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http://jwalkerj.site.shutterfly.com

Goodbye bloggers!!! I'm trying something new and would like to invite you to check it out! I can't seem to keep up with my blog, so I'm trying Shutterfly! I like to be able to just upload my pictures and not mess with all of the other stuff. It seems very similar to blogspot, but maybe a little more of what I'm looking for! We'll see how it goes! It was fun while it lasted, but I'm outta here!:)
Jen

This, that and the other...

I can't seem to keep my blog updated, so here is another round of pics...just some things we've been up to lately! My sister reminded me that it's been 10 days since my last post. Sorry Julie!:) Today was Jackson's last day of school. I think he's been looking forward to this since August! It is officially summer at our house and we plan on having a good one! Basketball camps, VBS, tennis camp, a trip to Ohio to visit my sister and plenty of pool time!


LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!!!!
One of the parents from Jackson's class was nice enough to have a few kids over after school today. From there, they went to Time Out Corner...kind of like Chuckie Cheese, but think jungle theme and black light. They have video games and indoor miniature golf. Next time I will pre-medicate with plenty of ibuprofen...for sure!




WAITING TO RUN THE BASES!
...Sunday at the Cat's baseball game, the boys got to run the bases. They loved it!:)



Poor Carson, he got lapped!



SOCCER!
Julie...here's your picture of Carson in his soccer gear!

Josh and Jackson hanging out at soccer! I love this picture, because that is soooo Jackson...he has always loved to cuddle!:)


CARSON'S LAST DAY OF PRESCHOOL!


Mrs White

A hug from Mrs White
A hug from Mrs Kjos
Of course, I couldn't get him to take a picture with his teachers, so I had to get these action shots!:)

Julie (my sister)...this one's for you!:)

Several people (Julie included) have given me a hard time lately about not updating my blog. My sister Julie enjoys seeing pics of the boys...she lives in Ohio, so she doesn't see them that often. You've gotta love technology, though. At least she can keep up with what my boys are up to and not feel like she's quite so far away. You asked for it, you got it!:) Enjoy...

Carson's preschool class took a field trip to the fire station.


Jackson went to his first sleep over!


Jacob Pullen...#0 for K-State men's basketball team...#1 on my list!:)
Just kidding...one of my favorite players to watch, though!


Dominique Sutton...#23 for K-State men's basketball team...now he's #1 on my list...he said he thinks I'm "hot"! Not sure what that was all about...I guess I was having a good night!:)


Josh Freeman...QB for K-State football team!

Open House at K-State...so much to do and so little time. Open House was the same day as all of the festivities of K-State Football Spring Game. They have so many fun things to do on campus, but we just didn't have enough time to do it all. They boys are watching the Marching Cobras (an amazing marching band from KC). Always entertaining!



The boys enjoying the Spring Game!


My boys getting autographs from my two favorite basketball players. I think they thought I was a stalker!:)

...from the Ferris Wheel! I thought this was a pretty cool pic!


Carson and me on the Bear ride at the K-State Spring Game carnival. My boys LOVE carnivals...like all kids! I didn't get any pics of Jackson on the rides...he made Josh's brother ride the Octopus, then the bears right after that. They both had upset tummys after that!


Carson and the frisky Peacock! Carson's preschool took a field trip to the zoo! The weather was great and...
...the guy giving the presentation at the beginning was even better! He had the kids acting like animals (I think they are snakes in this pic). He was very animated and did an awesome job of keeping their attention! The moms were very impressed!

THAT'S IT FOR THIS POSTING...more later!

Enlighten me, please!

Can someone please tell me why kids refuse to sleep in when there is no school? Every school day is a challenge...first, just getting the kids up and out of bed is not easy, but also dressed, fed and out the door for school...that starts early due to too many snow days! Why, when there is no school, do they decide to wake up BEFORE 7am??? I'm looking forward to this day of fighting, whining and being their servant for the day...NOT! I'm going to be especially strict and boring today, so that maybe on Monday they will be excited to get up and go to school!
Have a great weekend!

Wine Tasting at the Snowden's

Wanted to share pics from the Snowden's wine tasting. We had a sophisticated night of wine tasting and intellectual conversation! (wink, wink) You had to be there to hear some of the "non-wine tasting" conversations! Really, our friend are always a lot of fun to get together with, even if we do have a hard time keeping the guys under control! Mandy and Curtis did an awesome job hosting. They had 6 different selections of wine and food selected to complement each wine. Even Josh, who doesn't ever drink wine, admitted that he enjoyed it and actually found a wine he liked! However, I noticed that not even five minutes after the wine tasting was over, he already had a Margarita in his hand! Thanks for a great evening Mandy and Curtis! You totally outdid yourselves!

Not quite Hello Kitty!

Tonight is the Amanda Arnold Carnival. A friend of mine made an adorable Hello Kitty cake for the cakewalk (hence the title), but the boys and I took the "semi-homemade" approach. We bought a frosted cake from Dillons and decorated it with licorice and mini M&Ms. I just wanted to sprinkle it with little M&Ms, but Jackson insisted on a pattern, of course. Anyway, it ended up being me that decorated it while Jackson gave directions. All in all, it was fun.

Watch out David Beckham!

Ok...so David Beckham probably won't be intimidated by my little 4 year old!:) Carson started soccer last night, so I thought I'd share some pics! He thinks he pretty big stuff now! He has a couple of little friends that play as well, so I think it was nice for him to see a familiar face out there. Of course, it was absolutely freezing last night, but Carson hung in there and had a blast! I guess it wouldn't be Spring Soccer Season without a little drizzle and 40 degree temps!

Los Angeles Confidential

I just got back from KC today, where I got together with some friends from college. We were celebrating the upcoming nuptials of our crazy friend Lara Morgenson. Lara was able to take time out of her busy schedule of rubbing elbows with celebrities in L.A., to come back to KS and hang out for an evening. I guess we thought we were in college again, as we closed down 3 differet bars!!! As one would close, we'd head to another. What's up with these places closing at 10pm??? Midnight??? We finally found a bar that stayed open until 2am. However, the waitress literally had to take our drinks and ask us to leave...not that nicely, though!:) Just wanted to share the link to her magazine (Los Angeles Confidential), where she is Executive Editor. You go girl!
www.la-confidential-magazine.com

MARCH MADNESS!!!

Thanks to some very good friends of ours, Josh and Jackson were able to score some tickets to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Omaha! They had a great time, even if the Cats lost!



MCDONALD'S MADNESS!!!!

How random!!! Josh and Jackson stopped by the McDonald's in Beatrice, NE and the K-State player's bus was there! It pulled in right behind Josh, so they went inside to check things out...Jackson got his picture taken with Clent Stewart. I don't think Jackson was quite as impressed as Josh, though. Beasley didn't make it off the bus, neither did my favorite...Jacob Pollen. Sure wish I could have been there! Do you think they would have let me on the bus for a few pics?

After a trip to Colorado, a night with Gramma and Poppy, a weekend in KC and a day trip to Omaha to watch the Cats, (all of that in 10 days!!!!) Jackson was wiped out!

FUN WITH FAMILY!!!

My sister Julie came to Kansas, from Ohio, for Spring Break! We made a "girls weekend" of it...kind of. We all had our kids, but we managed to get some adult time (thanks to my niece Ashley who was my nanny for the weekend!)! Thank you Ashley..we appreciate it!:) Thanks to Steph and Mike, too, for the accommodations!

Check out all the awesome Silpada jewelry!!! Julie (in the middle) just started selling it and we got to play dress up all weekend! It's amazing how nice jewelry can turn jeans and a t-shirt into an awesome outfit! I wonder how that works with sweats!?!?!?!


Ashley and the boys...oh, can't forget Sophie, Ashley's new puppy! The boys LOVE her!

Carson got some cuddle time with Aunt Julie! It's very rare that Carson will cuddle with anyone other than Josh or me, so Julie was lovin' it! They love their aunts...because the totally spoil them!!!:)

Sophers!!! I think this has got the be one of the cutest puppies on earth!

ALL GOOD THINGS COME TO AN END...

We made it home, all in one piece!

Carson was so bummed to leave Colorado, though! This sequence of pictures was taken as we were driving out of Breckenridge. He kept saying "I hate this day...this is the worst day ever!" I hated to see him so bummed, but it was so cute at the same time. Jackson and Carson both enjoyed this trip so much. They are finally at the ages that make these trips so totally enjoyable!




SNOWMOBILE RIDE TO THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE


Pikes Peak (below...in the distance)

Breckenridge had gotten over 20" of snow in the 24 hours leading up to our snowmobile tour. I don't think we could have had a better experience. All of the trees were flocked with inches of snow and the sky was mostly clear, with just a few clouds. So clear that we could see Pikes Peak out in the distance. It was truly amazing and an experience we will not soon forget! Ok...the snowmobiles were pretty cool, too! They are huge and heavy...and a blast to drive. Jackson and Carson loved it and I even think Jackson appreciated the scenery, too. We were driving through the huge, snow flocked trees and he yells "This is awesome!!!" Not only did I enjoy all of the adventurous things we did, but I enjoyed sharing this time with our boys! They were so eager to get out there and try it all...and they loved it!
I do have to give kudos to Josh...he doesn't ski and he took us anyway! (To be honest, he hates cold weather!) Thanks Josh! The highlight of his trip was the snowmobile ride, but I also know he really enjoyed seeing the boys ski! I know I heard him say something to one of the boys about "When we come back next year..." I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

FRESH POWDER!!!

We woke up Friday morning with a ton of new snow on the ground. Breckenridge got between 10-14 inches, and it still keeps snowing. It looks like they got another 7" throughout the day on Friday and it's still falling. The boys did ski school again on Friday.

















Jackson spent the whole day on the slopes, which he was very excited about. I was able to join him for one run right after lunch. He was with his little ski class and I was hoping to just sneak up the lift without him knowing I was there. I had on my stocking cap, goggles and my neck warmer up over my mouth. I'm slowly moving through the lift line, thinking I would be "incognito" and he looks right at me and goes "Hi Mom!" So, I failed at my undercover operation. Oh well...I ended up riding up the ski lift with him and got to see him ski. It totally made my day!
Carson was still on the beginner slope, but has made great progress. He went from skiing down with an instructor helping him to being able to do a wedge, also know as "pizza slice", by himself.
Friday was the first time I have really skied "powder" and it was pretty cool. To be that high up in the mountains after such a big snowfall was pretty amazing. The snow continued to come down in those big white flakes...it was beautiful!



Both of the boys were very sad to have to turn in their gear...they loved skiing (and the cool boots, skis and helmets they got to wear!)! We are taking a break from the slopes today and taking a snowmobile tour of the Continental Divide. Can't wait!