of sand my sister sent me from the same beach - so it is a tad sentimental room - and i like it that way.
Eating area and part of kitchen - wish i could say it is always clean and picked up - but half the time I'm in there cooking so it is always pretty busy.
Looking in from the hallway - which runs to our bedroom, the garage and laundry. There are another 3 bedrooms on the other side of the house with a hallway leading to those - and the spare bathroom is also off that hallway. Have yet to get a picture of Jackson's room - it is a great boys room and he spends heaps of time in there playing - which I didn't think would happen. Previously he has tended to bring his stuff out and play in the lounge room, but now he keeps his stuff mostly in the room.
Lounge looking to front door area.
Strange fireplace - we are planning on changing the face and getting a new mantle.
Other side of living room looking out to back yard
in the backyard - he loves his truck
and so does Kamryn!

This masterpiece was created by Makena!
The masterpiece in progress
Hanging out and having fun - Hannah, Hayes and Makena with a lot of play-do (i made it in bulk)
End of the day - Kammy and Brad having some laughs -
We were invited to the Hughes home to celebrate Cliff and Carmen (center) 18th birthdays - it was a wonderful trip and all the Williams side of the family came, Brad loved hanging out with his Uncles - something that he hasn't done in a very long time. We 'toured' Gina and Clayton's home - which is stunning and so comfortable - we really did need a guide to get around the 10000 sq home!
one more of the girls - mid cookie break.
i can get it! I can get it!
NOOOOOOO I want to stay outside - Jackson RAN from me to go outside mid nappy/clothing change - i just let him go - your only young once!
now you see me
now you don't!
Jackson has two hidy holes in the kitchen - which he puts his treasured wiggles Wags, Henry and Dorothy in then closes the door and just stays in their until some one comes to find him. He has also taken to falling asleep - not really - but just like Jeff wiggle does - then we have to wake him up just like they wake Jeff up ....1,2,3 WAKE UP JACKSON! He will fall asleep random places like the couch, floor, ottoman, outside and stay dead looking until we wake him up. Did I mention he LOVES the wiggles - so if any loving Godparents are wondering what they might like to send him for the christmas season - WIGGLES PLEASE. We found a second hand shirt with the wiggles on it and he begs to wear it over his clothes.
Well I hope this has saited everyones fix of Jackson and our new home!

Dog's Life

Hello Everyone. It has been nearly a month since the last post. Stacy sent me an email yesterday that shamed me into putting up pictures. :)

We are all moved in now and have had a steady stream of family and friends coming by to visit. It has been really nice to catch up with people we haven't seen in a long time. When I am not working, Christal has kept me pretty busy with stuff around the house. Although, I am behind on finishing the bathroom...I had hoped to finish it last week. Oh well.

I only put up a few pictures to appease the masses while we wait for Christal to do a proper post again. I hope you enjoy...

We have lots of room in the backyard for Jackson to run around like a crazy boy. We should really try to get him out of his pajamas a bit more. Although, I wear mine all day too. Even at work.


Hanging out in the truck. He puts his bucket of chalk in the back and rides around the porch. Pretty funny.

Here is Fred. The newest addition to the family. We got him from the shelter in Springdale and they have bonded ever since. They chase each other around the yard, and while Fred does sometimes bowl Jackson over, it is pretty funny to watch. He'll toughen up. :)



We had Matt and Sharon's kids over for a couple hours while they went to watch the football game the other day. It has been really nice to see the kids and I hope we get to do this more often. It's been great having Matt over for lunch some days too. His office is only about 10 minutes from our house.

Thanks to John for making me the leaf raking professional that I am today. We don't have near as many trees, but this one had 10 billion leaves that all fell on the same day.

More to come.

See ya!!