Our Busy Weekend

I will start with yesterday, and work my way back through the weekend. I am most proud of this one anyway!

Jackson can now ride a bike without training wheels!!!

I was milling around the house picking up and folding laundry (towels) in the living room yesterday after I came from from the Bridal Extravaganza when Jackson returned from the movies with Mimi and Pappy - they went to go watch G-Force. Jackson said the movie was "really awesome!". Jackson asked if it was okay if he rode his bike in our cul-de-sac while I finished the towels, and I said that would be fine. I started to go outside to help him open up the garage door, but he insisted that he didn't need my help, and that he could do it all by himself. Jackson waited for me to get completely inside the house before he opened the garage door to bring his tricycle out.

I had just about finished the towels when he comes back into the house telling me that I NEEDED to come outside right away and watch him because he could ride without using his training wheels. To be honest, I thought he meant that he finally found his balance on his bike and didn't need the assistance of his training wheels...boy was I wrong.

I go outside, not to find his tricycle, but rather his BIG bike that looks like a dirt bike that we were saving for him for when he got a bit bigger. The bike is easily 40 pounds, and he wants to show me that he can ride it. (It was then that I realized why he insisted on him getting his bike out by himself.) My heart must have been beating 90 to nothing as I was steadying the bike for him. Once he got situated, he began pedaling and made two circles around our cul-de-sac, and then went straight to the last mailbox without falling at all!

Giant tears filled in my eyes, and I ran over to him telling him that he was the Coolest Boy I knew, and how happy and proud of him I was! We ran inside and got Daddy so he could see too! Jack was so proud of him, and he went straight out to remove the training wheels off of his other bikes so we could put the other heavy bike up. I think it's too much bike for Jackson to be safe on...especially since he's just figured out how to ride without training wheels.

We are soo happy for him! He said that he's going to practice every single day until he doesn't have to wear his safety pads...I told him that it's going to take a lot of practice before that happens.

(I just wanted to note that once he came out and told me that he could ride, I immediately put his pads and helmet on. He fussed and whined and cried until Daddy, yes Daddy, said that he didn't need to use them. We explained that they protected him in case he fell, and he still insisted that he didn't want or need them, so he took everything off except for his elbow pads.)

Congratulations Jackson! You're getting to be such a BIG BOY!!!

The Bridal Extravaganza - July 2009

On July 25th and 26th, I was a model in the Bridal Extravaganza for Ventura's Bridal. I'm the second from the left. There were several fashion shows over the weekend for different bridal shops and designers. The gowns that I got to model were so beautiful! MUCH more expensive than my own wedding gown cost! My Mother came with me to help out backstage, and I was so happy that she was there. It's not very often that she and I get to do something together - just the two of us.

I got five blisters on my feet the very first day (Saturday) because Mom and I didn't know where to park, so of course we chose the parking lot furthest away from where we actually needed to be. By the time we walked to the Convention Center, I was limping (and complaining). I had to suck it up for the show, and if I do say so my self, I did pretty well. I didn't trip, or wince in agony while on stage. When I got home that night, I could barely move!

The next morning, I drained my blisters, and they felt a million times better!!! I could actually walk again! For the Sunday show, Mom and I certainly learned our lesson and parked right across the street of the Convention Center. This time, our fashion show was earlier, so we were able to find a close spot in the parking garage. The Ventura fashion show was a HUGE hit! The crowd was really into the models, the dresses, and the music!

I had forgotten how much I loved the runway from my old modeling days... It was a really good feeling. I did, however, get tangled up in one of the wedding gowns..my last one to be exact. The changing area backstage is so chaotic that we don't typically get to see what we are putting on next...we just grab and go. I didn't pay attention to the length of my train, and when I made a full turn in the middle of the runway, the train wrapped all the way around my feet! Some women in the audience gasped and their eyes were HUGE! I guess they really thought I was going to fall! I didn't though (THANK GOD!). As a matter of fact, I walked right out of my little predicament. It took about three good steps, and then my feet were free, and the train was trailing off like it was supposed to behind me, and I played it off so well! When I got to the end of the runway, I grabbed the side of the train and fanned it out so that the audience could see how pretty the back was. It got lots of "Oooh's" and "Ahhh's". When I walked back up the runway, I made another full turn in the center, sort of to make up for my first mishap, and it was perfect! The audience cheered loudly, and I very coyly looked over my shoulder, gave a wink, and exited the stage!

After the show was over, the owner of the store gave me a very nice hand-written note thanking me, and telling me how much she and the audience liked my performance, and she asked if I would like to be a permanent member of the "Ventura's Bridal Dream Team".

Going to the Mall for Earrings, Hair Combs, and Trampolines?? Oh My!

I had to run to the mall this weekend to grab some last minute items for the upcoming fashion show for the Bridal Extravaganza. While we were there, Jackson and I saw this set up in one of the wings in our mall. It's some kind of "Euro-Bounce" thing. They hook you up to a harness that it attached to bungee cords. They raise the cords, and then you begin jumping - higher, and higher, and higher until it makes every 'rider' squeal like a girl! It was very funny!

I told Jackson to do a back-flip, and he told me that he didn't know how so I explained that he needed to tilt his head back and look behind him, and then swing his legs over his head. He nailed it the second time he tried! In all, he did five back flips, and one flip going forward. The man working the trampoline told me that front flips are much more difficult to do than back flips, and he was impressed that Jackson was able to do it!

It was so nice that this was set up in the mall when we went. I normally don't go shopping at the mall, but it was nice for me to be able to go to a few shops, and then let Jackson do his thing. Then I was able to go to a few more of my stores, and then we went to get some cookies. Breaking up shopping trips like this makes it so much easier when little ones are with you, especially when they don't like "long stores". Helps to keep every one's sanity, that's for sure!