My Jackson is 18 years old!
I now have 2 adult kiddos...that's nuts!
Let's see what Jack's been up to this last year.
Just a few days after Jack turned 17th we stopped at DQ and got some treats. I love whenever I can get a selfie with my handsome guy.
Jack and Ella both worked at Wild Waves last summer. That was Jack's second summer being employed there. It was fun for them to work "together" even though they didn't necessarily work the same shift or were even in the same area. Most of the time they were able to ride into work together, but then Ella would get off work earlier than Jack so I'd have to come pick her up.
Celebrating Daddy on Father's Day!
I love this picture...if you were to draw line around everyone it would make the shape of a heart.
At Papa & Pa's 75th Birthday party, Papa and Jack led us in a few songs on the deck. My favorite part of this picture is actually Andrew and the fact that he's taking a huge bite of his food. I'm not sure if it was planned, but it's so funny!
4th of July at Bill & Christina's house.
Jackson is big on traditions. If we've done it once then we need to always do it.
At Silverwood in Idaho!
Since both Jack and Ella were lifeguards it was hard for them to come to a water park and not judge the employees there. They hold them to the same standards they are held to and there were quite a few things at Silverwood that according to them need to be fixed.
At Ed & Penny's after riding around the property on an ATV. I had no idea that they would get so dusty so it was hilarious to see all the kids come back covered in dirt!
At Cracker Barrel...Jackson was actually disappointed in the food. I was too! This was during that whole transition time and they were on the news for changing things hopefully it was just a fluke. He did enjoy the mind teaser game at the table though.
I don't really think Ella and Jack look alike, but they do have similarities.
Mariner's Game with the youth!
Jack got to go to quite a few games last year with a friend from church. He always enjoys going to baseball games.
All his work from is Junior year of high school. In fact Jack did so much work he only needed 3 more credits to graduate. Through Lighthouse Christian Academy which is the school our kids are affiliated with he was technically considered a part time student his senior year!
At summer camp!
Even though Jack is graduating this year, he still gets to come to summer camp. I love that the summer camp we go to allows that. Yes, they are done with school, but that doesn't magically mean they're all grown up.
I love that Jack and Andrew have basically grown up together. Here is a list of everything they've been involving in together.
MOPS
Homeschool (only for a short time though)
Taekwondo
Church/Youth Group/Camp
Choir
Drivers Ed
D&D Group
Jack and Daddy have a shared love for MCD's....almost every time Jack gets MCD's he bring a Diet Coke home for Daddy.
Jack and Justine have been friends since before Justine started dating Ella. They were part of the original youth group 5 that restarted our youth group back in 2020. It was Owen, Jack, Andrew, Justine and Jeremiah.
Jack has been taking guitar lessons from Papa for a couple years now. He really loves that time he gets to spend with his Papa. They are taking a break for the summer since we all have so many plans it would be hard to find a regular time they could get together.
After Jack finished working at Wild Waves last summer, he got a job at the Carpinito Brother's pumpkin patch. That was only a 5 week gig though so he knew he needed another job. Justine told him to apply at his work...The Tukwila Pool to be a swim instructor. Jack had his interview in October and was hired the same day. His first day of actual work wasn't until November 18th though. Jack has really enjoyed working there and is hoping to pass his test to become a lifeguard so he can get more hours. Currently he works 3 days a week.
Hiking through the Ape Caves last summer!
The Back To School Bash at Red Robin. Other than MCD's, Jack's favorite restaurant is Red Robin. He loves a good cheeseburger so it's a good place to go.
First day of senior year!
Jackson is very patriotic. His favorite color is red and he also loves to wear shirts with the American flag on them.
Last time wearing his Class of 2026 shirt!
Look at how big that shirt used to be! Excuse me while I go cry in the corner!
Doing the Puyallup!
Family Pictures with Starr!
I can't get over how fake this background looks, but it's actually real!
In November a few of the students from our youth group helped out by feeding the homeless down in Kent. It was definitely eye opening and rewarding...hard, but rewarding.
These 3 and Zeke have been in a basketball playing mood lately. That tends to happen when the sun comes out again. The neighbors across the street have a hoop, but the house is up for sale so we don't know if the new owners will keep it up or let them play in their driveway anymore....so they are taking advantage of it while they can. We can't have a hoop in our driveway since it's so uneven and even if it wasn't I'm not sure if Michael would want one in our driveway.
For the last few years, Jack has joined the men volunteers in helping out with the Women's Christmas Dinner. It's the one time a year he wears a button down shirt and tucks his shirt in.
Jackson still loves Toy Story! He has all his toys and has even spent some pretty good money on a few of them. We will for sure be going to see Toy Story 5 sometime in June.
Jack is probably one of Charlie's favorite people. Almost every day Charlie comes over for loves from Jack and then settles down either right next to Jack on a blanket or even sometimes right on Jack's lap. There have been times when Jack hasn't been here and Charlie almost doesn't know what to do with himself. He'll stalk me around the house until I finally sit down on the couch and I have to love him and then he'll settle down. Jack is Charlie's emotional support person!
Jack enjoys games even though his face in this picture looks like he's in physical pain. He's really having a good time. For the last year or so Jack, Owen and Zeke have met with Andrew & Josiah mainly on Sunday afternoons to play D&D together. At first I was a little wary of D&D, but honestly it's just a turn based role playing game like any other game where you pick a character to play.
Jack is a food lover!
In fact he will lay claim to food in the frig and sometimes he'll eat things for breakfast so no one else will get the food he wants.
He's not really a picky eater. He will eat almost anything with the exception of shrimp, mushrooms, broccoli, asparagus, potato salad, deviled eggs and salmon.
Jack is a jeans and t-shirt guy for the most part. He did go through some of the clothes that Daddy was getting rid of and he kept quite a lot of them. It's so fun to see him wearing his Daddy's t-shirts and sweaters!
This year a miracle happened. Owen and Jack actually found something they like to do just the two of them. It's a video game that they made into a board game...it's called Slay the Spire.
Jackson will help out when asked, but he definitely makes it known that he'd rather be doing anything else. He is very motivated by money though so he doesn't mind mowing the lawn at all since I pay him $20 each time.
Jack loves to volunteer for anything. If Christian needs someone to read a verse Jack's gonna be the first one to find it. If there's a game he's all in. For this particular game at youth group you had to try to guess what you were touching that was in the box. Jack is touching one of those little plastic containers of dog food. He guessed that it was ground beef....he was close!
He is also very competitive! This was part of the blue team at winter camp. This was all the people that wanted to participate in dodgeball.
When we got snow for the one day this year, he and Zeke went out and had fun playing in it. It was really wet snow though and he threw a snowball at Zeke and it got stuck to his neck. As you can imagine Zeke was not happy about that so the play time wrapped up after that.
On March 22nd, we got Jack's senior pictures taken. He is not one for pictures so to have a whole session only focused on him was a bit much and he was definitely ready to be done. He doesn't really like all the focus on himself.
On April 19th, Jack officially finished high school. He had been done with his schoolwork for a while, but just kept putting off having to do his final speech. That day he did his final speech in front of his D&D group which coincidentally is exactly how Owen finished his high school career last year.
Trying to get a picture with my kiddos on Mother's Day...it was a bit bright though. The funniest part about this picture is accidental photo of Ella I took.
Moved to different location and now the sun wasn't in our eyes anymore. It was still bright, but I had to get a picture with each of my babies.
Jack is so responsible. He impresses people with how responsible he is...last year I had him call the new dentist we were switching too and later when I talked to the front desk assistant she told me that he was so well-spoken and that we should be very proud of him.
Jack I AM so proud of you!
You have grown into an amazing man and I know that you are going to continue to grow and continue to be amazing. This is a big year...turning 18 and graduating high school! The order of that sentence is wrong because you graduated high school before you actually turned 18. You are starting a new chapter in your life and I'm so excited for you. We don't know what the future holds right now, but that's okay. You have time to figure that out. No matter what, we know that you will do your best and as long as you follow God's leading you'll be on the right path.
Daddy and I love you so much and we are rooting for you!
Happy 18th Birthday Bubby...I love you to pieces and pieces!
