After the zoo, and naps we went to Barry and Kendra's house to party! We had a Cars birthday, since our little one can't get enough of "Queen" and "Mate". (He is turning into such a little talker!) He loved it, and even kept his party hat in for a few minutes! We went really simple this year, just family, presents and of course food!! We didn't do a cake, just a rice krispy treat car, which Jackson tried and loved! It was fun, and he even opened his presents! Finally he is getting the hang of it.He was just full of surprises. I guess he is just getting so mature! The one downside was that he wasn't feeling great, and got worse on Sunday, his actual birthday. Bummer to be sick on your b-day, but he seems to be feeling better tonight, at least Mikelle is hoping!

Well, We officially have a two year old! It is crazy, and the time went by too fast. For his birthday, we started off with a trip to the zoo. Mikelle's parents and Kristin came, plus we brought Barry and Kendra's kids. It was a great day to go, even a little chilly! Jackson wasn't feeling his best, and fell asleep on the way there, so he and Grandpa missed most of the animals, but Jackson got the best part, tractors to climb on and goats to pet! We had a lot of fun, and got to see most of the animals!

The last two weeks, Kristin has been staying with us. We have been playing hard, but also working hard. This week Mikelle and her spent time trying to get projects done around our house, but also Barry and Kendra's. Jackson has loved all the extra attention, and Mikelle has loved the extra help.

We have finally started utilizing the Phoenix Public Library more, and have started using Culture Passes, which are free passes to museums, zoos and other fun things to do around Phoenix. We got lucky the last few weeks and got a few coveted ones. We were able to go to the Children's Museum of Phoenix, and we had so much fun. Of course Jackson loved the cars, but the big kids made it hard for him to play. Although, he could paint rocks with water, go through a noodle forest and ride the bikes all day. There is so much to do, and all hands on. Anyone that has kids will love it!

We just have to say how much fun it is to live a mile from Barry and Kendra. Jackson loves to play with his cousins, especially Tessa. Whenever we tell him we are going to see Tessa, he says, "Yea, Tessa!" and runs to the door. They like to hug, hold hands, and kiss sometimes, it is soo cute. They do fight occasionally over toys, but usually they just have fun.

Okay, last post to catch-up on the Holidays. Jackson found one of Aunt Kristin's cowboy hats the last day we were there, and he wouldn't take it off. It was soo cute, especially since he really hates hats. He just kept running around with it on, and it would fall off, so then he just put it right back on. It was hard to get a good shot, but finally we got a few when he stool still!!

Lets see who kills me first! Amber and her new husband got these awesome underwear for all the boys, men, for Christmas! They were all Superhero themed, and we all thought it was hilarious, although Jared was a little confused when we opened them! So, of course we had to get pictures. It was awesome to have them doing Christmas breakfast dishes in their new underwear!! Sean fits right into our family!

We were hoping Jackson would be all excited this year and get into opening presents, but not so much. He even got cool toys, like a bike and a big truck, but what Van got was better. Van opened the very first present, little toy Thomas the Trains, and that's all Jackson wanted. We had to open all his gifts for him, and he didn't even give most of them a second look. He stole Van's trains and that was the end of Christmas for him. We could have saved lots of money by just getting him some toy trains! Maybe his birthday will be different in a few weeks! Although, after the novelty wore off, he is now playing with his other toys, but the trains are never far away!

We are finally back with a report from the Holidays. We had a great Christmas and New Year. We were able to go to Prescott for Christmas where Jackson loved to play with his cousin Van. He kept wanting him to sit on the couch with him, or the ATV, but when Van wanted his toy, he was not so willing to share. Although, Van was so nice to share his toys with Jackson!! Van is 11 months younger than Jackson, but almost as tall. He is so cute and Jackson is sad he had to leave.

Here is our first picture of Christmas!! Yesterday Jackson got to sit on Santa's lap. He did much better than last year. No crying, but Mikelle had to hold the candy cane in front of him to get him to look up and smile. It was too funny. You can see him reaching for it, but at least it's still a cute picture!!

Last week Kendra and Mikelle took Jackson and Tessa to the Arizona Museum for Youth. They had lots of fun. Tessa liked to eat the plastic food, and Jackson liked to go down the slide backwards on his tummy. They have so many fun things for the kids to do, and it's all mostly educational!! Plus, it's great when you can get in for free with passes from the library! Too bad it's so far away in Mesa, but so worth the drive if you have little ones.

And lastly, it was Jackson's first time on a real bike. Bobby's mom had a child seat on her bike, and Jackson loved it. He didn't even fight the helmet, and he hates anything on his head.

And of course the first things Jackson found were the toys with wheels on them. It's great that kids are so entertained by the little things. He loved an airplane that made noise, and he carried it around like a suitcase. He also found the toy cars, and the car he could sit in and push. He of course was so mad when it was time to get out of it. He also liked the mini ATV. Really, we don't think he wanted to come home to his boring toys.

We didn't get to see Bobby's sisters or Jackson's other cousins, but we did get to see Uncle Billy, and after about 2 minutes, he and Jackson were great friends. It was fun to see how fast he knew family. Bobby's cousin Jo Lynn was also there. It was good to meet her and of course Jackson loved having one more person to tell him how cute he is! While we were there one night, Bobby's mom and Jo Lynn were rear-ended, but they were okay. His mom had a slight concussion and Jo Lynn sprained her neck and back. They were sore, but didn't have to stay in the hospital for more than a few hours.

Finally, more pictures from San Antonio. The trip was long, almost 15 hours, but portable DVD players and food helped! We discovered that Jackson loves Push-Ups. Not that they are ideal in the car, but they kept him busy, and he got really mad when we "took" his Push-Up to push it up so he could eat more of it. He is so funny!

We were able to go to San Antonio to visit Bobby's mom and step-dad. It was a fun trip, and we'll post more pictures, but Bobby's mom got us family pictures. We had fun, but Jackson wasn't too sure he wanted anything to do with it. Luckily the photographer was awesome and got good shots of almost all the poses.

Last Saturday, the 14th, Mikelle ran her first half marathon. It was called "Run From the Sun" and it was to help fight skin cancer. She ran through Downtown Mesa, and got to run right by the Mesa Temple. We were both training to do the San Antonio Marathon/Half Marathon but Bobby hurt his leg, then lost his job, so to save money we cancelled the trip to TX. (Things are looking good on the job front though with lots of interviews!). Anyways, the race went well. Mikelle finished in a faster time than expected!! The weather was great, with a little rain even to keep the runners cool. Bobby, Jackson and Kristin came to support the whole time. Aunt Kristin said it was too cute as Jackson would yell run and also run along side runners as they passed him on the race loop!! Mom and dad also came to cheer her into the finish line. She was grateful for her cheering section. Going up and down stairs the next two days were a little rough, but other that she had a great time and is glad she did it, although she's not sure she wants to continue running such far distances!!