addendum

I can't believe I forgot to mention the best word Sam says. It's bubbles. I love to hear him say it and he knows it too. He doesn't say it often and almost never when I ask. He usually reserves it for when he's in trouble. He'll come up to me and say really softly "bubbles mama". How do they learn these tricks so early? Because looking at those juicy lips enunciating all those B's, who can resist? Usually not me.

he speaks

And by HE, I mean Sam and by speaks, I mean A LOT. Most words are unintelligible. But there are quite a few that he's been saying for a while now that we all understand very well. His most frequently used vocabulary:

mama (oh how that sweet utterance used repeatedly can start to sound like nails on a chalkboard)

daddee
sunglasses (i know, a weird first word, but the kid likes his shades)
please
thank you
thanks
out
go
shoes

There's more, but my brain is fried at the moment. I'll just post this little gem. Most of what he says here aren't real words. We often tell him to speak English, and sometimes he does. Sometimes, however, he speaks "Sam" and we just smile and nod our heads. It's cute either way and he loves to hear himself talk. And I love to WATCH him talk. Check out that lip action.

finally in need of the tooth fairy

At 6 1/2 Nathan finally lost his first tooth. We had been anticipating it for weeks. He was so excited when it fell out. It's hard to say if he was more excited by the soon to come visit from the tooth fairy, or that it didn't hurt. We asked him how much he thought the tooth fairy should bring and he said $100.00. I'm fully aware of inflation, but I tried to explain that $100.00 might be expecting a little too much. So he got $5 and was thrilled. The next day at church he smiled at everyone he passed, gave them about 5 seconds to notice on their own and then totally put out that they hadn't noticed, told them he had lost a tooth. This was then followed by "and you know, there is no tooth fairy"

Oh, Nathan...of course there is a tooth fairy.

safety first

After the grueling experience that was the Irongirl, the kids and I spent a week at my mom and dad's house. It was just what I needed. So relaxing. My kids actually played outside for hours on end. My parents live out in the country with no neighbors for a mile so it is the perfect place for kids to run, ride bikes, play with bugs and do fun kid things in general.

One of the things the boys really enjoyed was riding bikes. Sam found a little plastic toy with wheels that he could ride. He couldn't reach the pedals so he made his way around and around the circle drive Fred Flinstone style. But Sam believes whole heartedly in safety. Safety above all else. He found this helmet and insisted on wearing it every time he took his bike out for a spin. Good thing too, because he took a few nasty spills, but his little noggin....fully protected.

irongirl

or something a little less tough, and a little more squishy than Iron. Maybe JelloGirl?

Okay, I don't know if I will ever blog about myself again. I am not one to toot my own horn. But seeing as this is the only journal for myself and my family and I feel that I must write this experience down somewhere lest I forget, I guess it will have to be here.


In the beginning...

My sister called me about a year ago and told me about an article she saw in a magazine about a race called the IronGirl. What this had to do me I didn't know, but I let her go on and on with all the details, swimming, biking running, all the while thinking: who would want to do that? So when she was done telling me about it she said..

"so, wanna do it?"

"who, us?"

"yeah, girl, US."

At this point my exercise revolved around working off all the sugar and fat consumed the day before. I had never worked toward a goal like this before. Amber, on the other hand, had already done numerous 5k races, a half marathon and a few bike rides. I had only done a few 5ks and had yet to have a good experience. My last one being beat by a bunch of 7 year olds! But something in me made me say yes, that I would try, that we should go for it. Over the next year I would question myself over and over about why I had agreed to do such a thing. Eventually I had to come up with some reasons, some inspiration or I knew I would never endure.

One of the things that kept me going during my training was thinking about my brother Justin. In April of 2008 he was in a car accident. He suffered a brain injury and as a result has had to go through extensive therapy to relearn how to do the most basic things. It was heartbreaking to watch him concentrate so hard on just holding his spoon well enough to feed himself all the way up to eventually trying to stand and then walk on his now very weak legs. So many times as I was running on the treadmill (which I hate) I would think about him and how fortunate I was to have a body that could do what I had enough will to push it to do. I really had no physical limitations. Only ones that I put on myself. I realized what a blessing a healthy and whole body is and tried to draw on that when I felt like pushing that big, tempting red button on that darn DREADMILL! The one mental image I kept conjuring up was one of Justin standing with the aid of this huge contraption and the look of pain on his face as he tried to get his brain to tell his legs to move. I could run if he could do that and on more than one occasion I ran with tears streaming down my face.

Another thought that fueled my fire was the idea of dispelling the image of "Kacey the klutz". Growing up I was the uncoordinated, nonathletic, clumsy one. It's true. I once broke my arm just walking across the yard and falling down, but I wanted to prove to myself and my kids that you can do anything you put your mind to and that you don't have to be held back by the image others have of you. Being a mom makes you question all kinds of things like how and why you turned out the way you did and what kind of person you are raising as a parent. What are my kids learning about who they can be from me? I wanted them to learn that they can be whatever they set their mind to as long as they are willing to work hard for it.

So, I trained. I had to learn how to do more than doggie paddle in the water, ride outside on a real bike instead of a stationary one without falling (which I did more than once) and learn how to push myself longer and harder than I was used to. In the end I came to hate each of these activities, but when the day rolled around, I was as ready as I could be.

The day of the race my parents, Dave and my children were there to cheer us on. They will never know how much it meant to me to have them there. I was nervous, but excited to do it. Amber was there alongside me trying to calm me and help me think positively, but until I crossed the finish line I wasn't ever sure I could finish. I wasn't excited about how long it took us to finish, I had hoped for a better time, but what was more important was that I did it. I did everything I set out to do. I finished, I didn't pass out, I didn't fall off my bike, I didn't drown (without the use of arm floaties, thank you very much) and I crossed the finish line with my sister right beside me. It was so worth it to do it with her. I surprised myself and Amber by bursting into tears as I crossed the finish line. I was just overcome with emotion, not even sure which ones, but very strong emotions. It is an experience I won't soon forget. I learned a lot of things I can do better next time. (yes, there will be a next time) But mostly I learned a lot about myself that I don't think I could have learned any other way.

bee bees

Sam has a best friend. He's blue, soft, most of the time dirty and goes everywhere with him. It's his bee bees, be bis, be bez, there's no real correct spelling but this is how he lovingly refers to his blanket. He wants it with him at the table, in the car, in bed of course and gernerally just drags it around the house with him. I have trouble getting it away from him because it always has to be within a few feet of him at all times. It just so happens that as I type this it is being washed and he has asked me atleast a dozen times where his bee bees is. Hopefully we'll get rid of it before he starts preschool in a few years, but for now I like his bee bees too.

What Happens In Vegas (and Utah)

Our family's trip this summer was out west to Utah and Vegas. The main event being Dave's nephew Tommy's baptism. We decided to add in some family time in Vegas before and after Utah. We started our trip with a few nights in Vegas at Circus Circus. Both Dave and I stayed there as children/young adults and had fond memories, but my how things can change in 20 or so years. (imagine that!) Let's just say I wasn't feeling so nostalgic after about 5 minutes in our small room with 7 foot ceilings, sheets that felt like sandpaper and carpet that I wouldn't walk on in my bare feet. Ask Nathan though and he will tell you that this is the best place we stayed.



On our trip home we upgraded our accommodations to the Bellagio and Mandalay Bay, but these places didn't have a cheesy indoor amusement park and a tasteless breakfast buffet with all the bacon Nathan could eat. Nice soft down blankets, clean soft sheets, beautiful views and tasteful decor don't hold a candle to bacon.

We then headed to Utah with our first stop in Bountiful to visit the Clemons family. They are great friends of ours who moved away last year and it was so nice to see them. We had a great time just hanging out, relaxing, catching up and of course, enjoying a wonderful meal Autumn made for us. Nathan and Grady have both matured over the past year and as a result they played really well together. Charlotte and Olivia followed Sam around and I was able to relax knowing that they were looking out for him. Later that week Nathan and I were also able to go to Thanksgiving Point with Autumn and Grady and had a great day.

We had a great time with Dave's family. Family dinners, a trip to a museum at BYU, milkshakes in Heber at Dairy Keen (yummm), family pictures (which is always an adventure) and plenty of time spent just hanging out and catching up. It's so nice to see our boys playing with their Utah cousins and getting to know them better.

I really enjoy Nathan and Ashlee's "special" relationship. At almost 14 she is his favorite Jackson cousin. She is so patient and kind to him. Nathan could most often be found in her room with her friends. I told them that they did not have to let him hang out with them and they assured me that they liked having him around because he says funny things.

We finished up our trip back in Vegas with a few days left to go and really ready to be home. Dave and I enjoyed our new accommodations, Nathan wanted to know "where's the bacon?", Sam tried to set a record for most hours without taking a nap AND we went to Hoover Dam.

Bye Bye Kindergarten

With all of the worry and woes of kindergarten, we did make it through. Nathan really enjoyed this year and for a few weeks after school was out he repeatedly asked when he could go back. I enjoyed being able to go to the school twice a month to help out and I think that may be the only way I survived.

Nathan continued to stick close to the girls. At one point he came home and told me that Madison was no longer his best friend, but Emma was. hmmm... We LOVED his teacher. It made it so much easier for me to send him to school each day knowing that she was there to look out for him.

Looking over his pictures from the year, here are the ones I thought best summed up his kindergarten experience. The women in his life...

Madison...his on again, off again best friend and partner in crime.

Mrs. Settlemyer - MY security blanket for the kindergarten year. After meeting her and hearing her talk about Nathan I could finally relax while he was at school.

And me, just mom. I don't think he missed me nearly as much as I missed him, but he did seem happy to see me when I came to the school to visit.

One year down...I don't even want to think about how many more to go. Just the other day I almost upchucked thinking about the 1st grade. School is just a part of life, right? I survived and he will too. I just don't know if I will survive his school years as well as I survived my own and I just barely survived that!

Swims Like A Fish?

....if you know a fish that doesn't swim super fast and doesn't care how long it takes them to get to where they are going!

We decided to let Nathan try the swim team this summer. It's a pretty big commitment with practice 5 days a week and a meet once a week that lasts for 4-5 hours! We've tried soccer, karate (briefly), gymnastics and decided to add swimming to the list.

Nathan approached this new adventure the same way he approaches everything, like he couldn't care less! He could be found during practice hiding on the steps so he wouldn't have to swim his laps or splashing his teammates instead of swimming. I think he may be better suited for synchronized swimming because at the meets when it was his turn to race, he liked to get in the water and swim to the bottom, swim in circles, roll over and over...all with seemingly no real hurry to get to the other end of the pool. He always felt good about how he did even if he was the last one out of the water. Healthy amount of confidence or a total lack of competitive spirit? Not too sure. I think his coach summed it up when he approached me at practice and said "Nathan has a real good stroke and could be a good little swimmer he just seems to get distracted when he gets in the pool." Oh, if only he knew. Seemed funny to me that he sized him up so well after only spending a few hours with him.

The backstroke and Nathan are not friends. He swims most of the backstroke NOT on his back. Nuf said. But at the last swim meet I gave him a big pep talk about giving it his best just this one last time. He whined and complained, I begged and pleaded and then told him I would say a little prayer for him that he could swim the whole length of the pool on his back. After getting him situated in the lineup I made my way back over to our side of the pool and totally forgot about the deal we made, but he didn't. We almost didn't realize it was him in the pool because this child was swimming on his back, not flipping over, not stopping and coming across the pool pretty quickly. Before he could even get out of the water he was saying "mom, your prayer really worked, I was fast, I didn't flip over and I think the backstroke is my favorite now." I felt so quilty. I guess a prayer in my heart and his faith were enough.

Overall we enjoyed our experience. May even try again next year. Just too hard to say now if we will ever see him up on the podium at the Olympics receiving a medal!