4th Annual HendeRUN!!!!

 We had our first FULL participant this year! Our friend Tyson Traveller ran the entire 1/2 Marathon with us! His amazing wife was kind enough to watch Jackson during the race.

The morning was cold and windy...but we enjoyed it anyway!

I love the creative finish lines that Michael always designs :) Our Camry marked the end of our long race!

Our friend Joseph McWhirter ran the last 2 miles with Michael, and he and his wife Erica joined us and the Travellers for our traditional post-race pancake breakfast! Michael made AWESOME banana pancakes with Coach's Oats...so delicious.

As always, this was such a fun event to put together and work towards as a family. We trained hard and reached our goals!

How to Use Every Last Morsel of a Mango

I love to eat mangoes. I just get so sad that it's so difficult to get all the goodness off that massive seed! I never knew that Jackson would solve that problem so simply! He gnawed for a good 20 minutes and sucked off every possible bit of flavor that might've been clinging to that seed. He didn't want pureed mango in a jar, but he went crazy over eating right off the fruit like mommy. Fortunately, this mango experience combined with his recent fetish for Cheerios has helped me realize the key to getting Jackson to eat solids--he just likes his independence! He doesn't want mommy spoon feeding him--he wants to use his own hands and he wants to eat the same foods that we're having. Apparently he prefers chunky over puree!

Samplings of Jackson

 Jackson is now an amazing 8 months old! I'm a happy mom because he still hasn't explored the realm of crawling and moving all over the place...As you can see in this picture, he plays with all of his toys until he accidentally pushes them all beyond his "reachable" radius. Hilarious to us, but sad for him. :)  The saddest part, however, is when he DOES reach for the farthest strewn toy and does a faceplant into another toy. Ouch. Sometime all too soon he'll figure it all out and be reaching all over the whole house for my toys instead of his. Watch out, mom!

 Jackson likes to wear sweet potatoes as lipstick instead of eating them. Ridiculous. And these are delicious, homemade sweet potatoes! I even sampled them myself. Michael also agrees they're tasty. Jackson used to gobble them up...but lately the only thing he's consuming very well is momma's milk. I'm guessing it's a phase? This too shall pass.

When we were at church with my sister in Dallas, Jackson was a very tired boy and thus not so happy. That is, until we discovered a magical green ribbon that entertained him for almost an hour; he sucked it to the point of absolute saturation. An idea was born in my head for a bracelet covered in many colorful ribbons that he could suck to his hearts' content. Miracle of miracles, I actually made it yesterday, and he LIKES it!!! Score!

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? :)