It’s been a while

Brace yourself for a LONG post. I’ve been procrastinating this blog, and this is the result. December is a busy month for us – Bristol’s birthday, Christmas and our anniversary. We also had fun visitors – Lorraine’s family. Oh, and Dave surprised me with an awesome (kid-free) anniversary trip to Mexico. It was the first trip we have ever gone on without the kids, so it was really relaxing. And peaceful. But it was the perfect amount of time because I was ready to get back to the kids.

 

These two. You can’t tell, but they love each other.

 

Look at those dimpled hands. Can he stay this age forever, please?

 

Bristol with his cousin Elijah.

 

Bristol was lucky enough to have his cousins come to visit on his birthday.

 

This picture…

 

…led to this one. They were legitimately freaked out – as in, almost hyperventilating – because they thought Bristol would touch the flame. And die, or something.

This is his new face whenever I get the camera out and tell him to say cheese.

 

Bentley teaching his younger brother about legos. So cute.

 

A few days before Christmas, all of the Jackson kids got together at Grandpa Jackson’s house. Daniel and Nashelle were spending Christmas in TX, so Lorraine put together a family nativity. The kids acted it out, we sang songs, and ate good food. It was awesome because 9 out of 11 of the Jackson kids were there. With their spouses and children. A little bit of  a madhouse, but still fun.

 

Blake, Ariana and Garin.

 

Bentley and Claire.

 

A dressed-up shot. (Of the cousins participating, at least.)

 

The shepherds – Jack, Bentley, Ariana and Joshua.

 

Blake was the star. As you can see, she took her role very seriously.

 

A semi-decent family picture! Very rare around here.

 

These two cousins really do love each other, when they are not fighting and acting like real sisters. It’s quite funny, really.

 

He got new Christmas pajamas, but did he wear them on Christmas morning? Of course not!

 

Bentley and Blake got new scooters for Christmas – their favorite gift, they keep telling me. You can’ t really see it in this picture, but the brakes spark. Bentley LOVES it. Blake is just happy to stay on the scooter. She’ll worry about the spark part later.

 

Oh, this boy. Walking everywhere.

 

Again, his camera face. Love it.

 

Dave surprised me with a 3 day trip to Cancun. One of the days we were there, we went on a day-trip to Chichen Itza. It is one of the most famous temple ruins in South America, so much so that it is one of the new 7 Wonders of the World. On the way to Chichen Itza, we stopped by a Cenote.  It is an underground lake with a lot of stalagmites and stalactites everywhere. They have been around for thousands of years and were sacred places for the Mayan people.  It was pretty amazing.

 

A very ancient church. The history of Yucatan – the area where all these sites were – was amazing.

 

Chichen Itza. Listening to the tour guide was fascinating. It really makes a person want to study ancient history more in depth. As Dave said, listening and learning about this ancient civilization was “strangely emotional”. It made me realize how important genealogical work is.

 

A big playing arena, much like the Coliseum.

 

Where the king and queen and other royalty sat while the games were being played.

 

It was an amazing trip, and I was really surprised that my husband planned it. It was the first time we celebrated our anniversary with a trip. Well deserved and much needed.

 

This little girl always wants to have her hair down. Instead of fighting her about it, I just gave in and bought some headbands. Problem solved.
 

 

I thought I’d leave you with this awesome picture. Don’t you just want to eat him up?? (Or maybe it’s the other way around. He looks a little crazy here.)