There's no place like home

So my little brother Jon is currently serving a 2 year mission, in California, for our church.  For Christmas this year we decided to send him our love....brother and sisters style. And since we all live in different states...well here is what we came up with.

It was SO COLD.....HOW COLD WAS IT?

I will let these pics speak for themselves......

This is what the weather gadget said it was on my phone this morning

There is ice on the dead bolt on the INSIDE of the house

A picture of the window...again from the inside

Can you see the ice? The ice on the INSIDE of my window!!! Am I making myself clear here? The ice is forming on the INSIDE!!! YEE-OW-ZAAH that's cold!

Nuff'said.

Thanksgiving continued....

Just a few more pics of our Thanksgiving break. 

While we were staying in Utah at my parents house, Sami and I decided to make piles of leaves in the backyard and jump in them! ( I mean, what else do you do with piles of leaves?)

After we demolished the piles of leaves, I decided that we should probably clean up our mess and help Grammy and Papa in the process. Much to Sami's dismay, this jumping in leaves became a lesson in hard work and finishing what we started. Funny how parenting moments work like that sometimes. Fun times, hard work and got to spend the whole day with my girl. Couldn't ask for more! 

The time to give thanks

For Thanksgiving this year, we headed back to Utah to celebrate with family.

Thanksgiving was a little different for us this year. Because of our families absence from Utah, Sami doesn't get the opportunity to spend a lot of time with her Dad, Mike, and his family. So since we were coming into town, she got to spend Thanksgiving Day with them and had such a good time!

Well, since we were without her for Thanksgiving Day (which by the way is something I hate about being divorced...but whatcha gonna do, right?),we went with my parents and my moms parents to eat a Thanksgiving feast at Little America in Salt Lake. It was so much fun!! I mean, we got to eat an incredible meal without having to prepare it or clean-up after it!! BONUS!!!

The "crew" at Little America

My Grandma made these for everyone...I think I was supposed to take it home and eat it, but I didn't. I devoured it right there in Little America!

Mmmmmm.....rolls......

Such a pretty salad...I had to take a pic

Remember that "Thanksgiving Feast" I mentioned before? HERE IT IS!!! Turkey and the works!!

Oh and this WAS dessert...

Afterwards, Brock and I went to spend time (and eat more food) with his Mom and Dad and their families. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pics of that. But I will say this...Brock's mom made Sweet Potato Pie!! Enough said!! It is like my favorite recipe for Thanksgiving. Can't have a Thanksgiving without it.

Also, Brock's step-mom, Mary Jo, makes the best desserts. I think I had a taste of all 5 that she made this year. So yummy!

The food was delicious everywhere we went on Thanksgiving, but my favorite part was to be with our family. We sure miss all of you!!

Wrap it up

Tired of that same old scarf?

In need of a new and fresh approach to scarf tying?

Look no further!

(p.s. love the bunny ear, waterfall and hidden knot)

"Holy funny bone...it's the Joker, Batman!"

Da-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-BATMAN! 

It was a "Dark Knight" here in Gotham City. Batman and I were busy "fighting crime" while our little Joker spent the night "wreaking havoc" on the citizens of Gotham City. She was terrorizing them left and right with her hideously scarred smile, her fear inducing laugh and her incessant questioning......

...." WHY SO SERIOUS?"

We had been commissioned (by the commissioner of course) to "take care" of our little Joker. He wanted his citizens to enjoy their Halloween Knight. But hard as we tried, we couldn't locate the little Jokers whereabouts. She was a clever one, a "better class of criminal". 

Then...all of a sudden...we heard a noise behind us....we turned around...and.......

....came face to face with her!!! She was smiling right at us!!!

"Holy funny bone...it's the Joker, Batman!", I said, "What should we do?"

"I'll tell you what you WON'T do" she said, "You won't kill me out of some misplaced sense of self-righteousness. And I won't kill you, because you're just too much fun. I think you and I are destined to do this forever!"

"KILL you? ", Batman said, " I could NEVER kill you because....you see...I AM YOUR FATHER!" (I know, different movie...but you still didn't see it coming)

Tune in next time to see how Robynn (spelled like a girl) comes to terms with her daughter, the Joker. (Let me tell ya, THAT'S something I am destined to do forever!!)

Same bat time....same bat channel.

Here's hoping you all had a "smile on your face" this Halloween!!

"Creativity is a natural extension of our enthusiasm"

We must have been VERY ENTHUSIASTIC this week because we had a lot of creative juices flowing here at the Jones house! (truth be told, this is not normal for us so I guess that's why I had to post about it) Just thought I would show you a few of the things we "created" this week....

First off...christmas ornaments!!

We took an ordinary clothing pin and....

...called it to serve in the California Sacramento mission with my little brother as an ornament for his Christmas tree :)

Our own little "Army of Helaman"

 Next up....bread making!!

A lot of our friends up here in our little town are really into making EVERYTHING from scratch...and I really do mean EVERYTHING! Now please don't misunderstand me here...I don't have the need to "keep up with" anyone here, but I just thought, "when in Rome..." so we (and by WE I really mean Brock) decided to try some homemade bread. Something we have attempted, but not been quite successful at yet. 

For those of you who don't know, my sweet husband is a direct descendant of bakers (Lehi Bakery bakers to be exact) so working with dough comes easy to him...and he is good at it!

Homemade bread and rolls...turned out DELICIOSO!

And finally.....our Sugar Cookie Extravaganza!!

My mom started a tradition in our family where we get together and make sugar cookies every Halloween and Valentines Day. We usually go over to her house and we bake and decorate cookies all night!! Such a fun tradition! 

This year we still made the cookies but sadly it was without my mom. And Sami couldn't understand why Grammy couldn't just make a trip up here for one day to make cookies! We really missed you Grammy and Bethie!

We tried black frosting this year...looks cool...stains the teeth a little...but still tastes SO GOOD!

Apparently we needed TWO pics of the cookies...this one includes pumpkins so it's SUPER special!

That's our week in a nutshell...what are some fun Halloween traditions your family has?

Walking in a winter wonderland...in October????

This was the view from my front door this morning....

 

....not sure if I'm ready for this!!!

Don't we all need a little TIME OUT FOR WOMEN?

This last weekend my sweet husband took care of things here "at the ranch" while I attended an event called Time out for Women. (go here if you'd like to learn more about it) 

It was an eventful / fun / inspiring / fun / short / fun trip! I tagged along with some girlfriends from my "hood" and we just really enjoyed ourselves.

I would recommend this experience to anyone! (Actually...I take that back...it IS for WOMEN so if you aren't of the female persuasion, this really ISN'T for you...sorry Joe)  The theme for this years event was "Choose to Become..." and you get to fill in the blank as to what you want to "Become" or how you want to challenge yourself this year. The men and women who spoke to us were so positive and uplifting. It was just the pick me up I needed! 

And BONUS...I ran into an old friend...I have great memories with this super talented pretty lady. So good to catch up with old friends :)

Already looking forward to next year!! Hope you can come!!

" WE DON'T TAP DANCE ON THE TOILET!!!"

Sometimes as a parent, I say sentences that I NEVER would have dreamed up on my own! Sentences that I utter in anger but then, after listening to the playback in my head, make me burst out into laughter because I can't believe I actually had to utter THOSE words!!

Take for instance, the title of this post. That's right, I said that to my then 6 year old. Her reasoning was simple and very logical...to her. She explained to me that the floors in our house (aka carpet and linoleum) just didn't make a good sound for her tap shoes...and the lid of the toilet did. She couldn't understand why I was upset because she was, after all, practicing her dancing for her upcoming concert...which was what I had asked her to do. Looking back, it is a cherished memory...not so "cherished" at the time.

I think that's a move called "the giraffe", but I could be wrong  (tee hee)

And her love for dance has continued to grow. I really enjoy watching her dance. She moves very gracefully. She has a memory for dance moves. She remembers them SO well. She is moved by music and loves to express it in that way. She is taking a jazz and a hip hop class here in town. She will tell you that the HIP HOP is her favorite...but I think she just enjoys the music better. 

Just BEAT IT...BEAT IT

My little toilet-tap-dancer.

Visitors at the Casa de Jones

Last weekend was a first for us. It was the first time we have had family come stay with us at Casa de Jones. It was so much fun to have family members in our home! Grandma Laurie and Grandpa Paul had a free weekend so they hopped on a plane and came to par-tay with us. And PAR-TAY...we did. They really spoiled us. They took us to lunch, they got up early on Saturday morning to attend one of Sami's basketball games, they treated us to donuts (yummy) and just devoted all their time and energy into our little family. We had a great time! In fact, we had SUCH a good time that we ended our weekend with them at the Territorial PRISON!! That's right...things got a little C-A-R-A-Z-Y!!

The "in-laws" and the "out-laws"

Butch Cassidy was once a "resident" here

The good, the bad and. . .

. . .the cute little girl TRYING to look mean! GRRR!!

One of the things that they would have the prisoners do with their time, while they SERVED their time (get it?), was make brooms. And the cool thing is, there are people who still come and make these brooms today! 

These are the real deal folks! (BROOM AND PRISON. . .WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT WHEN YOU COME VISIT US. . .ANY TAKERS?)

Thought these were pretty NEAT-O

This just looks like a witches broom to me

Just outside the prison is a little replica of what a small town might have been like "back in the day". We LOVED the little church they have restored...it was yet ANOTHER beautiful church in our area. 

Doesn't it remind you of the Little House on the Prairie church?

Reverend Samantha...can I get an AMEN-UH!

Can you imagine getting kids to sit still on THESE benches?

Thank you SO MUCH Grandma Laurie and Grandpa Paul for taking the time to come and see us. We thoroughly enjoyed having you here and can't wait for your next trip! 

Grandmas are like moms...but BETTER!

Adventures in basketball

Let me start by saying this...we are not a particularly sports oriented family. Other than our interest in college football, (me on God's team, Brock on the devil's team) sports isn't something of great importance in our home. It's not that we don't LIKE sports, we do, it's just not super high on our list of priorities. So when Sam expressed interest in playing girls basketball this year...we were surprised. Excited for her to try something new, but surprised.

Yesterday was her first "official " game. She was pretty nervous. Actually...to be truthful...she was WAY SUPER-DEE-DUPER nervous. She was SO nervous that she "brought her food up for a swim in the toilet" three or four times the night before her game. (poor thing) Needless to say, she was a little hesitant when we walked in the gym doors yesterday. 

I am pleased to report that we LOVE basketball now! She is a great little hustler. She can run up and down that court like NOBODY'S BUSINESS! (Not really sure yet if she understands WHY she is running up and down the court, but she is sure having fun doing it!)

He YEARNS to learn

My husband...the student.

1st day of school (he REALLY didn't want me to take this pic)

If a person could make a living by being a "professional student" for the rest of their life...Brock would seriously consider THAT as his career.  He really enjoys everything that goes with school! The writing, the researching, the reading, the deadlines. He thrives on deadlines. And he juggles it all very well. SO WELL in fact, that I find myself in constant awe of his state of mind. I KNOW I would be a wreck if I were carrying the same load, and probably not a very fun person to be around either.

But not Brock...in fact, as I am posting this, he is in the kitchen helping Sami clean-up dinner and whistling, "Have I done any good in the world today". 

 That's just him...

My husband...

The happy-to-help-even-though-I-have-more-to-do-than-even-I-know-what-to-do-with-it-student.

A day of remembrance

September 11th...a day that should not be forgotten.

I think I will always have strong feelings and emotions about this day. TOO many to sum up into a neatly wrapped post. So for once, I will keep my feelings to myself and let someone else do the talking...





What will YOU DO????

First day of school!!

Blogs everywhere will be blogging about the first day of school for the next month or so...which begs the question...why should you come and visit OUR blog? What do we have to offer you here that might be different? Let me answer that question with a montage of pictures....I present to you....SCHOOL THROUGH THE YEARS!!

School through the years - free slideshow maker with music

   

It sounds so cliche to say...but they really do grow up WAY TOO FAST! I am always telling Sami that I would just like her to stop growing...to which she always replies,(with her hands on her hips no doubt) " I can't Mom...I want to grow up and be a mom like you someday too!" Okay, melt my heart why dontcha.

Tour de village

Our first Monday in town we decided to go exploring! Since everything in town is only about 5 minutes away, by car, we seized the opportunity to get out and "tour de village" by bike.

Beautiful cathedral! Love the red doors....more red doors in 3...2...1...

MORE RED DOORS!! BEAUTIFUL!

Mmmmmmmm.........d-o-n-u-t-s.

It looks like she is going to crash right into him! Trust me...you should be more worried about the women riding her bike trying to take pictures!!

"A picture moment?!! Wait...make sure you get my best side!!"

 

Historic downtown

"Hurry! Let's ditch the crazy picture-taking-lady-on-a-bike! She is totally embarrassing us!"

 

 

Dinner anyone?!

She makes a face every time I turn the camera on her...I have NO IDEA where she gets that from..wink,wink.

 

 

Overall, our "tour de village" was FANTASTIC!!