Adventures in AK, OK, and Dallas, TX

 After our fun with Michael in Kansas, Jackson and I drove to Fayetteville, AK to visit my college roommate, Natalie and her husband, Seth. We hadn't seen each other in YEARS--so it was a very sweet reunion!

 We got to spend time with my brother and his wonderful family in Oklahoma. We had fun dying Easter eggs with Grandma and cousins. We also enjoyed the week without internet or cell phone reception. We discovered how much fun you can have out in the country! The trees everywhere were BEAUTIFUL, but I hated the dogs when I went running!!

 Jackson got to spend time with his two cousins closest in age. Abram is about 8 months older than him, and McKenna is only 10 days older. He learned a lot from watching them scoot, crawl and walk around. His sitting improved exponentially, as did his general awareness and curiosity about the world around him.

 Jackson was awesome with all of our driving on this trip!  Unfortunately, you can't always control when nature calls!

 Time Out For Women in Arlington, TX!  So fun to be with my mom and sisters at this inspiring event! And Jackson just enjoyed flirting with all the women sitting around us :)

All the girls enjoyed our late night at the hotel...with midnight pizza and babies who wouldn't miss out on the party!  To top it all off, in the morning we had a great waffle breakfast......Honestly, Texas must be the only place that makes Belgian waffles in the shape of their state!!!

Kansas City LDS Temple

What a beautiful Temple! I remember when President Monson announced the building of this Temple--it was right at the end of my mission and I was SO excited! Since then, I've looked forward to its completion. In the 17 years I lived in Kansas, our closest Temple was at least 3 1/2 hours away, in Winter Quarters, Nebraska, or St. Louis, Missouri. I loved being able to go through the Temple with little Jackson. He most likely won't remember this experience, but I'm glad he's getting lots of exposure to such sacred places early in his life. We love Temples!

Our Family Vacation~My home town!!

 For our family vacation, we decided to go to Kansas City for the new LDS Temple Open House. Conveniently, it's close to my home town, as well as several historic sites for our Church. So, we planned a great adventure!


We visited Liberty Jail, where Joseph Smith was incarcerated for several months on false charges.

We went to Cici's Pizza and Jackson enjoyed his first motorcycle ride with Daddy.
We went back to my family's old house and spent over an hour going through the rooms and the yard recounting my old memories there. So many good times! (and so lucky that our friends own the home now, so we could see it!)

We went back to my family's old house and spent over an hour going through the rooms and the yard recounting my old memories there. So many good times! (and so lucky that our friends own the home now, so we could see it!)

 We enjoyed a birthday dinner at a fun restaurant on the Plaza in Kansas City. Yes, that is a chocolate box desert that you can only fully enjoy by pretending that your knife is an ice pick. We had so much fun roaming the streets together and window shopping at Crown Center and the Plaza.

A highlight of the night on the plaza was when Michael and our friend Don tried to get Jackson to sleep by walking down the main drag--just the two men-- and Jackson in the car seat. Let's just say they got more than one funny look from people...and of course they had to play it up. That's right, folks--these men are happily married, but not to each other!!

Excited for General Conference!

How we love Jackson! His enthusiasm rivals that of Elder Perry!! Would you agree? :)

The Lion King meets Hunger Games

For the first time since our move to Lubbock, Michael and I had the privilege of going to the movie theater! Our awesome friends the Plotts watched baby Jackson, and Michael and I were off to see Hunger Games. We'd built up a lot of excitement to see the movie because we both read the first book, and then we read the 2nd and 3rd together. I thought they did a great job choosing the cast, as well as capturing the essence of the book without being overly gory. The best part, however, came from the audience and not the movie! In the quiet moment when Peeta is putting the special healing goop on Katniss' forehead, someone did an excellent imitation of Rafiki's voice and said, "CIMBA!" Really loud. At first there were a few giggles, and then the whole theater just roared with laughter when they realized how much it really resembled the part in the Lion King when Rafiki paints Cimba. Hilarious. You'd have to be there to really get the sense of how funny that was in the middle of such a tense movie. Loads of fun!