Day of Labor/Day of Birth

Growing up my birthday party was never quite like I wanted because two of my best friends had a yearly family camp out over Labor Day weekend. And, since my birthday is usually Labor Day weekend, they usually could not come or if they did come, they could not spend the night and would leave early for their camp out. The last two years I have been loving that my birthday coincides with Labor Day weekend. Last year we had a family get together and my sister surprised me by coming! This year my parents hosted a sibling reunion with my dad's brothers and sisters and their spouses. A few of my cousins came as well. We spent the weekend on a lake in Virginia. We went kayaking, boating, tubing, and swimming. We played games, had devotionals, looked through family time capsules, and relaxed. It was so fun spending my birthday with so much family. I'm not one who is way into my birthday and I don't like being the center of attention but I felt so loved and that of course is a wonderful feeling. Then, the day after we got back, Jon took me to a Japanese Hibachi restaurant for a birthday dinner/date. It was nice getting out together for a bit. It was the first time since Jackson was born that we have eaten out alone, and it was also the first time since Jackson was born that we didn't go to the temple or Lowes for part of our date. It was really good and we had some wonderful friends who watched our little guy. After dinner we got frozen yogurt and then headed home. Here are some pictures from the weekend:

Maggie- the sweet lake house doggie

the skit my cousins did, all about our family history

Uncle Otto and Aunt Cindy

Oldest to youngest: Mark, (Jim-deceased so he obviously wasn't there), Otto, Cindy, Phil, Susan, Perry

(Front to Back, Left to Right) Bella, Susy, Cindy, Otto, Stephen, Nicole, Jon, Jim, Jackie, Me, Claire, Susan, Mark, Linda, Phil, Bill, Jeff, Kay, Perry

Aunt Susan rapping I'm a Little Teapot

Aunt Susan made me a hat

Cousin Nicole loving on Jackson

Jack and Jackson

Birthday dinner

Susan and Perry

Uncle Mark and Aunt Cindy after Minute to Win it Games

Siblings and spouses- Perry, Kay, Cindy, Jackie, Susan, Bill, Susy, Otto, Phil, Mark, Linda

Yoga on the Dock- Janet, Otto, Claire, Cindy

Jon and I

creeper Uncle Phil

Uncle Mark, Jeff, Uncle Phil, and Perry- playing the traditional Pinochle 

Lyric, Claire, Susan, and Bill Adney

Jackson, Jon, Me, Lyric, Isis, Bella, Cindy, Susy, Otto, Perry, Kay, Mark, Jack, Claudia, Stephen, Jim, Jackie, Susan, Bill

Susan, Stephen, Veera, Claire

Jack, Jeff, Nicole, Phil

Jeff and Nicole

twinners with Grandma

Phil and Linda

mom and Susy

Bella and Lyric

Minute to Win it

Claudia, Isis, Bella, Jim, Otto, Susy, Stephen

Susan and Jackie- they look like little kids, so cute!

Minute to Win it

Love this man!

so sweet! Uncle Jackie and Jackson

Isis, Jackson, Stephen, Bella

Jon with his Bass

the dessert from the Japanese restaurant

Stephen and Jackson

Recent Events

Jon's back to school and work full swing now. He is taking 2 classes this semester, one of which is online. He is enjoying it so far and the work load doesn't seem terrible, but he is definitely busier. Jon is still working in the Elders Quorum at church.

I'm still doing the same old things, staying home with Jackson and taking care of things at home. I have been looking to do some part time babysitting. I think it would be good for me and Jackson as well as bring in a bit of money. But I need the job to be ideal or else I won't do it. One big thing is it can't take me away from Jon or Jackson, so it has to be something during the day where I can bring Jackson with me. I applied at the YMCA to do child care so we see. I'm ready to have some type of other commitment besides family and church, although I'm ok without it too. If I get a job, I want to only work on a very part time basis because I cherish my 1 on 1 time with Jackson and want to keep that as part of our day to day life. Either way, raising that boy is my first priority.

We had an amazing summer and did so much. This summer Jon had a lot of free time and we tried to soak it all in before reality set back in. We had such a fun summer together. I love having time with both of my guys. We will probably never again have such a carefree summer. It was awesome!

We started remodeling our kitchen cabinets! I was on a roll but am frustrated because I am having difficulty sanding them right. We bought a new sander to hopefully help. I think I will have Jon primarily sand and I will stain and lacquer. I love using a paintbrush, even though I am not very good. It is such a therapeutic thing for me. We have one door completely finished and 2 that are close to being done. It is going to take a long time and a lot of work but it will look AMAZING and hopefully add value to our home. It is looking great so far.  I will post some before and after pictures although it will probably take us a year or two to finish. This is a big project!!!

Here you can see where Jon has painted part of the wall. We plan to paint the rest of the walls too. It looks much better like this!