Christmas Morning and Thank You's

Here's Jackson when he 1st comes out of his room and sees what Santa has brought him.

We'll keep uploading "thank you's" to this post, so keep checking back.

1st up - Thank you to Uncle Andrew and Aunt Hazel!  We hope you guys like the pajamas we gave your kids as much as we like the pajamas you gave our kids! 

Jackson and Lilly just gave me (Jason) the best present they could give me - they both LOVE lox! 

Thanks, Bob, for the awesome radio-controled cement truck!

Opening a present from Nanna and Pop-pop.

Thank you for the awesome turtle star projector, Nanna and Pop-pop.

Thanks for the book.  Lilly loves it.

Thank you Aunt Nicole and Larry for the beautiful ornaments.  We love them.

And now, for the grand finale.  1 thing Jackson has been consistent about for months - he wanted Santa to bring him a guitar.

It took him a while to get the hang of holding it, but then he was a pro!

Merry Christmas to Uncle Bart and Family

Merry Christmas to the Schein uncles and Mumfies

That's it for now, though we may add more later if something else comes up. Thanks to everyone for the wonderful gifts.  Merry Christmas!

A Visit From Santa

Our good friend Bob agreed to dress up as Santa to give Jackson a nice Christmas Eve surprise. 

Santa at Bass Pro Shops

A couple of weeks ago we drove to Bass Pro Shops in Harrisburg - I'd seen advertisements for Santa, pictures, free arts and crafts, and other fun activities for kids there. Plus, I wanted to check it out to see how it compares to Cabela's (I'll save you the suspense - it doesn't.  Don't get me wrong - it's cool, but it isn't nearly as cool as Cabela's). 

We get there and I stood in line for an hour with Jackson while Sarah and Lilly mostly walked around.  I didn't mind because I knew Jackson really wanted to see Santa.  he was so excited, and we kept practicing what he was going to tell Santa he wanted for Christmas.  "Choo-Choo Train, Guitar, Truck".  We finally get up there, and Jackson would not sit on his lap.  He was perfectly fine standing a few feet in front of him and telling him from there, but he wouldn't get any closer.  As usual, Lilly was perfectly fine going to anyone. 

While we waited in line, Jackson got to play on the 4-wheelers and tractors.




This is on Jackson's Christmas list.



This tractor is on Jason's Christmas list.



Jackson and Lilly on the Bear stool.





Jackson driving the radio controled trucks.  He was pretty good at it.



Jackson and Santa

Christmas has been so fun this year because this is the first time Jakcson has really gotten "Santa".  He gets so excited any time he sees a Santa on tv. The other night we were watching The Polar Express, and at the end when he saw Santa, he was getting very upset and reaching out for Santa.  He wanted to hug him.

Sarah found this awesome thing on line.

He was so excited!  Below is a video we took of him watching the video above.  This was the 2nd time he watched it, so he wasn't quite as animated.

If you remember, I went to Montana and Wyoming this past summer to help lead a field camp/research project.  A good friend of mine, who is also an amazing writer (just published his 1st book (he's 25!)) came along, partly with the purpose of writing an article about the expedition for Inside Jersey magazine.
 You can read the article by clicking HERE. You can also check out a lot of extra great photographs from the expedition.

We're planning to return the to same area in the summer of 2011 to recover a dinosaur that was found at the end of the 2010 season, and to discover new sites. If you'd like to join us, or if you know someone that might be interested, let me know and I'll send you some information.  We offer this trip to anyone 14 years old and above. We also offer undergraduate and graduate credits for students.

Our trip to Alabamy

Jackson and I spent the 1st 2 weeks of November in Alabama.  He and I drove down to B'ham to meet Josh and Jon David, and then we were supposed to drive to Cape Canaveral to see what was supposed to be the 2nd to last shuttle launch before the shuttle program is supposed to be canceled.  Seeing a space shuttle launch has been on my life goal list since I was in college, and this was basically my last chance. 

We drove over night, and even though he was awake much of the night, he was really, realy good.  It still took 18 hours because I had to stop twice to sleep. 

To make a long story short, the launch kept getting delayed 1 day at a time.  Finally, the problem appeared to be solved and the weather forecas was clear.  So, we load up the car and leave the lake at about 2am, pick up Jon David in Auburn, then head for Florida.  We got as far as the Florida line (5 hours of driving) when Josh got a text that the launch was delayed again - this time for weeks at least.  Really dissapointing.  Not only that I now wouldn't get to see it, but that we will now have spent 10 more hours in the car, for nothing.

Sarah and Lilly flew down to Alabama on Thursday night.  The end of that week and the weekend we had the entire normal Thanksgiving crew - Sarah's parents, sister and her family from Mobile, brother and his family from south Florida, and my family of course.  We were all down there for a family friend wedding at the lake.  That was the day bamma lost to LSU - YEAHHHH!!!  They all left on Sunday after the wedding, but Sarah and Lilly stayed with us mostly at the lake the whole next week.

Sarah's dad and Lilly.

We all spent that week mostly at the lake visiting.  My grandmother Max was there for the visit, and it was great to get to see her again.  At the end of the week we were planning to go to the Georgia game.  Unfortunately, though, for the first time ever, mom couldn't find tickets for us.  Without tickets, I stayed at the lake to take care of the kids, while Sarah and Josh went down to tailgate.  Many of Sarah's friends from college were going to be there.  They had a good time, but when the game started they came back and watched the game with us at the lake. 

All in all parts of the trip were a bust - no shuttle launch and not getting to go to the game.  We still had a fine time, though.

All of Sarah's family at the wedding on Lake Martin.

The Schein's at the wedding at Lake Martin.

Lilly with Uncle Joshy.

Jackson gets to see his Uncle Otto much more often than his Uncle Joshy, so about half the time we were in Alabama he called Josh "Uncle Otto".  Most of the rest of the time he called him "Uncle Bus" because Josh has a Volkswagen bus that is very similar to one of Jackson's favorite toys - a Volkswagen bus.

Jackson by the water throwing rocks.  He thinks that's the greatest thing in the world.

Lilly with Sarah's dad.

Jackson and Lilly having a picnic.

Jackson loves to sing, and this is his favorite song.  It's my favorite song, too.

Lilly on the boat wearing the same life preserver that I wore when I was 2 months old.

Jackson and Lincoln, the best dog in the world. 

Lilly and Sarah.

Lilly, my grandmother Max, and Jackson with me.