I know, blog abandonment should be a crime...

Sorry peeps! Technical difficulties and I ditched the blog.

I am back.

I have committed myself.

(Sort of)

And yes, I just might be doing some back-blogging. To view or not to view- you decide.

Dave ran a Halloween Half Marathon in Provo on Halloween morning. I dragged myself out of bed at 5:30 in the a.m. to snap a couple pictures of him in his costume before he left. I really would have loved to see him cross the finish line wearing this costume but seeing as how I would have had to bring the kids along, I have to say that I love my sanity more.

Olivia at her best

This morning I had to chase an uncooperative Livvy around the house to put some piggies in her hair before church.

The child needs all the help she can get with that self-appointed hair cut she is slowly growing out.

Anyway, I cornered her in the kitchen where she screamed at me, "MOMMY! I DON'T WANT MY HAIR DONE! I WANT TO LOOK LIKE WHITE TRASH!"

Whaaaaat?

Never a dull moment with Liv. So yes, I did tackle her to the floor and put piggies in her hair.

She did, however, choose her own outfit for church which consisted of a navy blue and white poke-a-dot skirt paired with a hot pink shirt and pink crocs.

Needless to say, she still walked out the door looking exactly as she had planned.

Does anyone else want to boycott 9:00 am church? It's kickin' my butt!

the inevitable has happened...

We were headed out the door last night. While making my rounds herding kids to the car and locking up, I walked past the office. I had to do a double take because there upon the floor was this:



Hmm... At our house, there is only one head of hair that matches that color and length.



Big surprise, right?

Dave has a bad bad bad habit of not putting things away- scissors included. Grrrr...

Look who is 1 today!

It's official

She's potty trained!

Whew. Seriously. I thought this one was going to put me over the edge. She is doing such a great job. I'm crossing my fingers that there will be no digression. And by digression I mean I am hoping she won't adopt her sister's "slow leak".

Millcreek Canyon

I love the beginning of June for a couple different reasons. 1. Hello Summer! & 2. It is Amy's birthday (Dave's sister) and tradition dictates that we head up Millcreek Canyon to festivate. I love to festivate. Especially when it involves tinfoil dinners, camp fire, s'mores, hiking, and fun people.

Here is the birthday girl with Spencer. He really is having a good time. I promise.



I was a little nervous bringing the kids up the canyon because of the raging river but it turns out it wasn't so raging and there were lots of people to keep an eye out on the little ones.

Porter, Sara, Hali



Speaking of the not so raging river, Nate caught a fish- a BIG fish! We were all so proud and excited and swarmed around him to admire his amazing catch! Way to go Nater!



Oh what a cute boy! Taylor was holding the bait for Nate. Gross. When I was a kid I went fishing with my dad and brothers. I'm sure I caught a few fish in my day but never once did I touch a worm. I wouldn't put my fingers through the gills to hold it up either. I get the creepy shivers just thinking about it! It doesn't stop me from eating the fish though! I love trout.



Cute girls! Nice sunglasses Miss Sara.



Dave just chillin' with Spence.



The kids had fun roasting marshmallows. The are just starting to get to the ages where they can actually do stuff.



Setting out on our little hike



Livvy hiked her little friend Jared all around, holding his hand. She is just so darn cute!



She also thought Boston needed to be carried. She and the dog are practically the same size but she was undetered. Imagine that.

The kids love their cousins!

Livvy and Zoey are just a couple months apart.

Sara worships the ground Hali walks on.

Livvy and her adventurous spirit- she was digging for bugs with her little friend Avery and found a potato bug (aka rolie polie). She loved this little bug to death. Literally.

As always we had a great time! Thanks for the party Mike & Amy!

Fun Run

A few weeks ago we got word that Taylor's elementary school was doing a Fun Run. You better believe that the Jackson Family was up to the challenge! I ordered t-shirts for each of us because everyone who is anyone knows you need a (not so free) t-shirt if you are going to run a race.

Taylor's teacher showed up to do the race. She even brought her dog along. Teacher sightings are always exciting! Here the kids are with their friend River.



Dave has turned into a runner. He is registered for three half-marathons this summer. Here he is with one of his running buddies, Tom. Aren't they just oozing with enthusiasm? Ha!



Dave ran the 5K and I ran/walked the 1 mile with the kids. Taylor had every intention of doing the 5K when he started (mostly because he didn't realize the length of a 5K). I thought Dave was going to help him along. WRONG. My sweet husband was too competitive to run with his son and left him in the dust. Instead, Taylor ran his race with some lovely strangers who were probably wondering where this little boys cruddy parents were. Hi. That's me.

Dave was telling me that as soon as the gun shot sounded to start the race, Taylor started out at a sprint. Only a few yards into the race, the kid was already exhausted. It looks like we need to teach Taylor how to pace himself. Despite his overzealous start, Taylor made it across the finish line for the 1 mile race. Good job bud!



We all got blue ribbons for finishing the race. The girls did a great job running. We walked quite a bit but they definitely put forth some effort. Sara ran the first part of the race and Livvy ran the second part. Livvy got going so fast her little arms and legs were flailing everywhere and she fell onto the pavement. That didn't deter her in the least bit. She dusted herself off and was back in the race!



Doesn't everyone love a camera in their face shortly following a race? Whether he wants to or not, Dave has learned to love the camera because I usually have it in his face. And see that blue ribbon? A real winner.



Everyone got an ice cream treat! That's all the kids needed to make the race a success.



I thought I had asked Dave to take a picture of me with my little racers. This is what we got. Livvy was done cooperating for pictures. Oh well. It's just good to know that I do exist from time to time.



The run was most definitely fun and we hope to do it again next year!