Keeping up with the Jones'

Halloween

2011-11-10T19:09:00.005-06:00

I love Halloween! I love it! I love dressing up! I love the weather! I love the parties! I love how excited all the kids are! I love that everyone that works at Kroger dresses up. I love making Halloween cookies and treat. I love carving pumpkins. You get the idea.

I knew this probably would be my last year of picking Brynlees costume so I had to make it a good one. We have a Papa, Mama and Baby and one blonde curly haired girl so the obvious choice was Goldilocks and the Three Bears!
Brynlee's dance class had a Halloween party. Isn't her teacher fun! Brynlee really likes Miss Mindy. Next up was the Ward party. It was a carnival type party and AnnMarie Grigg and I worked on this photo booth together. She is a great artist and drew this out. I just help paint.
Of course Brynlee found her Best Bud Evan aka Woody.

Hey you two, what are you doing under that hat!We had the Hadfield's over for some pumpkin carving fun. This is what we came up with. So from left to right we have Evan, Erin, Brandon, mine and Bryce's.On Halloween we went to the Grigg's house for Soup and "Snake Sandwich". Brynlee went as a cat because it was a little cold. She was a cat last year so it was pretty easy. She had a BLAST trick or treating! She was so cute running up to the doors. By they end of the night her bag was so heavy she was dragging it. I had so much fun watching her trick or treat. Logan was pretty good to hang out in the stroller and take in all the action.

Cincinnati Half Marathon

2011-11-10T14:48:00.005-06:00

Its been a long time and a baby since I ran a half marathon but I thought it was time to lace up my sneakers and get running again so I rallied the girls and we started logging the miles. We decide that the Cincinnati Half Marathon would be a great race for us. It was on a Saturday, flat and a great course through Cincinnati and along the river. It really was a great course! I was pleasantly surprised at how the scenery really helped the miles fly by. We ran along the Ohio River, through downtown and past both the Reds and Bangles Stadiums.(Brynlee waiting in the cold for Mama)

But lets take a few steps backward and start at the beginning of that day. Erin, Julie and I stayed in the same hotel so we met up and headed out the race together to meet Mindy. Well, we were literally locked in the parking garage. The attendant was not there yet and the self pay machine was not working so after a little freaking out and some quick thinking, Erin lifted the arm and I drove on a curb and with an inch to spare, literally, we squeezed out of the garage. We drove to the start, as I ate a banana, and our preplanned parking area was no longer and option so we had to park and run to the start. After a quick pit stop at the bathroom we heard the announcer say. "Two minutes to the start." Perfect timing!I lost the girls right from the get go. It was a beautiful day! The weather was great, the city was quiet and I felt awesome. I was running a great pace. At mile seven I started to see the Elite runners coming back and I hit an hour of running. Both big boosts, still feeling great and chatting with a few runners around me. Coming up on Mile 11 I could feel my energy level starting to drop so at the water station I decided that a little Gatorade wouldn't hurt. Remember that banana I ate in the car, it made a reappearance before I got to mile 12. Yep I threw up several times before I hit mile 12 and a few more time before I finished and after the race. My great pace and PR were splattered all over the road just like my puke.

(Julie Hill, Mindy McQuivey, Erin Hadfield, me)

You might think that because I was throwing up for 2 miles, that I would have had a bag experience. Not the case! I loved this race! It was fun! I know, I am crazy.

Official Time: 1:54:22 not a PR by a minute

Ok so now onto the second half of our day.
We took the kids to the Cincinnati Zoo for trick or treating. We went with Erin, Evan and Ashton. (Brandon was at a funeral and yes, Erin managed amazingly without him.) Brynlee was a pumpkin because her real Halloween costume wasn't done yet. We didn't take many picture but Brynlee had a great time. Through out the zoo were treat stops where the kids could trick or treat. They also had a few other special things set up like the Little Beauty Shop of Horrors. Here you could get a tattoo, a braided extension and your nails painted. Obviously a winner in Brynlee's book.A special thanks to my A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. husband! He is so supportive of me and my crazy adventures and the hours and hours of training that take me away from my chores and family at home. I could not do these races without you babe. THANKS!

7 months going on 2 years

2011-11-10T14:05:00.006-06:00

Our little handsome boy is 7 months going on 2 years. It is so fun to see him learning new things and his personality coming out. He is really so sweet and happy! While we love to watch him grow, he is growing up way to fast!

Logan seriously thinks that he is two just like his sister. When she laughs, he laughs. When she goes in the kitchen, so does he. He is always watching her and trying to figure out what she is doing. He loves his big sis and most of the time she really enjoys having a side kick. I hope they will always be little buddies!
Logan is learning some new tricks too. He is scooting all around on this tummy and getting into trouble. This boy is fast and determined; not a good combo. Standing up was next on his list and he has mastered that. He pulls up on everything he can. When he does stand up he gets the biggest smile and looks around the room for me. I could watch him do that all day long.

Brynlee's Love for Books

2011-11-08T14:40:00.003-06:00

Our little Brynlee loves books! She loves to be read to and "read" to herself and us. It is so fun and I really think that part of the reason she knows so many words is that she has heard so many from books.Some of Brynlee's favorite books are the Llama Llama books. They are about a cuddly little llama and his adventure with his Mama. A few weeks ago the library was having a llama llama reading day and invited some very special guests.Brynlee was in heaven! She was so cute. She waited in line so patiently to meet the llama and her mama (who were actually Alpacas, because they are smaller and have a better temperment). It was interesting that they brought the Alpacas into the library, but they were well behaved. They were very soft and Brynlee loved petting them. She kept saying she wanted a llama! One of the llamas kept trying to bite the bow off of her head and it was cracking Brynlee up! When it was time to go she gave them each a hug and told them "See ya next time." She is still a little disappointed every time we go the library that the llamas aren't there. By the way, Logan was in the stroller and was fascinated with the animals. He was squealing and laughing and kicking his little legs. Maybe we should get a llama to entertain the kids!

Red River Rally

2011-11-08T13:52:00.006-06:00

Bryce belongs to a cycling group, here in Lexington, called the Bluegrass Cycling Club. The first weekend of October the club hosted a weekend of riding, the Red River Rally, in and near the Red River George. Bryce decided that he would ride the 40 mile bike ride on Saturday and talked his Friend Scott Hill into riding it with him. It was a freezing day, but we packed up the kids and all of the coats and headed out. It took a little over and hour to get to the starting point.
Once we got there, Bryce realized that he had left his helmet on the couch in our living room. Not good! He went asking around and found a child size helmet that would have to do.
Brynlee is such a Daddies girl and she didn't want her daddy to rid off and leave her. She was also freezing! It really was very cold. I think it was in the low 40's.Luckily the club had registration set up in the Stanton Seniors Center so I took the kids in there and we eat lunch and played around until Bryce was due back on his bike.After the ride, the club provided a great lunch. We didn't hang around long because we had cold tired kids but it was a really fun experience and it was nice to get support Bryce.

Evan's Orchard with Evan

2011-11-08T07:23:00.004-06:00

Every Fall we head on over to our favorite Orchard for some apple picking and playground. There is no better way to enjoy our beautiful fall weather. We invited the Hadfields to meet us there. Brynlee and Evan are best friends so we knew we were all in for a really fun day. When those two get together there is always fun!Logan had fun sitting in the corn box! It is so much more fun than any sand box ever was.We also took the kids through the small corn maze at the Orchard. The kids were so excited and only ran off and got lost in the corn once, which we are calling a success. I think both kids came out with an ear of corn as a trophy.

First Day of Preschool and Dance

2011-11-07T20:36:00.003-06:00

This summer some of my friends asked me if Brynlee and I would like to be part of a Mommy Co-op Preschool. I knew Brynlee would LOVE it and so we jumped on the chance. This is Brynlee on her very first day of Preschool at the Bylunds house.
She was so excited! I mean bouncing off the walls excited! I'm sure Angela had her hands full that day!

I also signed Brynlee up for dance this year. I wasn't sure I really wanted to sign up her up because she is only 2 and we normally have a very full week but she LOVES to dance almost as much as she loves Preschool. Maybe they are a tie.

Grandma and Grandpa Jones come to visit

2011-11-07T11:58:00.004-06:00

The first week of August Bryce's parents came to visit. We were fresh off our beach vacation and so were they, but we are glad that they make it a point to visit us every summer. This year we didn't do to much since Logan was so little and had to eat and sleep so often, but we still had fun just being together.

We did go to the Hats Off to Kentucky Day at the Horse Park. It is a great thing for kids. They have pony rides, face painting, bouncy houses, coloring and lots of horses everywhere. Brynlee had a ball. Sadly these are the only pictures I have of Grandma and Grandpa while they were here. Sad since I didn't even get a picture of Grandma or G&G Jones with Logan. LAME!

Summer Days

2011-11-07T11:36:00.004-06:00

Every year we grow a garden and have learned that growing a garden in Kentucky is hard. There are so many bugs, so much rain and very rocky soil which are not at all similar to the type of gardening we are used to in Utah and Arizona. But this year I think we finally figured out what our garden will grow.

Sunflowers! We planted these from seeds thinking they would be fun for Brynlee, but I think Bryce and I loved they just as much as our little girl. We had such a wet start to our summer that our flowers would literally grow 6-8 inches in a day. We ended up with the tallest flower being about 8 1/2-9 feet tall. It was AMAZING! The stem was as big around as my arm.

These are just some cute summer evening shots of our cute kiddos hanging out in the yard.

Myrtle Beach July '11

2011-11-06T20:35:00.007-06:00

After Bryce's externship, our little family needed a little R&R so we packed up the car and headed South to Myrtle Beach, SC. This year we stayed in a small 1 bedroom condo that was about a mile from the beach. While it was not ideal to be a mile from the beach, it was the best bang for our buck and WAY better than camping the heat and humidity . It was a cute little condo on a golf course and it fit our families needs great. Brynlee really liked swimming in the pools.We quickly decided that the beach was way to hot for a 3 month old during the middle of the day so we spent most of our time at the beach first thing in the morning and in the evenings. Logan was such a trooper though. He is so great and was pretty happy most of our trip. We found that staying under the piers made it easier to keep his fair skin fair during the day.
Brynlee had a blast playing in the sand. She was really great to stay right with us and came up with the greatest games. She has such an imagination and it is so fun to watch it come out of her. She also spent a great deal of time finding, catching, naming and playing with sand fleas, which are kind of like a little crabby thing.

A couple of evenings we headed down to the boardwalk to check out the "night life" and we found this fun quarter arcade. Brynlee couldn't have been more excited. One night we were playing games there and the owner came over and "hit the jackpot" on a games. He got about 500 tickets out of the machine and handed all of them to Brynlee. You should have seen her face! It was so fun for her to pick out all of the toys and candy at the little prize shop. They also had all kinds of entertainers walking around on the boardwalk. We happened upon a pirate with a parrot. Brynlee was a fascinated with the bird.

We also went to a big outdoor mall that had all sorts of different of stores. Brynlee, of course, was drawn to the candy store. We gave her $2 and let her buy her own candy. She thought she was so big paying for her own candy. She was so cute handing her candy and money to the girl behind the counter all by herself. The kids were more than great on the drive to and from the beach. It was a much needed break from the everyday rut that I found myself in after a summer of being on my own with two small kids.

Three down, three to go

2011-07-05T21:38:00.003-05:00

This summer has been very different than any other, and I hope I never have a summer like this again. Ever. Don't get me wrong, we are having a blast swimming, having play dates with friends, playing at the park, eating chocolate chip waffles for dinner and generally having a good time. However, we are missing our daddy a lot.

The group of students and Dr. Lester in front of the mobile clinic

Inside the van
Bryce has been working in Prestonsburg, KY on the Pediatric Mobile Clinic for his externship this summer. While Prestonsburg is not terribly far away, it is just far enough to not justify driving back and forth everyday so the school puts the student up in the Jenny Wiley State Park Resort, which leaves me at home during the week with our two little dears. Luckily he's doesn't have to leave out until early Monday morning and they don't work Fridays so he comes home Thursday evening.
Marina at Jenny Wiley State Park. Lake Dewy.
And while it has been a hard three weeks, it hasn't been terrible. I was envisioning this terrible trial, but so far it has just been a few bumps in the road. One of those bumps might have been when I took our little darling to McDonald's for some nuggets and an ice cream cone. She was being really good that day and even picked up all her toys in the living room by herself and listened so well at the swimming pool. She ate her nuggets and then asked if she could go play on the playplace. I told her she could but just for a few minutes because we needed to take Logan home to feed him and get him in bed. Well about 15 minutes later she was still laughing at me when I told her it was time to go now and if she didn't come down this time I was going to have come up there and get her. You see, for about 10 minutes I had been trying to get her out of that dang playplace, meanwhile little Handsome was getting more mad and hungry with every minute. So guess who strapped screaming Logan in his carseat while they climbed into the nasty urine scented playplace and drug a screaming little girl out of McDonald's without and ice cream cone. Me! It was such a lovely scene, I'm sure. Needless to say, Brynlee went straight to bed when we got home.

Another small bump is the fact that Brynlee's two year old molars are coming in they are giving her so much trouble. They look so painful, swollen and red. She hasn't been sleeping very well and has been quite ornery the last few days. Good news is two of the four are almost through.

So three weeks to go and then my hubby will be home with us again and I couldn't be more excited to have him home every night.

Done with Diapers

2011-07-03T21:18:00.008-05:00

We have entered the entirely, too cute world of big girl under pants.

We are officially done with diapers!
(well for one kiddo at least)

I had heard from a number of people that the Lora Jenson 3 day potty training method really worked and while I was skeptical that it really would be 3 days I decided to give it a try. Why the heck not, right?
Best Decision E.V.E.R. not even kidding
Whoever this Lora Jenson is, she is brilliant but we already knew that from the way she spells her name. Brynlee took to potty training like a duck to water.
Lora's method is all about letting the kid tell you when they need to use the potty. You never ask the child if they need to go to the bathroom but remind them to tell you when they need to go. So for 3 days we literally camped out in the living room. We watched movies, built tents, played games, did number sticker books, colored, sang, danced and drank a ton of liquids. We filled that sticker chart up fast! It was great!Can I tell you how hard it is to get this girl to hold a sticker chart and take a picture of her, nearly impossible.
In the 3 days she had 5 accidents. Three the first day, one the second day and one the third day.
So we started this potty training thing when Logan was just 8 weeks old and he was a trooper! I can't even tell you how many times I had to quickly put him down in the middle of feeding him to run Brynlee to the bathroom.
I am so glad that we did it and that she was so ready to do it. She did great! It was easy! and her bum is so cute running around the house in her little pink under pants.

Nikki- I'm sure glad that someone reads this here little blog and misses us when I don't post.
Erin- Potty training post as promised.

2 Months

2011-05-05T18:15:00.006-05:00

Yep time is flying by, fast! Little Handsome is two months old.

Logan's Stats:
11 lb 6 oz.
24 inches

Things we love about our little man:
Smiles a lot!
Happy a lot!
Loves his bouncy seat and swing.
Not to keen on baths but loves having a shower with dad.
Puts up with all of Brynlee's "helping" really well
Sleeps from 10:30pm to 7am
Loves tummy time
Has such a sweet disposition
Survived potty training his sister (more on that later)
Beautiful blue eyes

Time flies when you have a new baby

2011-05-04T20:47:00.008-05:00

Oh my goodness, time is flying by! We have been up to a lot of fun things but haven't had the time/motivation to blog it all. (Plus my computer is S.U.P.E.R. slow at loading pictures and I was hoping I could snag Bryce's sometime. Didn't happen.) It has taken some time to adjust to having little Logan is our family, I feel like I am finally getting a schedule back and the hang of how to get around with two little ones in tow.

Just a sweet picture of a sleepy little Logan to start things off here.
So lately Brynlee has given up naps. On the off chance that she does take a nap she is up until 10pm or 11pm just playing in her room. We went to tuck her in before we went to bed on night and this is what we found. She had been gathering things all over the upstairs to put in her "nest". I love that she is holding onto her potty seat.

My "little handsome boy", as he is frequently called, loves his tummy and frequently falls asleep while he is on his tummy. I love it! I just want to snuggle up next to him and have a nap, don't you?
My mom bought this giant tub of play dough and play dough toys right after Logan was born for Brynlee and she loves it! She will spend the better part of the afternoon at the kitchen table making all sorts of creations. Which is so nice since she has given up naps.

It has been raining a TON lately, like 12 inches of rain in April, a ton. When the rain finally lets up for a day or so we spend most of the day outside. So Brynlee has discovered worms and is always wanting to hold them. It's pretty cute. She talks to them like they are her new best friend. On those nice days Logan likes to hang out in the back yard in his bouncy seat and enjoy the fresh air.

Easter was so fun this year! Brynlee had a blast coloring eggs. And we hid her basket this year. We weren't sure she would quite grasp the idea of finding her basket so we tied a yarn to her bed post and strung it all over the house and lead her to her basket that way. We told her the Easter Bunny hid her basket and strung the yarn so she could find it, so the entire time we were following the yarn she was saying, "That silly bunny!" It was cute!
We planted our garden for FHE one beautiful evening. Brynlee loved that.

Last Saturday we went to a Stake service day. We split into groups and went out into the community to do different projects. We got to go paint a fence at an African cemetery. The first known burials there were in the 1820's and the last known burial was in the 1973. It was a beautiful day and we had fun painting the fence, a little too much fun for Brynlee. She was covered in it, including her forehead and hair. Yikes!

Brynlee got a pretty high fever (103.7), randomly. So Logan and I hung out on the couch, reading The Help. So good! Please read it! And Brynlee watched Tangled about 1 million times in a day and then feel asleep in a laundry basket, which she made a bed for her stuffed mouse in.

So in a nutshell that is what we have been up to. There have been lots of trips to the park, library and gym, mixed with lots of poopie diapers and tantrums too. So we are surviving and having a fun time doing it.

My Amazing Mom

2011-03-23T13:48:00.002-05:00

My mom is amazing! She came out to take care of my little family after I had Logan. She got here the day before I got out of the hospital and just left us the yesterday. She was here for a little over 2 weeks and it was wonderful! She went over and above! We had great meals every night, cookies everyday and Brynlee had a full time playmate for 2 whole weeks. My mom was up in the night with my kids, up early in the morning with my kids and cooked and cleaned her way through their nap times (and mine). We had to drag her to the zoo, bowling and to the park just to give her a break. She was a great sport and we appreciate every moment of the service she provided to our family. Not to mention all the fun we had with her! She probably got a sore throat reading books to Brynlee and talking to her constantly. It was great to have a few days with nice weather, so we could show her what a Kentucky spring is like, and enjoy the sunshine with her. Bryce kept asking me if I was sad after I took her the airport and of course I was, but I think he was even more sad to see her go! Thanks mom for taking care of us, going with us on all of our outings and sitting through our hilarious prayers, scriptures and FHEs. Come back soon, we already miss you!

Logan's Birth Story

2011-03-15T14:29:00.004-05:00

Warning: Long Post

Thursday, March 3rd I had a doctors appointment. I measured 5cm and was 90% effaced. The doctor was honestly surprised that I was not in active labor. She sent me home since my mom wasn't coming into town until Saturday and I was in no hurry deliver; I was still feeling pretty good. She did however, tell me to stay close the hospital. So I picked up Brynlee from a friends and we went home to pack bags for everyone just in case.

Well it was a good thing we packed up because later that evening the contractions started up! They weren't ever strong, but pretty consistent. Bryce was still at school, so I called him and had him come home just in case. We ate dinner, took a walk and then decided to call the doctor. She said to come on in since she was on call. Great! We dropped Brynlee off to have a "sleep over" with the Dickens and headed to the hospital.

We got the hospital a little after 10pm and by midnight all the paper work was done and I was hooked up to an IV. My first bag of antibiotics was done by 2am and they broke my water at 4:45am. I got my epidural shortly after, which was terrible!! The first epidural hit spinal fluid and had to be moved. LAME! Try number two hit a nerve or something and I starting vomiting on top of having terrible contractions!! Fun! Finally they got it adjusted and I was good to go.

The nurse left us and said to call when I was ready to push. Well, I was feeling the urge and held off for a little while because I was not going to push to 2 hours like I did with Brynlee. The doctor came in and checked me and Logan's head was +2 which means he was ready to deliver. Four pushes later they handed me my baby boy at 6:54am.

I was surprised at how big he was and one of the first things I said was "WOW! Get that kid on the scale. I want to see what he weighs." The nurses cleaned him up and he was a whopping 8 lbs. 3 oz. He nursed pretty quickly after being born and eats like a champ!

This deliver was so much more enjoyable than when I delivered Brynlee. It was very relaxed, pain free and quick. My hospital stay was fantastic and Brynlee loved coming to see her little brother, but mostly liked showing off for the nurses and running around the hospital!

More pictures of our boy!

2011-03-05T18:14:00.006-06:00

What a sweet little face! We just love him! He couldn't be more perfect!

Meet Our Son

2011-03-04T14:26:00.002-06:00

Isn't he handsome! We are so in love with him!

He's coming tonight!

2011-03-03T21:03:00.007-06:00

We are having a baby! We are at the hospital hooked up to the monitors and waiting for a baby! Earlier today I was in my doctors office measuring 5 cm and 90% effaced. She sent me home because I wasn't in active labor, fine by me. I was feeling really good. About 5pm I started having contractions, cramping and spotting. The contractions were pretty inconsistent but hoovered around 7 minutes. I called my doctor to see what she had in mind and she said to come on it. When I got here I measured 6cm and they started my IV antibiotics. I guess we will see what the night holds, but right now I am having good contractions and not feeling too bad at all. Very exciting! We will post pictures as soon as we can!

Our Bug is 2!

2011-02-13T20:38:00.007-06:00

Brynlee turned 2 and we had a party! She loves to read and so I thought what better way to celebrate than with one of her favorites, The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. Everything about her party was inspired by the book; food, decorations, games, party favors, everything! It was such a fun party to plan. Pulling it off while being 4 weeks from my due date not so fun, but totally worth it. Brynlee loved it.

First up is the decorations.

Next up the party food. Which regrettably I did not get picture of but was inspired by this picture.
We ate foods from the story. Every food had a little pick just like the one in the picture connecting the food to the book.

We played two games. I used black pom poms and poster putty for the noses. Each kiddo got a nose to stick on the caterpillar.

The pinata was supposed to be one of those new pull string pinatas. You attach a bunch of strings to the bottom of the pinata with tape, but one very special string is attached to the inside of the bottom of the portions. When pulled it is supposed to pull of the bottom and release the candy, but this was my first pinata and it didn't exactly go as planned. Oh well. The kids still got the candy.

The cake was supposed to turn out like this, but I ran out of time and we just had green cupcakes. Oh well maybe next time. I didn't get a picture of the treat boxes either, but they were little green popcorn style boxes with pink filler paper. Each kiddo got a bag of gummy caterpillars, bubbles, two toy bugs and the candy they scavenged from the pinata.

All in all it was a great party. We celebrated with the Bylunds, Hadfields, Johnsons, and Dickens.

I can't believe she is two. She is so stinking fun, but I can see the terrible two's setting in and boy oh boy are we in trouble! What a sassafras!

We have things to learn.

2011-02-13T19:08:00.007-06:00

We had a list of thing that we, as parents, wanted to teach our little dear before her little brother gets here.
1. Get her sleeping in her big girl bed in her new room.
2. Potty training.
3. Get rid of the pacifier.
We had a plan. We were prepared for the struggles. We were ready!

1. Right after we got home from Christmas, we took her bedding out of the crib, put baby brothers crib bedding in and moved her to her big girl bed. Success! She loved it! We loved it! She did great! She didn't get up. She didn't cry. It was awesome! We were thrilled!
2. Feeling very confident that we were awesome parents for getting our daughter to sleep so well in her big girl bed, we moved on the potty training. This was at a bit of a delay, because Brynlee got pneumonia and 2 ear infections. So once she was better and we were back on track we bought a potty, underwear, treats and made a potty chart. We were set to start MLK day. We were committed and there was no looking back! Well that didn't work out. We found out that my grandma had passed away and we would be taking a trip back to Arizona within the week. By the time we got back from Arizona it was to close to my due date to try training her. Darn. Maybe we can try again this summer when thing have calmed down a bit. Disappointed, but things happen and we know that she will be just as ready this summer. No big deal.

3. On to the pacifier. I really was in no hurry for this one, to be honest. She is a great sleeper, due in part to her love for her "cici". She is very attached to her pacifier and she only gets it at bed time, so she is very motivated to go to bed and take a nap. Last Sunday we were reading scriptures to Brynlee and Bryce noticed that she had bitten her pacifier. Naughty. So we decided then and there that tonight was the night to get rid of her "cici". She is 2 after all. Time for it to go. Bryce cut the tip of the pacifier off and place it very unsteadily back together. When he handed it to Brynlee it broke! We thought we had explained that it was broken and we didn't have another one and that she was a big girl and didn't need it anymore. She cried all night. Terrible. Each day that passed she cried less, but her naps were getting shorter and shorter. Her crying at night changed from wanting her paci to wanting us to cuddle her. It was a night mare! We caved! We gave in! We changed our plan. We failed! After 2 days in a row with no naps and lot of crying and bed times at 10 or 11, she won and we gave her her beloved "cici" back. Its a good thing that Bryce is going to be dentist because her teeth will be wrecked for sure.

This week, Brynlee has been keeping herself busy during her non-naps. Fine with me. Whatever she wants to do in her room for an hour, just as long as I get a break. So she was been "reading stories", coloring on her chalk board, and playing dress ups, or should I say dress downs.
That's right. She took off her clothes, pulled on a snow hat, and put on her.....

"fancy shoes".
Oh we love her!

Needless to say our confidence level as parents have wavered some in the last month and a half. Live and learn and hopefully we can get it right with the next kid.

Update on the litte guy

2011-02-06T17:43:00.003-06:00

So my due date is only 30 days away. Really 30 days is all?! I need more time! I have so much to do and organize and clean! This pregnancy has flown right by. Between Christmas break, sickness, an unexpected trip back to Arizona and Brynlee's 2nd birthday festivities, the past 2 months have been a blur.

I am still feeling really really good! It's great. The gym and I are still getting along just fine despite all the comments from curious gym goers and actually I feel better and am more energized on the days I do go to the gym. I really only have 2 complains. First, this little guy is really strong! Freakishly strong. He hurts me! He stretches and kicks all over the place a lot of the time. Second, I have been waking up at 4:30am every morning for a week, fully refreshed and ready to start the day. Great right, but by 7pm I am ready for bed. Not so great. A girl has things she need to get done when the kiddo is in bed and from 7pm-11pm is prime getting things done time. Hopefully this early morning thing will pass soon.

Brynlee is getting excited to meet her baby brother. She still thinks we should name him superman, which is looking better and better all the time. Boy names are hard! Really hard. We have names we like but none have stuck yet.

Happy Halloween

2010-10-31T09:04:00.003-05:00

Happy Halloween from a smiley candy faced kitty!

Brynlee was so excited to be a kitty for Halloween. She loves kitties so when we asked her what she wanted to be for Halloween it was not a surprise when she wanted to be a kitty. She made a really cute kitty!

Bryce wanted to be Nacho Libre so we got to work sewing his costume. He helped with the mask, and was very proud of how it turned out. I was Sister Incarnacion, Nachos love interest, but most people just thought I was a pregnant nun.

For the ward trunk or treat we decorated our car with a giant spider and web. Brynlee has a blast trunk or treating and most of the candy made it to the bag. She said "trick or treat" so cute and always thanked the candy giver before asking for more candy. She is going to be so sad when Halloween is over and all the candy and parties disappear.

Jones baby #2

2010-10-12T08:25:00.000-05:00

We had our ultrashound bright and early this morning, which was awesome. We were in and out so fast! The baby looks very healthy and normal and measure right on. We were suprise and excited to learn that Jones baby #2 will be a BOY! We don't know what to do with a little guy or even what to name a little boy, but we are excited to welcome him to the family. Brynlee will be excited to meet her brother, I am sure, even though she still thinks he is a kitty. :)

Uncle Daniel Come to Town

2010-10-03T19:54:00.015-05:00

Uncle Daniel (Bryce's older brother) came for a visit/business trip. We had him for 9 days of fun!

Our first fun trip was to Evan's Orchard with the playgroup from church.

Brynlee had so much fun playing on the awesome playground that they had. Daniel was so great to take her down the giant slide over and over again. Thanks Daniel!

We took advantage of the beautiful weather and headed out with a friend to go rock climbing. Thanks again for taking us Nate!! That place was awesome!

(Bryce)

We also went to the world's shortest horse parade. It was downtown so it was fun to walk around with all the excitement of the World Equestrian Games going on.

The weather really was fantastic all week so we also took a hike in Raven Run to check out the river and the leaves that are starting to change!!! Excited!!

Thanks for coming and all the laughs Daniel! See ya at Christmas.

Our family tree is expanding

2010-09-07T19:50:00.002-05:00

Yep that is right! We are having another little Jones! We are way excited! This new little one should show up early March!

Thanks to my super talented sister in law, Susie, for making this really cute announcement for me!

Climbing with friends

2010-09-05T21:31:00.007-05:00

Can you believe that is Bryce way up on that rock face. He is really really afraid of heights. He was really slow and shaky at first but he make it to the very top of every climb that day!

Brynlee stayed on the ground but had a blast getting dirty and running around with all the other kiddos.

Thanks Travis and Beth and Nate and Mallory! It was such a fun day with great company!

Camping at Myrtle Beach

2010-09-05T20:47:00.012-05:00

The day after Brynlee and I got home from Arizona we were on the road, with Dad this time, to Myrtle Beach, SC. It was a pretty fast turn around so it was a whirl wind 24 hours of packing, unpacking and rounding up gear.

We stayed with friends in Lexington, SC to break up the drive and give us more time to set up camp once we got the beach. Oh yeah did I mention we were camping for 4 nights in the state park. Yep that's what you do when you are poor dental school students. You camp for 4 days at the beach, in the summer, with a toddler.

Good thing she was a happy camper!

We spent everyday, pretty much all day at the beach playing. Many sand castles were built, much sitting in the waves was done and a whole lot of relaxing fun was had by all.

One evening we headed down to the board walk and main tourist area. It was like a whole different world from our primitive camp ground in the woods. Shops and lights, food you don't have to light a fire to cook, and clean people everywhere, it was great.

There was is always a down fall to a great summer. LAUNDRY!! After camping and our Arizona trip there was lots of laundry to be done.

Just a side note, after this summer I have decided that Brynlee is my amazing traveling baby. She did a fantastic job on the airplane to and from Arizona and a great job in the car to and from Myrtle Beach. Thanks Brynlee for making trips so easy and fun to take with you!

Trip to the Arizona heat

2010-09-05T20:21:00.005-05:00

This summer Bryce had to take his National Dental Boards Part 1, so while he hit he books, Brynlee and I took off for a little vacation. We spent 11 days in Phoenix with my parents. We had so much fun and Brynlee got some much "attention", which was a word she learned while we were there. My mom did a great job of keeping us busy with fun things she had planned. We went to the pool with the play ground in the middle, the children's museum, the mall and much more. We saw my grandma twice while we were there and spent Pioneer days in Snowflake, AZ with my Grandpa. I ran a fun run in Snowflake and got 1st in my age group! It was a really small race :) We enjoyed every minute with family in Arizona, but we missed daddy too. I am the worst at remembering the camera and taking pictures so I only have pictures for the first weekend we were there. SO LAME!!

These are pictures from the Heard Museum. It is a museum about the history of the American Indian in AZ and surrounding states. It was free so why the heck not get some culture.

They had lots of arts and craft stations around for the kids to do and Brynlee enjoyed them, but the water fountain was by for the most fascinating.

They had some Hopi dancers come down for the reservation to perform.

And what trip to the museum isn't complete without a free Popsicle that melts faster than you can eat it.

My parents always have an abundance of popsicle and ice cream in the fridge. It how we survived growing up in the heat and the tradition continues.

Thanks for a GREAT trip Mom and Dad!

P.S. Bryce PASSED his test and is now officially 1/2 a dentist.

4th of July

2010-09-05T19:36:00.011-05:00

The 4th of July was so fun this year! Lexington celebrated on Saturday July 3rd which was awesome! Bryce and I started out the day early with a 10K (6.3 miles) run through downtown as part of the Bluegrass 10,000. It was so fun to train with Bryce and Brynlee. We pushed her in the stroller all during the training, but we got a sitter for her race day.The weather was perfect for a race. No humidity and low temps. Bryce did a great job and said he would be willing to run a race again. We came in 1124 and 1125 over all and our time was 55:12.

After a nap and lunch, we headed downtown again, this time with Brynlee, to check out the festivities. Our first stop was the petting zoo. Brynlee loved it!

One of the booths at the festival was a baptist church that was giving out snow cones for FREE! It was warm by the afternoon so we hit that up more than once. Thank you!

Next stop was the court house and the water pad. This was Brynlee's favorite part of the day! We stayed there for a good hour while she ran, played and splashed in the water.

We were all pretty beat that evening so we light off some small fireworks in the road and called it good.

Sunday evening, Bryce's old boss, called and invited us to his house for a pot luck dinner and fire works. We were under the impression that it would be a small get together with bottle rockets. We couldn't have been more wrong!! The whole neighborhood was there! A neighbors unfinished basement was turned into a buffet, there were water balloons and squirt guns and kids everywhere. Then there are the fireworks. The bosses next door neighbor is a pyrotechnics engineer, with a licenses and everything. He brought out the big guns! It was awesome and we were so close and they just kept coming! An hours worth to be exact! It was AWESOME!

We haven't been up to much but we gotta eat

2010-06-11T21:26:00.008-05:00

How can you not love this girl?!

I think this little girl loves chicken nuggets and ranch a little too much.

Look closely. Do you see the half watermelon on Bryce's lap. That guy loves watermelon. Can you tell?

This is how we roll at the Jones house. Watermelon on the porch, half naked on a hot summer evening. Yep, that's right, we are living the high life.

We should have some exciting new posts soon. Grandpa and Grandma Jones are coming to visit!!

What a fun week!

2010-05-30T16:16:00.005-05:00

It has been nice and warm in the afternoons so the other day I pulled out the pool and let Brynlee have a little fun.

She loved it!! We were in the backyard for 2 hours! Brynlee would "dance", which is pretty much running in place, sit, get out and get in over and over again. She was so funny about keeping her pool clean and removed any pieces of grass that happened to get in the pool.

Here they are Grandma's. The debut of Brynlee's pigtails or piggies as Brynlee calls them.

Finally a good picture of Brynlee's smile.

This guy and his many friends were the highlight of the week. We went with some friends from the ward to a farm where they were camping out. We didn't camp but went up to visit the farm and have some foil dinners and smores.

As soon as Brynlee saw the animals she was in a dead sprint to meet all of them.

The farm had lots of horses, cows, goats, chickens, geese, rabbits, and cats. Brynlee was in heaven chasing, petting and saying "Hi" to every animal on the farm. Aimee, our neighbors little girl, liked the cats and rabbits just fine but she wasn't so sure about any of the other animals.

This is maybe a fourth of the barn cats! They were everywhere! Ew...

Camp was set up under some trees on the creek bank. It was a really cool spot to camp! The kids had a blast wading in the creek while the parents set up camp.

Night Night

2010-04-27T21:26:00.003-05:00

Brynlee has taken up sleeping like this lately. Hands behind her head, stretched out and completely zonked out. Another adorable thing she does now is, when we put her to bed she will look up and say "night, night Mommy." LOVE her!!!

The Derby Half Marathon

2010-04-24T21:27:00.002-05:00

Today was my second half marathon. It was the Derby half marathon in Louisville, KY. We are lucky enough to have great friends that live in Louisville and they let us crash at there house Friday night. (Thanks Jamie and Blaine!!)
So now for the good stuff. The weather was a little drizzly when I woke up at 5:30am to get ready, and I was nervous that the it was going to be a miserable day for running, but it turned out to be the perfect day! It rained a little at about mile 4 and 5 but it really felt great and wasn't a very hard rain. Thank goodness. So the first 3 miles of the race are all up hill pretty much and I was feeling really good after that so I decided to pick it up a little. For this race they had a pace team. Pacers are paid to run exact miles to keep you on pace and get you across the finish line at your goal time. I found the 1:55:00 pacer at about mile 6 but I was feeling great so I passed him. But shortly after decided I was getting a little race fever and needed to settle down and pace a bit. So I ran with the pace group until mile 10. The pacers run the marathon and I took the left to finish the half marathon. The last 3 miles were great. I was feeling good and keeping a really great pace. Some how I miss the mile markers and got a little confused as to where I was in terms of miles. Anyway, when I turn the last corner and saw the finish line I realized I had kept pace really well and finished with at time a 1:53:44. I am so happy with my time. I ran a 1:59:40 last half so I was glad to have dropped some time.

Thanks to Angela Noehren for the past 3 months of training and to Bryce for being so supportive and willing to take the early shift with the Brynlee Saturday mornings so I would do my long runs.

Thunder Over Louisville

2010-04-22T18:50:00.002-05:00

Last Saturday was a great day. It was my last long run before this weekends half marathon and we headed to Thunder over Louisville! Thunder is an airshow and firework show. The firework show is the biggest in North America.

The airshow was nothing to brag about, but still a fun way to fill an afternoon. I read in the newspaper that 700,000 people in Northern Kentucky and Southern Indian were watched the show this year. Which means traffic and I hate traffic! So I looked up the police traffic plan and we parked according to the fastest route home. Worked like a charm.

We had to walk 2 miles to our car, but it was worth it. We didn't have any trouble getting out of town. It was fantastic!

These are the Edwards, aka die hard Thunder fans. We shared a blanket, literally because it was so cold. This is also the only picture we got of the fireworks. The fireworks are shot off of two barges in the middle for the river. The barges are on either side of a bridge and the bridge is also loaded with fireworks. It was amazing! I was worried about Brynlee, but she did great. In fact she fell asleep during the fireworks.
All in all, one great Saturday!

Happy Tuesday!

2010-04-13T11:17:00.000-05:00

Lasagna!

Easter

2010-04-11T19:31:00.007-05:00

The Easter Bunny came and visited our house last weekend, and this year it was especially fun because Brynlee was really loving it! Every year Bryce fills my basket and I fill his and this year we filled Brynlee's together. The blue bucket on the left was mine, the white and pink basket was Brynlee's and the blue basket on the right was Bryce's. The little white bunnie basket was Brynlee's egg collecting basket.

As soon as Bryn saw the eggs hiding in the grass she knew just want to do. What can I say, she is a natural egg hunter.

Brynlee got bubbles in her basket and Easter morning was so beautiful here, that Bryce spend about half an hour blowing bubbles for Brynlee while we all enjoyed the warm sun.

Happy Birthday Brynlee

2010-03-15T18:50:00.005-05:00

The worlds cutest baby turned one on February 5th and we had to celebrate! So I baked some cupcakes, a giant cupcake and cupcake pops (are you seeing a theme here) and ordered some pizzas.

Look at that little doll. Can you believe she is one!

Yum! She loved her cupcake! It was so cute to watch her devour it!
I didn't take any pictures of our guests, but we don't want to forget them. A big thanks to the Johnson's, Edwards' and Dickens' for celebrating with us.

Fun facts about Brynlee at age one.
She started walking on her 1st birthday and took 8 steps the first time we saw her walk.
She has 4 teeth. Two on top, two on the bottom.
She says Mama, Daddy, cracker and bear.
She sleeps so well at night and takes one 1 1/2 hour nap.
She will eat almost anything, but blueberries are her favorite.

We love you Brynlee!

January 2010

2010-03-15T13:21:00.004-05:00

We finally got a playable amount of snow, so we bundled Brynners and took her out for her first play in the snow. She wasn't to sure what to do and pretty much just sat there until she was freezing and we took her in, but it was worth a try.

Our little girl loves to eat! It is such a blessing. I have heard so many stories of picky eaters but whatever I give her, she eats and is happy to do it herself.

As you can tell she loves spaghetti and baths!

I'm back in business....and we have alot of catching up to do!

2010-03-15T13:01:00.001-05:00

Here comes December 2009 until now!

Christmas 2009...Just a little late!

2010-03-15T12:42:00.009-05:00

Before leaving for Arizona and Utah, we thought it would be best to do our Christmas presents at our house so we wouldn't have to drag them across the country and back.

After a few days in Phoenix we decided to head up the Mountains to visit Grandpa Lancaster in Snowflake. We only stayed one night with him, but it was a fun trip. As always we headed to Trappers for their yummy Chicken Fried Steaks. See those pants on Brynlee. Shortly after this picture they were thrown into the forest off the side of the road. We had an explosion incident! Yikes!

When we got back to the Valley, Grandma took us to the zoo. Brynlee loved the petting zoo.

Our friends, the Price's, moved to Chandler this summer so we caught up with them at the Mesa Temple. It was a short visit but it was so fun to see them.

This is my cute family on Christmas Eve! My "little" brother is the tall kid in the middle. He grows about foot each time I see him. The rest of these kids are cousins Can you tell who got to play baby Jesus this year?

Brynlee opening presents from Great Grandma Null with Dad and Brad, well he's being Brad.

It was a great first Christmas for Brynlee!

Soaking it all in

2010-02-19T21:07:00.003-06:00

Still no pictures! So very frustrating!

Our little Brynlee bug is walking...everywhere! On her birthday she took 8 steps. That was the first time we saw her walk and she hasn't stopped yet. She is the smallest little walker and she is so cute!

I also get an ear full from that little girl from dawn to dusk. Currently her vocabulary includes, mama, daddy, Hi!, bye-bye, ok, bubble, cracker, and ducky. I swear she is picking up a new word everyday!

Brynlee laughs almost non-stop and loves to play hide and seek. We are having so much fun with her right now! One is a great age!

Hello Everyone

2010-02-12T16:06:00.002-06:00

Hello blogging world. The Jones' are still alive! We did not fall off the edge of the Earth and we did celebrate Christmas, New Years and Brynlee's birthday. As much I would LOVE to blog it all for you, complete with pictures of course, our computer has decided that it no longer likes Picasa. Not really sure why, but I has. I have tried loading my pictures other ways and it "times out". Not sure what to do about that. I need to get this pile of junk laptop looked at because I am sure that it has more than it's fair share of viruses and who knows what eles. If you can't tell, me and computers dont really get along all that well. Anyway, until then You can re-read all of you favorite blog posts ;)

Remeber this, Oops!

2009-12-14T20:58:00.004-06:00

Remember when I wrote this post on June 1st.

Well 6 months later the project is finally done! I think it turned out great. At first I got letters that were too small for the windows and I thought these would be too big, but I love them.

Christmas Kid Crafts

2009-12-13T16:32:00.005-06:00

This little doll pattern is from Martha Stewart. It was really easy to whip up so make one for your little girl, or niece or granddaughter. Brynlee loves hers. I would recommend double stitching the arms and legs. Brynlee drags hers around the house so much one of the arms is ripping out of the seam.

I made a couple of these super cute and quiet potato heads for my niece and nephews. They are felt and velcro and perfect for your church bag or just around the house. I made a few face options also to mix it up.

With so many little boys in my family, I thought a car cozy would come in handy. The pockets at the bottom are "garages" for matchbox cars. Fold it up and throw it in your bag for car fun on the go.

Now, if you are my sister-in-law look for a package to come in the mail soon with a few suprise gifts too. :)

Brynlee's First Christmas

2009-12-13T16:07:00.005-06:00

Friday night was our ward party and Brynlee got her first chance to meet Santa. After trying to pull off his beard she was quite curious about who the heck this guy holding her was.

She was quite tried, but she was so good. It was 9 o'clock before we got to the front of the line to sit on Santa's lap.

Oh, and isn't her dress adorable. Grandma Lancaster bought it for her. Thanks Grandma! and thanks Jacklyn for the bow-tastic-ness!

Turkey Trot 2009

2009-11-26T10:33:00.001-06:00

Rather last minutely I decided to run the Thoroughbred 5K classic (aka Turkey Trot). After trying to convince my friends and husband into running with, no luck, I went ahead and registered for the race. So today was the day. After waking up super late and rushing to get out the door to not miss the start I turned out to be a lot of fun. The forecast looked bleak last night, but I turned out to be perfect running weather. The race was held at Keeneland race track (beautiful) right here in Lexington. One other friend showed up this morning to run the race and I saw him moments before the start but last him in the sea of people, but it's not like I could have kept up with him anyway.

The starting line. I was way in the back.

I'm in there somewhere. Lots of runners about 2,000.

Just after the first mile marker.

The cheering section. Amber and Greg, Noel's fans and Brynlee for me!

It was a really fun race. Very laid back and friendly. There was even a lady that drove a mini horse pulling a buggy way in the back!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Peace of Mind

2009-11-23T10:23:00.001-06:00

This weekend Bryce and I finally got a gate up around the stairs. After much searching online, we decided that gates are ridiculously priced! Because of the way our stairs are, the gate that we would need is $100+. Our brilliant neighbors, the Goodmans, came up with this gate for their kids and we were pleased to copy them since our houses are identical!! So $21.74 in materials later we have a gate! Now I don't have to chase Brynlee off the stairs every 10 minutes all day everyday.

Shhhhh....Dont Tell Brynlee

2009-11-11T17:21:00.001-06:00

Don't tell Brynlee, her first Christmas gift is done! I Cant wait to put up the tree so I can up this little package under it!

I got the pattern at this etsy shop. All of her books are interactive.

Now that Brynlee has a colors book I pretty sure she will need an ABC book and numbers book too. ;)

Adventure Race

2009-11-08T19:46:00.000-06:00

(Noel, Nate, Jarom & Bryce)
Bryce and some buddies from school decided that they needed some adventure in there lives. (I don't know why. All of these guys became new dads this year. Isn't that adventure enough.) So the four of them packed up their gear and headed out for a weekend they thought would be filled with fun as they participated in the Red River Gorge Adventure Race.

I know many of you are wondering what an adventure race is. It is and all day race that covers 60 miles. You participate in teams and have to get a card punched at 21 check point along your way. Your means for transportation changes through out the race. You start out on foot, repel down a cliff, mountain bike and kayak on the river. There is no official trail or route to each check point, part of the race is orienteering. You have to use a compass to find the area the check points are in and then search for the puncher in the woods.

Now that we have that out of the way, on to the good stuff. The guys headed out Friday night to camp out (in November doesn't sound fun to me). At 4:30am they woke up broke down camp, caught the shuttle at 6am and got ready for the race which started at 7am. Off to a good start on foot the guys found the first couple of checkpoints pretty easily. They repelled down a 200 foot cliff and then got on their bikes. They were looking forward to riding their bikes because their feet were getting tired after walking about 12 miles, but that soon pasted for Bryce. He got really tired, hungry and cold. Bryce and Jarom were feeling very tired and about to fall asleep behind the handle bars, so the two of them decided to stop right there on the side of the Highway and build a fire to keep warm until their team returned for them.

I wish I would have taken a picture of Bryce when he got home. He was covered in dirt and sweat and all around nasty. He was so tired that he struggled to stay awake long enough to get in the shower and head to bed.

"Hell is not fire and brim stone. It's the adventure race!" -Bryce Jones

9 Months

2009-11-05T14:42:00.004-06:00

Today our little Brynlee bug turns 9 months old! She has learned so many things in her 9 months of life and we are having so much fun watching her do more and more everyday.

She wouldn't look up at me. She kept trying to take a bite out of the pumpkin and when that didn't work she started licking the it!

Brynlee's you caught me face. How do you get mad at her with a cute look like that?

I ran 13.1 miles and lived to tell about it

2009-11-02T21:14:00.003-06:00

For ten weeks 5 ladies and myself have been training four times a week after our kids are sweetly tucked into bed and early Saturday mornings when are husbands are to delirious to say no when we ask them to take care of the kids.

We started out running 2 miles/5 miles/6 miles the first week and 10 weeks later we were running 13.1 miles!

The race was very small, as was the town we ran in. There were only 130 runners. The weather was chilly! When we started the race it was 48 degrees and very windy. The clouds were looming but the rain held off, thankfully.

I was very pleased with my run! And very proud of all the ladies for running great times and placing in their age groups!

Horsey Farm Fun

2009-11-02T21:08:00.000-06:00

We are lucky enough to live in the horse capital of the world and be surrounded by beautiful horse farms. This past week we got to go and check out some of the horses at Taylor Made farm.

This little horse is 8 months old, just like Brynlee! She was very comfortable around the horse and even tried to touch it a few times. Cute!

We were glad that Daddy was able to spend some time with us!

It was a beautiful day, a little breezy, but not bad. There are so many beautiful horse on the farm and the farm is so pretty. It was a great way to spend a morning.

Thanks to Angela and Kevin for making this great day happen.

Why dont I take before pictures?

2009-10-12T18:55:00.000-05:00

This was a hideous dresser that my friend Jacklyn picked up at the Goodwill. She can attest to the fact that it had a nasty dark brown finish, handles form the 70's and water damage on the top.
But after much love, wood fill, primer, paint, polyurethane and elbow grease this little dresser is a gem! It is perfect in Brynlee's room.
Thanks for the dresser Jacklyn and the use of the sander Nancy.
(Sorry about the wierd angle on the picture. Brynlee's room is small so I had to take the picture from the hall.)

Good news.....Hair!

2009-10-12T18:40:00.000-05:00

Not quite hair but close. Muti purpose tutu! This is what happens when you leave dads, babies and tutus alone together.

Halloween Preview

2009-10-11T19:14:00.000-05:00

Sneak peek of little Bryners cute little ladybug costume. Only 19 days until Halloween, which means I have 19 days until the half marathon!

How did I forget this

2009-10-11T18:29:00.001-05:00

Such a happy little face! This is on the 24th of July. I made her little sun dress!

She LOVES spit bubbles!

This is my dad and Brynlee at my Grandpa's house in Snowflake, Arizona (my favorite place on Earth!).

I Heart Pedipeds!

2009-09-24T14:52:00.002-05:00

I got Brynlee these pedipeds on sale last week and they showed up in my mailbox today! I can't wait for her to wake up so I can put them on her chubby little feet!

Some Lancaster Cousins

2009-09-21T22:34:00.001-05:00

It's getting late and I am so tired but I wanted to get this picture up. Look at these adorable children all looking in the general direction of the camera and being so nice to each other. These are my brother Ken's kids, well except the sleepy one, she's mine. We were lucky enough to get to see them for a week this summer. We missed my brother Ryan and his family but hope to catch up to them someday soon so Brynlee can meet the rest of her Lancaster cousins.
P.S. Erin, I have all the pictures on a CD. I will send them to my mom's house since you will be there soon and I don't have your new address.

Yummy Taco Soup

2009-09-21T22:17:00.003-05:00

I have been trying to vary our dinner menu. Lately I feel like I we have been in a rut, making the same 5 things for dinner. I found this Favorite Family Recipes the other day and love it! The ingredients are simple everyday foods that you have on hand or are really easy to find at the local grocery store. So tonight we tried Emily's Southwest Taco Soup. LOVED IT! This will definitely be a favorite in our house during the chilly months ahead.

One more

2009-09-17T20:41:00.000-05:00

Couldn't resist!

For the Grandmas

2009-09-17T20:38:00.000-05:00

So stinkin' cute!

Sticky Fingers that are truely Amazing!

2009-09-09T06:54:00.007-05:00

Do you need a sticky finger fix but live in an area that is lacking Original Amazing sauce? Or do you live near a Winger's and spend way to much money on their irresistible deliciousness?
I have the answer!!! MAKE YOUR OWN sticky fingers!!!
I made these last night for Bryce and he loved them. He said they tasted exactly like the real thing and I must agree that they were Amazing!

Here is what you do:

6 Tbs. Frank's Hot Sauce
*It must be Frank's. When you open the bottle you will know why. You can find it at WalMart of any other super market. It was near the BBQ sauce at the Saron WalMart for all you KY friends.
1 1/2 cups Brown Sugar
4 Tbs. Water
1 bag Tyson Crispy Chicken Strips (fully cooked)
1 cup oil
1 pkg. Hidden Valley Ranch original dressing mix (not the buttermilk packet)
1 cup Buttermilk
1 cup mayonnaise

Mix Frank's, sugar and water together in a saucepan stirring constantly until the sugar has all melted and the sauce has just started to boil. It will be really runny but will thicken as it cools so take it off the heat while you cook the chicken.
Heat the oil in a frying pan, not to hot. The chicken is cooked so you are just warming and crisping the chicken. When the chicken is done, put the chicken in a Tupperware and pour over the sauce. (If you want to make the Creamy Amazing sauce save some Amazing sauce to mix with the ranch.) Shake to coat the chicken. Mix your ranch packet with the buttermilk and mayonnaise.
I know what you are thinking, that's it! I promise you won't be disappointed! Enjoy!

Just Some New Things

2009-09-03T14:27:00.003-05:00

Brynlee is 7 months old and as adorable as ever! She is trying really hard to feed herself and crawl. She is getting pretty good at the army crawl and almost, so close to real crawling. Now if she can just grow some hair!

My dear lawn mower abscessed husband has found a gem! He is in love! He picked up this red beauty last week and I must admit it is rather fun to ride around the yard.

****I guess I should have explained the lawn mower situation a little more. We have a huge shared back yard, which is great. We don't have to mow it, which is great. Bryce buys lawn mowers fixes them and sales them on craigslist. We have 4 push mowers and 1 riding lawn mower, which is not great. Our yard looks like a junk yard. So lame! Please please come get these darn lawn mowers!

The dresser in the background had been my project the last couple of days it. I should have taken a before picture, but I didn't. It was pretty sad, but it is going to be so cute! I am really excited about it. Here is your sneak peak, stay tuned for the final product.

Good Day!

2009-08-03T14:41:00.002-05:00

Thanks for being such a happy baby today! It is so much fun to be at home to play with you!

Summer Vacation (part 3 of 3)

2009-08-02T14:40:00.001-05:00

We said goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa Lancaster :( caught a flight to Orange County, California and started the next phase of trip.

The Jones family rents a beach house for a week on Newport beach and we caught up with them for some fun!

We had a blast sitting in the sand and enjoying the sun. Brynlee enjoyed herself. I am so glad that we bought the Cabana! I was so nice to have the shade and the non sandy surface for Bryn. The weather was perfect and it was wonderful to see everyone especially little Rickey. We hadn't met him yet and a lot of the Jones family hadn't met Brynlee either.

Although the beach was fun, we all got a little crispy after a few days and decided to take a day off and see Hollywood. We walked the red carpet and wore really big flip flops. We saw some really neat theaters and checked out the Universal Studios mall. It was a fun way to spend an afternoon without getting burned, again.

This is the Wedge. It's a pretty popular surfing beach in Newport. We were lucky enough to be there the one time of the year that the waves get really huge. It was very impressive and drew a large crowd. The waves were 20 feet plus and really show cased how dangerous the ocean can really be. If you click on the picture you can see the people in the water body surfing. While we were watching, the ocean reared her ugly head and and an unfortunate body surfer lost his life. We watched as he got sucked under a gigantic wave and shot out near the rocky jetty. He was thrown by the powerful waves onto the rocks several times before the lifeguards were able to get him out of harms way and onto a waiting lifeguard boat. It was a very intense situation. Later that night we heard on the news that the man passed away.

Overall, we had a fantastic vacation! It was the perfect amount of time. We were ready to come home and our beds have never felt better. Brynlee is getting back into a routine and is much happier now that she is getting her two naps and going to bed at a reasonable hour.

Summer Vacation (part 2 of 3)

2009-07-31T23:49:00.002-05:00

The Jones' have been on another grand adventure! For a month we lived out of suit cases, slept on an air bed, shared a room, eat like kings and had a BLAST!
(I am still working on going through pictures, among other things like laundry and housework, so I am starting in the middle of our vacation, sorry for the chronological mess.)

First up on part 2 of our adventure

What better way to spend a summer evening than watching an American past time, with your family, from the 5th row! Bryce wanted to go to game while we were visiting my parents and my dad came through big time. He got the tickets from a friend and they were truly amazing! The tickets came with a parking pass, buffet in the club house and private bathrooms underneath the stands. Brynlee was so good and was even a TV star for a few seconds. She got her picture on the mega screen and Bryce and I soon followed. We got picked for the kissing cam and Bryce did not waste the chance to lay one on me, I tell ya.

My mom knows all the stuff to do with kids in the summer, after living in AZ for 30 some odd years with kids, and suggested we take a few hours and check out the natural history museum. She even scored us some free tickets. Thanks Mom, it was a great way to beat the heat if only for awhile.

My adorable Grandma turned 90 years old! Check out that cake. Fire hazard! We love you grandma. By the way, great party!

Another great score by Mom and we were off to the science center for and afternoon. What a great place! Growing up I had been there a few time and always had fun, but, Bryce had a blast! In fact, he had so much fun, we went twice!

Stay tuned for part 1 and 3 soon!

Feelin' Feverish

2009-06-30T01:07:00.002-05:00

It was inevitable and I am rather surprised that we have lasted list long with out one, but Brynlee got her first fever. She was fussy at church Sunday and during the last hour had this inconsolable cry that I had never heard before. It just melted my heart. When we got home and I put her down for a nap she was feeling pretty warm. She slept pretty much all day only waking to eat and dose up on Tylenol. I thought I was in for a long night since she had slept all day but I was pleasantly surprised when she slept all night. At about 2:30am I checked Brynlee and it seemed that the Tylenol did the trick, she wasn't feverish anymore. Wahoo! I was glad that we were at my Mom and Dad's for Brynlee's first fever so my mom could keep me from freaking out. Sadly, Mom got the bug today and slept most of the morning and early afternoon. Good news is, it seems to pass quickly so hopefully we will be back to the fun tomorrow.

Bye Bye Sweet Cousins

2009-06-26T11:00:00.002-05:00

My brother Ken and his family packed up the Excursion this morning and are starting their three part journey to Germany. It was well worth switching my plane tickets and flying alone with Brynlee to hang out with my brother and see my adorable niece and handsome nephews. My sister in law is amazing and it is always good to hang out with her too. I'm so glad that Brynlee got to meet her cousins and take some stinking cute pictures in Grandma and Grandpa's front yard with them.

Brynlee and I are really missing Bryce. We wish that he could have come out with us but we are looking forward his arrival in Arizona next week. We have lots of adventures plan once he gets here, so stay tuned.

My parents computer is not performing at full capacity right now so we haven't been able to upload pictures, but I promise they are coming. Bryce will be here July 2 with the laptop. Yay!

Giveaway that I want to WIN!!

2009-06-23T15:31:00.002-05:00

So one of my favorite blogs is make it and love it because she has the most creavtive and simple ideas. Lately she has featured sponsors and giveaways, none of which caught my eye until now. Red Bucket Photography is the sponsor and the giveaway is a photo session. Who wouldn't want to win this so for all my AZ friends check out make it and love it to enter.

New Love!

2009-06-15T20:15:00.004-05:00

Bryce and I have had camera, after camera, after camera and of late we have become pretty fed up with the crap o' la that you can get for a couple hundred bucks. I am sick of spending a few hundred bucks on a camera that sucks at taking pictures and breaks in 8 months, so we took the plunge into the world of SLR cameras. After weeks of checking on web, talking to lots of people and visiting the camera store 3 times for hours on end, we decided the Canon t1i would be our new love!

Yard Sale Revamp

2009-06-01T17:40:00.001-05:00

As all of you well know, Bryce and I are poor, very poor dental school students (Well, he is. I'm the mom.) We skimp by on little money, hand-me-downs, homemade stuff and yard sale finds. It is VERY hard, I must admit but, in a weird sort of way, kinda fun. You have to be creative and think out of the box. I picked this puppy at a yard sale after walking by it twice, not thinking of it's potential. It is a window section that is suppose to go over a double door, but I am going to revamp it. I have a few ideas of what it's next life will be, but you will have to check back to see what that will be.
(By posting this project online, I am hoping that it will make me get it ALL the way done in one clean sweep.Bryce hates that I have 10 unfinished projects at any given time. Sorry babe:)

21st century....the Jones' have arrived

2009-05-29T11:26:00.006-05:00

I think we might be the last people in the world to get ipods! What a difference it makes at the gym! Bryce got a fancy touch screen that can connect to the internet and I got the nano.

Memorial Day Weekend

2009-05-25T21:45:00.002-05:00

For Memorial Day weekend, Bryce's brother, Daniel, came for a visit with his friend Nate. Bryce had Friday and Monday off of school so it was perfect timing. We did a lot of super fun things. Here is the run down:

Thursday:
Daniel and Nate got in late Wednesday night so Brynlee and I let the boys sleep in and we met Bryce for lunch at the Arboretum. It was a beautiful day! There were a trillion kids in arboretum that day on a field trip, but we managed to snag a picnic table under a tree.
For dinner we all packed up and headed to Jacobson park for a BBQ. There were a bunch of baby ducks to feed and the hamburgers were delicious! To top off this perfect day, we had dutch oven cobbler with cream!

Friday:
We packed up the car, the baby gear and some snacks and hit to road for Kirtland, Ohio. I was a little worried about Brynlee screaming the entire way, but she was AMAZING! I had to read her the same book about 157 times but we made it 5 1/2 hours in the car with no major melt downs! We stopped at the Columbus temple for a stretch and to feed the baby. Side notes, thanks to all the boys, including my hubby for being so flexible, with diaper and feedings, the entire trip. We pulled into the EconoLodge for the night, but not before a tasty dinner at a fantastic Mexican food joint and a WalMart run.

Saturday:
After a great nights sleep, we headed over to the Kirtland temple. We went on the tour, given by the Community of Christ church, who know own the temple. It was great to see the temple because so many great things in our church's history happened their, but the Spirit isn't there. It is kind of an erie feeling. After the temple, we headed to church owned village. We visited the sawmill, ashery, inn, Whitney home and Whitney store. The school of the prophets in the Whitney store was my favorite on the tour because of the spirit that was there, but I also really enjoyed learning about what was sold in the store, how the saw mill worked and what and ashery was. After a few snack we headed over the Morley farm and then the Johnson farm. I am so glad that we took time to take this trip. I learned so much about the church and felt the spirit.

Sunday:
After a late night drive home ending at 3am, we got a late start to church. After the block we went to Waveland State Park and took a tour of a Civil War mansion. It was really neat. Very big and fancy. We learned a lot about how people around here lived during that era and about the slaves here in Kentucky. Daniel, the genealogist informed us that the Bryan family who owned the home are great great great....somethings of the Jones Family. After a seafood dinner it was off to bed.

Monday:
The boys were planning a bike trip, but we woke up to thunder and rain so that was a no go and we all went back to bed. After lunch, Daniel and Nate took off the second half of their road trip adventure and Bryce and I took Brynlee for her first swim and the YMCA.

Growing So Fast!

2009-05-18T20:14:00.000-05:00

We have been busy lately with our growing baby! She is just so fun!

We are so blessed to have one of those amazing sleeping babies. Brynlee has been sleeping through the night EVERY night for awhile now. Most nights she twirls around in her crib and ends up in the corner sideways or something. What a thumb sucker too! She spits out her pacifier in the night and starts sucking on the little thumb of hers.

"I'm ready for the beach Mom."
She loves her little sunglasses. A girl in our ward gave them to us and Brynlee just thought they were great.

She's getting really strong, I tell ya. What a skinny mini!

Brynlee's new favorite toy. Who knew 4 scraps of fabric and some batting could be so fun! She love these little rings I made her. We have to take them everywhere. It's a good thing they can get thrown in with the laundry because most days they are covered in baby slobber.

She is awake and very alter most of the day. I love it! She is really cooing and squealing a TON these days. Doing the dishes isn't to terrible when you hear a sweet little baby in the next room talking up a storm.

Blessing Dress Photos

2009-04-27T11:49:00.006-05:00

I took Brynlee today to get some pictures of her in her beautiful blessing dress. I strategically planned to get her pictures done at 11am because she is usually so cute and smiley and it worked great! The pictures turned out adorable. She was so good even under the hot lights.

Mom, you can click on the picture to make it bigger. Love you!

Help!!

2009-04-16T13:27:00.002-05:00

Calling all blogger and fans of Brynlee. I have entered Brynlee in a cutest kid contest for Simply Lulu boutique. I NEED you to vote for her for her to win. She is the cutest kid by far so the choice is easy.

Here's what you do. Click here and leave a comment that your vote is for Brynlee. That's it.

Thanks a bunch! Don't forget to vote!!

A Very Special Easter for the Jones'

2009-04-13T18:01:00.000-05:00

We blessed our sweet little Brynlee Sunday!

Bryce was so nervous, but he did a great job and gave Brynlee a wonderful blessing.

We were lucky enough to have Bryce's mom and dad here from Utah.
Denise is amazing! She made Brynlee's dress and slip in 3 days, beads and all. It is the most darling blessing dress you have ever seen.
Oh and I can't forget the shoes. Denise also made these adroable shoes that matched the dress. (I'll take a picture and post it soon.)
It was so fun to have family here with us and we are glad the Brynlee got to meet her Grandma and Grandpa Jones.
We hope that you had fun, Rick and Denise, because we sure did. Thanks again and again for all the help with cars, storage sheds, dresses and plants. Not to mentions the shopping and cooking you did for us too. We can't wait to see you at the beach!

Garden Ready

2009-04-13T17:47:00.000-05:00

We bought the seeds, planted them, added water, gave them some light and now we are ready for spring!
Bryce and I really love to garden. He does the veggies and I do the flowers. This year we are really going all out. We started the seeds indoors from seed instead of getting the bedding plants. We were really excited when they started to grow taller and taller, but then they were looking kind of sad. They all fell over and went limp and pale.
Luckily the garden guru, Bryce's mom, came for a visit and now our plants are looking great. She told us that the problem was light. Our little plants needed more. With Denise's design, Bryce and his dad constructed a light stand to hang over the plants. Now our little tomatoes and squash are looking green and ready to be moved outside.
The ground was pretty hard and Bryce really had to work to get the plot dug but we are so excited to get those little plants in the ground. (The picture is crappy cause I took it from the upstairs window.)

Oh Little Sis... We Love Ya!

2009-04-13T17:36:00.002-05:00

Brynlee loves her swing and goes for a nice ride while I take a shower in the mornings.

Usually she falls asleep.

Brynlee got a bug this week and wasn't feeling like her self much. She was really fussy and hard to settle down. She just wanted to snuggle Mom all day and all night which meant I got nothing done and got little sleep. I was upstairs doing something and Brynlee was getting really mad so I decided I had better go rescue Bryce. This is what I found! Doesn't he look so happy! My mom says that she is a fair weather mother, I think Bryce would agree that he is a fair weather dad.

I looked out the window and what did I see...

2009-03-25T19:22:00.000-05:00

Popcorn popping on the apricot tree (except these are not apricot trees, I dont know what they are really)

Spring is here in Kentucky and I LOVE it! The whole city is scattered with these beautiful trees with white blossoms. This one is in outr front yard and its really dinky, but the big full trees are really something to see this time of year. It's been in the 70's, so many afternoons Brynlee and I have been wearing out the pavement and the park.

Tummy to back

2009-03-20T12:00:00.002-05:00

WARNING! The following video may hurt your ears. Turning down the volume is recommended.
Brynlee was 6 weeks yesterday!

Rolling Over!

2009-03-17T12:34:00.003-05:00

That's right, last night while Bryce and I were eating dinner we let Brynlee have some tummy time on a blanket. The next thing we know she rolled over and was looking up at us from her back like, "What's for dinner guys?". Thinking it was a fluke I rolled her back over to her tummy and she immediately rolled to her back! So we kept putting her on her tummy and she kept rolling over. She did it again this morning after her bath. The crazy thing is she is only 5 weeks old. She'll be six weeks on Thursday. I hope I'm not in trouble here. We might have our hands full with this little mover and shaker!

I keep trying to get a video of her rolling over but she is camera shy. Every time I get the camera out she lies down very calmly and won't even lift up her head. I'll sneak up on her and she if I can't catch her in the act in the next few day.

Announcing...

2009-03-15T16:16:00.000-05:00

Aren't these cute?! My sister in law, Susie, made them for me. She is pretty handy with a computer don't you think.

One Month Already!

2009-03-11T16:16:00.000-05:00

What the heck?! How did she get so big so fast!
Brynlee is a month old and she is so fun. She has big tears when she cries now and she is on a little bit better of a schedule than when we first brought her home. She loves to go for walks on warm days and take baths. Her favorite spot to fall asleep is up against your chest. The newborn clothes that hung on her when she was a tiny baby and tight around the tummy now and man, check out her chubby cheeks! She is starting to rub off her beautiful hair but we wont talk about that :(

Check out the photo albums I added a new one of the all the pictures that our friend Mallory took or Brynlee when she was 2 weeks old.

8

2009-03-07T00:06:00.000-06:00

LISTS OF EIGHT:
1) Post rules on your blog
2) Answer the five "8" items
3) Let each person you tag know by leaving them a comment

8 Favorite TV Shows:
1. Grey's Anatomy
2. Private Practice
3. Law and Order
4. Friday Night Lights
5. Dateline
6. 20 20
7. the Today show
8. Whatever is on at 3am that is not an infomercial

8 Things I Did Yesterday:
1. Changed the babies diaper
2. Feed the baby
3. Rocked the baby
4. Eat breakfast
5. Changed a diaper
6. Feed the baby
7. Eat lunch
8. Took a shower

8 Favorite Restaurants:
1. Oregano's
2. Cheesecake Factory
3. Cafe Rio
4.Pedro's
5. PF Changs
6. Olive Garden
7. Market Grill
8. Dairy Queen

8 Things I'm Looking Forward To:
1. When Brynlee sleeps through the night!!!
2. Spring- going outside
3. going home this summer to visit family
4. graduation (for Bryce)
5. getting back into my jeans (almost there, but not quite)
6. moving closer to family or being able to travel to see them more often
7. Going to California with the Jones' in July
8. Meeting my little nephew Seth hopefully sometimes soon

8 Things on My Wish List
1. being debt free!! having all the school loans paid off
2. A house on land somewhere quiet
3. A maid and a chef
4. Traveling to really cool tropical places ex. Fuji, Barbados
5. Spending more time with Bryce and Bryce spending less time studying
6. Toyota Forerunner
7. A cabin on Cedar Mountain, preferably near Kolob Reservoir
8. Be closer to family

On Our Own

2009-02-28T16:22:00.000-06:00

After we had Brynlee my Mom came to stay with us for 2 weeks. It was WONDERFUL to have her with us. She spoiled us all!
All I had to do for two weeks was snuggle with my baby, feed her and sleep. My mom took care of the rest! She cooked and cleaned and did our laundry. She even made Bryce lunch everyday. My favorite part was just hanging out with my mom. We mostly sat around talking and holding the baby.

It was sad to see her go. (Even Brynlee was sad, look at her face.) We all miss her very much! We can't wait to see her in July!

Adorable

2009-02-23T12:43:00.000-06:00

Isn't she the most darling baby in the whole world!

We had a great friend come and take some pictures of Brynlee last week and they all turned out so cute! I have lots more pictures to share, however, you will have to wait until the announcements come out. Don't want to spoil the surprise!

Anyway, here is a shout out to the photographer, Mallory Johnson. Check out her blog at http://malloryjohnsonphotography.blogspot.com to see more cute pictures that she has taken of Brynlee and her baby boy.

Thanks again Mallory, for waiting patiently for Brynlee to eat and stop fussing and then understanding when she pooed and peed on your stuff. The pictures are great I love them and can't wait for the next round.

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

2009-02-13T11:23:00.000-06:00

One Week Already!
My baby girl is one week old now! Unbelievable! She is as sweet as can be and gets more adorable everyday. We are having so much fun with her! Bryce is having a hard time staying focused in school and has admitted to breaking the speed limit several times to hurry home and to have time with his Brynlee. We are excited to report (mostly mom and grandma) that baby Brynlee has been doing very well with her night the last few days and even had one 6 hour stretch! (Although, it didn't mean anymore rest for mom or grandma how kept waking up to check on her.)
Brynlee is almost back to her birth weight and has kicked her jaundice right in the butt. At her one week check today the doctor was very impressed how quickly Brynlee turned things around. It helped that my milk came in and she eats like a happy little piggy now
We are all very happy and healthy and going well. We love having grandma to spoil us. Bryce is even getting spoiled by grandma. She makes his lunch for him to take to school everyday.
It's amazing how much we love and dote on Brynlee, but we wouldn't have it any other way!

more pictures

2009-02-06T17:33:00.000-06:00

me and brynlee..she's a sleeper

these are some close ups of the bay bay, she is so cute!!!!!!!!

got to have the pink ribbon

Brynlee Jocelyn Jones

2009-02-05T19:07:00.001-06:00

Here she is!
she has dark hair and strong hands..she kept ripping the suction tube from the nurses hands

my beautiful wife and child

she was looking for only one thing, well two if you count the other one

THE BABY IS COMING!

2009-02-03T12:17:00.000-06:00

I just got home for the doctor and there are no changes to report. However, I will be INDUCED Wednesday at 9pm!

I am so very excited to finally know that she is on her way! Bryce can't hardly wait and it worked out perfect for him since he finished up his tests today and he won't have another one until next Wednesday! So he will get to spend some time with us before he has to hit the books again. Oh and my Mom is flying in on Saturday which is perfect too! Everything is working out great! Now all we need is the baby!

Well I better go, lots to do before the baby gets here but check back Thursday/Friday for picture of our little one!!

No School :) No Power:(

2009-01-29T15:12:00.000-06:00

Wednesday the dental school was closed and all classes canceled. We hear that this never happens so it was a treat. Bryce was home studying and I was about to start the laundry when....THE POWER GOES OUT!

If any of you know Bryce, you know that he is my super deals guy. He can out yard sale almost anyone, except his dad, and he can haggle with the best of them. He picked up a generator last summer on cragislist in anticiaption of our current scenario. This is not just your everyday run of the mill, joe six pack generator. This thing can power the entire neighborhood we found out! We had our fridge, tv, lamp and heater plugged in plus two other neighbors lamps and heaters. The little guy ran like a champ!
Bryce and his craiglist treasures save the day again!!

This post was brought to you by real Kentucky Utilites power!
Moments ago after being on generator power for 28 hours, we got out power back! (although flickering) Wahoo!

Ice Storm '09!

2009-01-29T11:02:00.000-06:00

We have been hearing tales of ice storms for months and to tell you the truth I had no idea what we were getting ourselves into until Tuesday morning! The news warned us but we weren't to concerned seeings how every other time there is a winter weather watch it turns out to be 1/4'' of snow. We woke up to a little snow, great! but then the freezing rain came! By 1pm everything was covered in a solid inch of ice! It is really beautiful! But really cold and deadly slick.

This is our front tree for the upstairs window! It is so pretty to look at and the crackling is kind of fun!

Just some of the damage in the neighborhood. Once is stoped raining ice then it snowed and the wind picked up. Lots of trees lost big limbs or just split down the middle.

We're Gettin' There!

2009-01-23T22:54:00.000-06:00

39 weeks and 1 day! Only 6 days to the due date!
We sure are excited!

Babies Room on a Budget!

2009-01-23T22:38:00.000-06:00

Welcome to Brynlee's room!!

Changing table and painted frames to match the rest of her room.
(Picture frames are still empty, I need to fix that.)

Bryce's Mom got us this cute pink and brown bedding for Christmas and the dots are ebay! They turned out really cute and are landlord approved!

This is a really bad picture, but an awesome lady in my ward made this growth chart and gave it to me as a shower present. Best part about this one is that I can take it with us when we move! (It really is adorable. The picture does no justice. It is white with brown marks are flowers with rhinestones in the centers.)

Baskets are filled with clothes and the essentials (diapers, butt paste...). The wood crates were handcrafted to fit the changing table by the hubs! (Great job babe!! Thanks!) They still need handles cut and to be painted...details.

We are super excited to get our baby girl home and into her new room!
Thanks for visiting!

Baby Update

2009-01-23T22:29:00.000-06:00

We went to the doctor on Wednesday and they did and ultrasound to get measurements and a weight estimate on our little girl. This is her face I guess. That is what the ultrasound tech said anyway. It was a lot harder to tell what was what this time since she is so smushed up and folded over.
Good news is she is still a she!
She measures the right size for her age!
I still feel great and am still realatively comfortable. I am dialated to a one, but that has been the case for a month now. My doctor went out of town this week and she was fairly confident that I would still be pregnant when she got back. So if I don't have the baby this next week then the following week, she will induce me. Bryce has lots of tests next week so he is fine with me being induced the following week even though he is busting to see the baby.

Christmas Day

2008-12-31T16:55:00.000-06:00

P.J.'s are the official dress code of Christmas morning, so Bryce and I were looking good in front of the tree this year.
Bryce and I had a great Christmas this year! It was our last Christmas without kids bopping around! We are excited to do Christmas shopping for a little one next year.

Bryce's mom does a really great job decorating the house for Christmas.
Everyone was home for Christmas this year so the living room got pretty trashed with torn paper, bows tossed aside, and scattered gifts. That a good sign of a great Christmas I think.
Thanks again to the Jones for the awesome Christmas week and all the great gifts!

Christmas Eve

2008-12-31T16:46:00.000-06:00

Bryce's family makes gingerbread house on Christmas Eve. Here is the finished products of mine and Bryce's creative endeavors. It is always fun to see what Bryce's younger brothers come up with. This year they made a modular home and a camp trailer complete with 4wheeler and campfire.

After the gingerbread houses, we have a family home evening type deal. We read the nativity out of Luke and Denise, Bryce's mom, has flannel board activites, poems, short stories and a puzzel that we do before we sing Christmas hymns and other Christmas songs. Then its off to bed for Santa to come!

Jones Family Snow Removal Service

2008-12-31T16:33:00.000-06:00

No Snow to deep for this hard playing crew.
Car stuck in the garage? Drift in front for the barn door? Sidewalks slick?
Just call this looney crew that loves the cold weather, white soft slush and working a plow!
There will be a minimal charge of a large mug of hot chololate.

No, really Bryce and I love the snow of Utah! We have had some really fun winters sledding, sking, building snowmen and plowing! Bryce and I couldn't resist jumping on the 4wheeler for a little fun behind the handle bars of the plow. Apprently Rick, Bryce's dad, couldn't either because he was at the controls of his backhoe most days. He comes to the rescue of all the people in town as he goes up and down the streets clearing drive ways, the church parking lot and making way into neighbors barns. What a nice guy!
We figure that there was about 2- 2 1/2 feet of snow on the ground. On Christmas we measured 8 inches of new snow on the picnic table.