over the river and through the woods...

...to aunt jennie's house we go! jackson and i took a road trip to newberg last week. this was the first time i've driven more than an hour with him without eric. we had all taken a couple trips before (to bend and to seattle) and jackson did really well, so i assumed this trip would be the same...and it was! thankfully he sleeps well in the car (especially on the freeway).
we had a busy week:
sunday-drive from couer d'alene to kennewick (stop for starbucks, taco bell-for me and a yummy bottle of formula-for jackson). drive from kennewick to the memaloose state park rest stop (another yummy bottle of formula-for jackson and a close up of squirrels that are not afraid of humans). drive from rest stop to newberg. about a 7 hour trek in all...not bad! jackson got his first bath in a big tub at aunt jennie's...and he loved it! (no more baths in the baby bath tub in the kitchen anymore)
monday-i had a meeting all day, so aunt jennie took the day off of work to watch jackson. they went to the store to get his cousin, kiah's birthday snacks for friends at daycare. then, went to the daycare and jackson had fun in the exercsauser there for awhile. then, they went to cousin, micah's school where jackson got to be micah's share bag surprise! then it was time for a nap and back to the daycare/school to pick up the cousins. aunt jennie said he did great!
tuesday-jackson and i got to spend the day with my sister-in-law, sarah, and her 3 kids. yeah...more cousins for jackson to play with. we played at aunt sarah's for awhile, then went to mcdonald's where the older cousins got to expend energy in the play area and the adults got to have a nice chat. then, jackson and i headed to mcminnville (where jennie works at her kids' school) and the 3 of us went to a consignment store. we got a few things for jackson and a new pair of shoes for me! then, back home for dinner and bedtime...oh and for the adults to watch a few episodes of 'the office' :)
wednesday-jackson and i met our friend, garth, for coffee at the cottage. after a short nap, we went to grandma and grandpa mardock's for lunch. then back to mcminnville to have jen watch jackson while i got my hair cut and highlighted...thanks jen (for watching jackson and for the haircut/highlight!) jackson and i went straight from there to ixtapa for dinner with dad and susan and grandma and grandpa chandler.
thursday-the day we'd waited for all week. jen got to take the day off, so we went to the coast to go shopping at the outlets! we found lots of stuff for jackson (thanks again, jen!) and a few things for jennie. i also picked up some salt water taffy to bring home to eric. it was fun to spend the day with my sis! then, back to the school to get micah and kiah and off to the mall for pictures. we haven't had any done for jackson and since he turned 6 months on monday, i thought it'd be fun to get his picture taken and also some with his cousins. this turned out to be a bit of a bigger deal than originally planned (due to the fact the mall we were going to no longer had a 'picture people' and the other mall didn't have time to get us in until 7:40pm. we ended up not getting home until 10:30!) but the pictures turned out really cute and the kids all did really well (even though it was way past their bed times!) so, then back home to pack and get ready for out trek home. it took me 1 1/2 to get all our stuff together...we came with a lot of stuff and left with even more!
friday-fed jackson and got stuff packed in car for our trip back home. grandpa met me at the gas station to fill up my tank...thanks, grandpa! then, jen called and asked for a favor...she forgot something at home that micah needed for class. even though it'd take an hour to get to the school and back, i did it because she had done so much for jackson and i all week. so, by 10am we were on our way! the trip home took a little longer, but jackson did great again! now i just need to get everything put away...