I Haven't Blogged Forever!!

It seems my blog suffers as much as my journal does. It's been neglected for way too long. Since there's too much to post about in detail. I think a short synopsis of pictures is in order.

May 2010

Emma figures out how to twist open my mascara:



Emma showing her posing personality:

Memorial Day at Tahoma National Cemetery and BBQ at our house:

Emma after getting into markers:

The beautiful gold finches in our backyard:

June 2010

We found out we were expecting again! Yay for surprises!

Emma used to get up on the stool and play the piano like she is in this picture. Now she can actually climb on top of the piano! Crazy girl!

Father's Day:

Casey's birthday at Point Defiance Zoo:

Our lovely garden that Nate worked so hard to get put it. This is pre-planting:

July 2010

The ultrasound of our new little baby due February 1st!

Fourth of July:

Family vacation at Lake Chelan, WA:

The lake was freezing and it was really windy, but we got to play in some really awesome waves!

Emma's First Birthday Party. I can't believe she's already one! She's growing up so fast!!

For August I will do a separate post since there's quite a bit to talk about and I only took pictures on my phone instead of our regular camera.

Life With Emma

Need I say more?

Grandma and Grandpa's Visit

It was so fun to have Grandma and Grandpa Hoggan here! Emma really loved the extra attention and Nate and I loved having a couple of live-in babysitters for a while. It really was nice that they were able to make the trip up here and spend that time with us. We definitely enjoyed it! This was a needed "vacation" of sorts because we were able to take a break from the daily schedule and truly spend time with family. It's so important to do that every once in a while so that we don't lose track of what's really important in life.

Some of the fun things we did were going to the Salt Water State Park, visiting my Aunt Anita and Uncle Galen, going to the Everett Boeing plant for the Future of Flight museum and tour, and the Museum of Flight in Tukwila. It's fun to be a tourist of the state you are living in!

The park turned out to be freezing, so our picnic at the park idea didn't work so well. My mom and I ended up walking along the beach front while my dad played with Emma in the car. It was too cold even for her who doesn't mind the cold that much. But I think Grandpa enjoyed the one on one time with her! After we went to the park and ate our food in the car, we went over to South Center Mall to walk around and look at things. Grandma and Grandpa wanted to get Emma a ball, but that wasn't really the place to get it. So after driving aimlessly for a while (I was a little lost), we ended up stopping at a Target on the way home.



The next day we got up bright and early and headed to Everett. My parents were tired but didn't want to close their eyes because the drive was so scenic. I, on the other hand, ended up sleeping part of the way. Guess I missed out on some of the scenes! Once we got to the plant in Everett, I was astounded by the size of it! It was HUGE! The doors that open to let the planes out once they're finished were the biggest doors I'd ever seen. Then right after we parked, we got to see a plane take off just on the other side of the fence. I felt that one in my chest, it was so powerful! At the museum Nate and I walked around the gallery and the stores while Grandma and Grandpa were on their tour. They got to see the Dream Lifter take off, which was built to carry the parts for the Dreamliner. It's a funky looking plane, but very cool to think that it works! Then when they came back they took Emma for us while we went on our tour. They don't allow anyone shorter than 4 feet on the tour for safety concerns. So Nate and I kind of got to go on a date, which was nice! The tour was incredible! I could not believe how much goes into making an airplane. So much engineering, so much man labor, so many parts, so much money. It's mind-boggling really. I felt so small the entire time, especially when we saw the 747 being made. That thing is humongous! The people working on it looked like ants and those wings were so long I couldn't even see the whole thing without moving my head. It was almost scary, that's how big it was. Anyways, I learned so much about Boeing and about airplanes that I now have a very great respect for them both. It also made me feel so excited that Nate is a part of it. How cool to be a part of that kind of technology! I think we take it for granted when we hop on a plane to go visit family or take a vacation. We don't realize what it has taken to get us there. It's truly inspired technology. Unfortunately, we didn't get any pictures at the Future of Flight Museum and they don't let you take pictures on the tour so all we have as our souvenirs from this experience are our memories, a CD from the tour, and our 787 wings. We got them for being willing to participate in a survey that we didn't end up participating in because there weren't enough people. :) So that day was a great day!

Then the next day we went off to the Museum of Flight in Tukwila. We were definitely getting our fill of aviation! It was a really fun museum. They had so many different planes to see and many of them were very large! Once again, I felt very small and started to get an inkling of what it's like to be an ant. We went through the gallery, the Amelia Earhart exhibit, and the space exhibit. Those were all very interesting. Then we got to go into the old air traffic control tower and watch planes as they landed and took off. It also had an amazing view of Mt. Rainier. Of the many computer screens around the tower, there was one screen that showed all of the current flights, both private and commercial, in the air at that moment. There were TONS! It's really astounding when you think about it. Of course there has to be someone to control the air traffic with that much traffic in the air! Other parts of the musuem we saw were the airpark, the barn, and the hall with all of the WWI and WWII planes. In the airpark we got to go inside a

Concorde and the Nixon Air Force One. So neat to think we were walking where past presidents had walked, talked, and discussed classified information! :) The barn was where Boeing first started building planes back in the 1920s and they were made of mostly wood, metal, and cloth. All very fascinating. One of the best parts of the museum was the flight simulator. Nate and I got in it and he piloted (except for the take off, which I did very badly) an F-22. Man he took me for a ride! We did barrel rolls and flips and dives. I was honestly very sick to my stomach by the time we got out. But it was so much fun! Totally worth it!

After the museum, we went home and ate and then headed over to the church to hear Nate play the organ. He did a great job! It's so much fun to hear him play, especially when he pulls out all of the stops and plays full blast. So the day went very well (except for Emma being extremely fussy at the museum) and we enjoyed the time we got to spend together. My parents stayed Sunday and then left on Monday. It was sad to see them leave, but at least we had a fun time while they were here!

What Happened to March?

It feels like March just flew by this year! I can't believe I haven't posted anything since the first of February. Boy am I behind! Well, I guess that's just how life goes. Let's see here. New things this month, beginning with Emma:

She can crawl like the wind now, going so fast I can't even blink anymore without her hurrying off to get into something she's not supposed to. She can also walk pretty well behind her walker, until she runs into something, which happens because she's smiling so big at Mom or Dad to show how proud of her we should be that she doesn't watch where she's going...lol. She loves to get into the towel and utensil drawers in the kitchen and pull everything out. She also LOVES to try and find Mama when I hide around corners. She gets a real kick out of that. Her new skill this month is whistling! She had a habit (and still does) of getting really excited about things and breathing in and out really fast, kind of like a panting dog. Then about a couple weeks ago or so, she did the panting thing with her lips in an "oo" shape and it came out like a whistle! The day she discovered it she was doing it all day long. She hasn't done quite as often since, but she does it every once in a while and it's really cute! She has also learned to feed herself and is actually getting quite coordinated with it. She's smart too. She figured out on her own that if she has something in her hand and wants to pull herself up to standing on something, she'll put that thing in her mouth so she's got her hands free then pull herself right up! Then she uses the object to bang on whatever it was she stood up on...lol. That's my Emma! We had fun taking her to the neighborhood HOA Egg Hunt Activity and she had fun watching all the little kids run around. She's itching to be with them! That'll come before I know it, she's growing so fast! Love my little Missy Moo!

As far as things with Nate goes, he's been super busy at work and has been doing some on call stuff at home. He's been working really hard to show his managers that he deserves a promotion, so we're hoping they see that and give him one! Nate also started sell HomePro By Design this month. It is a line of EXCELLENT cleaning products that came from the supplier for Nate's dad's carpet cleaning products. They are of professional quality, are inexpensive, and are even green. I LOVE cleaning with them! And that's saying something since I never really liked cleaning growing up. We both think it would be a great Mother's Day gift to get the Cleaning Essentials kit and then tell your wife/mother that you'll clean the whole house for her for Mother's Day. They clean so well, you'll be done with it in no time! :) Here's the link to check it out! http://www.hpbyd.com/natejackson Nate doesn't have a whole lot of time to get out there and sell it, so we're relying a lot on word of mouth right now. Other than work and HomePro, Nate stays busy with the Young Men doing activities and things. He went on his first campout with the Teachers in February and really enjoyed it. It was also my first night being without him in a big empty house. But thankfully I got through it okay!

My new stuff this month includes getting my first pair of glasses ever, joining Scentsy http://www.scentsy.com/amybjackson, getting 6 new piano students, and subbing for the primary pianist (who is subbing for the primary chorister who just had a baby). So I stay pretty busy. My piano students are so much fun and they are all doing so well! I love watching them progress and master new songs. It's the best seeing the joy and pride on their faces when they do that! Other fun things we've done this month have been a game night with our neighbors, lunch with my co-worker, and going to the temple with the family for Gram's birthday then going out to dinner afterwards. It's been a really great month! I'm really looking forward to the rest of April as well. Conference has been awesome so far and I can't wait to hear the talks tomorrow! Plus it's Easter tomorrow and it's a wonderful time to celebrate the death and resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ. He truly lives and we are able to become perfected and rise again through Him. It's a great time of year! I'm also looking forward to my parents coming this Tuesday!!!!! I can't wait to see them! It'll be a blast!

In the past few weeks, Emma has continued to impress us and make us laugh with her new skills. She now knows how to crawl and get around. She can also pull herself up to standing on things. Consequently, she has also had some hilarious moments in connection with her new found talents. Just some funny moments to share:

I decided to let Emma fall asleep on her own for nap time so I laid her in the crib on her back with her binky wrapped up in a blanket. She was definitely very tired at the time so I was hoping it wouldn't take long for her to conk out. I left the room to do some other things and could hear a little fussing and some movement. Then it was silent so I went to go check on her and found her like this.

I couldn't help but snicker imagining her squirming out of the blanket, rolling over onto her tummy, fussing and then just plopping her head down in complete exhaustion. I guess she wanted to go against the grain and sleep across her bed. Funny girl!

Then just yesterday I was doing laundry and set Emma down next to the basket to go grab something out of the bedroom. When I came back she pulled her self all the way up to her feet! I was absolutely amazed!

She was very pleased with herself as you can see.

She also had a fun time "surfing" the net for her first time last week. She is obsessed with the keyboard and mouse so Nate finally let her play with them and all kinds of windows started popping up...lol. We got a video of it, but somehow I'll have to figure out how to change the format so I can post it! She was going to different websites (ones that Nate already had up in different tabs) and then she made the computer go "beep beep beep beep" over and over again. It seriously sounded like it was going to blow up.

Oh and did I mention she has two teeth now? She chews on anything she can get into her mouth. She's like a puppy sometimes, carrying something in her mouth as she crawls around. Too cute! My Emma is growing up so fast I can't keep up with it! I love my silly girl!

Our Christmas Vacation

Vacation is over now, but what a vacation it was. Actually we are probably getting more sleep now than we did while we were away, ironically. Emma wasn't too keen on having to sleep in a crib that wasn't her own so needless to say we had many restless nights as she tossed and turned in our bed every night. But other than the constant feeling of being tired, we had a great time in Utah and Idaho with my family. We got to see all of my siblings (including Bruce :D who is stationed in Germany right now) with the exception of Leah and Catherine who live far, far away in the midwest. Though our visits were short and it seemed like we had just greeted someone when we had to say goodbye, it was well worth our trip out there. It's nice to reconnect with family when we live so far away from them. I do wish we could have done more reconnecting. That's probably the biggest downside to big family get togethers. Everyone is there at the same time so one-on-one time is very rare. I swear I was only able to say like three personally directed words at some of my nieces and nephews. I do hope they know that I wasn't trying to neglect them! One thing I was very happy about was that Emma was able to meet so many family members that had not seen her yet. And what made me happier yet was the fact that they absolutely loved her! You know it's very interesting how my happiness now comes from knowing that my child and husband are loved by those who mean so much to me. I loved watching everyone hold and play with Emma! And surprisingly I wasn't even angry when I found out my 4 year old nephew Noah dropped her a short distance to the floor...lol. Emma and her cousin Kalea (who is 4 months younger) were so fawned after that I think they will have no problem feeling loved by the Hoggan/Campbell family.

As for other parts of the vacation, they included seeing Nate's great-aunt Rae (who is sweet and wonderful as can be), watching the BYU bowl game and its very happy results, Christmas shopping, watching movies, playing games, eating TONS of goodies, seeing the lights on temple square, and, the pinnacle of them all, seeing and hearing Nate play the Conference Center organ before getting a behind-the-scenes tour of the building with my family. It was literally awe-some! Nate was as giddy as a kid on Christmas about this amazing opportunity! We were really blessed to have this happen. It will be something we will cherish for a very long time. I have to say Nate made that instrument just vibrate through my bones while he was playing. Awe inspiring! The tour was pretty awesome too. We learned so much about what goes on backstage and how much time and effort is put in to bring about the amazing programs done at the Conference Center (such as the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concerts and General Conference). It is truly mind-boggling. For instance, it took 3 hours to program about 1000 lights for one subtle light change on the stage. They also had rooms for all the different translators and a master control room sending those languages out all over the world. So cool! We also got to go up on the catwalk, which was very high and very scary. Heights are not my favorite. It really made me appreciate the people who actually work on things up there. Glad it's them and not me! All in all, the vacation was wonderful and very much needed.

Well, the holidays are over and life is moving on its merry little way. I'm keeping myself busy trying to decorate the house with the spare decorations I have to work with, cleaning a big new house, teaching piano and finding new students, doing Activity Days, cooking (I guess you could call it that), and of course taking care of our adorable Emma. Nate's days are filled with going to work, working, coming home from work, and doing Young Men's stuff. Some good news for him is that at work they are thinking about promoting him due to the fact that he "exceeded expectations" in his review. He's so awesome! We also find time to read together, shop together, play the piano and organ together, play Farmville on Facebook, and watch movies on the floor in front of our computer...maybe we should be trying to find furniture together...lol. As for Emma, she has been filling her days with learning and growing! She's a little over 5 months old now and in the past month has learned to roll, sit up by herself, get up on her hands and knees, get up on her hands and feet (like she's doing a pushup), and push herself backwards when she's on her tummy. In the past couple of days she has had her first tooth come in and her first meal of solids! At this rate I have a feeling she'll be crawling next week and then there'll be no limit to the places she'll go and the things she'll do. The rough nights we've had with her lately now make sense, what with the tooth and all. She was also VERY ready for solids because she devoured her rice cereal like it was the most wonderful feast she'd ever had. Guess it's time to get a high chair and get ready to dazzle her tastebuds with things like applesauce, banana mush, yams, and other such delectable baby foods.

I can't believe she is practically half way to being a year old. It's going by too fast! But at least we have lots to look forward to seeing Emma learn and do this year. It's going to be a year to remember for sure!