Back to school!

 

The Jackson MONKEYS are back to school!  Control has been restored!  Dinner no later than 5:30pm, than off to football practice or scouts, smooth shower time, snacks before bed and then to bed no later than 9pm where they are sleeping in their own rooms and in their own beds....except Alyssa.....we are still working on getting her OUT of our bed!

 

Alyssa's 2nd year of preschool @ Educare Academy.  She is leaving her "blue cheese" (the blankey she sucks her thumb with) in the car.  Which means NO thumb sucking all day....even during nap time! :)        

 

 

 

Cole is in 3rd grade @ Freedom Trail Elementary.  A brand new school in the Olentangy Local School District.

 

 

 

 

                                             Brady is in 7th grade@ Hyatts Middle School.  He is joining Señora Jackson (or mom) at her school for the year.  He is on the 'Watershed' team.  Definition of WATERSHED:  It's the area of land that catches rain and snow and drains or seeps into a marsh, stream, river, lake or groundwater. Brady's team will align the Social Studies, Science and English curriculum within local watersheds of Delaware County.  PERFECT for our little nature boy!

As summer comes to an end....

.....I wanted to share some random pictures taken throughout the summer of my monkeys. 

 

Archie relaxing on Alyssa's picnic table.  I guess it's just as bad as bird droppings....right?  The rain can wash it all away!!!  At least that's what we like to think! :)

 

What's wrong with this picture??  The boys wanted to have a slumber party with Archibald, but he outsmarted them!  He must have started on the floor and after the boys fell fast asleep, he left the boys on the floor and decided to get cozy on the chair.  What a smart dog....good thing the boys go back to school soon, they are getting out smarted by a dog!

With all the boy toys, video games and balls to play with, Cole finds playing with Alyssa's dolls and bottles interesting too! :)

 

 

 

 

 

I would feel terrible too if I had an outfit like this on...nice socks and the 'blue cheese' (Alyssa's blanket) really needs to be put away!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm such a mean mom!! NO MORE junk at the Clippers game!  Although, there is plenty of left over popcorn containers and drinks laying around and maybe even a few bites of someone's hotdog if they are really hungry!

 

 

 

We are READY for school to start (at least I am, I just need to get out of the house to feel as though I'm in control of something!!) 

Mission Accomplished (kind of...)

MISSION #1:

The first accomplishment is finishing my masters!  After 18 months of frustration setting in when football, lacrosse, baseball and scouting lasted too long, patience leaving when bath time was interrupted with fighting siblings, phone calls, etc, putting the kids to bed no later than 8:30pm then reading and typing late into the night and then grading and planning for my other job, I have finally FINISHED!!!! 

I even managed to graduate with a 4.0 GPA...which NEVER happened in my previous educational experiences. 

THANKS to Brady, Cole and Alyssa for their patience and understanding of mommy always having to do homework!  Thanks to Brian for giving up bed time talk to me "clucking" on the laptop all night long.  Thanks to my mom for answering grammatical questions and offering opinions and suggestions on various assignments.  Thanks for Liza for listening to all my complaining throughout the entire process and for thinking that I'm "smart".  Thanks to Kayrn and George for watching the kids so I can do homework and get caught up.  Thanks to my colleagues, Jess, Steph, Abby, Ellie & Andrea with whom I completed the program with.  We began this adventure as strangers and we ended as great friends!  Thanks to all my friends at school that reminded me to EAT lunch and visit with them instead of doing homework and being such a nerd! :)

We had a little party to celebrate my masters.  Notice my floor 'mat', for my MAT (Master in the Art of Teaching), my mother is so clever!  Thanks for the celebration and Liza, THANKS for the cake.  You obviously did some research....Marygrove College MUSTANGS! :) I didn't even know that and obviously the horses were found in my basement..so creative! 

 

MISSION #2: This is the "kind of" accomplishment.

I set out to run a 1/2 marathon (13.1 miles) three years ago.  The first attempt led me to a stress fracture in my foot.  Running came and went and then came back again this past January.  After running in the St. Patrick's Day 4-miler with Tyler, I decided to keep on running and to attempt the 1/2 marathon once again.  I had a bunch of friends running an event in May, but that was the weekend I went to Guatemala to celebrate my grandmother's 90th birthday.  So after running a few 5ks throughout the spring and summer, I decided to keep on running and begin training for an event in August.  Everyone kept telling that it is too HOT to train in the summer.  However, this summer was actually an exception.  Running in the early mornings or late evenings was awesome.  I really enjoyed training this summer, even on long 8, 9, 10 & 11 mile runs, it wasn't hot at all.  August 16th finally arrived along with the typical HOT August sun and humidity.  I thought I was trained well, I hydrated a LOT leading up to the event, "carbed" up plenty and yet I disappointed myself! 

I finished the 1/2 marathon, although not by meeting my goal!  I walked way too much and I basically gave up after 9 miles. 

 
slowly recovering.....

THANKS mom, Liza & Katy for being there at the finish line routing me on and for making me signs.  I really needed that last motivation and cheers to finish what I started.

 

The 11 most important things I've learned after running and training for a 1/2 marathon:

1.  Running with a friend or a group of friends to motivate you and encourage you to continue is a MUST!

2.  Don't ever expect your feet / toes to look pretty AFTER running 13.1 miles.  I gained two new appendages...along with a few calluses.  Sorry about the funky pics, but I just had to share! Notice my "this little piggy stayed home" toes, I even have a bruise under my "this little piggy had none (referring to roast beef)" on my right toe and a callus on my big left toe. 

3.  Running long runs of 11 miles between the hours of 7-9pm at 70 degrees is TOTALLY different than running 13.1 miles in 85 degrees, with the sun beating down on you, while being offered warm water.  Train in the hot weather, IF I'm going to run an actual event in the middle of August. is needed. That 11 mile run felt GREAT, what's another 2.1, in the heat, sun and humidity...VERY different!

4.  What you eat and drink the day BEFORE a long run is VERY important.  Carbs from beer doesn't count as good fuel for the body!

5.  Inviting your kids to ride their bike with you during a 8 mile run is a bad idea...they can't last past 6 miles!

6.  Giving up at 9 miles and stating to a myself, NEVER AGAIN at the 9 mile marker isn't a great motivator to finish strong.

7.  Socks are just as important as shoes....another funky toe pic after an 11 mile run...a bloody toe!  The weird thing...my toe wasn't even hurting.

8.  Take ibuprofen for the aches and pains about 2 hours before a long run to help with the knees and then some Tylenol PM to sleep through the night.

9.  Stretch, stretch, stretch..even during off days.

10.  Update music on your iPod so that when you are running a 1/2 marathon, Troy, Gabriella, Sharpey and the rest of the cast of High School Musical aren't your running partners.

11.  Pedicures are a MUST throughout your training.  Especially the kind Monsi gives because she massages your calves and the bottom of your feet!  Thanks Monsi and by the way I REALLY NEED another pedicure!!

Five days after running, my blisters are gone, my muscles in my arms, quads and shins have stopped hurting and I am actually desiring the burn in my lungs from breathing deep again...I know...kind of a weird desire!  I look at is as a smoker needs to inhale nicotine..I feel the need to inhale air deep into my lungs while running to feel the burn!!  Five days ago, I said NEVER again to quite a few people (during and after the run)....but now that I look back at the whole experience, I NEED to do it again to satisfy myself and to live up to what I think and know I'm capable of doing.  I'm not making any commitments...BUT there is another event in October.  Or I can give myself a break and wait until next May.  Something to think about!! 

Valley Forge & Philadelphia, PA

Cole and I joined Brady and his boy scout troop to hike two historical trails in early August. 

The Valley Forge Historical Trail was really long and a lot to walk for the 27 of us.  In order to receive the trail medals, the boys had to complete a scavenger type hunt throughout the park.  However, their compass skills had to come into practice.  They had to know at what degree to hike, which caused a few miles of back tracking when errors occurred.  The hike should have only been 9 miles although it took us over 11 miles and about 10 hours to complete.

Valley Forge was the winter encampment where George Washington and his troops stayed during the Revolutionary War.

Some of the soldiers 'huts' re-created.

A soldier re-enacting and teaching the boys how to prepare a musket gun.

An arch built in memory of soldiers that died while at Valley Forge.

Our first rest of the day, listening to the story tellers inform us of historical figures that lived here.  

And on with the hike...here is where it really began to get rough..

We finally made it the Artillery area of camp.

Throughout the hike there where deer EVERYWHERE!!!!  We acted as if we had never seen deer before.  There were just so many!  

This deer was especially sweet.  While we were hiking through the woods, she popped her little head up and stared us down as if we were awaking her slumber.  So sorry....

 

Just keep walking, hiking, drinking, sweating and...complaining!!

 

We thought we were just about done, but we were wrong...keep on hiking!!

The boys kept resting, which is another reason it took us so long.  C'mon boys (and girls, there were three girls that joined us from a Venturing Crew)...I'm hungry!!

FINALLY, back at camp to start on dinner and to rest our feet before the next day of hiking.

On to downtown Philly.  The boys didn't realize that 'hiking' doesn't have to happen through the woods, but can also take place on concrete...which actually was harder on our already tired, blistered feet. 

The Benjamin Franklin Historic Trail took us about 8 1/2 miles and about 8 hours to complete.  No compass reading this time!

C'mon boys...we haven't even begun yet!!  Get it together!

 

Franklin's printing shop, where the Declaration of Independence was printed.

 

Lunch this day was a bit different, on brick and in the sun compared to sitting on nice plush grass, under a tree at Valley Forge.

Resting on the steps of the 2nd bank of the United States.

Airing out the feet....they really do get hot while walking on concrete in the hot Philly sun!

This is the closest I was able to get to experience 'Rocky, the Italian Stallion"!  I wanted to run up the steps in Philly to re-enact Rocky's training...but we were no where near those steps...maybe next time!

Michelle Obama was in town and stalled our hike quite a bit because there were several stops on the trail that were closed down due to security.

People lined the streets to get a glimpse of Michelle...we kept on hiking...

Ben Franklin's grave, which people would throw money on.  Notice the $100 bill on his grave.  There was a guard standing by so the boys weren't able to snatch it up.

An unexpected stop, was the US Mint.  The boys weren't able to see the money made (due to it being a Saturday), but it was a cool building to visit.  We weren't allowed to take our bags or our cameras in, so this is our one and only snapshot.

 

Our last stop was the Liberty Bell.  It was a weird line to wait in, 45 minutes without a roller coaster to ride, but a BIG bell with a crack in it!

Michelle Obama interfered with us seeing the Declaration of Independence.  We were able to see the outside of Independence Hall though.

Back to camp for dinner, which the boys made and then cleaned up after all of us! :)

Cole stirring dinner.

 

The boys washing dishes...which I don't get to observe very often!

Cole, the cub scout offering advice to a boy scout on how to light a fire.  Which we never enjoyed due to the rain.  Good coaching Cole!

 

Brady has just been caught drinking my Pepsi, which is NOT allowed at camp (but I was able to smuggle it in with my skills)!  BAD Brady BAD!  Good think I caught you and not your Scout Master!

Tearing down camp in the POURING DOWN rain!

It was a great weekend for the boys and I.  We learned a lot about our national history, we slept great in tents because we were so tired, we even showered (which usually doesn't happen when camping).  Most importantly, we enjoyed spending time with each other!  Good times, good times!