Half a Decade

5 years ago our little family grew to a family of three.
Jackson had his 5th Birthday back in December. Crazy how quickly 5 years can go by. He his such a fun five year old. I love watching him grasp and learn new things. I am amazed at some of the stuff he figures out. He is obsessed with Transformer's, and has been for probably the last 2 years. His daddy has his own love for them, which creates a special little bond. :) He's a happy kid with lots of enthusiasm. He is mommy's little sweetheart and tells me daily that he loves me, along with a big snuggle. Jackson absolutely loves his little brothers and helps me out so much! The minute Bryson wakes up from his nap, Jackson is in there pulling him out of the crib. And he always includes Landon in what he is doing. Words can't describe the Joy of watching those three play together. Jackson is getting so tall and he doesn't seem to slow down any. Seriously, that kids goes through pants like no other. Luckily we have two cute little boys that can wear the ones he grows out of!

We got back from our Cruise the day of Jackson's birthday, so my wonderful mom helped him celebrate a little bit while we were gone. Then he had his first little friend party a couple days later. He was so excited! We recently had just finished the basement and we put a home theater down there, which Jackson loves to watch movies in, so he decided to have a movie party!

The invite

The guests eating their pizza

He is so lucky to have such good little friends.

After they ate, they got to put their head in the picture to receive their movie award. I didn't know if they would even care to do this, but it was pretty funny how cool they thought it was. I do have pictures of all the kids doing it, and for all you parents, maybe one day I will actually get around to sending them to you.

Present time!

Thanks everybody! He got lot's of fun things!

Then we had some popcorn cupcakes!

Jackson got his very own extra large cupcake.

Then the kids ventured down to start the movie Bug's Life. Don't they just look so cute!

Then they had their concessions during the movie

And we finished the night with a pinata!

His strong cousin Austin I think was the breaker. He's got one hard swing!

Hope you had a great one Jack! We love you so very much and are so glad you are a part of our family! Mommy's gonna miss you when you head off to kindy!

The Cruise - Part 3 {Mazatlan & Cabo}

Our next stop was Mazatlan.
We took one of these taxi's to the "Golden Zone" which is like the main shopping and beach area.

Whenever we took any taxi anywhere we always stuck Brooks up front, it always made for an entertaining ride. By the time we got out we new the drivers family history and life story. =) Those of you who know my brother, know what I am talking about, he's just a friendly guy!

Very pretty coastline, cute couple too.
Kristina was just too nice! I had to take this picture of her "shopping" She did some pretty good bartering though!

After walking along the beach we found a nice spot and rented some boogie boards for a few bucks and had such a blast! I have never done that before and it was so much fun. The waves were fabulous!


Last port was Cabo San Lucas. It was our shortest day so we kinda just walked around the streets for a bit. Kenny couldn't resist posing with his best buddy =)
People swarm you wanting to take you out on their little boats so Brooks bartered this guy down to take us out to the arches. It was so pretty! That's our ship in the background.
The boat had a glass bottom and Cesar (I think that was his name) threw tortillas and they just swarmed us. It was pretty cool. I think I saw a couple Nemos and a few Dorys.

Then we had to say our goodbyes to Mexico. =(


It was so pretty watching us pull out from Cabo, and as we got going like 30 dolphins decided to give us a show alongside the boat. But every picture I took I missed them jumping and it was just a splash, we saw a couple whales too, amazing and just completed the trip. One more full day at sea and then we were back in California. As we boarded the plane to come home we couldn't help but feel a little sad to leave our fabulous vacation behind.

But we missed our kiddos and we were ready to get back home and squeeze them! Thanks again Brooks and Kristina for making it such a fun trip! Until next time!!

The Cruise - Part 2 {Puerto Vallarta}

Our first stop was Puerto Vallarta. The first thing we did was go Zip lining! It was such a blast and I highly recommend it if you ever get the chance. First they take you on 45 min bus ride up into the jungle. Here's Brooks and Kristina on the bus. Our driver was pretty funny, it helped ease the nerves.
We were waiting to get all harnessed up and I told them all to give me their excited faces. I think Kristina wins for the most excited, Brooks just looks crazy, and Kenny is as cool as a cucumber.


All harnessed up and ready to go!
You start our hiking up a little ways and the first couple lines are just little ones from tree to tree.
Then you start going across the canyon like 550ft high or something like that with a river below you. So fun!!! I learned something new about my brother as well, I never knew he was afraid of heights! He did really good for being afraidy cat. :)
There's me!
Kenny is the white spec!
Once everybody gets warmed up they start to hook on with you and let you go upside down! Just hanging there! It was pretty cool, I even attempted to take some pictures upside down since I was holding onto my camera anyway so it wouldn't fall off from around my neck, but they were only green blobs of trees. :)

Here is some of the crazy guides! They were completely hilarious! And they all wanted Kristina to leave Brooks and come home with them.

We made it! Sweaty, dirty and bug bitten and all!
At the end of the 15 lines they have some animals that they let you hold. This little monkey was eating baby formula out of my hand, it was so cute, but also kinda creepy when he tried to pick pocket me! Seriously, started digging in my pocket.
Kristina was one brave women and held a tarantula. I kept my distance. The guy next to her is the daddy to all these animals, and it was funny cause he wouldn't take the tarantula back from her. He wanted her to keep holding it and she was pretty much done after one picture.
Then we took the bus back down into town and hit the flea market and walked along the coast. We were tired and ready to go back to the ship to EAT!

The Cruise - Part 1 {The Ship}

We're alive! A combination of being busy and just being lazy is why I haven't posted lately. Do you ever just feel too overwhelmed? Over time I assume I will catch up.
The first part of December Kenny and I went on a cruise with my brother and sister-in-law. It was SOOO much fun! And now going back through these pictures almost two months later makes me really want to go back. Thanks to my awesome parents we were able to go kid-less! Thanks again mom and dad, we really owe you. And the boys had a blast. I'm pretty sure they didn't want us to come back just yet.

Ready to board the ship!
Brooks and Kristina enjoying the food, those of you that have been on a cruise know how food pretty much consumes your life for a week. Yum! (Brooks had to pull a face for most pictures)
The shows every night were at the "Spectacular Spectacular" Theater. The singers and dancers were not quite "spectacular" but is was entertaining and we will forever have inside jokes to give us a chuckle.
We got to dress up! It was fun to get all dressed up, that doesn't happen enough at home.
A hot item on the ship was the Hot Chocolate machine! 24 hours a day, however much you want. We definately utilized that! Along with the self serve ice cream cone machine. Brooks pretty much had to get one every time we were on that floor.
Lots of fun hanging out in the sun while we had two days at sea.
Ahhh, I love Cruising!

We played a mean game of mini golf. It was pretty crazy to be playing golf in the middle of the ocean. And bonus, I won!


If white robes and hot tubbing doesn't say vacation, I don't know what does. Don't we look luxurious?
The water slide was another of Brooks' favorites. I only went once, Kenny probably went a couple of times.
Everytime Brooks went down he would splash everyone around him, even up over the glass splash guard. He pretty much made a little girl cry once when he drenched her. The girl in this picture liked it and kept sitting there so he would splash her.
And, our Russian waiter Aleksander. Your waiters pretty much become your friends by the end of the week. They stay on the ship for like 9 months at a time! Pretty crazy.

Part 2 coming soon!!