D is for Disneyland

After much anticipation- we finally took the kids to Disneyland. It was such a great trip. The kids had a ball & made everything so fun. Except for the part where Owen didn't want to walk anywhere...besides that they were so good! Here are some of the highlights: Even though I was SO excited for this trip (I couldn't sleep the nite before!) I was NOT excited for the car ride. But the kids did awesome-we were pleasantly surprised. When we first got to California we headed to the beach. It was a little chilly but that didn't stop the kids from playing in the water. Owen was a little nervous at first-he wasn't quite sure what to think of the waves. But after awhile he was right there in the middle of it all. Of course Mickey Mouse was a big hit. Owen just stared & didn't say a word :0) This is a perfect time of year to go. It was not crowded at all. We didn't hardly wait in any lines. We even rode Splash Mountain 5 times in a row without getting off the log! We got to see pretty much all the characters we wanted. Almost all the princess', Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Mr. Incredible, FroZone, Mater & Lighting McQueen (Owen freaked out!), Queen of Hearts & White Rabbit, Pluto, Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, & TinkerBell. It was fun to see it all through our childrens eyes, to see how excited they were & how much fun they were having. The kids even had a great time on most the rides. Averee did better this trip, but she was still pretty scared to go on very many things. Adee was completely the opposite (as usual). She went on everything she was tall enough for including: Splash Mountain, Big Thunder RailRoad, Tower of Terror, & Space Mountain. It was awesome! She loved it so much & it was fun to see her having such a good time. We got some pretty weird looks each time we took her on the Tower or Terror :0) I am sure everyone thought we were such mean or bad parents-but she loved it & so did we! She cried for 10 minutes cuz she was too short for Screamin at California Adventure...but maybe next time!

We had a great trip and fit so much into so little time. We went to Disneyland, California Adventure, Knotts Berry Farm, the beach, swimming pool, & a science museum. The kids were completely bushed each nite-love it! Danny's brother Ryan & his cute family came too & we were able to spend most our time together-awesome! Nothing better than cousins & Disneyland! My parents & sister Alesha came too which made it even more fun. They are the best & my kids adore them. Thanks guys!

This is what I have been up to...

So, for a few years now I have been working on this off & on. Well, I finally kicked it into high gear & got it done. The recipes are even all printed out & in cute little recipe binders. LOVE IT! Feel free to browse & try out a few recipes. And who knows-I probably got one of the recipes from you! Enjoy! ">http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mealsmatter.org%2FCookbooks%2Fmarenjones%2Fjonesfamilyrecipes%2F&h=470b045e1a7338b21cd674a104df0302

P.S. this site rocks...may favorite feature is the shopping list. You can pick a recipe, add the ingredients to a shopping list & it even catagorizes the whole list for you; dairy, produce, seasonings, bread, freezer, etc. Gotta love that!

The Cake Boss

Why is it that men get better looking with age but as women we just...look older? Danny is the ripe old age of 32 this year-where does the time go? We kept it pretty low key this year since we are headed to Disneyland soon. So in an effort to be frugal I had the kids each pick 2 things from the dollar store to give their dad. They came up with some 'unique' ideas...

*Averee picked out a back scratcher & a lint brush

*Adelyn picked out beef jerky and a clip-on light

*Owen picked out hand sanitizer & a pedometer

Now the best part- he made his own birthday cake! For days I kept asking what kind of cake he wanted & he wouldn't really say. Meanwhile we have been loving the show 'Cake Boss', if you have never seen it you should really check it out. They make awesome cakes & deal with some hilarious family drama at the same time. Anyway- Danny decides to get all creative & make his own cake. He did a red velvet cake with strawberry filling, vanilla frosting & white chocolate chips on top. It was SO yummy! I was seriously impressed :0) But I did feel a little bad that he made his own cake-oh well, he seemed to enjoy being the Cake Boss for a day!

Happy Birthday Hot Stuff! We love you so much!

All over the place!

Reese is all over the place! Now that she has mastered crawling, we can't slow her down! When she is crawling she usually has something in at least one of her hands-sometimes both. She is such a busy body :0) She is such a happy, smiley baby. She has brought so much love & laughter to our family. We love our little rug rat!

Lights at Temple Square...

We decided that since none of our kids have seen the lights at Temple Square, we would make a trip to Salt Lake. It has a big hit! The kids loved it & were in awe of all the lights. I still can't imagine all the time and man power it takes to do those lights-amazing! Luckily it wasn't as cold as we expected. Here are the highlights... This was everyone's favorite: a nativity scene out on the reflection pool in front of the temple, complete with floating candles on the water. It was breathtaking! Oh & love that cheesy grin!

Danny was busy trying to keep Reese happy & warm :0)

Yes, I know Averee's coat is unzipped :0{

We made the trip with some great friends of ours-the Krispins. Jenny & I have known each other for about 10 years-we met playing volleyball. Our other volleyball friend-Andie- has moved to Salt Lake & we miss her tons! Luckily-the weekend we went up was her 40th birthday, so we got to celebrate with her. Love you girls so much!

Averee was so cute-she couldn't wait to see baby Jesus in the Nativity program. She kept asking when the lights were going to come on where Jesus was laying. And yes-I tried ALL nite to keep her coat zipped up! UGH! :0)

It was a great but quick weekend. I think the kids liked the hotel room as much as anything-they were bouncing off the walls when we first got there. We stayed right by Thanksgiving Point & did that on saturday morning-the kids had a ball in the dinosaur museum. Then of course we had to hit Cabela's :0) We left saturday afternoon-just as the storm moved in. On the way home we stopped at Cove Fort-which was a bigger hit with the kids than I expected. I think we may have found a new Christmas tradition!

So Thankful for November...

My favorite thing about November is that it seems so quiet & peaceful. The calm before the crazy storm of December! We had a great Thanksgiving. It was with my family this year & it was at my house-a first! :0) We even had my Grandma Funk from Richfield come down. It is always so good to see her & the kids love her to death! Of course I always forget to take pictures of the feast...someday I will remember! Thanksgiving weekend we did a fun hike called Yankee Doodle Canyon. You repel down into a slot canyon-it was gorgeous! Then there were a couple other repels & mostly a slight down hill hike till the end when we had to hike right back up out of there-awesome! I hadn't repelled in years so Danny made me wear a helmet :0) But it was just like riding a bike. Danny has really gotten into it. He has gotten all the repelling gear & goes quite a bit so I am excited to have this hobby we can do together.

Who's that hottie? :0)

Not my best angle ;0)

This is the beginning of the hike-the repel down into the canyon-what a rush!

October flew by...

October flew by so fast! I love Halloween & we had a great time celebrating this year...

We had our annual Couples Halloween Party & yes-costumes were required! It was a blast! We had yummy soups & salads, a delicious chocolate fountain, & some serious games of Mafia! You can never have too much Mafia right? Here are a few pics from the nite... This is Rachel & Glen Page...is that his real facial hair? I am still not sure...:0)

This is Sandra Dee & the Bearded Circus Lady-I mean Josh & Britnee Fenton. His legs were oh so smooth :0)

White Trash! I mean...Mandy & Trevor Fenton-Love you guys! P.S. that is NOT his real belly!

Here are the Laubshures & the Andrus'. Ross (Reno 911 cop) won for 'Best Costume'-you should see the daisy dukes hiding under the table! The funniest part-he tied for 'Worst' & 'Scariest' costume too! :0)

Reesie Roo is growing up WAY too fast! But what a cutie huh?

Each year we decorate Haunted Houses-so fun! There is so much fun halloween candy to choose from. Owen surprised us all & did a really good job on his house all by himself. I just had to show him how to work the icing one time & he was good to go...

Adee was more worried about fitting all the candy on her house-but it turned out pretty good anyways :0)

Averee was a little more choosy about the placement of her candy. I don't know where she gets that from! ;0)

Here is our sweet little ghost. Every one of our kids has worn this same costume on their first Halloween-too cute!

Here is Ariel, Hannah Montana & Spiderman. Hilarious-I know! :0)

Well, until next year...Happy Halloween!

update central...

The time really does fly-sorry I haven't updated the blog for awhile. Ya know how it is-life just gets in the way sometimes :0) Here is a quick update for the last couple months: I can't believe Reese is already 3 months old! She is such a good baby- smiles all the time & even sleeps thru the nite most of the time. Crazy huh? We have never had a baby do that so soon-and completely on her own-I haven't even tried to get her to sleep all nite-she taught herself! :0) We have really lucked out with such an easy baby this time around. She is such a cutie & the other kids are so good to her!

Reese was blessed in August-what a great day! We had lots of family & friends celebrate the special day with us. This pic is of both sets of grandparents. We are blessed to have so much of our families living near us. Makes the special occasions quite an event. :0)

Averee has started 1st grade & is loving it. I think her favorite part is eating lunch at school :0) My favorite part- uniforms! No more morning stress-she can completely get ready on her own. It has been so nice. Adee had a hard time at first with Averee gone all day-but now she likes being the BIG girl at home & bosses Owen around like no one's business! Poor guy :0) For Labor Day we went to Danny's parents fishing property in Beaver. The kids had a blast catching fish-they each caught a couple using their cheap little kid poles. Surprise! It was a gorgeous day & Reese slept thru most of it!

Also in Beaver, there is a subdivision at the base of the mountain where a lot of deer hang out. We love to go here to feed them apples. As you can see they are really tame & love people. They come right up to the car & eat out of your hands. This is the highlight of every Beaver trip. One of the big males actually had Danny pinned up against the car trying to get at the apples faster than Danny could cut them-pretty crazy!

Well, that is about it. Adee & Owen have both started preschool & are loving that. Owen was a little hesitant at first since he never really goes anywhere by himself-he always has the girls with him. But now he loves to be a BIG boy & take his Cars backpack to school. As for me, I am just battling the buldge (baby weight) & have lost about 10 pounds in 4 weeks. Not too shabby. I am at that super annoying stage where nothing fits but I don't want to spend money on clothes that I won't be in for very long. Tight clothes are a pretty good motivater :0) Also, we just had our Primary Program yesterday & we survived! Hooray that is over! The kids did so great on their parts & they all sang so good & loud. We have about 70 kids & I am super proud of each one! Now I can take a deep breathe & relax...at least till Halloween! :0)

Summer Greens...

Wow-I know...you're surprised that I am doing another post already right? Well, I had to show off this years garden: Our corn isn't quite as high as an elephants eye- but this is the best our corn has ever done! Maybe we are finally getting the hang of this gardening stuff. Our peas have come & gone & they were delish! We also planted tomatoes, pumpkins, peppers, & cucumbers. Can't wait to see how they all turn out this year.

Yes- this mess is also a garden on the other side of the house- and it drives me a little crazy! If it were up to me our gardens would all be in perfectly straight rows, labeled with type & variety. Ya know-somethig real Martha Stewart-ish. Most of you know how particular I can be :0) But since Danny does most the work I can't complain right? At least not to him ;0)

I recently found out how to make my own sun-dried tomatoes-YUM! I love sun-dried tomatoes, especially on sandwiches & in alfredo sauce. All you do is slice them into wedges, scoop out the pulpy seed part, layout on baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, then bake at 200 degress for 4 hours. Now the shocking part-all this came from one GIANT tomato! I wish I had taken a picture before I hacked it up-it was literally bigger than my whole hand-fingers spread open! Anyway- once baked & cooled you can even freeze small amounts in bags & only thaw what you need. Cool huh? I plan on canning most the other tomatoes but this is a great option for those early birds that are ready to harvest before all the rest.

The finished product-delish!

Before baking-they still look yummy!

YUMMY! Don't be too jealous but I know what we are having for dinner tonite! :0)

Go OJO, Go OJO, it's your birthday!

Okay- seriously? Where does the time go? I can't believe my little boy is 3! He has grown up so much lately: talking really well (people besides us can understand him), potty trained- yahoo!, going to preschool in the fall, no more sippy cups, had his first sleep over at grandmas, counts to 15, sings the alphabet & Twinkle Little Star, loves puzzles & so much more! Here are the highlights from his big day:

We had some family come over to swim, play, & eat cupcakes & ice cream. He had a blast playing with everyone...don't know where he gets that cheesy grin from? :0)

We got him a Spiderman Bike & he LOVED it! He was so excited & couldn't wait to get on. But he wasn't really diggin the helmet. Sorry Bud-safety first!

Well, OJO- we love you so much & are so proud of the big boy you have become. You are so fun to be around & always make us laugh. You are a great brother & we are so happy you are part of our family! Love ya!

Katch...

Well, if having a baby wasn't enough...we also got a dog. What?! Crazy I know. But he is a great dog that just sorta fell in our lap. It all started about a year ago... As most of you know Danny owns a landscape business. A year ago one of his maintenance clients mentioned that they might be getting rid of their dog. Danny had seen the dog a lot & liked him, so he told them that he would be interested if they did decide to give him away. Well, we didn't hear anything else about it till a couple weeks ago. They tell Danny that they are going to give him away because they just travel too much (they have 4 homes including a ranch in Idaho). So we had him over for a few days to see if we liked him & he liked us. Well, it is a match made in heaven...he is the perfect dog. He almost never barks, never chews on stuff, won't get on the furniture, doesn't shed & is great with the kids. He is totally laid back & easy going. Not at all like the hyper & annoying dog we got rid of a year ago- but that is a whole other story...

Anyway, his name is Katch & he is a 6 year old Soft-Coated Wheaton Terrier. He has the cutest teddy bear face & big brown eyes. We just love him & are so happy that he has ended up with us!

This is how they groom Wheaton Terrier's for dog shows. I like Katch's cut much better. Although I would like to try his ears short just to see...

P.S. We finally did find his one fault: he has got some seriously stinky gas! We are talking skunky-rotten-egg farts-yikes! But if that is the worst thing about him- I think I can handle that! :0)

She's here! She's here!

Introducing Reese Ada Jones! She was born friday (June 5th) at 10:00 am. She weighed 8 lbs 5 oz & was 20 1/2 inches long. Could she be any cuter? She came fast & furious- we had only been at the hospital for 2 hours when she was born. Reese is kind of our miracle baby cuz the cord was wrapped around her neck TWICE, and the cord was attached to the placenta in the 'wrong place' (whatever that means!) and the nurse said that if my water had fully broken then we wouldn't have been able to even get to the hospital in time! Scary! We are so lucky & so blessed! My water actually started leaking around 8 thursday nite-but it was so minimal that I just kept thinking that it was just an increase in discharge or something like that. But I couldn't get it out of my mind. All nite the contractions got stronger but they were like 30 minutes apart. Finally, in the morning I decided we better go in just to be safe. The contractions weren't very consistent but they were really strong. Anyway- we get there & they check me & I was already 6+ (hooray!) then they test to see if the water is leaking- & sure enough-it was! By this time my contractions are every 5 minutes or less & I am more than ready for my epidural. Why do the nurses just laugh when I ask for my epidural right when I get there? :0) Of course my body didn't want to cooperate-AGAIN & the epidural didn't take on the right side. This happened with Adee & Owen too. Luckily with Owen they had time to adjust it & it started working. This time with Reese everything happened so fast that by the time they got it to start working on my right side it was time to push. Thanks for nothing! :0) Anyway- long story short- it was quick and painful. I didn't have to push for too long & I have NEVER been more relieved to have something over with! We were a little worried at first cuz she didn't start crying right away-all the other kids have been screamers right from the start. She just layed there-looking around- it was kind of unnerving. She exercised her lungs shortly after that- she's got pipes to match the other 3! We also noticed how much she looks like Adee-although Adee weighed a little more. What a cutie! Anyway- that is scoop in a nutshell. We are both doing great- I think this has been the best recovery I have had so far. I feel really pretty great, considering :0) The kids are just loving her-so cute to see them together. Even Owen has done really great so far, which is a relief cuz I was kinda worried about how my momma's boy was going to react. They all want to hold her constantly, & help take care of her. They even ask what chores & jobs they can do to help. Averee has been making everyones beds & getting anything I ask of her, Adee does whatever Averee is doing, & Owen is on official diaper duty. They have been great. Although, they are quite concerned about her 'yucky-owie-belly button' so it will be a relief when that falls off so they will stop talking & asking about it. Funny side note- Owen thinks it is hilarious everytime he sees me nurse Reese. He just starts laughing & laughing- must be a guy thing? :0) That is it for now- I am going to try and sneak a nap in before lunch. I will try to keep you updated with pics & stuff...but I make no promises! :0)