Happy Birthday Jackson!!!!

Last picture as a 12 year old. I love that he still has his animals....

And then Jackson turned 13! That's right. Thirteen. A teenager (which he likes to remind us now quite frequently). Addie helped me the night before make sure everything was ready for when he woke up. Saturday morning brought us presents and some good smiles!

 

Jackson got to open his gifts in the morning, then we got our act together so we could head out of town for a weekend of fun celebrating Jackson and his birthday!

The highlight of Jackson's morning was probably getting to FaceTime with Dave. 

While I tried to pull things together, Jackson practiced his Nerf all through the house. 

When we were finally packed and ready to go, we hit the road and met Leslie and her nephew TJ for some trampoline fun. Jackson and Addison both loved having someone else to pal around with, and I think they wore poor TJ out.

Jackson chose his restaurant for dinner. It was definitely a special dinner, as he got to order crab legs and had creme brûlée (his absolute favorite)!

After dinner, Leslie gave all of the kids a lesson in calculating tip. Nothing like adulting right away!

Just January

January kept us busy as we adjusted to school again after the Christmas holiday. Settling into routines again, as Jackson continued to work with Sheldon every day.

 We tried out the game "Ticket to Ride" and definitely thought it was a good game and fun for everyone, especially because there is definitely a strategy to playing the game. 

I snuck in a few sleeping pictures because sometimes a mom needs a quiet, peaceful reminder. 

Dave got an opportunity to travel to Mexico and go fishing. He absolutely LOVED it and can't wait to go again. Jackson is also counting down the years before we will entertain that idea. 

The only bummer to Dave's trip was the timing. It fell during Jackson's birthday, which made for an exciting birthday here in the states.