Dear Friends and Family,
It seems like life just gets busier. It has been 5 months since I last posted and you will see all that has transpired in that 5 months. Life has been good. We hope this finds you all well and look forward to hearing from you. Sending you all love. Be sure to read to the bottom of this one! A surprise awaits.
Ha! This was our attempt at fun for New Years Eve. We lasted maybe 10min. You see how it ended.
Celebrated Jeff's 51st Birthday on January 2nd.
Awesome snow elf sculpture by one of our super talented teachers.
Isaac made his own stitch card. Badger kept him company.
Speaking of company. This is a common scene with these boys. The play doesn't stop just because one of them has to poop.
The Fam out for a cross country ski.
Beautiful Bighorn Sheep
Sledding fun with Kai's cub scout troop
Jeff Jammin' out with his band, Ropegun.
Out on the town with the girls.
Kai cutting out his pinewood derby car for cub scouts
Isaac made one too. There is a lot of work that goes in to one of these cars.
Isaac's favorite book, which was Jeff's. It is holding up well for all these years.
This is Kenny and he always makes the most amazing snow sculptures. He made the bald eagle up above too.
One of the really fun parts of my job is that I get to be the Red Queen and assess all the rising first graders. From that point on, when the children see me they always greet me as the Red Queen. Ah yes!
Cub scouts marching in the Mardi Gras parade.
Kai's first pinewood derby race.
In February the Haleakala Waldorf School flew me out to speak at the Hawaiian Waldorf Schools conferences. Jeff came with me too to check out the island. What a treat to get away sans kiddos. Thanks Unchi!
The welcome and opening ceremony of the conference.
Rainbow Eucalyptus trees.
Sea Turtles coming up on the beach for the night.
Monk Seal.
By far one of the coolest things I have done. We went to the top of the Haleakala Crater to watch the sunrise. BEAUTIFUL and a must do if you ever visit Maui.
Shadow from the crater.
Silversword
While Jeff climbed, I sat here and watched the whale breech. So cool.
If there is climbing to be found, Jeff will find it.
Going in to a lava tube.
Thanks to my mom, Jeff and I got to go on that trip.
I went to pick up Isaac from school and this is what I got to snug up.
Practicing safe belaying.
First Friday shananigans.
Kai made the front page of the paper. He loved being famous for a week.
Green is the New Black Fashion Show fun.
The all new
Marble distillery based in Carbondale. They make a good drink and offer beautiful rooms to stay in.
Mayfaire.
Isaac and Emmily. Isaac wanted to be the Mayfaire king and wanted Emmily to be the queen.
The kids pulling the cart around.
The Mayfaire king and queen are chosen by a chicken. First all the girls sit in a circle with chicken feed in their hands and the hand that the chicken eats out of is the queen. Then the boys all circle up and do the same thing, and a king is born.
Celebrating Cinco De Mayo
My beautiful Mother's Day gifts from the boys.
Carbondale has a parade to celebrate almost everything. Every May the town comes out to celebrate the dandelion. All over town the dandelions are not cut and everywhere is a carpet of yellow. Anyone who wants can dress up as a plant or animal and march in the species parade.
My Mother's Day lucky find.
Kai reading his very first book. A BOB book. He is soooooo psyched.
Having fun at our school's annual spring auction.
It has rained, no poured, ever since Mayfaire. That is a LOOOOOONNG time.
My favorite bird, the Western Tanager.
Such a sweet face to see in my rear view mirror.
It rained pretty much every day, non-stop from May 2-May30. Every moment of sunshine was a huge blessing to all. We are extremely grateful for the water and now the sun.
This name/chemistry thing is pretty darn true.
My mom shattered both her arms and compound fractured one of them 8 weeks ago from falling off her bike. She has 9 pins and 2 plates in each arm holding it all together. This is her showing us her PT exercises in Sarasota, FL. She is getting stronger every day. She can now wipe herself, dress herself and feed herself. She cannot drive or work yet and it will be a very long while until she can. We have set up a fund for her. If you would like to help support my mom while she heals, please see this link.
Deborah's Care Fund
Thank you in advance for helping out. Every little bit helps.
Kai's very first play. He did so well.
Colorado at its finest and greenest.
Isaac invented a game that made us all laugh. He held cards to his chest that faced him. He closed his eyes and told Jeff to close his eyes too and then said, "Papa, pick and card, but don't look at it and I will guess it." Isaac guessed and then asked Jeff if he was right, but not to look at it. So cute and hilarious.
Jeff and I celebrated out 10th Anniversary at Avalanche Hot Springs, here in the valley. One of our dear friends watched the boys for us. What a dreamy treat. We stayed in the Gypsy Wagon. A little tight for us tall folks, but lots of fun.
Kai had an amazing week last week at school. He and his classmates had many day outings for trip week.
For Kai's last cub scout meeting, they made and launched rockets. A huge hit as you can imagine. Kai had his face painted at school that day, so he looked a bit like a clown.
Kai is 8 Years Old! The theme was Lego-Mythical Creature Party. They painted shirts with different mythical creatures on them, had a lego in a spoon relay race, had a lego scavenger hunt, got legos and mythical creatures from a pinata and ate a yummy lego block cake decorated with mythical creatures. It was a big hit.
School finishes up next week. This year has gone by so fast. Kai thrived in first grade and looks forward to second grade. Isaac LOVES pre-school and will start kindergarten next year.
Our summer plans will be very busy as we are making a BIG move. The Jackson Family is moving to Maui! We never thought we would leave our home here in Colorado, but as we learn, "Never say never." After being contracted to work at the Haleakala Waldorf School twice this past year, the school offered me a full time position. Jeff will continue to work for Rock and Ice remotely. So...island bound we are! We will miss our friends and community here and are excited to make new ones in Maui. As the song goes, "Make new friends, but keep the old..."We will be moving in July. We will be renting out our home here, so we will be able to return when we want. We are excited for the change and the new adventure that awaits our family.
We know it is far, but hope you all will make it out to see us. Perhaps for the Pre-Thanksgiving Feast :) We will keep you posted once we settle in.
All our love.
Aloha and Mahalo!
Hannah, Jeff, Kai, Isaac and Badger
