Happy 16th Birthday to Kyle

I can't believe my fourth son turned 16!  Everybody better stay off the road!  HA!  

Kyle's birthday fell on a Sunday this year, so it was pretty low key, but that's how he likes it, so it was perfect for him.  I only got a couple of pictures of him opening a few gifts, since Todd was in meetings most of the day.  And where were the others, you ask?  (I'm not sure, actually...probably taking a nap!) :) 

Kyle's big present was an iphone, which he paid half for.  But of course he got it a month or so before his actual birthday.  On his birthday, he got an art sketch book and some art pencils.  He's in a 3D design class this semester and he really likes sketching with pencils.  And he's good at it too.  So he was excited to get that present.

He also got a men's collection gift box of cologne, deoderant, and hair stuff.  He was excited about that too.  Watch out ladies! :) 

I think Kyle had a good day.  And now he's 16 years old!  What is happening with all of my children?  They're growing up...that's what's happening!  (I can hardly stand it!)

  We love you, Kyle, and we are so proud of the young man you are becoming!  

Happy Birthday son! :) 

Singing in the Rain--Bonneville Jr High's Play

Jacob was in the play, Singing in the Rain this year.  He only had a minor part, but he was awesome!  He was "Fiddler #1."  Cool, huh?

And just fyi...all of these pictures are blurry.  I think I need a new camera! :(

I wish this one was more clear...such a cute picture. :) 

What a great fiddler! :) 

This is Jacob and his good friend, Eli.  They had a lot of fun together in the play.

I can't even see Jacob in this picture, but I'm sure he's up there somewhere.  Everyone did an amazing job!  It took a lot of hard work and dedication, and Jacob gave both!  

Good job Jacob!  Way to be Fiddler #1!  You rocked it!

Happy 76th Birthday Grandma Jones! We miss you!

On October 28th, we had a big birthday celebration for Grandma Jones (which was her actual birthday too).  She has been gone for 6 years now and she would have turned 76 this year.  It was such a fun party.  (I'm sure she was there!)

Eric and Andraea came for it too.  These first couple of pictures are of Eric's looooong hair!  The night before the Jones party, they got together with some friends, and those friends took a hair straightener to Eric's hair to see how long it really is.  So here it is straight!  

Really Eric?  Get a haircut! :)  HA!

The party was at Grandpa Jones' house.  Everyone was there (except Brandon--he couldn't make it.) 

We had a big luncheon in the backyard and the weather was absolutely beautiful!  We were so lucky to be able to have it outside at the end of October!

As you can tell in the pictures, the sun was quite bright though! :)

And here's Eric's hair the way it normally looks every day...(I love this picture). 

 Like I said, it was bright outside.

Ryan and Malissa

Sorry these pictures aren't that great. Between my low-end camera and my amateur photography skills (and the blinding light of the sun), it didn't make for very many awesome picture opportunities, but hey, I did my best. :) 

Grandma's sister, Aunt Betty (Pike) came to the party also and she had a whole bunch of stories prepared to tell us.  She seriously put in a ton of hard work gathering stories and information on Ann's childhood and some of her growing-up experiences.  It was really great and very touching and it is something I don't think I will ever forget.  It was so fun and tender to hear some of the stories about Ann as a little girl and some of the things she did with her own siblings and parents. (Thanks to Aunt Betty for ALL her hard work!)  She had pages and pages of notes.  (That reminds me of Ann too!) :) 

Awe, I miss her.

  

Eventually, each child (and family) took a turn telling about some memories of their Mom and some of their childhood experiences too.  It was really awesome.  (I wish I could remember all the stories that everyone told--I think Todd recorded it though!) :) 

The story that I told was one that happened a long time ago, before I was even a "legal" member of the Jones family.  It was about a week before Todd's mission and the Jones family went camping for a couple of days, and they invited me to come along!  As I thought about it, I was thinking about my own teenage children.  I can't imagine allowing a "girlfriend" of one of my kids to come on a family trip with us.  And when I think about it, I can't believe Ann allowed it either.  :)  But then as I thought some more, I just realized that I have so much respect for her for trusting me (and Todd) enough to let me be a part of their family trip.  (What was she thinking?) HA!  

That memory is still very vivid in my mind.  I remember staying with Anissa in a tent.  I think it might have only been one night (maybe two--not sure), but as I look back on it, it really says a lot to me about Ann and the kind of person she was.  She was obviously very confident in Todd's actions, and she also allowed us to spend time together before his mission, which in my opinion, would be kind-of hard to do.  I don't think I would want to share my son with anyone the last few days before he left.  I would want him all to myself!  I wish Ann was here so I could thank her and tell her how much more that means to me now, realizing how selfless she was at the time.  I'm sure it wasn't easy for her, but she still let me come. That will always mean a lot to me.  

 (Of course, it was the right thing to do! :)  She must have secretly known that somehow we would be married someday!  That smart and clever lady! 

The day was very priceless and I'm so glad that we all got together for a birthday celebration in Grandma's honor.  I think Grandpa was a little worried about it all coming together, but it came together just fine, and I think everyone really enjoyed it!  Happy Birthday Ann!  We all love and miss you!

These next few pictures are just some random pics of different activities.  

Here is Dallin and me after his Fall concert.  The concert was amazing, of course!

 (Was there any doubt?)  Nope! :) 

And here's a picture of me and Todd on a Saturday evening right before a ward member's wedding reception.  I guess we can thank Kyle for the good photography.  And I like how it turned out!

And here's a close up!

That's it for now! :) 

Monster Mash 2017

Dallin got asked to Monster Mash!  This poster was left on our porch one evening.  Since Cottonwood is doing the musical, Beauty and the Beast this year, the girl who asked him (Dani) used that theme.  I thought it was really cute.

(I love the picture of Ziggy in the doorway!) 

I also love how the rose was "floating" in a glass container (just like in the movie).

Here is what it said..."Before the last petal falls, will you be my guest at Monster Mash?"  Cute, huh?

And I loved how Dallin answered her back.

"Can I say something crazy?"

Yes!  

Clever, eh?

Dallin went to the dance as Kristoff (from Frozen).  He looked pretty awesome, especially since we didn't have a lot of time to put a costume together.

Dani went as Anna.  They actually looked pretty authentic, if you ask me! :) 

So cute!

Dallin and Dani went in a big group with their friends and I think they all had a great time!  They made dinner together at one of the girls' homes, then went to the dance afterwards. 

I'm so glad that Dallin has good friends and that he is enjoying his Senior year!  :) 

Temple Trip--UEA Weekend

We decided to take a temple trip to do baptisms for the dead with our family when the kids were off of school for a couple of days (for UEA).  Jacob hadn't been to the Salt Lake Temple yet.  We had attempted to go last summer, but it was closed for some repairs when we tried.  So we were all excited to go together to this beautiful temple.

We had such an amazing time.  The kids brought their own baptism names, and they were even able to do a few extras from the temple.  I got baptized too and it was really awesome being all together with my family.  (We missed Eric and Andraea though!) 

I'm so grateful that we live near so many temples and that we can literally drive in any direction to participate in the blessings that are available to us.  I love my family!

Goodbye to our little Scion

A couple of months ago, Todd got hit in our little Scion.  He was stopped at a light when the car behind him rammed into him, and pushed him into the car in front of him.  It was very scary for him...and sad for our car.  Luckily Todd wasn't injured and the lady who hit him had car insurance.  Such a blessing for us!

Here are a few pictures of our car...

Sad, huh?  The insurance gave us $6300 for our car, which we felt was very fair, since we've had the car for over 3 years, and we paid $7100 for it at the time.  

We looked around for a few days for a car replacement, and eventually found this little Mazda3.  I found it online and we paid $6400 for it.  Another incredible blessing.  It's a 2012 and has 68,000 miles on it.  (That's 6 years newer than our Scion was and with 10,000 less miles.)    

Todd loves his new car.  It's a zippy little thing.  And hopefully it will last us a long time.  

We've never had this nice (or new) of a car before!  It looks pretty sharp parked next to the cars in the church parking lot, and holds its own quite well.  HA! :) 

Goodbye little Scion.  We will miss you! :(