4th of July in Leakey!

We spent the 4th of July in Leakey again this year, and it was a blast! We went to the rodeo, watched and shot fireworks, floated and played in the river, and enjoyed the nature around us.

Poppers were a favorite for the kiddos.

Isn't my nephew, Mitchell, adorable! I love the boots. Of course, seeing Jackson and Susan enjoying the view from the porch was pretty special too!

All of the kids are into Star Wars these days, so there were lots of lightsaber battles in addition to the outdoor activities, which wore us all out!

Mitchell got some chickens for Easter, so we had fun getting to know them, as well as watching the deer feed. I also managed to get a picture of one of the butterflies floating around the river.

It was a relaxing and fun trip!

There are more pictures in the album!

Jackson's 6th Birthday!

Jackson turned 6 on June 12th! Since his birthday was on a Thursday, we started the day with presents from the family. He had cupcakes with his friends at Bushi Ban during the day, and we spent the evening having a special family dinner and more cake. The big party was on Saturday. This year Jackson chose a "Jake and the Neverland Pirates" theme.

It was a water slide party with pirate games too!

After lots of fun sliding and splashing around, I gathered all of the kids and passed out their treasure maps. Each map had a different path to get to the treasure. Jackson went to the "Hook Toss" game first. Then he had to "Walk the Plank" and "Swab the Deck."

Jackson's next stop was the "Cannon Ball Toss," which was throwing water balloons at Captain Hook.

Finally, Jackson and all of the kids reached the "X" on the map, which was in our dining room. Each kiddo had their own treasure chest filled with pirate party favors. It was definitely the most kids we've ever had in our dining room at one time!

They also got to dig into the food and have cupcakes! Jackson was SO excited to have so many of his friends there to celebrate with him!

Jackson is one of the messiest eaters I know...check out the goatee he managed to create while eating his cupcake.

Once we got Jackson cleaned up, we moved to the living room to open presents. He was so sweet and thoughtful. As he opened each gift he wanted to read every word on every card and thank each person for what they gave him. He enjoyed every moment, but it took a while, which meant some of his friends lost interest before he was done.

The party then continued on the water slide until after everyone was gone. Ross and I joined in at some point too. We couldn't pass up the chance to act like a kid again!

This birthday was an awesome celebration of Jackson and everything we love about him! It was so wonderful to see him so happy! Of course, there are more pictures in the album.

Here's a run down of some things about Jackson as he turns 6:

Loves God, his family, his friends, and his teachers!

50th percentile in height (same as every year so far)

25th percentile in weight (same as every year so far)

Lost 2 bottom teeth

Generally, a sweetheart and very helpful

Not a fan of change, and sometimes struggles with managing disappointment/anger (works really hard on this!)

Best friends: Audrey, Andrew, Cooper, and Lane

Favorite color: blue

Favorite toys: legos, Wii U video games/tablet, and card games

Favorite subjects: science and reading. He has chosen to do several science camps this summer, and he is reading short chapter books.

Favorite Sports: soccer and karate

Jackson's Kindergarten Graduation

Today was Jackson's last day of kindergarten! He had graduation on Tuesday, a water party on Wednesday, and a half day to wrap up the school year today. The graduation ceremony was so cute. Rather than having everyone in caps and gowns, the graduation had a Hawaiian theme. The ceremony started with a message from the principal followed by some songs from the kids.

Then they lined up each class, and as they said their names, they asked each kid what they want to be when they grow up. Jackson very confidently said he wants to be a policeman. In a report the week before he said he wants to be a policeman so he can get all the bad guys! Then they gave him a lei, and he returned to his seat on the stage before ending the ceremony with the school's song.

We are all so proud of Jackson and everything he has accomplished this year. He is an incredibly sweet and sensitive little boy. He has matured and learned so much over this school year. He went from knowing his ABCs and numbers to reading short chapter books, doing math, writing stories, and loving science. It's really hard to believe how much he has grown inside and out! We are beyond grateful for his teachers and the incredible staff at his school, as well as his after school program. It truly takes a village to raise a child, and we couldn't do it without each of these people! Jackson is a better person because of each of them! We love him so much!

There are a few more pictures in the album.

Stone Family Reunion

Another Stone Family Reunion has gone down in history! We spent Memorial Day Weekend in Shreveport with our families. Ross' family now includes my mom and dad in the festivities, which allows everyone to see us a little more. The events were the same as usual, and just as fun if not more so. Saturday night we had dinner at Ross' Aunt Dottie and Uncle Jim's house where we got to spend a little time catching up while the kids played in a bouncy house and ran around in the backyard.

Sunday morning we had brunch at Ross' mom's house. There were lawn games, frisbee, and a puppet show. The puppet show is always Jackson's favorite, and this year was no exception! From the moment he saw Aunt Carol on Saturday evening Jackson began asking about the puppet show, so when the time came to set up on Sunday morning, he was more than happy to help. This year was especially fun for Jackson since he can now read!

They did several stories for everyone and had lots of laughs. Eventually, all of the boys ended up sitting together playing around, and the girls were all gathered around the baby of the group...there were lots of ooooohs and awwwwws.

Sunday afternoon and evening were spent at Ross' Uncle Ronnie and Aunt Laura's house. It was a perfect day for swimming and karaoke! We were super excited because Jackson officially became a swimmer that night! He can now jump off the diving board and swim to the side of the pool. We are SO excited about this milestone!

It was a wonderful weekend with a wonderful group of people! There are a few more pictures in the album!

Audrey's Dance Recital

Audrey participated in her first dance recital this past weekend. She was adorable! We got there for rehearsal and pictures a few hours before the show. The kids did impressively well for having to wait around so much...snacks and the movie Frozen work wonders!

We were allowed to take pictures during the rehearsal, so of course, I did!

Between the rehearsal and the show, we went outside and took a few pictures...I'd say it was mostly to kill some time, but you all know I love to take pictures, especially of this adorable little girl!

There are a few more pictures in the album!

JSC Field Day

Audrey's school had field day on Friday. It was 2 hours of non-stop fun! Her class were the Rowdy Raccoons...can you guess why?

They started the events off with the pledge of allegiance. Rodney the Raccoon cheered from a nearby tree as the kids did some hurdles and egg races.

Next up was a little over/under, balloon popping, water scoop racing, and a hula hoop game, as well as a short snack break.

Then there was a balloon toss. Audrey and her partner were adorable. Audrey kissed her balloon and held it like a baby before tossing it back and forth. She and her friend won the second round of the balloon toss...Audrey would take a step back after each toss and her friend would take a step forward. It worked great! :-) Next was a relay race, which was followed by a short photo op with two of her favorite friends!

The grand finale was tug of war! All of the kids LOVED it. Everyone pitched in to clean up before heading inside for the medal ceremony. They were all winners and behaved so well that they each got a medal and got to move their clips to the top of the chart!

It was a fun way to spend the morning, and believe it or not, there are even more pictures in the album!

Spring Soccer

Jackson and Audrey are both playing soccer this spring. They are both doing awesome, and more importantly, they are having fun! Jackson's understanding of the game and what he is able to do has grown tremendously this year, and Audrey shows no fear! She has watched and learned from Jackson for the last couple of years and is showing everyone what she can do!

Jackson's team opted not to do professional photos this year due to the inconvenience of where the pics were being taken on picture day. Instead, I took pics of everyone at one of our practices. Unfortunately, we're missing a couple of kiddos, but here is Jackson with the majority of his team!

Audrey's professional pics didn't turn out so great, so I'll likely try to do something similar for her at an upcoming game!