Portraits

We got some pictures taken of Ethan last week and I thought I'd share them with you. Here's the link to view them. Under customer name enter: kari jackson

https://www.smilesbywire.com/home.asp?AC=LTPP0578103477JCP

Greenville, TX

Well, we have lived in Greenville for a little over a month now. We were thinking we were going to live in Rockwall but I didn't want Aaron to have to have a 30 minute commute. When it comes to buying a house we may end up in Rockwall though because they have better schools. Greenville is a small town and is taking time to get used to. There is not much to do here and no good stores to shop at other than Super Walmart. The good shopping is 30 minutes away. Our ward covers the whole county so there aren't many moms like me who live close by. I have been pretty lonely since moving here. It has definitely been harder moving here than the first time we moved to Texas. Things are looking better now that I am getting to know more people in the ward though.
Yikes! There is a huge thunderstorm going on right now and it is loud and scary. Before we moved down here Juli, Aaron's sister who lives in Austin, told us how she gets scared during thunderstorms. I thought this was silly but now after experiencing Texas thunderstorms I can sympathize with her.

My parents came to visit last week and we (minus Aaron because he had to work) went on a road trip to New Orleans. It is about an 8 hour drive from Greenville. It was so much fun to be stuck in the car and talk with my parents. We had a MaRvElOuS time and Ethan was a very good traveler! We went to a Creole plantation, a Mardi Gras museum, a cemetary, Bourbon street (left me with an icky feeling), the French Quarter, experienced cajun cuisine, and just soaked in the atmosphere. In New Orleans all the people are buried above ground because of possible flooding. It was really cool to see. We also visited the Sixth Floor museum-The JFK memorial in Dallas. This is where the dude shot JFK from. We strolled along the grassy knoll too.

Here's some random info. for you: Did you know that private groups and clubs pay the Mardi Gras float company $1,200 per foot of paper maiche to make their float. There is no advertising allowed on the float either! Then every person who rides on the float has to pay $500 plus buy everything they throw off the float like coins, necklaces, cups, etc. which adds up to a couple hundred too per person. Also, they must be harnessed in on the float and cannot throw their underwear-thank goodness. And there is not just one parade there are several parades. That's a lot of money. I wonder why these people spend so much.

A couple hours after I dropped off my parents at the airport Juli and family came to visit. It was fun to see them and have the kids entertain Ethan. It is always a treat to chat with Juli late at night after all the kids are asleep. I love having visitors! So, what are you waiting for? Come visit us in EXCITING Greenville!

I Should be Packing

I can't believe we are already moving to Greenville next Tuesday. I am feeling sad about leaving College Station and the friends we have made here. Before we move we wanted to hit a couple of local attractions.

So, last weekend we went to Washington on the Brazos State Park. This is where Texas' declaration of independence from Mexico was signed. The grounds had tons of wild flowers and was beautiful! We had to take a picture with the bluebonnets, which is the Texan thing to do apparently, because it's the state flower.

We also visited the Blue Bell Factory. Blue Bell Ice Cream is huge in Texas and is really yummy but really expensive too. We went on a tour there and saw how the ice cream is made. We of course ate some ice cream too!






Bonus movie and pictures too!
Aaron built a tower after Ethan went to bed one night and the next morning this is what Ethan did when he saw it......

Scared to go to church tomorrow

Last Sunday I had a little run in with a crazy! After sacrament meeting a lady I had never seen before came up to me and talked to me for what seemed like 10 minutes but was more like 5 minutes. She cornered me and grabbed my arm while explaining to me that I need to give my burdens over to the Lord and how she was watching me during sacrament meeting. She also told me about how she had a lot of burdens in her life, one being that she is the oldest of 10 kids. She kept on saying over and over, "Give your burdens to the Lord". Anyway, I was really creeped out after that and tried to avoid her for the rest of church. So, I am hoping she maybe was just visiting from somewhere else last week and won't be there tomorrow. Luckily we will be moving in less than 2 months!

Crawling is for babies

As many of you know Ethan has never been able to crawl. He just bum scoots to get around. He is very clever at figuring out his own way to do things! I was concerned that he would never learn to walk because he couldn't get from sitting to standing. However much to my relief, a couple weeks ago he started full out walking. Here is a video of him bum scooting at Christmas time because it's just so cute and one of him walking! Aaron posted another video of Ethan walking on his facebook page so you can check that out too if you want.

While in Utah....

Aaron accepted a job at L3 in Greenville, Texas, which is about 30 miles outside of Dallas. We will be probably be living in Rockwall (pictured above) because Greenville is ghetto. Rockwall is about 10 miles from Greenville. Rockwall is built on the shore of a lake and is beautiful! We will be moving there in May and staying until January then we will move back to College Station for Aaron to finish his last semester of his masters degree. In May 2010 we will move to Rockwall to stay. Aaron was originally just looking for an internship this summer but L3 doesn't do internships so they just wanted him to start up and then take time off next year to finish up school. We thought we would end up in Utah after Aaron finished school but staying in Texas seems like the right place for our family to be now. I love the weather and the southern hospitality. We will ofcourse miss living close to our family and friends. We had so much fun going to family parties and friend gatherings while in Utah. Now we will have to bribe them to visit or even move here!

It's about time......

Ethan's 1st Birthday which happened to be on Thanksgiving.
He loved his puppy dog cake!

Aggie school spirit

Aaron and I found a monkey at the
Trunk or Treat!

We'll be seeing all ya Utah folks in 2 days!! We can't wait!