10 Year Reunion

I had my 10 year class reunion last weekend.  Several month ago, when I got the Save the Date card, I just assumed I would go.  However, as it got closer, I started to change my mind.

I think reunions are different now because everyone knows what everyone is doing thanks to Facebook.  I also think that at one time, a lot of people from our class were planning on attending, but as time got closer and people were saying on their Facebook status that they were not going to the reunion, it just started to look like it wasn't going to be as good as we once thought.  I decided I wasn't going to go.....

Then, I started to feel the pressure of going from several friends, but I still wasn't all that motivated to go.

The Thursday before the reunion, I just started thinking - it will PROBABLY be lame, but what if it isn't?!  What if I miss something good?!  And really, if there are a handful of us going and a bar....we can make it fun!!  And that's just what we did!

There were a lot of people there, but not a lot when you compare it to how big our graduating class was.  It started off kind of quiet and awkward and I worried that Aaron and I just threw $71 per person down the drain, but after a few [maybe too many!] trips to the bar, I think mostly everyone was having a good time.  I really did have a good time and I am glad that we decided to go.

There was a photographer there to capture the night, so I really didn't take that many pictures.  I will share the other ones with you when we have access to them....

Jackson’s Drawing.

Look at Jackson’s little drawing of me!  I think it is just the best thing ever! 

I love watching the drawing development of kids.  It is neat to see what stage they are at and I find it interesting that all children tend to do the same thing as they are developing. (ex. arms coming off of face, large eyes take up most of the face, etc.) 

Here are two websites I found about the development of drawing that I found interesting if you care to see:  Drawing Development in Children and Cognitive Development in School Context • Children's Drawing

Splashing in the Mud.

I love this picture and how it shows their different personalities.

Garrett has no fears, no worries, and could care less about anything....which can be a good thing or a bad.

Jackson puts a little more thought into things.

Imagination.

I have read that children with imaginary friends are more creative and bright.  I could go into great details with you all, but the bottom line is an imaginary friend is actually a good sign. 

With that being said however, I never had an imaginary friend, but Aaron did.  In fact, he had two of them.  They were twins.  Con and John.  We have always kind of joked about Con and John, but once I did more research on imaginary friends, it was just kind of a slap in the face for me.  I am sure I had tons of them….I just never told anyone about them…..right!?!?! 

I didn’t realize it, but I have never formally introduced you all to two members of our family.  They have been around for awhile now and a lot of you have already “met” them. 

Hessa and Hasey. 

Hessa is pronounced /Hes/ (like Wes) /a/…..I actually don’t know if there is one S or two in her name. 
Hasey is pronounced like Casey, but with a H. 

Hassa and Hasey are Jackson’s imaginary friends.  They are sisters.  Yes, not only does he have one imaginary friend, he has two of them…..like his Daddy did…..I mean, like his “bright and creative” Daddy did.

I think most of our family already knows about Hessa and Hasey, so it just became one of those things I never had to explain and assumed everyone knew them by now.  Last week however, the boys stayed at my friend Kristin’s house while I ran to a few stores by her house.  When I came back Jackson brought up Hessa and Hasey and Kristin was so confused!  She said “What did he say?  He kept saying those names to me earlier and I had no idea who he was talking about!”  I said “Hessa and Hasey!” as if she should already know who they are.  I was shocked that she hadn’t heard about them before!!  So – for those of you that have never meet Hessa and Hasey, consider this your formal introduction! 

As of yesterday, Jackson has another “friend.”  This friend is actually a bird though and not just any bird….it is a Robin.  This pet robin has a cage, which is actually a candle holder.  The pet robin had to go outside with us last night to play.  Jackson let the robin out of his (or her?? I’m not real sure of the gender yet…) cage to go potty and he let the robin sit on his shoulder for awhile before putting him back into his cage.  Aaron and Jackson ran to Wal-Mart last night.  Jackson wanted to bring his robin to Wal-Mart, but luckily after we warned him that his robin may accidently fly away at Wal-Mart, he was okay with Mommy and Garrett watching him at home. 
Although Hessa and Hasey have been around for awhile now, I do believe that pretend play must be a huge stage for 3 year olds.  It seems like that is what he has the most fun doing these days.  Not only with the imaginary friends and the pet robin, but things such as pretending the soccer goal is a raft, the grass is water, and the back porch is the boat dock…..or his big chair turned sideways is an ice cream store.  The list of pretend play goes on and on with him, so as his parents we know we better just play along to encourage his creativeness!

Happy Friday………

For the record, my mommy has not started potty training with me.  I am still a little too crazy to understand it all.  I just found this potty in the garage, got really excited, and asked my mommy and daddy if I could bring my “port-a-potty” inside!

Love,

Garrett

Horse Riding.

Sunday we went to Aaron’s Uncle Steve & Aunt Susan’s house to celebrate mine and Dianne’s birthday.  As always, we had a wonderful time and enjoyed every moment of it.  I know the boys had a BLAST!
I think Jackson was like this with their little dog, Pete, less than 5 minutes after arriving. 

We were walking outside to ride horses, but Garrett had to make a detour to Uncle Steve’s “Big green tractor.”

“Hi Horsey!  I’m Garrett!”

Jackson is an ole’ pro at riding a horse thanks to Uncle Steve.

Garrett’s turn!  Suddenly Mr. Serious….

Jackson cheering his brother on…. “Yee Haw!!”

Jackson watching Molly and Claire ride while he waits for ANOTHER turn….

Catching bugs with Daddy….

Garrett would rather hit the fence with his net than catch bugs. 

 

Round 2 for Jackson.

Scentsy!

Jackson now thinks he is such a BIG KID.  

He thinks he is "soooo much older" than his LITTLE brother.  

Why?

Because he has his very OWN Scentsy warmer in his room and ONLY "big people" get those....

The day his warmer came in was actually my birthday.  I put it on his dresser, but I didn't turn it on or put a scent in it yet because we were about to walk out the door.  When we got home that night, it was time for bed, so his Scentsy warmer continued to stay off.  Fast forward to 7:15 the next morning......Jackson walks into our room and wakes me up by saying "MOMMY.  I have my Scentsy warmer all ready to go.  It's plugged in, [which I did the day before] I have my scents in it, and I just need you to turn in on for me!  It's all ready to go Mommy!  Wake Up!!" 

Remind you, I didn't put a scent in it, so I freaked out for a second wondering where he got a scent from.  I was worried they were scents someone else had ordered.  

I jumped up and said "JACKSON!  Where did you get a scent from?"

"From all of your scents Mommy! Come here and look!"  

When I walked in and saw, luckily he did just take it from my own scents and he didn't pop a whole cube out.  He only scraped off a little from the top with his finger nail, but he was so darn proud of that tiny bit he was able scrape off and put in his warmer.  

If you come to our house, Jackson will be sure to show you his Scentsy warmer.  Randomly throughout the day, Jackson will say "Hey I know what we can do!  Let's go play in my room and smell my Scentsy warmer!"  

It has actually been working well as a reward system for him.  :)

This is the best picture I got when I told him to make a happy face!

For those that are new to Scentsy, this is how it works:

You order bars with your warmer.  On the bar, there are cubes, and you just pop out 1 to 3 cubes depending on the size of your warmer and how strong you want your scent, and place the cubes in your warmer....

{This picture is from Scentsy and I believe they put the whole bar in the warmer for picture purposes}

And then here it is after it melts:

{This is Jackson's}

I love these because there is no sot!  Have you ever wondered where all the wax goes when you burn a candle? It doesn't just disappear.  It goes on your walls and ceiling....and your children are breathing that!!!!!

For everyone that has already been buying Scentsy, here are some of the fun things you may have heard me mention.

Scentsy Mix & Match

**If you book a party with me during the month of June, I will give you a FREE 6 pack of bars of your choice!  This is only a special I am doing since I am just starting out.  This applies to catalog & online parties as well.  You can just be one of my blogging buddies from another state and get the extra bonus.  This is a bonus on top of the other free stuff you will earn by hosting a party!  E-mail me at jordan8082@sbcglobal.net if you want more details!

For those of you that would just like to order, it is simple to order from my website at anytime.

www.kellijordan.scentsy.us

The Beauty of a Playroom.

These blocks used to be my enemy.  

They would hurt my feet when I would trip over them.

I would find tons of them underneath our couch.

And this would be completely unacceptable!

But at our new house....

Our kids can be kids....

Make a mess....

Be creative....

Build big towers....

And knock them down....

I don't mind.

 I would pick a messy playroom with happy kids over a clean playroom with bored kids any day....

....because I can still walk across our living room floor without stepping on a Lego!

And that is the beauty of a playroom!