JOY

JOY: Jesus Others Yourself

I have come to admire the Amish people more and more as I learn about them. It appears to me that they have figured something out that many of us have not. Recently I learned that they live by the above acronym... JOY. It makes sense. In order for any of us to find true joy in life we must serve and love in that order...our Savior first, then others, and ourselves last.

So, here's to finding true joy in life! I think I found my new favorite motto.

Here is the link to President Faust's address last conference.
http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-690-24,00.htm

Good Eater

Jaxon has always been a pretty good eater. We've been fortunate to not have to fight the food battle like some of our friends and family. Sometimes I wonder if being a good eater is always a good thing.

For instance, Jaxon likes to eat lemons. Yup. Straight up lemons. No sugar added. Whenever we go out to eat Jaxon eats the lemons the waiter brings for our glasses of water. While eating in Shoney's one night Jaxon showed us how truly bizarre his eating habits really are.

For dessert at the buffet he decided to have some strawberry shortcake and corn.....yes, corn. Not together. Well, at least not at first. He began by eating one bite of shortcake and one bite of corn. Gross! Then he realized that he could speed up the process by spooning the corn OVER the shortcake. Disgusting! Nevertheless, he continued to eat and quite enjoy his new concoction.


By the end of the meal we were all in stitches (including the waitress and the family seated next to us). Jaxon won the waitress completely over. Her tip included her very first kiss in America from an adorable (and yet, at times, odd) little boy!

Watch Out, Tiger!

Jaxon is absolutely obsessed with sports. ALL sports! I knew he could drive a golf ball (farther than Brian on one occasion) but in the mini-golf capital of the world I learned that he can also putt. What a kid!

He really is quite impressive when it comes to his coordination and such. There were a few times that he would pick up his ball and move it closer to the hole. But on the most part he hit legit shots and proved to be a much better golfer than
his mother....not shocking, eh?

Not only were there more miniature golf courses than I could count, they were the most extravagant courses I had ever seen in my life. Here are some pictures of one of the courses we played on.

We golfed once at the Nascar Speedtrack and then again Mt. Atlanticus. These are pictures of Mt. Atlanticus. The pictures didn't turn out too great since we were golfing at night.

The first picture to the left here is from the ground looking up. If you notice the highest light in the picture you will see how high up this course goes. Each of the grass huts at the top are different holes to golf.

This next picture is from one of the huts looking down on the ground-level holes. The pictures don't do it justice. To give you an idea of just how big this course was we had to descend 7 flights of stairs to get back to the beginning of the course.

Jaxon had a great time golfing (even with his neurotic mother who thought for sure he would fall into one of the many water hazards...which he didn't) and is looking forward to going again to show his daddy just how amazing he is!

Fear of Photosynthesising

This was my very first trip to the east coast. Besides the extreme humidity and heat, I was also amazed at how GREEN everything was. The grass. The trees. Everywhere you looked it was green. I have to say that there was very small moment when I thought I too might turn green.

I have decided that the south and other extremely humid places are not meant for me and my hair. Remember the Friends episode when they all go to on vacation to Barbados? Do you recall Monica's absolutely freakish looking hair? Let's just say I felt her pain and I am super happy to be back in a dry state where I can straighten my hair in the morning and it is still straight and flat that evening.

There was one other thing that I found most frightening in this part of the world. It's kind of hard to explain, and I don't think you would believe me if I didn't show you just how nutty it was. Take a looky and tell me what you think...

Anyone who's anyone adversities with a vans complete with bovine and crustaceans!

Up, Up, and Away!

Here's a quick photo re-cap of Jaxon's first airplane ride...

Getting ready to board the plane. "I'm going on a BIG airplane!"

Talking to daddy after we found our seats. It was extremely hard for Brian not to be there when Jaxon first took flight. Especially because of Brian's facination with flying. Next time, babe.Our pilot. After we boarded the plane Jaxon asked me what was behind one of the doors. I explained that it was the potty. Shortly after that the pilot walked out of the lavitory and Jaxon (in his best 2-year-old voice and volume) exclaimed: "Look! The pilot went potty!" Just glad he did it before take off!
Jaxon anticipating the flight and watching the other planes taxi. Funny story: In order for our airplane to get in position to start the taxi towards the runway we had to go backwards. As we started to move Jaxon starts to laugh and says: "That's crazy! We're going backwards like Mater!" (Mater the tow truck from the Disney movie CARS). About 6 other people in first class heard Jaxon. An older gentleman sitting two rows in front of us turned around and beamed at Jax. He got quite a kick out of it....as did I!Now that's talent!

My Cousin, My Friend

This is cousin Jeffrey. He is turning 3-years-old on Sunday. Unfortunately, we will be out of town so we can't make it to his birthday party. We sure hope he knows how much we love him and hope he has a very happy birthday.

These are some of the reasons why Jeffrey is so special:

1. He always has more than enough energy to play.
2. He jumps up and down and yells "Jaxon!" when we see him.
3. He is a happy little boy... a very happy boy!
4. He likes to hug and wrestle and play baseball.
5. He is not only a cousin....he is a best friend!

Happy Birthday, Jeffrey!

Coming Home

Home: A home is a place where a person or family lives, perhaps spends much of their time, or where a person is comfortable being.

Within the walls of this "home" I was taught as a child how to multiply, divide, do science fair projects, dissect owl pellets, the 50 nifty United States, how to think, discover, and study. Years after my elementary experience I again entered these walls to learn how be an effective teacher, to light the fire in young minds, to teach valuable life lessons. I was taught how to teach at the feet of many great teachers.

Today I came home. I miss my kids, I really do. It pulls at my heartstrings to be surrounded by these kids that I spent so much of my time teaching, loving, shaping, and nurturing. I saw my class in the hall and was bombarded with hugs and smiles! "Mrs. Vincent!" they shouted. "We miss you!" Then I saw their new teacher, a very competent, kind teacher and felt a pang of sadness. My name is no longer on the door. When asked who their teacher is they would say Mrs. Hansen....not Mrs. Vincent. I may not be their teacher now, but that doesn't mean I still don't worry about them and love them and miss them.

I Am Not a Cheater!

Last night we had a relief society activity which involved a variety of games. We played Apples to Apples, had a hula-hoop competition, a 3-legged race, and a Limbo competition. I love games...even games I don't win. I don't, however, cheat. At least not on purpose.

While doing the Limbo last night, I was informed by my friend that I was cheating. What!?!? I certainly didn't think I was cheating. She said that you can't turn your head. It must just go straight back. I really started to worry. If I did cheat it was out of ignorance. I don't want to be ignorant, so today I have researched Limbo. From everything that I can find on the World Wide Web, Limbo has only two rules:

1. The only part of your body that can touch the floor is your feet.
2. If you fall or touch the bar you are out.

Happy to report that I wasn't cheating after all. If anyone out there can find PROOF that there are in fact more rules to Limbo, please pass them my way. I certainly don't want to be a cheater.

For the record: I did win Apples to Apples, took 3rd in the 3-legged-race, and didn't come close in Limbo.

Stupidity = Pain

Yesterday Jaxon and I went to the pool with friends. If you recall, yesterday was a rather blustery day. We debated about whether or not to actually attempt the pool given the current weather, but with two little boys who would have major meltdowns if we changed plans, we forged ahead.

The pool was almost completely empty. I figure there were probably about 12 kids TOTAL at the pool yesterday. It was great! The boys didn't have to wait in line to go down the slide and I could actually sit on the side of the pool without loosing site of him.

In an attempt to rid myself of hideous farmer tan lines I did not apply any sunscreen. Not that this is out of the ordinary for me. I can probably count on two hands the times I have used sunscreen. Typically I don't burn. If I do burn it is very slight and it is gone by the next day. Besides, it wasn't sunny yesterday. Who needs sunscreen? Apparently I did.

My back is lobster red and it hurts like the dickens! Lesson learned? Let's all hope so!