Defiant Child

Jackson showed his first act of difiance against his dad last weekend by kicking (or punching, or headbutting...not really sure which) him! :) That is what Jason calls it, I call it love taps! He is getting stronger which is fun so that others can feel him now. So far my mom, dad, and Jason have all been able to feel him. He seems to have been getting more active the last few days.

We had a really fun Memorial Day Weekend. We didn't go anywhere... instead had a BBQ at home, and worked on the yard.
We got the garden and green house all planted

We climbed The Butte on Saturday morning, which was a blast! Here are a couple of pictures

Some adventures

Well because I am going to be an "active blogger" now I thought that I would try to get you all caught up on some of the recent adventures Jason and I have had:

Jason took a trip part way up Mt Mckinley this spring to drop off a ration of food for a trip that NOLS is running this summer. It ended poorly with him having to get evacuated off the mountain because he got really sick. These are a few pictures that he took on the flight in (while he was still feeling well) this is the Otter that the 4 guys flew up in. Jason is truley facinated with this plane and its ability.














This is from Wonder Lake looking at Denali








In about March Jason and I took a snowmachine trip up bald ridge. It was hovering right around zero degree's - so it was cold, but it made for a beautiful day! We had unobstructed views of Mt Mckinley. These pictures don't do the beautiful sight justice:




This was also Jackson's first snowmachine trip.













Last weekend Jason and his friend Mike went kayaking down the Mat-Su river. It started out being a nice day, so I thought I would be a good wife and run shuttle for them and take some photos along the way
Jason is in the Yellow Boat












he held on to this one... just barely












and then he lost it













I didn't build the cairn, but I thought it would make for a cool picture

Jason hard at work... not much has changed there :)










And finally, a picture of me taken today. There is a shadow I know, but it gives a good idea as to how much this boy has pushed straight out in front of me!

Really Bad Blogger

Alright, I know we have been awful at this, and we keep promising to do better. I think the problem was that I have not been taking responsibility for this task! So here I am, blogging.

What is new with the Carmichael's:
Well, as most of you know, we are having a boy! We cheated and found out what we are having. Everything looks healthy. All 10 fingers and all 10 toes! We could not be more thrilled. We have decided on the name Jackson David Carmichael for our little man. I am getting so excited to meet him! I have been feeling great so far. I am still working out, and just trying to adjust to the "extra load" that is only getting bigger as the days go on!
We have had so much fun starting to shop for little Jackson. Jason bought him his first pair of Carhartt overalls and a Patagonia sweater - it is so cute!
I have finally started to feel him move on a regular basis. I have been anticipating it since about week 10, and finally on mothers day I felt it and knew it was him! Jason still hasn't been able to feel him yet, but I am sure it is only a matter of days.

Jason is in full swing at work now. He has his full staff there, and they have already begun to run trips around Alaska. I just got a promotion with Wells Fargo. I am now able to work out of the Palmer branch, which is 5 minutes away from my house (verses 30 minutes), and I am now a business banker. I am excited about the new opportunity and the challenge it will bring. I think it will be just enough to keep me busy so that I am not constantly thinking about when I get to meet Jackson!

This summer promises to bring a lot of adventures, and sounds like a lot of visitors too! We are expecting Jason's grandfather in July, his parents and my sister in August and possibly our friend Greg in September - and then the baby will be here!! This summer is going to fly by... I can feel it already!

I wanted to share a picture of me, by high request,





















and here is the ultrasound picture of Jackson (isn't he cute)