Jackson's Birthday Grandma Day

During Jackson's fall break, my mom came up to take him out for a belated birthday celebration. They went to Waterman's Pumpkin Patch where they played and explored and picked out a pumpkin. My mom said she told Jackson he could have any pumpkin, as long as he could carry it - so he picked out a 17-pounder!

Family Visits

We had two new nephews added to our family this fall - Jacob and Alisha's Heathcliff and Brandon's sister Anesa's Ivan were both born in October. My mom and I went up one Saturday to watch Nalon's football game and visit with Alisha, Alexander, and Heathcliff. 

During one of Brandon's trips to South Carolina, my parents also went out of town for a few days, so I went down to stay with my grandma for a couple of days. It was nice to have that one-on-one time with her. She's such a great example of faith and goodness, and I'm grateful to have her in my life!

Fall Pics

Some quick pics from the fall:

We started infertility treatments in August. They're not fun and the emotional rollercoaster is exhausting, but I'm grateful to be doing it with Brandon, who is such a good partner.

We finally finished putting the final touches on the porch - including hanging the porch swing my dad made for me. I love it!

Brandon spent a few weeks in South Carolina this fall working for a real estate investor, which left me with a lot of free time. I joined Tessa and Cooper one afternoon for a lovely walk through Cool Creek Park in Carmel.

Date night downtown with dinner at Nine Irish Brothers.

My dad found a trunk with some of my old high school memories. It was pretty funny to go through a box of stuff I thought was important to save - things like posters and magazine clippings of *NSYNC and Johnny Depp, notes from sixth grade, and cards and journals.

First Day of Second Grade

After school closures in the spring, we weren't sure what school would look like this fall, but fortunately Jackson was able to start second grade in person. This is his second year at Bunker Hill Elementary and his teacher is Mrs. Ross. He's a great reader now and always does well in school. He rides the bus from his mom's house.

 

Jackson's Birthday at Mammoth Cave

To celebrate Jackson's birthday this year, we headed down to Kentucky to visit Mammoth Cave National Park. We headed down the night before to stay in a hotel and swim in the pool, but didn't get to swim because of COVID restrictions. 

The next day was a beautiful fall day so we were able to enjoy the park above and underground. We weren't able to see all of the cave, but enjoyed the parts we saw.

There are ruins of an old tuberculosis hospital inside the cave, which was super interesting. Apparently, the idea in the 1800s was that the air inside the cave had healing properties, but the positive effects were short-lived, so the hospital was abandoned.

 After our cave tour, we headed to a Mexican restaurant for lunch and headed home. 

Baseball

Jackson played baseball in Franklin Township this year for the first time. Because of COVID, the season got postponed to late summer. His team struggled, but got better as the season went on and Jackson improved his hitting significantly. He usually played second base or shortstop.

Callaway Campout

In August, we got lucky with some gorgeously mild summer weather and headed to Hardy Lake to enjoy the outdoors. Most of Brandon's family came, with the exception of Robbie, who was out of town at the time.

Hanging out at the campsite

Playing at the playground with cousins (and Kris and Elexis's niece and nephew Anthony and Leah)

Fishing and playing at the lake