school girl

it happened.
she went to school. we've been prepping for this day for weeks.. months even. all of her friends and cousins have already started. she asked every day when it was her turn to go to school. if she sees a school bus, it is coming for her to take right to school.

my girl. my school girl.
i expected sadness. my baby girl is going to school. how?
but mostly we are all just really excited.
plus.. she is still really tiny. so she still feels babyish.. just babyish and gone for 6 hours a week now... not so bad. :)
and let's also just be truthful and say getting her school wardrobe ready has been more than fabulous. why, oh why do i find so much joy in dressing my children? stay tuned for more.. i don't mean to toot my own horn.. but if we're being honest.. her new fall line is sort of amazing. she makes everything look cute.

so big.. didn't even bat a lash to be here.
and look at that little back pack on her hook. does it melt you? it sort of does me.

her class has some jungle theme going on.. so of course a safari complete with wardrobe had to happen. why not?
has preschool upped the anti since we've been there?
me thinks so.

isn't she stinkish??
she is absolutely tickled all sorts of pink to be a school girl. her class is perfect for her, and i love the alone time it grants me with my pop-tart.

all in all.. preschool is a success.

love you my poodles.
you do me proud.

MY family

finally i got around to getting a little bit of this done.
let me just preface this all by saying that i hate having my picture taken.
hate it.
however... becky did an incredible job and i have already mentally redecorated my house to fit all the prints. :)

ready or not...
jackson family
summer 10'

puddle jumpers

i didn't want to let them do it..

i reeelllly encouraged them not to.
having four children under 3 isn't quite my forte. i thought my trip to McDonalds was brave... heroic even.
i warned them it would get cold.
i truly didn't want that mess..
minie listened and headed for the door.
gabi followed in obedience.
bella just held still. waited to see what her pal would do...
but poppy??
oh, poppy..
she dove in. head first.
literally.

so...
sometimes you just have to relent.

i'm so glad i did.
:)

some things you should know..

this person is not a very great blogger. seriously... i got my bad blogger of the season certificate yesterday.
sincerest apologies..

no matter what, every newborn baby anything is impossibly scrumptious. why else would i be swooning over a week old baby calf today?. i even came home and told dustin about him. yes.. me. not the children.
he was cute. it's just a fact.

as big of an appeal of having a photo on a gigantic plastic cow may seem...
it's not really all that special. and mostly just frightening for the 5 and under crowd.
if only there was something similar... perhaps built more like a chair???

oh... but of course!
that's better.

minie + jude= love.
until there is another older/same sex cousin there to compete. in this scenario they aren't each other biggest fans. today's competitor for jude was gabi... a couple weeks ago it was gil against minie. what do you do?
force them to sit in a window and pose of course.
duh.

last, but most definitely not least...
if you thought a $2 Tuesday at Thanksgiving Point was an original thought.
you were wrong.
next time i will pay full price and go on Wednesday.
4 is a party....4,000?
that's a crowd.

feral child

that is what she is.
i'm not sure what this description depicts of my parenting,
but needless to say i have no handle on this one.
she is wild.
she is feral.

but we are ALL so enamored with her, it seems that it doesn't much matter. she says jump,
we say how high?
someday perhaps minie is going to mind? it's so funny how i parent each one of them so differently. how they respond differently. from the moment poppy entered this world i knew she was special. i was so in love with her, but so didn't understand her... the demanding cry... her persnickety eating habits. i can't explain it... poppy just is.
i have absolutely no question in my mind that she most definitely will always get her way. she gives me this sense that she truly isn't mine.. that she loves me, and wants me.. but she doesn't necessarily need me.
it's truly like she is borrowed. here on earth for a mission.
i marvel at how i am so lucky to have her. how i get to be the one she chooses love. and i guess there in lies her wickedness. and as frightening as it sounds.. i don't worry.
because i know that this is the only way her little 21 month old self knows how to handle it.. i know that one day she will figure it out, and live up to the phenomenon she is bound to be.

she is our tank,
our poptart,
our baby...
just because she wants to be.
and only because.

please always want me little one.
i love you.

escaped

i escaped the blogging realm for a bit it seems. what to say? we've been busy living with the cold that keeps on giving, family in town... and lots of photo shoot editing. *sigh*...

how is it already almost back to school? mins actually qualifys this year for such extravagance. we are both really excited:).


i do actually have some pictures to post, but blogger and flickr don't want to be friends right now, and blogger just kills my pics when i upload them.. so much so that i refuse to post until i have my troubles sorted out. mmkkay??

hopefully things get moving here soon.

xo,

a jackson family vacay

we just returned home from a lovely family trip with dustin's family.

a major perk of being a jackson???
bear lake.

as usual we had our annual family week up at the BL, but this years extravaganza was extra special. dustin's parents are building their very own delux-a-mundo cabin, and this week we got to watch it come to life. my girls are always more than thrilled to go see the "stinky moo cows", ride the 4-leeders, and adding a day full of dirt and big trucks was just the icing on the cake.
for me personally it was our two day escape to jackson hole. but if i'm being honest, the whole week was just all so splendid.
thank you, thank you steve and alice.
:)

brams and the girls watching the cabin walls come up.

dustin was only all to thrilled to play around and act like he was helping.

yes,
seriously this is what they did all day.

minie + a 4-leeder
= L O V E

nothing beats mitt's barbecue .
nothing.

the home made ice cream wasn't bad either..

and what is bear lake without a beach day?

minie is a big-time ben fan.
she loves him to no end..
she especially loves coaching him on how to go potty.. and still can't stop talking about how he pees like a big boy.

jackson hole makes me happy.
it normally is deemed a williams family trip, as i contiually liked to remind everyone about every 2 hours or so.. apparently they weren't so keen on my own family memories.
mwah.

however, i must say the jacksons definitely know their own way to have fun in jackson hole.
the town rodeo proved that..
something i have never done while there. and that is saying something. :)

even leslie can't deny herself a little 4-wheeling love.

yep,
fun was had.

all. week. long.

<3

lady liberty... all weekend long.

did the 4th of july linger just a tad bit too long this year for anyone else?
3 straight days of any holiday may just be too much.

that being said...
i love this festive day. we deemed the 3rd the official day we would celebrate, so celebrate we did.

the annual hidden oaks parade?
ah.maz.ing.
being part of the williams family patriots?
sort of a big deal.

jumping shots never grow old for me.

nor does older sister adoration.
in poppy's eyes, minie is the cats meow.
even when she gets that death glare in return.

chances are..
if your name is brig, you are 3 months old,
look exactly like your mom,
and are wearing patriotic janie and jack.

well chances are,
you are really cute.

the real housewives of salt lake county.
watch out.

remind yourself to come to our next sidewinder falls extravaganza.

you won't be disappointed.

oh yeah..
did i also mention minie was celebrated all weekend long? i didn't?
she was.
3 so far has proven to be very profitable for her.

it was her true blue birthday though, and

she's worth celebrating.




dear blogging friends-
happy independence day.
love,
the jacksons
{dustin, brooke, minie, & poppy}