July

Here are some pictures from July.  I was gone the 2nd 1/2 of the month, but I'll post pictures from my field work later. 

 Turning the other cheek.

Here we're at our local park before the July 4th fireworks display. We call this overalls/no shirt look "Alabama style". 

Here' s "Nanna" (Sarah's mom) in the background with Jackson on his 1st big boy swing.

Jackson is practically obsessed with trucks, and was so excited that he told me all about this one on the phone while I was in Montana. 

Sarah dressed them up like this to take pictures to send me for my birthday while I was in Montana. 

Jackson likes to scare and surprise people.  He's a total ham.

Lilly trying "solid" food for the 1st time.

Everyone went to our good friend Bob's house for dinner one evening.  Jackson loved playing the piano with him  He loves Bob.  Bob gave him a toy truck, which Jackson has since named "Bob".  Not just "Bob the Truck", but more like "Where's Bob?", and "I want Bob", and we know that means the truck.

Have you ever seen 2 prettier ladies?

Fire Meemee

I'll get back to catching up as soon as I can, but in the mean time, this is too cute to wait. Jackson loves a lot of typical boy things right now - trucks, tractors, motorcycles, baseball, football, hats, wrestling, you name it. But one of his absolute favorites is fire trucks and firemen, or "fire meemees", as he calls them. Well, a couple of days ago he and I were at home by ourselves when an ambulance (which is as good as a fire truck to him) pulled up to an adjacent building. He was screaming with excitement and insisted that we go outside and see it. So we did, and he even got to touch it (the bumper).

All of this would have been enough to make his weekend, but a few minutes later his mom got home and I also heard a real firetruck in the distance. I hoped it was coming our way, but didn't say anything in case it was headed somewhere else - I didn't want to get his hopes up. But eventually, it turned the corner into our complex, and this was his reaction:

  

That extatic-beyond-control screaming is the same reaction I get every day when I pick him up from school or when I get home. That's a nice way to come home.

So, we had to run and get his "fire meemee" hat (which he wears backwards, I think because the longer part of the brim is like his baseball hat) to wear for all of the firemen, and then he got to say bye as it drove past. What a day!

Trip to Alabama

It's way too late to talk about our trip in any kind of detail, so I'll just summarize briefly and throw in a bunch of pictures.

Here's pretty much all you need to know: it was hotter than the 7th layer of hell, and even more humid.  Yep.  Don't miss it down there AT ALLLLLL!!!!!!!

It had been unusually hot (even for there) really early this year, so the water temperature at the lake was already as hot as it usually gets in late August. It was hardly, if at all, refreshing or cooling.   I was curious what exactly the temperature was, so I got a pool thermometer and measured - the surface was 94 freaking degrees. 

In the plane on the way down.

Lilly at mom's house in Birmingham.

At the lake house.    Too hot for clothes.

 Lilly with her new outfit from the Ireland's.

 

Jackson loved to go on the SeaDoo with me.

Mom and Lilly

Lilly 

Lilly and Jon David

It took only about 1/2 a day to convince Jackson to jump off the dock into the water.  After that, we couldn't get him to stop.  He loved it.  Sarah tried to teach him to do the "thumbs up" sigh when she says "cool man", but he hasn't figured that out yet and always points his 1st finger.

Lilly watching her crazy brother and trying to figure out if she wants to get in the water.

End of another long day at the lake.

Jackson jumping off the dock again.

Sarah and Jackson

Lilly looking very serious.  She is an unbelievably good baby.  She makes Jackson look like a little demon, but he's always been a good baby too.

Lilly in the boat with "Mumzie" (a.k.a., Granny)

Again, too hot for clothes.

Despite the heat, we had a great time.  I miss living at the lake, doing yard work, having a garden, doing ridiculous things with my friends from grad school (they know who they are and what we did - we'll tell mom in a decade or 2),  . . . those were the days. 

We're Back

Sorry for the long delay.  I'm back from field and am trying to get caught up.  I hope to have some pictures and a brief overview of the field work, as well as info from Sarah about her time with the young'uns while I was gone, very soon.
   Jason