My Man

Saturday was the day he hadn't been preparing for all summer. At the beginning of the year Logan, our dear friend, asked if Aaron was interested in participating in the Coeur D'Alene triathlon.  Aaron had only done one mini triathlon before while at BYU but thought, what the heck.  How bad could it be?  Training went great until June 17th when we took off for vacations, house hunting trips, family reunions, catching up with work, more house hunting trips and just our crazy summer.  I would have used that as a good excuse to bow out gracefully, but Aaron was determined to follow through.

So came a chilly Saturday morning at dawn, these 4 plus 996 others prepared for the Olympic length triathlon.

Birch, Brent, Aaron & Logan

Aaron didn't have road race bike, so he had one of the YM in our ward who worked at a bike shop, put one together for him.

Logan and Aaron all suited up for the first leg: a mile long swim. Sa-weet caps!

Aaron had never been in a full wetsuit, let alone swim in one. And in open water too.  Me, of little faith, was praying he just wouldn't drown.

Off they go.

And back again.  Aaron made great time and was feeling pretty strong after the long swim.

A quick change and he was ready for the 25 mile, mostly uphill, bike ride. 

(Sorry to sexy shirtless man I immortalized in our blog. Little does he know he will be forever remembered by my 5 readers.)

 

Off he went. Love a man in bike shorts! Woot, whoo!

Here he comes.  Rounding the bend toward the finish.

He's ready and pumped for the 6.2 mile run.

And across the finish line!   He had a great run time (though I don't know what it actually was :)  But I'm sure it was great! I tried to take a picture and realized my camera was turned off. So I was able to snap one just when he stopped running right after the finish line.

Tired but feeling good.  I am so proud of you, love of my life!

Logan feeling pretty good as well.  He was awesome!!

Aaron and Lucas in their post race picture together.  I'm not sure if Aaron wants to make this an annual tradition.

Now it's on to Hood To Coast in two weeks...

A monkey's uncle

There is a special place in this little boy's heart for his Uncle Brant.

Two peas in a pod.

One reason we are moving down south

We've had so much time with family this summer as we've been looking for a house. We've had such a blast with Aaron's brother and his family. One trip coincided with a visit from a favorite niece, Camille, from Texas.

We of course had to take her to Carol's, our favorite place in Vancouver for a Man vs. Food type breakfast. And we of course challenged Camille to finish her larger than life meal.

She made a valiant effort...

But in the end, food won.

Lucas loves his cousins but still hates to get his picture taken. He says he looks funny.

Sean, who in rare picture, actually has clothes on.  This funny boy despises clothes so he normally is in his underwear from dawn to dusk. 

Cute Samantha.  There isn't a sweeter girl out there. 

We played outside one afternoon writing on the sidewalk with chalk,

whining about something or other,

riding scooters,

hiding from more pictures,

crying again about this,

and crying about that,

and riding bikes to the park.

What a fun visit from a fantastic girl!

My best cousins picture. 

At least now in Portland we'll have lots more opportunities to get it right.

Still my buddy

Lucas is my love, my sweet and thoughtful boy.  He's 11 and 1/2 and still my buddy.  

 He is crazy silly, loves to quote movies, has a knack for accents just like his dad, and loves to play with friends.

Lukey is one who is very aware of those around him, how they feel and how he can help them.  Last Thursday night he came to us said he has been thinking about a certain man in our ward who is in a wheel chair and cannot communicate except through his special computer.  Lucas had never talked to him before but felt that we needed to visit with him and be friends with him.  Aaron called and they went with a quart of his favorite ice cream.  That is just how he lives.  Lucas is pensive, asks questions and is close to the Spirit.  I love alone time with him, cuddling and talking about life.

Lucas loves sports and is most looking forward to basketball.  He also loves to run, just like his father, so he's looking forward to cross country or track and field these next few years. (We'll see which one he takes to more.  Aaron would be over the moon if he followed in his footsteps and tries pole vaulting.)

In June, Aaron and I partied in Costa Rica with Julia and Logan.  Lucas and Jonah got dropped off at the grandparents and I heard didn't miss us a bit.  Especially when they all went fishing.  Papa and Lucas worked hard on his fishing merit badge resulting in Roy being welcomed into the family.  He was a big, fat rainbow trout that Lukey caught all by himself.  

Roy was delicious.

Nana and Papa also taught Lucas how to play a Jackson family favorite, Rook.  He is now an official card shark and played hours of games this summer. He and his cousin, Jack were the team to beat at the family reunion and let me tell you, not many people did.

I

Lucas always making up amazing stories and is working on putting them down on paper. If he could focus enough to write out what goes on his head, he could be a published author. But that's just a mother speaking. :)  He still loves Legos and will spend hours putting together elaborate ships and space ports. And he's pretty patient with JB who spends minutes taking them apart.

He took the news of our move to Portland pretty well. He has some great friends here, some he's known since we moved here 10 years ago. So it was hard to imagine leaving his school and living somewhere new. But having 7 cousins near our new home helped with the change, especially Jack and Allison. 

Last Sunday we were looking up Lucas' new school and realized that he would no longer be in elementary school for 6th grade but in middle school. Renae, our sister-in-law, saw us read this new info and commented, "I just saw you guys age before my eyes!" Yes, I cannot believe we have a child old enough for middle school. I was looking forward to one more year in elementary.

Life goes by way too fast.

Jonah the Barbarian

I guess a 2 month hiatus is enough.  My mother in law won't let me slack any more.  :)  This summer has been busy, crazy, fun, with lots-o-familia.   As most everyone  knows, we're on our way to Portland.  To live.  It still shocks me to say it out loud.  We are going to thoroughly miss Seattle, our friends, our ward, and Lucas' school.  It's been a wonderful ten years here.  But then I think of all the fun we've had with family this summer and I have to admit we are ready to be near family permanently.  I am so excited for babysit swapping, last minute BBQ's, sleep-overs with cousins, Sunday dinners and Mark repaying all the yard work we've done for him these past years. :) 

I have decided not to try and write a play by play of the summer. Too overwhelming.  So, I'll just do a kid update, since that's all I really want to talk about anyway.  Starting with the Crazy Man...

Jonah is a happy, wild, loving little brother.  He mirrors everything Lucas does and admires him like no one else.  Jonah now loves "uncles" or Bionicles and playing with destroying all of Lucas' Lego creations.  He bites the heads off all the "lego guys" and loves to create stories with his figures.  I don't understand any of these stories but there's a lot of yelling for "help," hugging each other and asking if they are hungry.

Jonah loves to wrestle and will charge anyone who even looks at him the wrong way.  He growls and attacks, cackling the whole way.  He loves to do flips with his daddy, wrestle on the bed with Lucas, and do "ya-ya's" with his Uncle Brant, one of his most favorite people.   

He knows how to delay going to bed by asking for more hugs and kisses or if I mention nap time, he turns his head away from me and says "I just can't talk about it."

Yesterday Jonah came up to me crying, "Ouchie! My toe hurt me!"  I tried to figure out what was wrong but couldn't see anything.  And then he says, "Get the scissors, Mom." 

"What?!" 

"Get the scissors!  Peese!" holding his toe.

"Uh...what...uh...do you want to cut your toe off?"

"YES!"

Yikes. I am seriously going to have to keep those scissors in my sights at all times.

 The man's 3 vices:

Chupey (pacifier)
Blankies (10-15 cloth diapers)
Bobbies (bottles)

Great picture, huh?  But I had to show how he usually climbs out of bed (minus the bottle).  This Santa Claus comes out stuffed with his 10-15 blankies up his shirt.  It called hands-free comfort.

Anything and everything becomes a sword.  This kid lives with a stick in his hand.  We have to work on the fact not everyone is up for a swash-buckling fight.

He loves the "jumpleen" (trampoline) and taking Cotton for a walk where he h.a.s. to hold the leash even though the dog consistently yanks him over. 

This sweet boy drops unconscious at night, exhausted from his daily exploits.  We love this crazy kid.



We are family

We have the smallest of dilemmas in our family.  What kind of family activities will entertain an eleven year old but work with a two year old?   We've been really good at finding ones that don't quite work.  Like driving all the way down to Point Defiance for a special biking trip only to have Jonah scream bloody murder for the half mile we tolerated it in his new bike seat. Or the Harry Potter exhibit where the quick little guy slipped behind the ropes every time we turned around.  Or the baseball game.  Our PTA sold group tickets for the Mariners vs White Sox (Go Chicago!), so we had to go.  I bought four tickets but then we debating all week whether we should really bring Jonah with us or find a babysitter and an extra friend.   At the last minute we decided to go as a family.  For good or bad.

Jonah started off GREAT and was so excited.  The entire way to the stadium all we heard was "Lukey, go to baseball game!"  He thought the crowds and seats and people and music was just fabulous.

While Lukey was upset about something. I truly don't remember what.

But a two year old doesn't stay put, especially our two year old.  We knew this going in but we didn't realize we would be sitting in the nose bleeds on the edge of 50 steeps stairs that this kid would want to climb up and down 50 times.  Aaron and I tag teamed the kid while the other sat with Lucas.  Let me tell you, we only lasted until the 5th inning.  My legs had gotten their workout.  Luckily the seats were cheap and the weather wasn't too cold.  And we'll wait another couple years before we try it again.

One activity we've found that works for everyone?  Swimming.  Well, almost everyone.  {I have to admit bathing suits are not my favorite.  Sweetly, the last 2 times we've gone, Aaron has wrangled the kids while I take pictures from the sides lines.  I'm determined to just get over myself and join in the fun and cold, which most people know I hate!  Cold, not fun.}

Jonah just gets a whiff of the word "swimming" and he's off to get ready.  Why he still puts it on his head, I do not know.

Swimming, bowling, arcades, and parks have all been winners and we're always looking for more.  We'll try biking again with a different seat for Jonah.  And no one can argue with the zoo. I can't wait for summer and having the warm and dry outdoors again.  Those possibilities are endless.  Plus there have been a few times where we get a babysitter and take Lucas to dinner and a movie.  Like old times.  But believe me, none of us are complaining of the "new times" with the Kid.  Life wouldn't be the same without him. We are so blessed for our smallest of dilemmas.