Garrett's 1st Craft Show!

These past few weeks have been a bit chaotic for the Iowa Jacksons! Thankfully things are starting to slow down to a much more manageable pace.

Last weekend Garrett & I traveled to Kansas City for our annual crafting weekend we share with women from the Jackson/Orton families. He traveled MUCH better than I expected. NO Meltdowns! We stopped for lunch at the Iowa Welcome Center in Lamoni, IA. It’s not only a welcome center, but also has a great gift shop and a Maid Rite restaurant on site. I definitely recommend stopping by if you are near the IA/MO border on I-35! I let Garrett run around outside before heading out again. He enjoyed “petting” the metal cows on display.It was such a beautiful weekend! We spent Saturday at the Maple Leaf Festival in Baldwin, Kansas. The weather was perfect, and the crafting was very good for this small Midwest town. I regret that I didn't take any pictures of the beautiful leaves on the trees. I did get to do more looking than I anticipated, as Grandma Jackson preferred to push Garrett in the stroller.

He wasn’t very interested in the crafting, but was a VERY good baby! No fussing whatsoever! I think his favorite part was the pulled pork slider he enjoyed for lunch...or was it the nap after lunch??

Saturday evening we enjoyed Aunt Ginger’s delicious soups, along with a tasty carrot cake served up to celebrate Aunt Pat’s upcoming 70th birthday!

The fun evening became a bit scary, as Garrett woke up with a high fever. Grandma Jackson sprung into action and took care of her youngest grandson by rocking and soothing him to sleep. Aunt Ginger and Cousin Cheryl also helped out by making a late-evening run to pick up some ibuprofen. (After returning home to Iowa, Garrett saw his doctor and it turns out that his bout of fevers over the weekend was the result of an ear infection. After a few more days at home with Daddy and Mama, Garrett is happily back to daycare today to play with his friends.)

Grandma also enjoyed feeding Garrett...

Garrett enjoyed some play time with his cousin Colt. The two boys are still not too sure about each other…but I can see them getting into lots of mischief together in years to come! Below is Garrett, Grandma Jackson, Colt and his Grandma Peterson (our Aunt Ginger).

Garrett did VERY well on the ride home! I rewarded his good behavior with a pull-behind puppy we found at the Gordman's store in Des Moines. Below, he is trying to pull his puppy up onto the fireplace hearth.
After experiencing my first crafting weekend of the season I'm starting to feel some Christmas cheer coming on...I know it's early, but when I see the Christmas decorations for sale at the crafter's booths we walked by, and ornaments and decorations going up in the stores, I can't help but hum a little "We Wish You a Merry Christmas"!