First Day of First Grade

Well, it's time. Jackson is starting first grade. He is excited, but nervous. I know, you're shocked, right?

We went to the Back to School picnic and met his teacher. She seems really nice and we're looking forward to another awesome year.

The first day rolls around, Jackson wakes up and gets ready. As he's getting on the bus, the driver "yells" at him. (She didn't really yell, but it was yelling to him. He's so sensitive.) So, he got off the bus and cried. I drove him to school. He cried.

Parker also claims he is having his first day of first grade. So, we're now doing a little homeschooling for preschool. We are working on the letter L and shapes and colors. We have determined Parker is smart, mean, and moves to the beat of his own drum. (None of this is new information, just confirmation!)

Day 2 Jackson was ok, got on the bus, everything seemed ok. Day 3, back to crying and refusing to get on the bus - mainly because it was the third driver in 3 days. When I dropped him off, he refused to go into school, tears and all. So, of course I cried when he couldn't see me. I had lunch duty that day and he was ok, but he did ask if he could come home with me after lunch. Um, no. (However, when I picked Parker up from my parents' house after lunch duty, he probably asked 59 times, "You have Jackson in da' car, Mom? You bring Jackson home with you, Mom? MOM! WHERE IS JACKSON?!")

We talked about fears and things that made us nervous and day 4 was better. There were no tears and Jackson got right on the bus. I'm hoping we've turned the corner. Parker informed me, again, "It's time for my first grade, Mom," and we went inside and started coloring our L paper.

**Pics to come

Vacation!

Panama City - 2011






This was the first time the Anderson's went to Panama City. I will just say we were unimpressed and this is also probably the last time we will go there. (Yes, I know it's a party town. It can't be spring break all the time. They've had since April to clean up the mess - it's August!)









We went with Tiffany, Eddie and their kids (Heaven, Hope and Michael) and my sister Dianna and her daughter Darby. All of us stayed in one condo and more people we knew stayed in another condo at the same complex.





The weather was not great - you know how it rains a little in Florida everyday, then in five minutes it's all good? Not so much. This week, it stormed for hours everyday and lightning means closing all pools, even indoor ones, per Florida state law. So, we had to come up with fun activities on the fly. Luckily all the kids got along beautifully - they all played nicely and quietly. We were amazed! They watched movies, played DS, even did makeovers!









We went to a state park (St. Andrew's) and swam in a lagoon, we found Nemo, and went to an alligator preserve and saw alligators. (The gators are in the water. Jackson can see them, Parker cannot, but claims he can.) Grossly, there was solidified chunks of oil washing up on the beach so we left. Here's a rare shot of me on the other side of the camera.















Go Karts were the popular nightly activity - every kid loved them. This was the first year the kids were all big enough to drive them, except Parker. He had to ride with someone and he was a little frustrated by that. When it was his turn to pick the activity, he chose putt putt and everyone loved that too.







When we were leaving the hotel as a group, I'd say "2204 (room number) - line up!" and they all lined up from smallest to tallest, so Parker, Michael, Jackson, Darby, Hope, then Heaven. We could SO rock 6 kids!





Look - they taught my baby to gamble! The best part? He's good at it! Beginner's luck, maybe?



These are from Sharky's - it's a local place - we ate there twice, Jackson at there three times! (He went once before we got there, he rode with Dianna and Darby.) The first time we went, Parker fell off a bench/bar stool and hit his head... but STILL wanted to go back!








We will probably not go back to Panama, but there's a good probability we will vacation with Tiffany and Dianna again! We all had a blast. Don't judge us! (PS, the kids' drinks were obviously non-alcoholic. We're fun, not stupid.) We spent more time in the pool and hot tub, which was HUGE and Parker called, "the hot one" due to the crappy weather, big waves, and too much gunk in the water.

Best Friends

For a long time, Emily has been my BFF. She has a little girl, Becca, whom I have known since she was in the womb (she was born in 2000.) It just so turned out that a year after Jackson was born, Emily had a little girl, Gweni. A few years later, Parker was born, then Emily had Charlotte (Charley). Jackson and Gweni have said for years they were getting married... wouldn't it be cute if they really did? Well, now Parker says he's marrying Charley. (Ben says that's too Kentucky, and I am from Kentucky. I do know people who have done this - they have kids which are called double first cousins.)



Emily and I hang out with the kids a lot - the most recent was a trip to Ft. Ancient. Charley's dad is working on his thesis to be an archaeologist and they're digging at Ft. Ancient. He invited us to come have lunch and check out the dig site... It was so cool! (Although the boys were disappointed there were no dinosaurs there.)