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.