New TV

Well, our old bedroom TV finally started to give out.  We'd had it for a long time, so we decided to replace it with a much thinner, sleek, and modern design-looking TV.  Look at this old dinosaur.  It practically took up our whole dresser.

See the monstrous back on that thing?  They just don't make things like they used to (thankfully, in this case)....

And here is the new one.....it's hard to tell from the picture, but trust me, it's a lot thinner than the last one.  It's got a bigger screen, but takes up less space on the dresser....now that's a good thing! 

Merry Christmas to us!

The Jones Family Christmas Party 2011

We celebrated the Jones Christmas party at Aaron and Kristin's this year.  They had just moved into a beautiful home.  There was plenty of room for all of us and it was such a fun evening.   We missed Grandma Jones, but we could feel her spirit.  (I know I haven't blogged about this on here yet, but Ann Jones passed away on September 23rd after a terrible accident in Texas, while serving a fulltime mission).   She would have loved the evening.  A lot of the grandkids participated in a talent show and it was really moving.  Ann would have enjoyed it very much.  We all felt her presence this night and felt strongly that she was a part of our festivities. 

I don't have many pictures of this night, but here are a few....

Malissa and Parker

The group....eating....

We celebrated birthday's for Steve and Zach who share the 19th of December.  Kristin made a volcano cake.  It was really cool! 

More eating....

It was a really fun evening.  There was an empty spot where Ann would have sat, but we know she is in a better place right now, and that she's watching over us.  On Christmas day, Steve came over to our home and mentioned that everyone had told him this Christmas would be the hardest, because it was the first holiday without Ann, but what he said was something completely different.   He said that "this Christmas has probably been one of the most spiritual I've ever had.  I feel very close to Ann."  It was really sweet and tender and we could feel his peace.....Still, we miss her!

The Jones family is getting big, but we have so much fun together!  I really love all these guys!

(Happy Birthday Grandpa Jones and Zach).....

Thanksgiving 2011

Happy Thanksgiving!  This year we had Thanksgiving at our home with my (Melissa's) family.  It was a great day!  Here is a picture of a surprise we found on our front porch from one of Eric's friends.....yes, a girl....but just a friend.  It was cute.  She baked muffins and made fancy paper-turkeys and put everything in a cute basket.  It was a nice surprise.

Some of the gang.....(clockwise)  Brandon, Caleb, Dallin, and Josiah.  What cute kids!  Do you see Brandon eating instead of posing for the camera?  Typical, I say!  :)

Mom and Dad Johnson

Todd and Melissa

Brad and Michelle

My younger sister, Gina, was there for a short time....sadly I didn't get any pics of her before she left.  But we were glad she came. 

It was a wonderful day and a great dinner.  It was fun to spend time with my family.  (Anthony and Wendy couldn't come for Thanksgiving this year.....we missed them!)

Hope your turkey day was fabulous!

Kyle turns 10!

Kyle turned 10 years old on November 19th.  He wanted a pokemon party, since he's pretty much obsessed with them, so I obliged....I surprised him with an "Ash" hat (from pokemon).  He was so excited....

I made paper pokeballs with a pouch.  (say that fast 10 times....)  The kids colored little pokemon creatures and stuck them inside.  They turned out really cute! (if I do say so myself).

We put them on a string, so they could wear them like a badge.  I also made styrofoam pokeballs.  I found the balls at the dollar store (6 in a pack) and colored the top half with red marker.  Added a black line in the middle and punched out a white circle....and voila!  Cherished pokeballs from heaven.  Kyle loved them!

We colored foam bookmarks......

 

We played the game, "strike the pokemon."  I printed copies of the same pokemon creature onto green cardstock and taped them onto wide popsicle sticks, then stuck them to our air hockey table.  The kids threw  beanbags to try and knock them down.  It was actually really fun (and inexpensive).....

Then we played "pass the pokemon."  It was similar to hot potato, but we passed a stuffed pokemon instead.  We played music while they passed it to each other....once the music stopped, whoever was holding it was out.  We could have played this game for quite a while. Simple, but exciting! 

We opened presents, and smiled a lot!  :)  I have never seen Kyle smile so much in one day.  Yippee!  

We sang Happy Birthday, and had cake and ice cream.  It was a really fun party.

Happy Birthday Kyle!  We are so happy you are a part of our family.  You were born in three hours, start to finish....and you've been busy ever since!  We love you son!

Family Pictures October 2011

We finally got some family pictures taken in October.  When I scheduled the appointment, I told the photographer that I was the only girl in the family.  She told me I "had" to wear a totally different color.  I debated at first, but in the end, decided to try it. We love how they turned out. 

All the boys sitting on Eric.....what a cute shot!  He looks pretty happy, considering he's being squashed....

I love this picture.  It reminds me of each child...."go ahead. I dare you."  But they're so cute, you can hardly stand yourself... :)

This picture turned out so well of me and Todd. 

  We were laughing so hard by the time they actually took this picture, I'm surprised it turned out at all....but, oh, isn't that sweet?

Looking up at the camera.....

I LOVE this one as well.  I mean, it really looks like we like each other, doesn't it?  (Okay, we do!)...

It was so great to finally get these pictures taken.  Hopefully we won't wait so long the next time....I love our little family!