Thanksgiving Montage

Well it's been over a month since we've posted! Too long, too long! I thought I'd break the silence with a few Thanksgiving photos. We hope you all had a very Happy Thanksgiving!

You may be able to tell from the picture below that our meal spared one of the birds pictured above. In an attempt to take some of the stress and kitchen mess out of Thanksgiving we opted for a ham. The little piggie that gave his all for the big day came pre-cooked and that made life a whole lot easier, for us at least...

The nose-picking going on at the table is just a little dose of reality in what is otherwise a shameless "aren't-my-children-soooooo-cute" website. It was really nice having family out for the holidays. Holly's parents, Gary and Bev, joined in on the feast and were good sports about the aforementioned nasal exploration.

Speaking of cute kids, here are some shots from Jackson's Thanksgiving activity at school.

One final dose of reality: the tantrum that ensued upon our departure from said school activity was mercifully not captured by still or video photography. For that, we truly wish to give thanks.

Pics from SLC

These are some pictures we took of our boys and their Jones cousins while we were out in Salt Lake City for my Grandma Marjorie's funeral. She was 102 years old, still living in her own home, and (up until quite recently) going up and down the stairs to her room on the second story every day. These photos are a fitting tribute to Grandma as many feature the kids romping around her backyard. She would definitely approve!

A little something for Auntie Dawn!

Well, hopefully everyone will enjoy this, but in particular I know from a recent conversation with my sis that she really wants to get her hands on Joseph. I know this isn't the same thing, but perhaps it will still be something she enjoys! (BTW - This was taken with our little still camera - so perhaps not the best picture quality, but you get the idea!) A little "talking" to start off the day!

It Starts!

Quick story:

Jackson and I were walking home from school yesterday and at one point he needed to stop to get some mulch out of his shoe. As he was finishing up, we heard "Hi, Jackson!" and looked up to see a girl standing near her mother a few paces ahead of us. I leaned down to Jackson and asked: "Who's that?" to which he replied, "Oh, she's just a girl in my class." Hmmmmm. Really. Just a girl in your class, you say? Oh yes...it starts! The awareness and eventually the little crushes...Man! And I've got THREE boys! We've been joking all along that Ethan would be our heartbreaker - but Jackson seems to be doing just fine in that department.

(Jackson decided recently that he wanted to wash up his own dishes! What? Come again? Be my GUEST!!! Oh, and love the bed-head too, bud!)

Summer Vacation at Crystal Cove

It's taken a little while to get these pictures onto the blog, but we wanted to post some shots taken while staying at the Crystal Cove Beach Cottages. Crystal Cove State Beach is just a few miles north of Laguna Beach in Orange County, CA. There are some cottages there that are to die for. It's practically gladitorial combat to get a reservation, but Holly managed to snag three nights in mid-August. My parents joined us for some fun in the sun and plenty of lounging on the deck. Of course, with three little boys lounging may not be quite the right word. I needed a few days to recover from the vacation, but it was still a choice time at the beach! Oh one more thing: the cooler Ethan is reaching into was holding, among other things, a sizeable assortment of cookies. He really was caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

Dear Family and Friends,

Well, I realized it's been over a month since I've posted (and I promise that I'll have a new one regarding why and what our family has been up to soon) - however, perhaps you'd indulge me for just a moment longer to check out another blog:

http://www.omeh.blogspot.com/

Simply click on the link listed above - or cut and paste the link into a on-line browser window to see and read. This is a friend who used to live here in Anaheim, but now resides in Boise, ID with his family. This is a cause that is near and dear to his heart and he's trying to do what he can to raise awareness and assistance. Right now he's on a coast to coast solo bike ride across the US to let people know about this. I know he'd appreciate it if people could check out his blog - and you can even post (opening a Google account to post on blogs is EASY - just need an email address and pick a password and you too can add comments on to any blogs!) He's doing this amazing trip right now - and you can check out his progress every day.

Well, that's all for now! I promise, again, that I'll post real soon on our family - but in the meantime, if you have a moment and can stop by Chip's blog it would mean a lot to him, his family, and us!

THANK YOU! :)

Brothers

Enjoying some time on the computer. Thus far, Ethan has been content to watch his older brother play - but we're already starting to see Ethan's interest in getting on the computer himself.

Water play at Grammy and Gramps' house.

Jackson discovered that he could make Joseph laugh by tickling behind his ears.

Joseph with a new onesie from Grammy (I like how Ethan is hovering nearby.)

Goofing with the cousins in Phoenix

Out in Grandma and Grandpa's backyard on irrigation day. The other cousins have experienced this before but Jackson and Ethan really relished getting in on the event.

This shot was taken when Joseph celebrated his '3 months old' day.

Days of Ethan...

Ethan enjoys climbing into Joseph's swing.

A recent photo taken from our backyard. Elliott & the boys were throwing paper airplanes and Elliott snapped this shot of Ethan.

After Joseph had a particularly loud bout with gas (his hollering was loud, not the gas) I had Elliott get some ear protection for me since Joseph has a decent set of lungs. Ethan was only too happy to test out the ear-wear himself - and this photo, in particular, just cracks me up! (Love how his cheeks get so squished together!)

With his cousin Lucy Mae on our recent trip to Phoenix.

Ethan loved getting into the kennel with his new "cousin" George.

J & j days...

Wow! I can't believe it's been over a month since our last post! We've been out of town, back in town, and in general just running around so our blog has been a little short on the updates. But here are some fun pics (pretty much a Jackson & Joseph blog post day.) Enjoy!I can't believe how big Joseph is getting (and I'm AROUND him all the time!) I love this picture of him and his cute chunks! Cute clothes are fun but sometimes you just need a good onesie to really show the growing boy!
Ok, so with all the hoopla surrounding the final Harry Potter (which we haven't gotten into yet since the boys are still pretty young but we'll look forward to in a few years when we can all enjoy it together) I thought I'd post this pic of Jackson doing his mini tribute to Star Wars. He's really gotten a kick out of his light-saber (am I even close on that spelling or is it some other version?) from his birthday. And the sewn hoodie-towel from Aunt Chrissy was perfect for our "Young Apprentice" (ok, so it isn't brown, but hey - I didn't say it was a PERFECT tribute!)
Elliott snapped this photo of Jackson a few weeks ago and it has quickly become one of our favs. I easily see both Elliott and myself in him in this shot - he's a keeper!
Joseph's first trip to the beach (on the outside, that is!) And yes, it was actually COOL that day with some winds whipping by - so we snuggled him up in his carrier. He seemed to really enjoy the trip (and I even composed a little "First trip to the beach" song in his honor which I had to record onto my cell phone for lack of a better recording device at the time.) Now I just need to figure out to include the song on a scrapbook page of this day.
Here's Jackson and his friend Makayla playing Go-Go TV (they love it and what great excercise - I even do it for good cardio!) Notice the badge of honor on Jackson's right arm courtesy of his 5 year trip to the Dr. for Kindergarten immunization updates. What a brave guy! He didn't even cry! Not once! He just held my hand and looked away from the needle. I was so proud of him!

Just a few things...

Here are some pics from various and assorted events that have been occurring over the past few weeks - Enjoy!
Jackson had a musicale a few weeks before school ended. The theme was "Bahaman Breezes" and all the kids came out in tropical clothing ready to sing a few songs. Jackson performed in "A Citron life for me" (to the tune of "A Pirates life for me"), "It's a small world", and "Pearly Shells" along with the Finale, "Pu'pu O "Ewa". He was awesome - singing and doing the hand motions. I had the inspired idea to have him wear the sunglasses as we were getting out of the van for the performance. I truly think he enjoyed his "look" - kind of like his own special character for the event!

Cool-man Jones prior to the musicale - like a true Jones performer, he's all smiles. Nerves of steel, no trace of hesitation - yeah...it's in his blood. :)

Joseph waiting patiently during the performance. He was a trooper!

The cool man next to the tiki pole after the show (see his thumbs up!)

My birthday! Well, if you're going to turn another year older, at least make the cake fun!

Donuts with Daddy day!

Jackson's thought: "You want me to eat donuts with daddy for Father's Day - uh...OK!"

"Never met a donut I didn't like!"

A little shy about his gift for daddy.

How I found Jackson after he woke up for his final day of pre-school. I have no idea why...

This was Jackson's reaction when I told him it was the last day of school.

Last day of pre-school - on to kindergarten!

Decorating goodie-bags before lunch.

Hugs and smiles from and for the teacher!

Looking through said goodie-bags before heading home!

Awesome bounce-house fun - with the requested theme. We had 15 kiddos and half as many parents attending and the bounce house was the best money we could have spent for the party - totally worth it! The yummo cake - again, with the requested theme.

Jackson and Gramps enjoying the party.