Happy anniversary!

Make your own photo album

Back to Texas

Is it Christmas already! Yikes!!!

This year has gone entirely too fast. Next year Jackson will be starting kindergarten already!
For now though - it's all about Christmas cookies, gingerbread houses and PRESENTS!



Jackson attends the Parker Ranch Ohana Christmas Party and is first in line to sit with Santa - for the second year in a row. I know this means something about what kind of a man he will grow up to be. But I don't quite know what.


He's really been getting in to the Christmas spirit in the past few weeks and he loves to wear his Christmas hat.

The best thing about the gingerbread house was eating all the extra little pieces of decorating candy - hence the gleeful crazyboy smile.

Jackson's Summer 2008

Make a Smilebox photobook

Fun Stuff from Work

Make a Smilebox photobook

The build up to Christmas

I had to document all the excitement leading up to the big day,

with the anxious moments of the school singing performance,
the visit from Santa at the Parker Ranch employee party,


and the making of the Gingerbread Cookies,
Jackson had a very wonderful Christmas vacation.

Little bit o' Christmas

After months of hiatus, I'm finally pushing myself to blog a little here about Christmas. Just a few pictures.
Among all the other wonderful gifts he got from family and friends, Jackson's Auntie Elizabeth (the nurse) sent him a doctor's kit. Big hit. He ran around all day putting bandaids on people, taking temperatures, blood pressures, and giving shots. Very impressive.

Later we had dinner at Auntie Katherine's house, with Grandma and Grandpa Pirie, who have just moved up from Hilo. Also there was Ward and Jennifer and family. Jackson was especially thrilled that Doug was home visiting from California.

Back to Kauai!

It's been such a long time since I've been to Kauai, since before Jackson was born! So I was thrilled when Anthony said "ok fine" when I suggested a visit. It helped that we had a place to stay (more on that later) and enough airline points to make it possible.
Jackson and I went first, and then Anthony joined us a few days later.

 

We were SO lucky to be able to shack up at Kirby and Renee's Kauai Cottage in Omao. What a wonderful place, and so nice to see old friends.
Jackson and the two Kester boys quickly became new friends. They had all kinds of fun togther and Jackson cried when we left.
I took Jackson and Kaleb to Salt Pond the first morning there, and then we stopped at Salt Pond General Store for musubi, wasabi ahi poke and tako tomato. YUM!
I saved Hamura's Saimin until after Anthony arrived. Big Mistake. First of all, the service was more than a little slow that day, then the stools made him feel like he was in a kindergarten class (he may have lost 42 pounds, but he is still 6'5"), then of course he's on a low carb diet... so he didn't even have one noodle. I however, made up for it. While he and Jackson sat there in misery, I slurped down my sorely missed heavenly hangover cure/elixir of the gods/best noodles evah! Some good!

We also visited the amazing Kilohana (where Gaylord's is) and took the new sugar train ride.


The train ride was pretty much a highlight for Jackson - where he was able to hand feed the wild (but tame) pigs and goats. Cute! 

 

 

 

On Renee's advice we visited Lydgate Park, and enjoyed the
wooden park (Just like our wooden park in Waimea!) and the beautiful safe snorkeling pond.

Time for Some New Pictures!

Summer is in full swing and our little boy is growing up so fast and doing all kinds of things that make his mama and daddy proud. And what could be more cool than rockin' and surfin'?

Here we find that all that time watching VH1 classics with Daddy might actually pay off!

Jackson is slowly becoming slightly more comfortable in the ocean. For a boy who wiggled his toes in the salty surf at a few weeks old, he's suprisingly "scaredy". He has had a bit of a breakthrough with the floaty vest thing we bought on Oahu at the Sports Authority (it makes Anthony feel happier too).

In this picture though, it's just him and me and the board. Go Boy!

Happy Fourth of July

Despite the blustery day, we braved the winds to go to (our third annual) Parker Ranch's 45th Annual Rodeo. The cowboys were out in force and Mama managed to squeeze in to her old Tony Lama's for the occasion. I was able to catch a few of the competitions and Anthony was working as usual, which from my observation, seems to involve a heck of a lot of smiling and chatting.

Last year Jackson wasn't brave enough to sit on the horses, but this year, he's a big brave (cow)boy. I'm sure his Texan cowboy shirt (Thanks to Grandma Dee and Grandpa Frank) and his cowboy boots gave him all kinds of extra courage.

Recently he also seems to be under the impression that he's a Rock Star:



Whether he turns out to be next Iggy Pop (he's certainly got that "skinny but muscular" rockstar physique) or the 55th POTUS, he's always gonna be the apple of his parents' eye.