Happy 2nd Birthday, Jackson! Jan. 9, 2010

So, Jackson's birthday was celebrated twice this year--I guess he turned two and got two birthday parties. Because we had so much family down for the window dedication, we did a small celebration at that time. For his "real" birthday, we decided to keep the party much smaller and a little simpler than last year's because of all we've had going on this winter--we were nearly partied out!

I let Jackson choose between a couple of ideas and he chose a "Mickey cake". I made him a Mickey cake and we bought some balloons and pretty much called it good. We also didn't invite all of our friends and their kids this year, we just invited a few and kept it mostly family. It was really fun though, and Jackson had a great time!

The morning of his birthday, we gave him the present we got him--an outdoor patio table of his own, complete with striped umbrella!

Here is the cake I made Jackson this year--


We turned his new table into a little gift table:

I guess with this being Jackson's second birthday and all, he just wasn't as excited as he was last year!
Now, finally, it's playtime! Enough with the ceremonial singing and blowing out of the candle and all...let's just have fun!

Jackson and Zane were both loving this activity!


Papa Mill (great-grandpa Miller), the golf pro, showing Jackson how it's done!

Happy Birthday, Jackson, I can't believe it's been two years! You can do so much--you are talking a ton, you love reading as much as ever (he can now read "Old Hat, New Hat" almost by himself), you are super-active and so coordinated for a toddler! You are so imaginative and creative, and we all love watching you play! I can't wait to see what this year will bring!

It was nice to have a low

Well, this past weekend was a really special weekend for my Jones side of the family. My Grandpa Jones passed away a few years ago, and he and my grandma were longtime members of the Hollister Presbyterian Church (well, my grandma still is). The Hollister church is a super-cute, old-fashioned white church with tall windows all along both sides of the sanctuary. They have, in the past few years, begun changing out the regular windows for stained-glass windows that are in memory of church members. There is a local artist who does the stained glass windows, and she is just amazing. Well, my grandpa wanted a stained glass window dedicated to his family for the church, so after he passed away, the family decided to have one done as a memorial to him. The family decided to base the design of the glass on a painting my Great-grandma Hanson had done of the aspen trees in the South Hills in the fall (the Jones family settled the foothills area and have always loved the beauty of the South Hills). Well, the window turned out absolutely gorgeous, and the dedication was on Sunday, January 3rd. All of my dad's siblings and their families were here except for my Aunt Martha and her kids (they live in South Dakota, so they couldn't make it) and my cousin, Rosanna. It was such a neat weekend. We packed a lot of special moments in.

Friday night, we decided to have an early birthday party for Jackson since almost everyone on that side of the family was here. Jackson will be two on Jan. 9th. My Aunt Kathy and Uncle Rex had just celebrated their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, so we thought that should be part of the celebration as well. We also had to do a little bit more Christmas gift exchanging, since some of the family missed Christmas, but was here for the window dedication. So, needless to say, Friday night was chaotic and busy, but super-fun.

Kathy and Rex

Jackson blowing out 2 candles!

Then, Saturday, we all decided to go skiing. Thirteen people on my Dad's side of the family all went!

Emma, Bria, Jake, Carl, Keith, Dad, Mom, Kathy, Teresa, Derek, Shawn, Trevor, and me

It was so neat to see all my dad's siblings skiing together except for one--they were all saying they didn't think they had ever all skied together.

Uncle Carl, Uncle Keith, my Dad, Aunt Kathy, and Aunt Teresa

The day was so gorgeous--there was fresh snow (perfect snow, might I add), beautiful sunshine, and fun company! We wrapped up the day with a trip to Maxi's Pizza for some post-skiing dinner, and the non-skiers of the bunch were able to join us there.

Sunday, of course, was so special. We all went to church with my Grandma in Hollister, where the window was dedicated. My Aunt Kathy and Uncle Rex, along with my cousins Derek, Bria, and Emma, all did special music together, which was neat, because I've never seen them all perform together. It was great seeing some of the local community friends and neighbors I (as well as my whole family and even Jake) grew up with. It was such a special and meaningful service, and as I sat there beneath the new window, I kept picturing my Grandpa sitting there with us. I will have to get pictures of the window from my mom and post them later. Anyhow, it was such a neat weekend and I will treasure the new memories, as well as the old ones of my grandpa, who was so special and so well-loved by his family, his neighbors, and his friends.