Merry Christmas 2009

The 2009 Jones Christmas Quiz:

1. How many swatches did we contemplate before choosing a color for the basement?
a. 7
b. 27
c. 270
d. We lost count

2. What household items has Ziggy, our new puppy, chewed up?
a. Santa’s beard
b. Melissa’s curling iron
c. His own bed (duh!)
d. Jacob’s toy computer
e. All of the above

3. What is the combined total of teeth lost in the Jones household?
a. None
b. A few
c. Way too many to count
d. The Tooth Fairy is asking for stimulus funds

4. How many months before Eric could be driving?
a. One (not on your life)
b. Three
c. Six
d. Several years from now (if Melissa has any say in the matter)

5. What were some significant family events of 2009? Select all that apply.
a. Eric started high school & decided girls are OK.
b. Brandon won a turkey in a .22 rifle competition.
c. Dallin hiked to the top of Grandeur Peak.
d. Kyle was baptized.
e. Jacob threw up in his kindergarten class.

Answers:
1. (d) We lost count, but we are THRILLED to have a newly refinished basement!
2. (e) All of the above. We love him in spite of his ability to shred everything in sight.
3. (c) We’re not going after stimulus money yet, but even the dog is loosing his teeth.
4. (c) If he ever takes the test for his learner’s permit. Ah well. No hurry.
5. (a, b, c, d, e) All true events. Sorry Jake, we couldn’t leave out the vomit story.


Merry Christmas to you and yours from the Joneses!
Todd, Melissa, Eric, Brandon, Dallin, Kyle, & Jacob

Kyle's Baptism

Kyle was baptized on Saturday! It was a wonderful day! Here are a few pictures of the momentous occasion.

Dad and Kyle

Mom and Kyle

The whole family

Afterwards, we went to Leatherby's for lunch.....or rather, ice cream and french fries. It was a great day.


We are so proud of you, Kyle and your decision to be baptized. You are growing up (against my better judgement) and turning into a fine young man.

WE LOVE YOU, KYLE!

Way to go!

Ziggy, the chewing monster!

Remember my cute, innocent, sweet puppy we just got a month ago?

WELL.....he's turned into a chewing nightmare! The other day I came home to find this chewed up in my bathroom.

Yes, this is my curling iron. He chewed completely through the cord and left the plug to fend for itself.....(luckily it wasn't plugged in). It was probably my fault since I locked him in the bathroom for a short time and forgot to put the curling iron up high where he couldn't reach it. Now before you get all uptight about my locking him in the bathroom, let me explain. We had our painter painting our downstairs and since I couldn't let him run wild while the painting was going on, I quickly put him in the bathroom, while I ran an errand. It's something I don't do regularly, mind you, but it was something that had to be done.

This morning, I went downstairs to find this on my BRAND NEW CARPET! (Okay, nothing is wrong with my carpet, but still......I can't leave him alone for one second). Do you know what it is?

Caught red-handed (or red-pawed)....however you want to say it.....

Maybe this picture will give you a clue?

Yep, he chewed up his own little bed. Too bad for him when he goes to bed and there's nothing soft to lay on......sad days for little Ziggy!

This next picture is from his favorite toy. Even that isn't exempt from his monster bites!

Here he is holding his favorite monkey, tail-less! Poor little guy. Ziggy doesn't seem to care much, but personally I'm tired of cleaning up after the little tyrant!

How long is the "chewing" puppy stage? PLEASE tell me it will end in the very near future. I don't know how much more I can take! :)

Kyle Turns 8!

Kyle turned 8 yesterday! I can't believe I'm going to have another child baptized in a couple of weeks. We had a good day. It was kind-of a crazy day because we were getting carpet the next day (which is actually happening as I type), so we had to pull up all the old carpet and pad the evening of Kyle's birthday. Luckily he invited a friend over to play and he stayed for dinner, then into the evening, which kept Kyle as happy as a clam. It worked out really well.

For his birthday, he asked for the Bakugan Battles game for the wii, so that's what he got. Here he is sporting his new toy!

For dinner, he asked for Chicken Quesadillas (his favorite), apple slices (with caramel dip), and jello.

Here he is with his friend. What a fun day for him! I think it was a success.

We love you Kyle! And we are so glad you're a part of our family! Happy Birthday, son!

Halloween 2009 (better late than never, right?)

I get that Halloween was over a week ago, but LIFE IS BUSY, people! I know, I know....everyone's busy. I get it. (Okay, no excuses)

Here are a few pictures of what my kids finally decided to be:

Eric got together with a group of friends and went as the characters from The Wizard of Oz. Some of the boys didn't really dress us, but Eric was the Scarecrow. One of the other Mom's sewed straw in his sleeves (since I can barely sew on a button). We borrowed the shirt and the hat from my Dad. He looked pretty cute. (I'm not biased, though, I promise).....

Here's his group of friends. (And P.S. Aren't these kids a little too old to go trick or treating? :) They actually mostly just "hung out" and got a little candy in the meantime......a likely story).

This is Brandon, even though you can't see his face. You'll just have to take my word for it. He actually went with a couple of friends this year too. I only had my 3 youngest with me. Sad days!

Here's Dallin. He put together his own costume this year. Some kind of a Ninja....all in black. He was pretty proud of what he was wearing. (Do you think he has a fixation with black?).....nah, I don't think so.

OKay, now as I'm looking at these costumes....THREE of my children were all in black! (Maybe I'm the one with the fixation).....

Here is Kyle, in true phantom style. This costume was a little too big for him, but he HAD to wear it. Out of all my children, this is the costume that "fit" the kid the best (personality wise)....a little frightening, isn't it? :)



And little Jacob was Spiderman, of course, complete with mask and gloves. He's so stinkin' cute!

Without the mask.....

Overall, the night was a huge success, complete with loads and loads of way too much candy. The night was so warm, and perfect weather for trick-or-treating. We all had a good time!

Ziggy!

Well, we have a new addition to our family. And I didn't have to go through labor to get him here (AND YES, IT'S ANOTHER BOY)......This one I chose on purpose, actually. So I guess I'm becoming partial after all....

WE GOT A NEW DOG! Only this one is a puppy!! He is a mini Schnauzer and his name is Ziggy. He is almost 5 months old and he's a sweetheart!

We've looked for a while, off and on, not sure if we were ready for another dog, since our sweet little Odie passed away nearly 4 months ago. When I saw Ziggy advertised on ksl.com, I wondered if he might be the one we've been waiting for.

We've had him for a week (tomorrow) and he is the sweetest little guy. He has his own little personality, of course, and we're still getting used to him, but he fits in quite well and we all adore him.

He has some funny little quirks too. He squats to pee (can I use that word?) and if I remember correctly, shouldn't male dogs lift their leg when doing such activities? What does that say about him, do you think? I don't care, actually, it's just funny to see. That makes him extra special and unique, doesn't it?

He doesn't run.....well, okay, I take that back. He can definitely RUN, but when he starts out, he actually bounces or BOUNDS, like a deer or a bunny. It is so cute. I swear I want to change his name to Bounder or Prancer. (But we like the name Ziggy, so I think we'll keep it).

When he wags his tail (which is nearly non-existent), his whole little bum shakes. It's so funny. Talk about body language! :) And he tries to chase his tail too, which is hilarious, since there's hardly anything there.

He follows me around the house all day long. If I go to the next room, he's right there next to me. If I'm typing on the computer, like now, he's laying at my feet, waiting until I get up to leave. When I actually do have to leave, he whines and cries. Poor guy. I do have to leave on occasion, and I always try and reassure him, then when I return, he greets me with open (paws?)....what a cutie!

So there he is. We're excited to get to know him even more and looking forward to a bright future with him as part of our family for many years to come.

P.S. I'm his favorite.....was there ever any doubt? :)

My Son, the Hottie!

Eric attended his second regional stake dance last weekend. He requested that I buy him a black, buttoned-down dress shirt for the occasion. Eric doesn't make many such requests, so I consented to try and find him one. Apparently that's the "in" thing right now.....

I found a wrinkle-free, VanHeusen shirt at Ross's for 12.99. AWESOME deal! The night of the dance, one of his friends came over and the minute he walked past me, I could smell cologne. This spurred a variety of topics of converstion between the kids and myself.....starting with whether or not Eric wanted to wear cologne. "What cologne? I don't have any cologne? Why would I wear that?" So we got out a bunch of different kinds from Todd and tested them. I was the tester....because I'M the girl! In the end, he chose my favorite, Elsha!! From there, his friend brought up the topic of zits and I suggested ways to cover them up. I whipped out my foundation and my tinted Clearasil (yes, sadly, I'm still an avid user at 40), and we worked on a few. Eric was a little annoyed that I hadn't ever mentioned any of these tips to him before. Well, he's never asked! (Sorry, son). It was a fun time for me, listening to he and his friend talk about girls (okay, mostly the friend talked about girls), but it was still cool.

When Eric came out all dressed in his black attire and purple tie, I said, "Wow, you look HOT!" To which Todd replied, "Did you just call our son 'HOT'?" I admit it.....I did! And he DID look hot! So why not say it? :)

Here is his picture......

See what I mean? After the dance, he came home and declared that he danced EVERY SINGLE SLOW DANCE of the evening......and exclaimed, "Why would I dance the fast ones? That's just boring!" Hhmmmmm......should I be worried?

They had a good time and it was great to see him so excited!

Harvesting

See these pumpkins?

We grew them. (And by "we" I mostly mean Todd). They came out of our garden. All four of them. It's the first year "we" have grown pumpkins. It was really easy (for me, at least)....

Not bad, eh?

Decisions.......Decisions......

Is it possible to be more than one thing on Halloween? It's so hard to decide when you have two full boxes of costumes collected through the years.....

Spiderman?

Power Ranger?

Homemade Ninja costume complete with ninja star?

Blind-folded regular person, trying to explain to Mom who he really wants to be? (Some character I've never heard of before)......and by the way, even though he can't see, "it's okay, Mom. I don't need to." (crazy!)

Some scary phantom of sorts?

Spongebob?

(Okay, Jacob had this on, but took it off before I could get a picture). Luckily, no one really wants to be him....

A Wizard?

Darth Vader?

And the list goes on and on. Maybe the kids will change during recesses.......the little cuties!

Mean Bird

We have a new visitor at our house. Todd thinks it's a Parakeet. We have this little bird house in our tree. It seems that every Spring we have little Sparrows that live inside.

This year, a loud, white, obnoxious bird showed up and took over the house. For several days, we noticed the twigs and leaves scattered on the ground beneath the bird house. This bird had taken all the existing "stuffing" and apparently kicked out the other birds. Jacob calls him "mean bird." I don't think it's because he saw what the bird did, I think it's because of the really loud squawk it makes, which seems to scare Jacob. (It actually is quite loud and annoying).....

This bird thinks he owns our tree. I don't see any other birds anymore. (Although that could just be an oversight on my part).....But still.....

We're wondering if the bird really belongs to someone and just escaped. We tried to feed it crackers....."Polly, want a cracker?" Apparently that's not its name. It wouldn't come. We even put our finger out.....

I think I agree with Jacob.....it's kind-of a mean bird!

Where in the house is BATMAN?

You know the phrase, "Where in the world is Waldo?" Well, we have our own "Waldo" of sorts going on at our house right now. Except it's a little lego Batman toy.

It all started a few weeks ago, when I went into my bathroom to find this little guy sitting on one of our towel rods....

I didn't think much about it at the time. But when a week went by, I asked Todd if he had noticed the toy. Yes, he had noticed. HE was the one who put it there. (Crazy husband).

Last Sunday it spurred a conversation among the family and since I'm sure I won't get credit for this in the future, I'm telling you all now that it was MY idea to hide the toy throughout our house for others to find. We all thought that would be soooo funny! And guess what? It has been hilarious!

Batman has been found in various locations around our home. On top of the shampoo bottle in the shower caddy.....

On top of our fireplace mantel in the living room.....

And several other places like in the fridge crisper drawer, in the downstairs bathroom, and just the other day, he even fell out of a stack of cups in our cupboard when I reached to get one.

It has been really fun. Each day the kids come home from school and ask, "Did anyone find Batman yet?" Hilarious!

My vision is that one day Batman will be forgotten about, but that in the future, we'll be cleaning out something and there he'll be......just waiting to be found. And it will put a smile on our faces as we remember those good ol' childhood days when we played the game.....

"Where in the house is Batman?"

Maybe I should see if I can find a "Robin" to join him...... :)

The gift!

We've been making some home improvements lately (which I'll blog about at a later date) and so I've been forced to clean out several boxes in our storage room to make room for other items. The other day I came across a gift that Todd gave me over 20 years ago. If I recall it was for Christmas the year before he left on his mission. Here is a picture of it......

Do you know what it is? Attached to the present was a typed-written poem, written by Todd himself. This is what it said.....


Ode to Melissa

I was wondering what for Christmas you wanted,
My efforts to find it were firm and undaunted.
I asked your mother, I asked your pop,
I searched and hunted through every shop.
And then I remembered the story that’s told.
Since she was born her hands have been cold.
I looked at gloves and electric mittens,
Sheep-wool lined and soft as kittens;
But then I found the right one for you—
The handy dandy mitten for two.
It’s a gift that shows how much I care,
And besides it’s one that I get to share.

Merry Christmas.

P.S. The warranty stipulates that it only be worn by the giver and the givee.

Isn't that so cute? I think he found it at the BYU bookstore in 1987. I'd never seen anything like it then, and I haven't seen anything like it since. Even though we haven't used it for years, it still holds great memories for me.

This little poem came with the gift. It wasn't written by Todd. But it's cute too......

A Mitten Built For Two

Boy’s hand meets girl’s hand!
Send secret messages in finger code.
Make a friend laugh by giving
The love glove tickle.
Great for football games.

Here's the final product as it was given.

I think I'm going to keep it out and use it this winter for a few walks. Why not? Thanks, honey, for that sweet gift. I still love it!

Dallin turns 10!! Happy Birthday!

Yesterday was Dallin's birthday. He had a good day. He had already picked out his present for this year.....a remote-controlled helicopter, so he knew what he was getting. We got it on the weekend and I wouldn't let him have it until his birthday. Although I DID let him open it and give it a little try the day we got it.....otherwise that would just be MEAN.....and I was already being an ogre to make him wait.

When we opened it, the instructions said: "Charge on the base for 20-30 minutes for a total of 5-6 minutes of play." Isn't that ridiculous? You basically get a few really good flights in before it starts "slowing" down. BUT the joy has still been present and I think Dallin actually loves it. He's also getting really good at flying it now too.

He brought vanilla zingers to school for his class. He was really excited about that. When he got home, he found a note and a little "surprise" on his bed from me. I made a roast and mashed potatoes and gravy for his birthday dinner, per his request and then we made scones for a fun activity.

My Mom came over after dinner and wished Dallin a super-duper, happy birthday and brought him a present. He showed off his new toy and she was very impressed, indeed! (Said all the right things at the appropriate times, which would make any 10-year old beem with joy).

Todd cancelled his bishopric meeting and then Dallin begged us to take him to Conoco for a treat. For some reason, this is the coveted activity of choice around her. I think it's because as my older children have grown, I've let them walk to the gas station near our home and it signifies great independence.....so now the little kids are begging to go. But of course, I won't let them go by themselves, so any chance they get, they ask us to take them.

So, we walked to the nearest Conoco and let each child pick out a treat. (Way more expensive than the regular grocery store, but I think it's worth the memory).....

And then it was over. I think he had a great day! Thanks for all those who made it special for him.....it really means a lot!

Happy Birthday Dallin! WE LOVE YOU!

Jacob's First Day of Kindergarten

Well, yesterday was Jacob's first day of Kindergarten. I survived!.......Oh, and he did too! I was actually a little more emotional today than yesterday. Go figure. But I guess it's time and no matter how much I try and deny it, my little baby is growing up......rats!

Way to go, Jacob!

First day of school 2009

Well, school has begun! Yesterday was a success, I think, for the most part. The kids came home tired, but excited. In some ways, it felt like there had been no break from school. In other ways, it seemed forever since they'd been......weird.

Getting them back into a routine and on a tighter schedule will be good. Here are a few pics of their first day.

Kyle--2nd grade

Dallin--4th grade

Brandon (7th grade), for some reason, hates smiling for the camera. Could it be that he's 12 and almost a teenager? Possibly.....


I told him to give me "something" for the 2nd picture, and this is what I got....MUCH BETTER! I'll take it.


Brandon has usually had cold lunch all through his school years because he is soooo picky. He was anticipating great and yummy things when he entered junior high (and I was too). Sadly he came home to report that the cheese pizza was "gross." (which is his explanation for most foods). So we're back to cold lunch. UGH! Maybe high school??? I won't hold my breath!

And Eric started high school this year.....big Sophomore! I can't believe I have a 10th grader. How is that possible? I still remember being in high school myself, it seems unreal that I have a child that age. (And by the way, love the hair, dude! Can we say, "haircut?")

Eric also had lunch issues yesterday. I had given him a check for the week for lunch. He came home and tossed it on the counter, saying, "I didn't know who to give it to, so luckily in one of my classes, we helped a teacher move some stuff and I got two little candy bars." Niiiiiccce...! We discussed other possible solutions like, "Could you have asked someone where to pay the money?" Or, "How about the office? Couldn't you give it to someone in there?" And, "What about your friends? Did they know?" To which he replied, "There was no one around to ask, I don't know where the office is, and I don't think my friends ate either...." WHAT? True Eric responses! I called the school when he got home to ask where to give the check. Of course, the LUNCH LADY would have been a nice alternative to starving, but try telling that to your teenager. Hopefully today he'll eat more than sugar for lunch.....something actually considered a meal. But we'll see......

All in all, I think everyone survived. Jacob doesn't start Kindergarten until next week. I think I'll really be freaking out then. I still don't understand how my baby can be going to school....all by himself....without me! But just like with the others, I guess it will come, whether I'm ready or not. Until then, I'll try and enjoy this week having him all to myself!!