The Jackson's Visit Kalamazoo!

Tonight another very close friend of mine who I have known since middle school, Angie, her husband Matt and their adorable daughter Amaya came to visit us in Kalamazoo! We had great food, went on a walk, played with the kids, the guys watched football, and then we finished the night off by playing Settlers of Catan, a fun board game that we can't seem to get enough of. It was great to see them and now that we are closer it is much easier!! I sure did miss them when I was living in Marquette and we seem to get together about once a month since I have been in Kalamazoo, which has been great. Thanks for coming guys, we had a lot of fun!

Sweet Amaya

"Umm who is this girl on my dad's lap?"

Ang and me!

Ethan gets VERY jealous when I hold another baby so we are trying to calm him down .

And She's off !!

My very dear friend Amy is moving to Chicago! We met our freshman year of college, for those of you who do not know, and we hit it off right away (literally!!). We were playing euchre and bumped heads (don't ask!) the first day we moved into the dorms and we have been the best of friends ever since. Through all that college and life had to offer, we were always there for each other. It was great to have a companion like Amy to spend some of the best years of my life with. Not only is Amy great , but her family is as well. They are the most giving and caring people and it has been wonderful to be surround by them as well. After graduating, getting married, moving, jobs, and a baby, Amy continues to be there for me and I know she always will:) We don't get to see each other as much as we hope to, but we always catch up where we left off when we do. Have a great time in Chicago Amy, I am proud of you for following your heart!!
Just a couple pictures over the course of eight years! (Trust me, too many to even try and post!)

Boo

This is our new game. We play it in between "I'm gonna get you" and "Headbutt Wrestling."

Jim

Everyday it is something new

Ethan has a bunch of puzzles that he has gotten into in the last week or so. He will finish them but you have to keep reminding him what he was working on.

Jim

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JIM!!

Today my wonderful husband turns 26 years old. Normally I would count this as another birthday and joke with him that he is becoming an old man, but this birthday "becoming an old man" has a different meaning. Let me explain.....the other day we were standing in the kitchen and I looked up at Jim and noticed something....two gray hairs!!!!! He blames it on stress:)

We really celebrated his birthday Saturday when his parents and grandparents came over for a BBQ. His grandparents have not seen our house yet, so it was nice to have them here to show them our new place. Jim received the best present ever, a new grill from his parents!! It is his new baby. He cleans it everyday and makes sure that everything is spic n' span on it. Tonight we are firing it up for the first time, so that will be fun for him. I have never seen Jim so excited about a present before, I know that it is a total guy thing and I am happy for him.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JIM!!

Jim with his new grill! (notice the little boy at the bottom who found a new hiding place)

Batman to the rescue!!!

My mom bought Ethan these pajamas and I can't help but laugh every time he wears them!

Loving the warm weather!

Ethan loves playing outside and this week he has been out there a lot! I bought him some sidewalk chalk just to see what he would do and if he liked it. I wasn't sure considering the coloring with crayons thing isn't a big hit yet. He ended up loving it and sat and drew for like 15 minutes and for anyone who knows Ethan, that is a world record!!

Daddy giving lessons on how to use the sidewalk chalk.

Ethan's turn!

I think he likes them! (notice the fact that he looks like a rainbow:)

Ethan's first Michigan peach.

Doing our own thing...

This weekend the three of us did our own thing. Jim was on call this weekend and was pretty busy with that. He is currently on Trauma Surgery and being on call on a Saturday night I think speaks for itself. Lets just say that Sunday was a resting day. Ethan spent the weekend with Grandma Helms and had so much fun! They played, went shopping, and even went for ice cream! At first he was not eating it but once he got a taste of it, he finished off the baby cone:) I was in a wedding Saturday night. My good friend from college, Mindy, tied the knot to Aaron and they could not be a more happier couple! Congratulations you guys! Mindy and I right before she walks down the isle!

On the limo bus!!

Mr. & Mrs. Niedzwiecki

Pop, pop, pop......

That is a sweet sound when you are canning anything! Two days ago I decided that I would try to make pickles on my own this year without the help of my pickle expert friend Andrea. I am not going to lie to you, I really did not know what I was doing and the first time I tried, I heard no popping and I called Andrea and consulted with her. I decided that yesterday I was going to try again and not give up until all of my can popped and sealed! I took out all the pickles, washed the and sanitized the jars and lids, poured out the brine, and started fresh! This time I heard the the sweet sound of popping!!!! Jim loves these pickles as did everyone else who tried them last year, so I had a lot of pressure to live up to, we will see if I did it in eight weeks when they are ready to be taste tested:) Thanks for the help Andrea and my awesome mother-in-law who is also a canning expert who bought all I needed last Christmas!

you are looking at 15 pounds of cucumbers that I bought at the local farmers marketGetting ready to make pickles....I look so domestic (my first time canning!)
The final product!

It was a learning process but I think that I will try again next year!

Another Reunion...

Last Thursday Ethan and I headed over to Howell to reunite with some Marquette friends. We have all gone our separate ways now, I am in Kalamazoo, Andrea is in Colorado and JoLynn is living in Howell. Since Andrea was in Michigan and JoLynn just gave birth to a beautiful baby girl Allison, we thought that it was appropriate for a reunion!! There were many more friends from Marquette that we wish could have joined us. We had a great time and our kids all had fun together! They are all growing up so fast!! I miss you already girls! It was great to get a taste of Marquette again!! When is the next one??

Elise and Ethan

Sweet Allison!

All the kids playing at the park!

Ethan opening the door for Maren:)

The balls were a hit!

Cute Maren!

Ethan trying to scare the girls...

Maren and Elise playing in the wagon.

Can't wait for the next reunion!!!!

The Kalamazoo County Fair

Last Wednesday I took Ethan to the fair here in Kalamazoo. He LOVES animals and enjoys looking at pictures of farm animals in books and I wanted to show him what they really looked like. He had a blast! He started imitating the sound the sheep were making and even tried feeding the goats his goldfish crackers (even though the sign said DO NOT FEED!). He was able to pet a lot of animals and watch a horse jumping show. At the end Ethan played with the big John Deer tractors and had just as much fun on those! We are heading back next summer for sure!

Our Little Fish!

Today Uncle Mark and I took Ethan to the pool where my brother lives and Ethan had a blast! All he wanted to do was swim from one side to the other!! He even went under water twice!!:)

One Lucky Little Boy

Ethan was able to see all of his grandparents last week and enjoyed spending time with them:) He is a very loved child!!

Grandpa Jastifer and Ethan hanging out.

Grandma Jastifer loves making Ethan laugh!

Ethan loves when grandma Helms reads to him.

Ethan hanging out with grandpa Biener.

Great-grandma and grandpa Biener gave Ethan some wooden cars and a book last week when we visited! He played with them all night long!