Massive Summer Update

Yes, I have taken a bit of a hiatus from maintaining my stream of witty commentary and I beg your apology. However, my absence was not for naught. Sul and I have been tearin' it up this summer, and as you'll soon see - I have had very little time to sit down and write a missive about it all.

First summer event?

I. TURNED. FIVE. YEARS. OLD. AAAAHHHHH!!!! Finally!! I have only been waiting on this day to come for FOREVER.

Sul, Peedles and Poppy were a little slower in getting ramped up for my big day.

The party was great. I loved me some camo cake pops. Even if they did fall off the stick on occasion.

...and I appreciated people being kind enough to feed my passion for Legos.

It just wouldn't be a birthday party at the Jackson house without a water balloon fight. I'm happy to report that my throwing skills have improved since last year and in general, I just have better aim. This newly honed skill comes in handy later on this summer... You'll see.

We also managed to squeeze in one other celebration during my birthday weekend.

Father's day! To properly honor Dad and Poppy, Sul and I fashioned some shirts out of our handprints. Definitely not tacky. Very classy actually. Although I haven't seen them worn since this picture was taken...

Granny also got in on the celebratory action and came to hang out with us! Here we are eating our homeade rocket popsicles. Granny and I easily enjoyed them. Sully? Well, they seemed to stress him out more than anything as he kept fretting that the rocket melt away. Agh.

After that, I was privileged to experience another "first" - a trip ALL BY MYSELF!!

Well, without my parents at any rate.

Peedles and Poppy snuck me into their car and whisked me away to WV for a few days of wild and wonderful fun.

Puppies provied, yet again, to be a perfect traveling companion.

And here you are seeing me enjoy the fruits of pretending to be distraught over missing Mom, Dad and Sul (so long, Suckas!).

While guillible, Peedles and Poppy were the perfect caretakers. They literally bought me a sweet treat about every 100 miles. By about 400 miles into the trip, I didn't even have to fake tears to get something. I would just give a teensy tiny sniffle.

Worked. Every. Time.

Apparently Sully also enjoyed being an only child for a few days. It is not often that you can read a book in our house, uniterrupted. He totally took advantage.

So once I got to WV, I really wanted to experience the state in true mountain-man style. First up - a hike. Complete with my laden down, hernia-inducing packpack.

Mmmm...fresh raspberries...

...which made me very thirsty.

My single-childness did not last very long. But despite my protests, I was pretty excited to have Sul join us a few short days later. Here we are headed out on another hike since he too was excited to experience WV in all of its glory.

And yes, I AM wearing the same shirt in EVERY. SINGLE. PICTURE. It is my favorite, and if it is clean, I wear it.

Next WV activity? Some good ol' fashioned work on the tractor with Poppy.

We handled that beast like it was a tiny kitten.

And then came the true test of whether we really have WV blood pumping through our veins.

Target practice. With a 22. Get some.

Seeing if it's loaded? Check.

Poppy giving Sul a stern talking to on gun safety? Check check.

Although the talk probably would have been more effective without the headphones, but I digress.

Sights lined up. Safety off. Let'er rip!

Due to my small stature relative to the gun, I had to shoot in the prone position. So don't hate.

Ah... and the finished product! A very, very dead target. Didn't miss him once!

So while all of that was going on, Sul was still trying to digest what Poppy had told him and what Peedles was trying to reinforce.

C'mon people! Just take the headphones off the poor guy!

Since Sul couldn't fully participate in our firearm activities, he quickly came up with an alternative.

Sun bathing. In a plastic pool. With a plastic chair. Naked.

I think we can all agree that he found his own unique way to celebrate his WV roots. And he managed to rope his buddy Shep into it as well.

Later on in the visit, Mom and Peedles took us to an amusement park that they both went to when they were kids. For those of you close to it - do yourself a favor and hit up Camden Park.

It was blazin' hot, but due to the fact it was a tad unregulated (read: slightly ghetto), Sul and I could literally ride anything we wanted to - regardless of height or weight. Totally unsafe, but SO fun. We don't have pics of us on the Log Flume, Scrambler or Spider, but here is a smattering of the other stuff we conquered.

We started off by takign in the sights by train...

And then came the big time rides.

Sul took his driving very seriously.

Although he did manage to unlock his 10-and-2 grip to give us a sober thumbs-up.

We protected the airspace.

But proved incapable of taking a picture with both of us looking at the camera.

Ah, this picture says so much. For such a tiny guy, Sul has absolutely no fear.

We ended the day relaxing by a fire (in 99 degree weather) and roasting marshmallows.

Perfect way to end a great day and great stay at Peedles' and Poppy's house.

SO...after getting home from our northern travels, we packed up and headed south - to the beach with some of our cousins!

Here is Sul learning the finer points of paddle ball. He was terrible. Shocker.

And here I am seeing if I can dig down far enough to see lava.

FYI - I never saw any. Bummer.

The trip was awesome but quick. As soon as we got home, it was "Take Your Kid to Work Day" at Dad's base.

Despite Sul's self-soothing in this picture, it was an amazing time with Dad.

We saw military dogs attack some bad guys. Sul was a bit traumatized after that. Perhaps that explains the self-soothing in the above picture?

We were also fitted for war gear. I hate to even mention this since I really did enjoy this portion of the day, but I am pretty sure my neck was strained after wearing that helmet for a few minutes. That sucker was heavy!

We ended the day by trying out the pilot seat in several aircraft.

Here, Sul is warily eying the control panel of a C130. My confidence in his ability to drive or pilot anything only seems to lessen as he gets older.

AND LASTLY (cue sentimental music)... We ended summer with my first day of kindergarten!

Here is a smattering of the pictures Mom made me take before she finally took me to school.

So far, school has been nothing but great, but I'll be sure to keep you posted as things unfold.

Here's to another great year! And we hope the same for you.