The Jackson Family Adventures

House Update - PreConstruction

2012-01-17T08:21:00.000-08:00

Levi and I met with our home builder yesterday for our official "preconstruction meeting," which was basically a time to confirm all of the selections we've made, look at the blueprints and make sure they are building the right house...you know, the important stuff! He said they should "break ground" on Monday (less than a week) and that our house could be done as early as mid-May! So exciting!

I don't have any new pictures of the house itself, obviously, because it's still just a lot with dirt on it...but hopefully starting next week I can start taking progressive pictures. What I do have, however, is pictures of our design selections, so I thought I'd share those now...

Clockwise from top: 18in tile for kitchen/dining/foyer/bathrooms; wood floor for family room; granite countertops in kitchen; and kitchen/bathroom cabinets.

I know the kitchen/bathroom cabinets look black. They're NOT. They are "espresso brown." It's very dark, but as I keep reassuring Levi, they're not black. :)

This is a sketch of our kitchen cabinets and backsplash. The diagonal tile will match the floor tile, and the small accent tiles are metal. Both are shown below:

Our front door selections - we chose the one on the right. Our front shutters will be stained to match.

Light fixtures...the left side are outdoor fixtures and the right side are indoor fixtures. I think they'll be very pretty!

I have an idea in my mind of how the house will look when it's all done and we've painted and moved in...I hope the reality will be as nice! :) I have a "decorating" notebook that I carry around, adding pictures and paint swatches for the different rooms...I think it will be a modern-traditional style, with lots of browns and neutrals with a few accent colors, and wrought iron details. Can't wait to see it evolve! :)

Baby Update - 6 months along!

2012-01-11T08:27:00.000-08:00

Baby J (henceforth known officially as Caleb) and I had our 6 month appointment yesterday...all is going well so far! It was a quick appointment: checking my weight, measuring my belly, and using the Doppler to hear the heartbeat. I told my OB I thought he was still breech (the head upright, bottom/feet down position) because when he kicks - which is often - I still only feel them very low down near my pelvis. My OB agrees but reassures that there is still lots of time for him to turn around!

Starting at our next visit (28 weeks) we'll have ultrasounds to monitor Caleb's growth, because of my MS. Thankfully, I haven't had any flare ups or problems with MS during this pregnancy, but decreased growth of the baby can be a complication with some women. At our 20 week ultrasound, he was perfect at 14oz (not quite a pound), so hopefully we won't have any problems. I am glad we are doing the growth scans, though, for reassurance AND because it means I get to see him more often! :)

I do have a few pictures to share...The one on the left is 5 months along with Olivia. The one on the right is 4 1/2 months along with Caleb. Pretty similar, even though they're 2 weeks apart! I guess that means I'm not as huge as I feel...

And apparently I like striped maternity shirts. :P The next picture I have from my pregnancy with Olivia is at 6 1/2 months, so I'll try to remember to take another one in a few weeks for comparison.

Christmas 2011

2012-01-09T09:14:00.000-08:00

We had a great Christmas this year, and we hope you did as well!

Olivia was a lot of help decorating our house. She loved all the snowmen and pretty lights!

new baby doll - Olivia has named her "Nina." She feeds her all the time, and though she's not had a stitch of clothing on since Christmas morning, we think Nina is good practice for upcoming little brother! :)

A new bicycle for Christmas! She was very excited. It has a seat on the back for her baby (or kitty) and a basket in the front for her puppy!

She even has her name on her license plate! Stylin' girl.

So proud of her new bicycle.

Grandpa and Grandma (Tim & Kathy Lickliter) came to visit for Christmas, which was lovely. We took them to the Hula Hut for dinner. It's an Austin original restaurant right on the lake. If it had been warmer we would have eaten outside...next time! I think it's our new "go-to" spot to take visitors! Good food, good prices, good view!

Riding on the path. That baby seat in the back actually turns out to be a great hand-hold for Levi to help her slow down on the hills! Olivia is not a fan - she yells back at him, "Let go, Daddy! Let go so I can go fast!"

...I'm thinking of investing in knee pads based on her love of speed. Maybe a whole-body pad. She hasn't fallen yet, so that's a plus. We've taken her on the paved path by the storm overflow creek in our neighborhood several times, and we're teaching her to "stay on the right!!" so she doesn't get run over by much faster cyclists...she still gets distracted by the scenery and turns her bike whereever she looks, but she's getting better!

It's a boy!

2011-12-20T06:42:00.000-08:00

Awwww, so cute!

We had our 20-week ultrasound last week and everything looks great! 4 chambers to the heart (yay!), normal spine, normal mouth/nose, normal belly. Growing well at 13oz already (just short of a pound). And....he's a boy!

The arrow points to his, well, boy parts. :)

We are 95% sure that his name will be Caleb James Jackson. Well, we're 100% certain about the first name, so we call him Caleb now instead of "little bit" or "baby J." It's so nice to finally know! Now we can start looking at nursery themes and buying little boy clothes & blankets! :)

We're over halfway there now, and we're so excited to meet him. He's very active now, though still in a breech position (head up) so it's harder for anyone else to feel his kicks. Both Levi and Olivia have been patient enough to feel them, though, which is lovely. Olivia often comes to "say hi to the baby," and Levi and I are so glad that she's so excited. She went with me to the ultrasound and was able to see the baby on the screen!

So much fun, and we are so thankful to be blessed with another healthy child. We're praying that all continues to go well and that in a few short (but not too short!) months we'll be welcoming our little boy into the family in good health and without complications. :)

New House!

2011-12-04T12:21:00.000-08:00

Levi and I are excited to announce that we're buying our first house! It's something we have wanted to do for such a long time, but the circumstances were never right. Now, however, we are able to and are very excited about it!

We're buying a new construction home, so it will take about 6 months...our family is going to be very busy next spring, with a new baby AND a new house!

The really fun part is that we get to choose everything that goes into the house, from the faucets to the floors! I am meeting with the design company this week to get things started in that regard.

About a week ago we signed our contracts and picked our lot. I'm planning to chronicle the home building process in pictures (which I will later scrapbook, of course!), and we thought we share them with you all here, as well!

Our lot! The trees will stay behind the house, so we won't be looking directly into someone else's backyard, which was something we really liked about the development.

Our new address will be on Mira Vista Way.

I also thought maybe you'd want to see our floorplan...they have several to choose from, but we liked this one the best. It's 2 stories, with 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. It also has a loft/game room/bonus space that will be nice.

First floor. Bedroom 4 could have been a study, which is why it's in yellow. It will be Baby J#2's room until he or she is old enough to have a room upstairs with Olivia! Then Bedroom 4 will become our guest room. Another change from this first floor plan shown is that they moved the Utility Room to where it says "Mud room" to give us a bigger dining room. It makes for a very nice open living/dining/kitchen area! We can't wait to host Thanksgiving and Christmas in our new house in years to come!

Second floor. Olivia will likely have Bedroom 2, since it has a walk in closet. :) Bedroom 3 will be our guest room until we move Baby J#2 upstairs. Also, we're planning on using the Game Room as a mixed space - maybe a couch & second tv watching area, office space, and small craft space. :)

One of the things we liked the most about the development we chose is the style of homes. They call it "Santa Barbara" style; we call it "Mediterranean." Our favorite home styles are Mediterranean and Plantation, but Plantation doesn't really go in Austin. :P Here is a sketch of the what the front of our house will look like:

And, so you can get a better idea of what it really looks like, here is an actual picture of the model home:

Lovely, yes?

As you can see, we're super excited (and so is Olivia, though she thinks the model is our new house, since we've been there so often!). I will post pictures as we go along!

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-29T11:55:00.000-08:00

This was our first Thanksgiving in Austin, and the Jacksons (Levi's parents - Joe and Melba) came to celebrate with us.

Levi and I cheated when it came to cooking, because I had to work the holiday (though it was nothing like working through the holidays in Residency, thank goodness!). So the Honeybaked Ham store made our meal for us! It was yummy - sweet turkey, creamy green bean casserole, whipped mashed potatoes, and to-die-for sweet potatoe souffle! I did make dessert - pumpkin cream cheese rolls and blackberry cobbler. I think we all ate more than enough food - as to be expected on Thanksgiving!

We had to take a post-meal walk, and of course, ended up at the playground by our house...

On Friday, Levi, Joe, Melba, and Olivia went to the park. It looks like they had fun!

On Saturday we all went downtown. It was sprinkling a bit, but for those of us who have been living through a drought all summer, it was a welcome relief!

Fun times!

*~*~*

One more picture, because it's just beautiful and I can't resist. Thank you to Levi, who made it happen!

such a lovely, lovely girl!

Baby Update

2011-11-21T10:53:00.000-08:00

We are now 17 weeks along with Baby J#2! (I'd meant to post last week, at 16 weeks/4 months, but kept forgetting).

Things are going very well! According to BabyCenter, the baby is currently about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. I definitely feel little kicks daily - usually in the mornings and early evenings. Olivia is funny, too, because she will put her hand on my belly and then jerk it away very quickly and say, "OH! the baby got me!" :) I can't wait for the movements to be strong enough for her to feel,
too.

In about 3 weeks we'll have our Anatomy Scan ultrasound, where they check for birth defects, etc, and make sure the baby is growing well. Olivia will be going to that one, which should be fun...and we'll find out if Baby J#2 is a boy or a girl! Anyone have a guess yet? Post it in the comments if you do!

I have a few pictures to share, though I confess they are a little old...

12 weeks along - I love that you can see the whole baby in the picture!

On the left is 12weeks along with Olivia, on the right is 14weeks along this time. Big difference! Oh, and Olivia is the blur at the bottom of the picture. :) Funny. I seem to have the exact same haircut, too!

Finally, though it may seem a little redundant, I do have another, more "baby-centric" blog. It's actually the same blog I used to chronicle my pregnancy with Olivia, I just reopened it. The link is http://my-twiglet.livejournal.com/ if you want to check it out or follow it. I (try to) make weekly updates about how the baby is growing and developing, including a picture of the week. I'll post occasional updates like this here, but the bulk of the info will be there. :)

Halloween!!

2011-11-02T07:43:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween!

This was really one of the first years that Olivia knew what Halloween actually was...she had a Fall Festival at preschool where she got to wear her costume, and went trick or treating through the neighborhood instead of at a random Trunk-or-Treat. :)

We made Halloween-themed sugar cookies, and also got to decorate pumpkins together - me with a knife, her with a paintbrush, and Daddy with a camera. :)

(see picture at the top to see our final pumpkin creation!)

She was very cute about the whole costume thing - she'd been saying for a long time that she wanted to be Belle for Halloween, which is exactly what she was last year...

(Olivia, Halloween 2010)

But when we got to the store and I held up several different princess costumes, she zeroed in on Rapunzel. Which isn't suprising, given the number of times we've watched Tangled in the past few months...

Levi even found her a long blonde wig, which she wore for just long enough to take pictures...

Raise your hand if you understand why she's holding a skillet! :) hee hee.

We told her that she could be the Rapunzel-after-she-got-her-hair-cut-off when she didn't wear the wig...I'm not sure she cared either way.

She was really good about going up to houses and knocking...but she wouldn't say Trick or Treat! She'd just stand there, smiling. She did say "thank you" at least. :)

I took her around one part of the block, and then Levi took her around the other part (we didn't want to leave our house unattended during Trick-or-Treating time). With Levi going to the door along with her, she would actually say Trick-or-Treat. I think she had a lot of fun! We did, too.

MS Walk

2011-10-29T18:38:00.000-07:00

Join The Movement!
Walk MS is the rallying point of the MS movement, a community coming together to raise funds and celebrate hope for the future. Walks happen all around the country, all year long. Austin's walk was today, October 29th. There was a surprising amount of people there - many had signed up for the walk in teams, with creative names like "Don't MS With Texas" and "MS Avengers."

Why I Walk
In March 2010, my right leg went numb from the waist down. Two days later, I was seeing double because a muscle in my eye was no longer working. I was lucky enough to be diagnosed quickly - many people spend years of confusing and frustrating symptoms before being told they have MS. After two courses of steroids and many weeks, I finally felt normal again - though "normal" suddenly included daily injections and the knowledge that I had an illness that would never go away and would likely become worse with time.

Multiple sclerosis interrupts the flow of information from the brain to the body and stops people from moving like they should. I walk for those who no longer can. I walk for my aunt, who also has MS. I walk for my husband, who is my foundation and support. I walk for my daughter, to teach her strength. I walk for myself, in hopes that I will be able to do so for a long, long time.

Every hour in the United States, someone is newly diagnosed with MS, an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system. Symptoms range from numbness and tingling to blindness and paralysis. The progress, severity and specific symptoms of MS in any one person cannot yet be predicted, but advances in research and treatment, made possible from the funds raised in events like the Walk MS, are moving us closer to a world free of MS.

This was my first year to participate in the walk and fundraise for it. I didn't know what to expect, so I set a goal of $300...and my wonderful friends and family exceeded that, at $330! A special thanks to all of you...you will soon be receiving a picture and a card in the mail! Maybe next year we'll expand and have a team of our own...

After the walk, we went to Taco Cabana for lunch. While there, a woman read my shirt, and then Olivia's shirt. "You wear orange for your mommy! How cute! Are you going to the game today?"

(for those of you who dont' know, University of Texas is in Austin, and their predominant color is Burnt Orange)

I explained that the orange was actually for MS, and that we had just come from the MS Walk. The woman was so surprised, and said that her husband did the MS Bike 150 a few weeks ago in Galeston, TX. The MS Bike 150 is a 150-mile bike ride for MS awareness. When her husband came over to join the conversation, I thanked him for doing the bike ride, and he said, "Do I know you?" :)

The woman then asked if I have MS, and when I said yes, she said, "Well, you'd never know! Honestly!" I thanked her for that, and said I hope that will be the case for a long, long time.

I really do.

Sea World!

2011-10-25T06:23:00.000-07:00

Since moving to Austin, we are constantly learning from other Austinites about things we should do, places we should see and go. Most of the time our answer is, "We'll try that when it gets cooler!"

Well...Austin has been strangely reminiscent of Tucson this summer, in it's oven-baking heat and sun (I think we've only seen rain twice since we moved here!). It has cooled down a bit - we're more in the upper 80's than in the 100's now - but still isn't quite fall enough.

All that to say that Sea World in San Antonio (a mere 2 hours away from our house) was definitely on the list of Things To Do. We'd been talking about it a lot lately, and had decided on last weekend. It turned out to be even better timing when we learned that Olivia was the Star of the Week in her preschool class, and thus got to take home Dangles, the class stuffed monkey. Each child does something fun with Dangles and then takes pictures and a story back to the class on the following Monday...so we thought, Why not? Sea World with Dangles, it is!

This is at the entrance to the park. Notice Dangles with Olivia. He will be in most of the pictures. :P

Meeting Shamu! She was not even a little bit afraid of the huge walking killer whale...

We actually got to the park about 30min early, but they still let people in. We went first to the dolphin area, where we thought it would be fun to feed the dolphins. Turns out, we didn't need to feed them - they came right up to the side of the pool and let you pet them! It was pretty awesome. The dolphins reminded Levi and I of puppy dogs...they just had this "pet me! pet me! love me! love me!" demeanor about them. I'm glad I got this picture of Olivia touching one of them, because right after that one came up out of the water right in her face and scared her...she didn't want to pet them after that!

It's hard to see it under the water, but that's a sting ray she's touching. Very squishy!

In the middle of the park was the Sesame Street Bay of Play. I'm not sure what Seasame Street was doing in Sea World, but it's a match made in heaven for little kids. There were lots of smaller, kid-sized rides,which Olivia loved. This is Levi and Olivia riding on the Shamu Roller Coaster. We were worried that she'd get scared, since it went pretty fast, even for a kiddie-coaster. But no. Apparently the only thing she was afraid of was the dolphin. :P

Olivia, Dangles, and I on the Merry Go Round. She's pretty excited.

This was a ferris wheel made of little egg-shaped cups. It as also the only ride I was able to go on (other than the Merry Go Round) with Olivia due to being preggers. :) It was fun, but not fast enough for Olivia. She stood up at the top and said, "Can I get off now? I want to do something else." Oy.

Good thing daddys have strong shoulders, because girls get tired after all that walking!

Ice cream! which, of couse, was shared with Dangles. :)

This was one of those boat rides that swings fast back and forth. Now, look closely at the second-to-last row of seats. That's Levi and Olivia. Do you see her hands? They're up in the air like on a roller coaster. Did we teach her this? No. Are we in trouble when she's a teenager? Yes.

I had to include this picture to show that no matter where you take a child - and no matter what the cost of admission - they can be perfectly happy playing on a playground. Forget the dolphins, whales, otters, sea lions. Give the girl a rope ladder and a slide, and she's happy! I think we spent an hour there, which allowed her to get out a lot of energy, me to sit down for a while, and Levi and I both to have heart attacks trying to keep her in our line of sight. It is quite scary how easily you could lose a child in a place like Sea World.

We saw three shows during the day, and this is the last one - Shamu! I wanted to include this one because it has Baby Shamu jumping with his mommy. Awww. He was so cute.

And that's it! We had a lot of fun, saw lots of animals, bought a lot of expensive park food, and walked about 5 miles. No one got hurt, and to Levi and I's enormous relief, made it back to the car at the end of the day without losing Dangles even once. :)

Important Announcement!

2011-10-06T16:57:00.000-07:00

Some of you reading this blog probably already know this, but...Baby Jackson #2 is on the way! :) He or she only looks like a little bean right now, but things change fast!

We're very excited, and Olivia says that she is ready to be a big sister. Our due date is April 30th! I'll post pictures and progress as we go...

Tim & Kathy Lickliter's Visit

2011-10-04T16:12:00.000-07:00

Next up in the family visiting line up are Tim and Kathy Lickliter (my dad and step-mom). They stopped by for a few days on their way home from visiting my grandparents in NM. Unfortunately, I had to work for two of the days that they were here, but Levi was a great host and made sure they had things to do.

And of course, Grandpa and Grandma brought Olivia a surprise:

Wonder if the ballerina bear will replace Kitty as the stuffed animal of choice (also a present from them)? We shall see...

The first morning was spent swimming, then lunch with me, then relaxing at home until we all went to dinner at Chuy's - the closest thing to "real" Mexican food that we've found so far in Austin. :)

The next day they all rode the train into downtown Austin. We'd been meaning to do it for a while but never had...Levi said that Olivia was really excited for about the first five minutes. :P

While downtown, they went to the Children's Museum, which is very hands-on, as you might expect. Levi compared it to Chuck - E - Cheese, in the amount of kids, activity, and chaos. I'm not so sure I'm sorry I missed it...lol. Not really. I'd much have rather gone with them than stayed at work all day!

digging for dinosaur bones!

It was a short visit, but a good one! I think everyone had fun. 'Till next time!

Labor Day Weekend

2011-09-10T12:42:00.000-07:00

Levi's sister Joanie and her husband Chris came to visit us for the long Labor Day weekend. It was a great visit. It's nice now that we only live about 6 hours from them - they're our closest family neighbors now! Hopefully we'll be able to visit with them often.

I think Olivia had fun with both of them...of course her Aunt Joanie brought her some shoes (Aunt Joanie has always bought her the coolest shoes). This time they were pink cowboy boots! When in Texas, I guess...

She immediately had to put them on with her pj's.

And then we had to bring her pony downstairs for her to ride with them on. Silly girl. I think she wore the things all weekend...even with her red and black preppy skirt. lol.

We went swimming on Saturday, which was fun for all.

And then on their last night we met some other friends of theirs at a Japanese Steakhouse. Olivia loved the show that the chef put on!

Waiting for the show to start...

Wow! I love the look on her face. She did this through the whole thing, along with laughing and squealing. Fun!

Other random pictures:

Reading with Aunt Joanie (which gave Mommy and Daddy a break!)

Having fun with Uncle Chris

Lovely girl!

Having fun!

Melba and Tammy Jackson's Visit

2011-08-27T18:08:00.000-07:00

This past week, Levi's mom, Melba, and his oldest sister, Tammy, came to visit. They were our first visitors since we moved to Austin! I think they had fun...swimming in the mornings, playing in the afternoons. We had dinner at Chuy's one night, an Austin original restaurant. It was very yummy!!

I think they liked our house, and enjoyed the visit. Especially with Olivia! :) She kept them occupied...and they helped to wear her out!

Next up for a visit: Levi's middle sister, Joanie, and her husband Chris! They will be here this weekend!

Imaginations Run Wild

2011-08-15T18:18:00.000-07:00

Lately Olivia has been very imaginative...she's been putting on "shows" for Levi and I. It's really very entertaining.

"Hello children," she starts, "and boys and girls! We're gonna have a great show today!"

She then proceeds to dance around the living room with a vaccum cleaner attachement, and call for volunteers from the audience...namely Levi, me, Princess (Imaginary Friend #1), and Witch (Imaginary Friend #2). This sometimes includes props, which for some reason means winter beanies (apparently she has no concept of hot weather):

"I am NOT taking pictures, Daddy!"

It's much fun for all!

It's....a New Car!

2011-08-12T07:50:00.000-07:00

Before we left Nashville, we donated my old Chevy Cavalier to the Purple Heart Foundation. It had been my car since my senior year (quite a long time!) and it had been a great car, with only an occasional hiccup. Still, it was getting old and we didn't want to move it. The plan was to buy a new car once we got to Austin.

It took a bit longer than expected, but....

Look what I got! :) It's a 2012 Hyundai Sonata. I love it! :)

Lovely in Love

2011-07-28T19:39:00.000-07:00

Today is the 10-year anniversary of the day Levi and I were married!

It's strange, it seems like we've been together forever and yet at the same time I can't believe it's been 10 years already.

So much has changed since we first met - we've graduated high school and college, we've gotten married (obviously).

We've moved across the country four times. Levi has a Master's Degree. I'm now a doctor.

Most importantly, we have a beautiful daughter that daily teaches us the lessons of love, patience, and imagination.

I know that we're far from done growing together, as a family and as a couple. I am thankful that despite - or because of - all that we have been through together, we have such a deep understanding and love for each other. I pray that this though it has been 10 years already, it is only the beginning.

Baking Cookies

2011-07-21T12:58:00.000-07:00

Our new house in Austin has an amazing kitchen...okay, so it's probably a "normal" kitchen by anyone else's standards, but we've spent the last several years in less-than-stellar kitchens. I LOVE this kitchen - it has lots of nice, spacious countertops, new appliances, a gas stove! I've been cooking alot and trying to bake some of the things I didn't have the space or nerve to try before.

A few days ago my favorite food blog, Annie's Eats, had a recipe for those yummy soft frosted sugar cookies you can buy in the grocery store...you know, the ones that have different frosting depending on the season or nearest holiday that are so yummy you want to eat the entire box? yeah, those.

I decided to try them...and of course, I have a helper in the kitchen. She really does well, as long as I remember not to fuss at her about getting flour all over her shirt or eating half of the sugar before I can get it in the bowl...

The cookies turned out very well, though the icing left much to be desired. I wanted that fluffy, thick icing that comes on the cookies in the grocery store, but my icing was very runny. Will have to play with it next time (maybe use real butter, which I ran out of this time).

This was taken the next day, after they'd have time to set. Levi caught me right after my shower...

Olivia is very proud of her cookies! She loves to help me bake.

close up of the cookies. Can you guess who picked the color? :)

Evening Prayers

2011-07-20T15:02:00.000-07:00

We've started saying prayers at night as Olivia goes to sleep. It started out with me praying out loud and she repeating what I said. Something like:

"Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for this day
Thank you for my family
Thank you for Jesus
In His name we pray, Amen."

Now we've moved on to Olivia saying the prayers, and of course she wants me to repeat them after her. These go something like this:

"Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for this day
Thank you for my family
I hope you love my kitty
and my lips
and my cheeks.
I love my ears so so so much.
In Jesus' name we pray, Amen."

Austin: We've Arrived!

2011-07-14T17:22:00.000-07:00

So really, it's been almost 2 weeks since we arrived in Austin...

(please note - I'm abandoning writing in the 3rd person, ie, writing about "the Jacksons" instead of "us," because it's too hard. :P Plus, you all know it's me, Charity, writing this blog and not Levi. Hee hee.)

Anyway. We left Nashville at the very end of June and made our way to Austin. Thankfully and luckily, Tim & Kathy bought us a Garmin GPS as a going away present. It was (and still is!) so helpful! It has helped us find places to eat, places to stay, the post office. pretty much everything. Every now and then it's wrong but most of the time it's indispensible!

We beat our furniture to Austin by about 5 days. Let me tell you, by the time it arrived we were VERY ready for it. Squatters, we are not. I never realized how much I loved our couches before I had to sit on the floor for nearly a week!

We really love our new house. It's so nice! Two story, with 3 bedrooms and a loft that we turned into an office.

The front door. Pretty stone! And a purple door. :)

Office space. :)

Living & Dining room, as seen from front door.

As seen from the stairs...

Back toward the front door

Kitchen and Dining Room

Our neighborhood is definitely "suburbia" but it fits us. There is a community playground, a community pool, and an elementary right in the middle of it all! Olivia has definitely enjoyed all of that!

So now we're all settled, and are slowly exploring our way around Austin. In the midst of it all, was Levi's birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEVI!!! To celebrate we went to a fun restaurant on Lake Travis called The Oasis. It was yummy food and an awesome view because (according to the menu) the restaurant is on a cliff about 400ft above the water. Definitely a place to take visitors!

And that's it! Olivia and Kitty are waiting for visitors! :)

NM Vacation 2011, Part 3: Roswell

2011-06-30T19:56:00.000-07:00

The final leg of the NM vacation was in Roswell to visit Papa Joe and Grammy (Joe and Melba Jackson - Levi's parents) and Levi's sister, Joanie Weber. It was a long drive from Cliff to Roswell, and once again, Olivia was a trooper.

Also, once again, Levi and Charity had to stop at a yummy Mexican restaurant for dinner! There just is no comparison to good New Mexico-style Mexican food!

They arrived in Roswell too late to do much but visit for a few minutes and then go to bed. The next morning, however, Papa Joe took everyone out to feed the cows on the ranch. He put Levi and Joanie to work! :)

Levi had to check with Joanie to make sure he was doing it right!

Then they all went for a ride around the ranch.

"Mommy, those big puppies are mooing!" - direct quote from one cute little Olivia Jackson

Olivia and Grammy

Olivia and Aunt Joanie

In the evenings everyone relaxed outside. Olivia played in the kiddie pool because it was hot!

Finally, Olivia got to ride a horse for the first time! She was such a big girl...first she rode with Grammy...

And then she rode with Charity...

And then she rode all by herself!!

Such a big girl! She really didn't want to get off of the horse after that...

New Mexico 2011, Part 2: Silver City and Cliff

2011-06-27T07:37:00.000-07:00

After visiting the Massey family in Animas, the Jacksons headed to the Silver City/Cliff area to visit Olivia's great-grandparents.

First up was Silver City, where Joe & Lorene Lickliter (Charity's paternal grandparents) live. They hadn't seen Olivia since she was about 3 months old, so she had changed a bit! It was a very good visit. Olivia enjoyed reading and playing!

After that, the Jacksons traveled to Cliff to visit Dorothy Jackson (Levi's paternal grandmother), also known as Grandma Dot. Luckily, other Jackson relatives were able to come over for lunch or dinner, so they were able to visit lots of people - George and Nancy Jackson, Stewart and Connie Rooks and their daughter Kelsey. Great fun!

Olivia was very convincing in talking people into reading to her!

Olivia much enjoyed covering people in stuffed animals!

Three generations of Jacksons...just missing Joe, Levi's dad to have a complete 4 generations. maybe next time!

While in Cliff, they also went to a playground...Olivia had some energy to burn!

They stayed in Cliff overnight before heading to Roswell to see the rest of the Jackson family...but that's the subject of Part 3. Coming soon!!

New Mexico 2011, Part 1: Animas

2011-06-23T07:38:00.000-07:00

The Jackson Family had not been back to the southwest as a group since moving to Nashville in 2008 (Charity had been to AZ for a wedding and Levi to NM for a funeral, but separately). Thus, prior to the Big Move to Austin, they decided it would be good to use their vacation time this June to visit family in NM. Because there is so much family in the area, they split the trip into three sections: Visiting the Masseys in Animas, visiting great grandparents in Silver City/Cliff, and visiting the Jacksons in Roswell. These blog posts will be split up the same way.

The trip started, of course, with the flight. Olivia was very excited. She's been on planes before (twice, actually, and several times while in the womb!) but doesn't remember it. She did very well through security, though was very concered about the fact that Kitty had to go through the xray machine without her. She enjoyed the flights except for the descent, which hurt her ears. :(

After landing in El Paso, TX, the family rented a car and started the 3+ hour drive to Animas. They stopped along the way at a favorite Mexican food restaurant in Las Cruces, NM, where Levi and Charity went to college. This was a must-do stop, since there is NO good Mexican food to be found in TN, and this restaurant is just about as good as it gets. :)

Then they were finally in Animas (after Olivia asked about a thousand times "Why does Nana live so far from the airport??"), where they visited Nana (Di Massey), Papa Dennis (Dennis Massey), and uncles Garrett and Gage.

Clockwise from left: Levi, Gage, Garrett, Olivia

It was very smoky in Animas, due to the nearby fires in Arizona. So much so that you could look right at the blood red sun!

Olivia had lots of fun with Lizzie, the dog, who is so ugly she's kind of cute (sorry Garrett).

One of the days they were there lots of family came in to visit from Tucson. It was a housefull but good to see everyone. Olivia also had lots of fun with cousin Molly (Erin's daughter). They played and drove a tractor with Nana! It was much fun. :)

Another day they all went to the playground at the elementary school. Garrett and Gage had as much fun as Olivia, it seemed!

After that it was on to Silver City and Cliff to visit Great Grandparents...but that's the subject of the next post. :)

The Jacksons with one of the Massey's crop circles in the background.

50,000 questions

2011-05-30T19:39:00.000-07:00

Watching part of a movie with Olivia today went something like this:

O: Who's that?
O: What's his name?
O: Is that his wife?
C: Yes.
O: What is she doing?
O: What is her name?
O: Is she happy or sad?
C: I think she's happy.
O: Is she going to her house?
O: Is her house gray or pink?
O: Does she have a puppy?
C: ...uh...
(there was no house OR puppy in that scene)

Quiet for a few moments, then:

O: ...Are you happy with me?
*This is Olivia-code for "are you mad at me"

C: (laughing), Yes, I'm happy with you. Silly goose.

Pensacola Beach

2011-05-24T12:35:00.000-07:00

About a month ago, the whole family had a day off when asked what she wanted to do, Olivia replied "Go to the beach!" Now, Olivia has only been to the beach once in her life and she was 8 months old so likely doesn't remember it, so we weren't sure where she got the idea from. However, that started the idea of squeezing in one more fun vacation before Charity's residency is over. It would had to be a quick trip because of Charity's work schedule - she wasn't able to take off more than 2 days at once in the month of May. So the idea of going to Pensacola Beach was born.

Olivia's Grandpa and Grandma (Tim & Kathy) joined in the fun, too.

We have to take a quick detour and say that the first time Levi and Charity lived in Nashville, in 2001-2002, they took a trip to Pensacola Beach for Levi's birthday. This remains one of their all-time favorite vacations...except for one thing: Getting stuck in a huge, interstate-stopping traffic jam outside of Birmingham, AL. Surely, the same thing wouldn't happen twice. Right?

Well. The Jacksons left Nashville at 11am, the earliest that Charity could get off of work on Friday. They loaded in the car with swimsuits, buckets for building sandcastles, and a Big Box O' Stuff for Olivia to do on the 6 and 1/2 hour drive to Pensacola Beach.

They got through Birmingham, and started thinking about how nice it would be to have a seafood dinner on the beach...when all of a sudden I 65 came to a halt. The entire interstate was rerouted through rural Alabama for several miles! Along the way, they went through a town (at a rousing 5 miles per hour) that was mostly abandoned but one sign in particular stood out:

Bakery and Thrift Store? How does that work, exactly? Maybe it's not a surprise that it was out of business...

Anyway...four hours and 60 miles later, a very grumpy Jackson family re-entered I65 and began to head toward Pensacola Beach at a much quicker rate...but they still didn't arrive until nearly 11pm, which made a 6 1/2 hour trip nearly 12 hours instead.

The next day was much better, and spent entirely at the beach. The hotel was about 50 yards from the water, and had a balcony. Olivia was very impressed.

After a very early breakfast, they went to play!

Obviously, Levi was very excited to be back at his favorite vacation destination!

"I'm not so sure about this...."

Maybe just sit here instead...

By far, Charity's favorite picture of the trip. :)

whee!!!!

Building sandcastles with Mommy!

Arrrrrr! Eating lunch at Peg Leg Pete's.

Olivia had lots of fun at the pool...no waves to crash against, no salt water to taste, fun fountains and toys!

Levi and Kathy decided to kayak in the ocean - crazy people!

Olivia just wanted to ride in the kayak...thanks Grandpa!

fun trip! Easier ride home, and a much needed nap for Olivia...

Definitely hard to go back to the real world after that!

Conversations with a Three Year Old

2011-05-14T07:05:00.000-07:00

O: Who makes the cars?
C: The car factory.
O: Who makes the lights?
C: The light factory.

(this goes on for a while) Then...

C: Who made Olivia?
O: *silent, then glares* I don't want to play this game.

...
This morning at 6am, while sitting on the potty:

O: Why did God put my head here? *points to head*
C: I guess He thought that was a good place for it.
O: Why did God put my eyes here? *points to eyes*
C: So you can see.
O: Why did God put my neck here? *points to neck*
C: To hold up your head.
O: Why--
C: Shhhhh...it's time to peepee.

Destination: Austin!

2011-05-09T18:57:00.000-07:00

We found out today that the start date for Charity's new job at Austin Regional Clinic will most likely be in mid-August, rather than in July as we initially planned on. Mostly due to time to get credentialled with the local hospitals and to have verification of education...

The planned move date is still the end of June/beginning of July. We figure that will give us time to settle in and explore our new city - and for family to come and visit if they want to before life gets too far underway!

We're excited!

Welcome Post

2011-05-08T09:12:00.000-07:00

Our family is new to Blogger, so please bear with us as we get things started! Soon to come - picutres, videos, links, and fun updates on what we're doing!