Let wonder replace worry

January 14, 2011 - Old Navy

Old Navy with Jaxson was not always an easy trip:

http://www.justincom.com/nicoleross/2010/02/the-doggie-at-old-navy.html

Now he understands the dog lives at Old Navy. Yet he must get his picture with him on every trip out the door. It's actually become a pretty fun tradition.

Posted via email from Justin Ross

January 9, 2010 - Snow

What a weird winter. Woke up for church this morning and it was snowing like crazy. Luckily, the temp has stayed above freezing and the snow does not seem like it is going to stick around for long.

The funny thing is the first time it snowed, we went out and took tons of pictures, thinking that would be our only chance this winter. Now, each other time we have had snow, Jax runs outside, starts posing and saying "cheese!"

Posted via email from Justin Ross

Our Afternoon - Artist Point, High Elevation, and Snow!

Since I had some work to do in Bellingham today, Nicole and Jaxson came along and we decided to spend the afternoon in the mountains.

The Mount Baker highway ends almost 60 miles from Bellingham at a gorgeous spot called Artist Point, 5100 feet above sea level. The road leading to the top of the mountain is only open for a few weeks each year. It opened this past Friday and will be closed after the first snowfall, sometime at the end of September.

The road up the Mount Baker highway has to be one of the most incredible drives in the country. After living here for 9 years, it still amazes me we can leave our island and be in the middle of the Cascades in just a couple of hours.

Artist Point was not crowded at all. I'm sure its a combination of being a Tuesday afternoon and the road only being open for a few days.

Nicole and I at the top:

Jaxson had a blast playing in the snow, though he really needed his snow boots. He kept slipping and sliding, which was really fun as long as he had one of our hands.

This gives you an idea of just how much snow is still up there. This is why it is not open until the end of July or the first of August.

The view from the opposite way:

Jax really wanted a picture with me, but he got distracted by a dog that was walking by.

We had a blast this afternoon. With all of our youth group trips, VBS, and church activities, July was a crazy month. I am looking forward to things slowing down in August as we gear up to kick off my 10th school year in September.

4th of July

2008 - Jaxson's first Mariner's game.

   

2009 - Watching the city fireworks over the beach from our back deck.

 

2010 - Sunday after a great morning at church.

  
 

Things Jaxson will Never Use: #2

This is a blog series where from time to time I'll list things prevalent in my lifetime that will see extinction soon and Jaxson will never use.

#2 A Checkbook

Over the past 7 years, I have ordered 3 boxes of checks. My first box came with the new account I opened when I moved to Washington in 2001. Before I even came close to writing all 200 checks, I married Nicole and we ordered new checks for our joint account. It took us 4 years, but a couple of months ago we ran out and Nicole ordered another box.

All of our bills are paid online. It is convenient, fast, and most importantly, free. I'm not sure what this says about the church, but tithes and offerings are about the only things we ever use the checks for. Guess we are not ready for debt card readers in the offering plates.

I found this info tonight. In 2001 72% of all monthly recurring bills in the US were paid by check. In 2003 that number was down to 60%. 2008 hit 49% and that number will never again rise to more than 50%.

Jaxson will be surprised that to pay a bill, we would write a check, buy a stamp, put it in the mail and wait up to a week for that money to be removed from our account.

In his lifetime, he will never use a checkbook.

Things that Jaxson will never use: #1

This is a new blog series where I'll list things prevalent in my lifetime that will see extinction and Jaxson will never use.

#1 The Phonebook

A couple of months ago someone left a phonebook in a bag hanging on my front door. They might as well have hung a bag of trash on the door - because it went straight into the garbage. I have not used one in years. The internet is killing phonebooks at a faster rate than newspapers - which are sinking like a rock.

Jaxson will be shocked that we grew up with huge 10 pound phonebooks taking up a whole drawer in our houses.

7 Months

I

Only 7 months ago, January 16, you entered our family.

Yet I cannot imagine my life without you in it.

You have changed every reason I ever had for living.

I don't blog about Jaxson nearly enough. His mom does a much better job than I do. Speaking of Nicole's blog, be looking for a major blog upgrade in the next couple of weeks. We are hard at work on the new site.

Nicole's Garden

About 2 months ago Nicole came across 4 tomato plants and for our first time, we decided to try our hand at gardening.

Here is Jaxson and the plants the day she brought them home:

Now, just about 8 weeks later, here is where we are in the tomato growing process:

Although no tomatoes yet, we are pretty proud of ourselves.

This gardening thing is pretty fun.

Fourth of July and Mariners Baseball

This morning we loaded up 2 chartered buses and headed down to watch the Mariners play the Tigers. Even though the Mariners are having a tough year (to put it lightly) it was still fun to go with the group. Seattle even pulled out a win. This was Jaxson's first baseball game- he had a great time.

Here are some pics from the day. Click for full size.

Jaxson Pics

I just added some pictures of Jaxson to Facebook.

Check them out if you are interested.