Jones Family

Transformer

2011-07-21T14:03:00.000-07:00

Dylan has a week long pre-school summer camp this week. Each day is learning about a different thing. One day it was China, so they made chinese hats and fans, learned karate and had fortune cookies. Today was Transformer day - they had a cake shaped like a transformer and got their faces painted.

Dylan's 5th Birthday!

2011-07-21T13:49:00.000-07:00

For Dylan's birthday, we had a small party (8 kids) at our house. I made him a cake in the shape of a #5, with Toy Story stuff on it. The kids came over and had cake, opened presents, then hit at a piniata. We had a quick rain storm that blew over fast and then they played in the little pool and basically fought over the toys. Later that night, Papa Jones and Grandma Bert came over and brought more presents! He also got a visit from his Grandma & Grandpa Dorman, who came to visit the weekend before his birthday. Alyssa bought him this huge blow-up ball that you can get in the middle of and roll around. He thinks it's great! Lots of fun!

My new bike

2011-07-21T13:46:00.000-07:00

ON a whim, I decided to by myself a present. This is a Raleigh beach cruiser. I really like it! It's really comfortable - instead of leaning over you can sit up straight. It's very pretty. The picture doesn't give it justice - it's a sea green (pale) with some pretty browns and beiges on it. I love it!

T-Ball

2011-07-21T13:42:00.000-07:00

Dylan's first experience of team sports! It has been fun - he isn't as excited about it as we are, but he does pretty good. He is on a co-ed team with kids ages 3-5. They don't take it too seriously, which is good. He really wants to catch every ball that gets hit. It's usually like tackle football, everybody piles on top of the ball. And as you can imagine, attention spans don't last long, so there's always either a tantrum, some karate going on, etc. Pretty funny!

Summer 2011

2011-07-21T13:36:00.001-07:00

So this year, we moved my garden (and expanded it) to a more sunny area! I'm seeing alot of better growth this year! So far I'm growing: peas, carrots, corn, onions, garlic, zinnias, pumpkin, watermelon, tomatoes, potatoes, beets, radishes, cucumber. After we cleared out the junk under our deck and put it in the shed, we made it into a little patio area and bought a new table/chair set for it. It's been really nice (shady all day) and we also hung some cute outdoor lights to light up at night. We also bought a fire pit and have had a couple fires with marshmallow roasting and all!

New Shed

2011-07-21T13:34:00.000-07:00

Last year, we tore down our shed in the backyard. it was old and falling apart, and in a very inconvenient place. However, when we went to get a new shed, they were more expensive than we thought. So we went without, but our garage was getting really crowded. So this year, we hired my friend Carmen and her husband to build us a new one. It's very spacious and has cleared out alot of junk for us!

Old Friends

2011-07-21T13:31:00.000-07:00

In June, my old friend from high school came to visit. Melissa lives in Phoenix now so we don't see eachother too often. She came and stayed for 4 days with her little girl, Lily. She's about a year younger than Dylan. They got along pretty well. They fought over toys alot and Dylan was really glad when she finally left. So other than that we had a really fun visit!

Shaving Cream

2011-07-21T13:29:00.000-07:00

Eddy did it again ! While Dylan slept he put shaving cream all over his face. Poor guy - I wasn't home for this one.

Kites!

2011-07-21T13:28:00.000-07:00

Dylan's cousins, Burkley & Brecken, came for a visit (with their parents!)!! It was a really fun visit, but the weather didn't cooperate much. So we took advantage of the wind and went kite flying. Dylan lost interest pretty quick, but got some cute pictures!

Easter

2011-07-21T13:09:00.001-07:00

This year for Easter, Eddy had to work. But the Easter Bunny still came and left Dylan lots of bug hunting goodies and yummy treats! Then we went to church where they had an Easter Egg Hunt. Then off to Papa Jones' for a potluck and an egg hunt! Tons of fun!

MOPS fun!

2011-04-09T16:42:00.001-07:00

As most of you know, I'm involved in MOPS (mother's of pre-schoolers). THis year, we chose the Shepherd's Inn as our charity. They are an organization that helps young women with unplanned pregnancies. They held a huge fundraiser today and our MOPS put together a team to compete! It was me, Carmen, Heather and Frances! Heather and Carmen made our cute t-shirts with the MOPS logo on it. The competition included fun events such as diaper changing relay, packing a diaper bag the fastest, drinking apple juice from a baby bottle the fastest and my personal favorite was when I had to be the mom with a baby doll on my hip, cell phone to my ear, hanging 5 pieces of clothing on a clothesline while memorizing 4 different words. While I'm doing this a team member from a nother team is sitting at my feet, yelling "Mom" repeatedly! We came in 3rd on that one - it was fun! The one that nearly killed me (being as out of shape as I am) was when we had to put a quarter between our knees and hop (or waddle) across the gym, then drop the penny in the mason jar. We each had to do 3 times, but by the 2nd time thru I was about to die! We did pretty good though - 10 out of 12 quarters in the jar! All in all , our team came in 2nd in a group of 11 teams. We won some really nice prizes and goodie bags and had alot of fun and alot of laughs. Some of the husbands, and their friends formed a group , "the Go-Daddies" pictured here. But of course we kicked their butts! lol

New Hairdo!

2011-04-09T16:41:00.001-07:00

Dylan and Eddy went to get their haircuts last week, and a boy in front of Dylan got a "faux hawk" so Dylan decided he wanted one too! This is a pretty crazy do, but it looks normal if we don't gel it up and spike it.

Bruiser Visits

2011-04-09T16:40:00.000-07:00

For a few days, we kept Bruiser (Grandpa Jones' dog). He came and stayed at our house. Him and Josey played for the first little while until Josey realized he wasn't leaving anytime soon. She was less than thrilled after that. He slept with Dylan each night and supposedly "jumped in the bathtub" with him. I didn't see it so i can't vouch for the truth in that statement. lol

Special Person

2011-04-09T16:39:00.001-07:00

Once each year, every child in Dylan's preschool class is picked to be the "special person". That week, he gets to bring treats for everyone to eat - which was very exciting for Dylan. He picked some gummy scooby doo treats and some cookies. Then he puts together a paper bag of things about himself that he shares with his class. (ex.: things he likes to do, things he hates, his favorite thing to play with, etc.) and also he brings in photos of his family to show everyone. On the day I visited, Miss Jana painted all the kids' arms (she's a very talented artist). When it came time for "special person" time, Dylan stood on a chair while they went thru his items in his bag. Then he explained all the pictures. Then, the funniest and cutest thing - they all sang the "special person" song while Miss Jana tickeled him with a huge feather! It was so cute and he was super excited!

Snow Fort

2011-01-24T18:00:00.000-08:00

Eddy and Dylan went out and worked hard on this snow fort! Dylan thought it was great!

Christmas

2011-01-24T17:50:00.001-08:00

Ok - so I finally am catching up on my blog - here are some photos from Christmas. We had a nice quiet Christmas at home this year. Dylan had tons of fun and was very excited to open his gifts. I made a ham dinner for us later that day. Then on Christmas Eve, Eddy was working , so Dylan and I went to eddy's family's dinner and had tons of fun! We had chili, played games etc. So here are the few pictures I have:

New Furniture . . . Again

2010-11-23T09:56:00.000-08:00

So yes, I know how ridiculous we are, but we bought new furniture again. Eddy didn't like his chair so we ended up with new leather couches. They recline and are pretty nice. Haven't got the room arranged exactly right yet, but you can atleast see what they look like. And oh - how I love craigs list! I've already got some hits to sell our old stuff and it's only been 1/2 hour!!

Trick or Treat

2010-11-23T09:49:00.000-08:00

This year, Grandpa Jones came and took Dylan trick-or-treating on Friday at a local business. He got lots of good stuff! THen on Saturday, my friend, Amanda and her family came over to trick or treat. Dylan is good friends with her little boy, Preston, and her daughter, Audrey. We went all over the neighborhood and they had fun. Dylan didn't want to wear his mask, so he basically went without a costume this year. Oh well. The boys fought over who got to ring each doorbell. Then we came back to the house and sorted candy. It actually was a fairly warm experience this year - which is unusual. Usually it's freezing or snowing. So it was a fun night overall! Then on Sunday, it was actually Halloween (but no one around here celebrates on Sunday), and it was also Eddy's birthday. So we went out to eat at Texas Roadhouse and then just came home and watched a movie. It was fun!

Pumpkin Carving

2010-11-23T09:45:00.000-08:00

This year, Dylan actually helped clean out the pumpkins! And Eddy actually used his dremel tool to do some creative work on his!

Halloween Party!

2010-11-23T09:38:00.000-08:00

Dylan had a fun Halloween party at pre-school! I helped out with one of the stations - cookie decorating! The kids frosted and sprinkled and then ate their creation. Here are some pics - Dylan is the brown werewolf. His teacher, Miss Joan, dressed up as a ladybug. Miss Jana is the one teaching them! Dylan and a girl at his table were fighting over the crayons - I guess this is a usual thing.

Fall colors

2010-11-23T09:32:00.001-08:00

We took another hike up to Cress Creek just as the trees were changing! It was so pretty! Here are some of the pics! As we were leaving, Eddy found this little lizard for Dylan. We brought it home and let it go free in our backyard tree. He was a cutie!

4 Wheeler!

2010-11-23T09:29:00.000-08:00

Dylan has been saving money in his piggy bank for a long time , so we cashed it in (and added some) to get him this 4-wheeler. He loves it! He figured out how to drive it really quick and loves riding all over the backyard. He thinks he's hot stuff! It has 2 speeds and a reverse. So far, only 1 raspberry bush has been broken! ha!

C is for Cat

2010-11-23T09:27:00.000-08:00

Dylan's preschool teacher is a wonderful artist as well! She often paints on the kids - today, he came home with this cat face!

New Look for our Bedroom

2010-09-24T17:17:00.000-07:00

I finally broke down and bought all new decorations for our bedroom. It was long overdo. A nice cheery change from the dark blue we had to begin with. I love it!

Goodbye Kramer . . .

2010-09-20T20:15:00.000-07:00

Today was a sad day for our family. Our Kramer cat had to be put down because he started pottying all over the house. I tried everything to fix the problem, but to no avail. The vet said he probably was diabetic, but even if we were to give him insulin (which is expensive), he was in such a bad habit at this point that he probably still wouldn't stop. Eddy took him to the vet and stayed with him. We buried him in our backyard under our plum tree. I explained to Dylan that Kramer was sick and that he had to go live with Jesus in heaven now. I told him we wouldn't be able to see Kramer anymore, but that he was happy there and he gets to eat all the cat treats and milk he wants. He said he was sad that he wouldn't be able to pet him anymore, but I assured him that Jesus would be loving on him alot. And he seemed fine with it. I'm sure his mind can't understand fully.

I still remember when Eddy and I got Kramer -over 12 years ago. Jessica's mom had a litter of barn cats so we went out to pick out 2 of them. Kramer was a sweetie from the beginning- Grace was already spooky and we had to actually cut Susan's fence to get to her. After we brought him home, I remember Eddy sitting on the couch with them and Kramer started screaming like crazy and we couldn't figure out what was wrong. He had to potty - and couldn't get down off the couch. Hard to believe he was that tiny - since he was so huge as an adult! (I think he was around 18lbs)

I will always remember how friendly he was for being a cat - he greeted everyone that came over just like a dog would. He loved to get loved on by anyone. He was very vocal and talked alot to everyone too. His favorite spot was sitting next to my laptop where it was nice and warm. He liked to play outside a little too. Since he was a barn cat - he was a little inbred and ended up having 9 toes on each of his front feet - almost 2 feet! Also, he had a "floater rib" -an extra rib that wasn't attached to his ribcage. Weird huh? His big feet were part of what made him adorable to us.

Kramer - you were a special part of our family - one of the first members! And we love you always!

Catching Fish

2010-09-20T20:12:00.000-07:00

Last week, Eddy and Dylan had a day of fishing together. We bought Dylan his own life jacket the day before and a new worm box - he was pretty excited! I heard him telling his stuffed animals that evening, that they were going to catch the biggest fish ever and then put it back in the river. And that's exactly what they did!

State Fair

2010-09-20T20:04:00.001-07:00

We finally made it to the state fair this year, over in Blackfoot. We browsed some of the displays (quilts, etc.) and then took Dylan to the rides. He loved them all - nothing scares this kid! He wasn't big enough to ride on any of the ones Eddy wanted to go on - and of course, I don't come near anything like that! But he had fun on the kid rides and Eddy took him on a scary monster ride which he loved. THe only ride he didn't seem to like was the Carousel - he was afraid he was going to fall off and kept saying he couldn't hold on. But he had fun - he also played a game with Eddy where you use a little bb gun to shoot out the red star on the paper. Of course, we didn't win! After riding, we went over and had huge scones for a snack and then came home!

Back to School!

2010-09-20T20:01:00.000-07:00

Last week, Dylan headed back to preschool! He was very excited to get back to Miss Jana and Miss Joan! He is going to the same school as last year, although the school has moved to a new building, so it's kinda new! But he loves it and he loves Miss Jana! Everyday, he runs in and gives her a big hug and sits on her lap while they watch their alphabet video. He is seeming more interested in learning this year - he wants to know what letter everything starts with (well, he calls them numbers). Also, always wants to know what day it is. He is also trying to sing some of the songs they learn there! Or he just makes up his own songs - which are very cute!

Family Visits!

2010-09-03T20:58:00.000-07:00

This week we had a great week with family coming to visit! Ed's brother Adam and his wife Jessi along with their 2 kids (Burkley, 7 and Breckin, 3 ) came on Tuesday night. They pulled their trailor and stayed in it parked next to our house. Dylan and the kids had a blast! He was so excited that he's been counting down for weeks when they would arrive. On wednesday, we let the kids ride bikes and we ended up getting Dylan a new bike. His other bike is still too big and a little too hard for him to ride. So he was keeping up good on his new one. Then we went to the toy store so that Dylan could pick a belated birthday present out from his Aunt and Uncle - which he of course picked the remote control snake. Then we went to Pojo's - it's a video arcade that has little bumper cars. The kids thought that was fun! Then we came home and had dinner. After dark, all 3 of the kids went out to find night crawlers! On Thursday, Ed's stepdad, Dan and his parents, Darwin and Donna (Ed's grandparents) came down as well. Ed's grandpa renewed Adamm and Jessi's wedding vows. It was their 10 year anniversary and so a special day to have their vows renewed.

Then we headed over to the falls and fed the geese and ducks. Later, we BBQ'd burgers and Eddy pulled the kids in the wagon.
Adam & Jessi took off on Friday morning to head to Yellowstone for the weekend. Dan and Grandma & Grandpa left as well, heading back to Wyoming. It was so fun and a great visit! Here are all the pictures! Dylan will be missing his cousins!

Oh - and I forgot to mention, the 3 men of the family are expecting babies soon!

Sunflowers

2010-09-03T20:54:00.000-07:00

Last spring, 2 small sunflower seeds were planted in a cup - Dylan did this as a project at Bible Study Fellowship. We kept them in the window and the grew a few inches before we stuck them in our backyard. Well here they are in all their glory! The tall one is over 12 feet tall (it is slumping over now so it actually would stand about 3 feet taller than what the pictures show). Pretty amazing! We are looking forward to getting sunflower seeds from the too!

Dylan's first fish!

2010-08-09T17:27:00.001-07:00

Dylan caught his first fish today! He helped Dad reel in a Brown Trout on the South Fork of the Snake River. He also caught lots of snails and flies -his favorite thing is catching bugs.

Salad Time

2010-08-09T17:15:00.001-07:00

I''m sure you're all sick of seeing these lame garden pictures, but I had to take this one with our baby potatoes, carrots, lettuce and our first tomato of the year - which was delicious! Wishing I had a cucumber to add, but hopefully by the end of the summer . . .

Important Business

2010-08-09T17:13:00.003-07:00

Thought this was a cute shot of Dylan on the potty. Of course, being the ham he is, he began posing for me to take more pictures of him. I swear, he is going to be a model when he grows up. He loves the camera.

Memories

2010-08-09T11:47:00.001-07:00

So I just dug out a little video I made of Dylan after he was born and thought I'd try to put it on my blog. Some of you have seen it, but I had forgotten about it and wanted to share it again. Make sure you have your volume on.

Painting!

2010-08-01T15:41:00.000-07:00

Grandma gave Dylan these cute shirts and hat and some paints so he could paint on them! So today, we got them out and he made a shirt with lots of spiders, worms and snakes on them. I made him a shirt with a monster and also decorated his hat for him. Lots of fun! Can't wait til' they're dry and he can wear them! Thanks Grandma!

Yummy!

2010-08-01T15:36:00.000-07:00

So my garden is turning out to be so fun! And very little work! No weeding yet (other than a few strands of grass). We've gotten lots of lettuce, spinach and peas and several yummy strawberries! My carrots are just now starting to be big enough to pull. In the near future: tomatoes and cherry tomatoes. Also, very excited to see that my very tiny cucumber plants have flowers on them and my small pumpkin plant has SIX blooms on it!! Duds: watermelon - not doing much, very tiny and turning brown along the edges. Not sure why. New crops planted: peas, beets, lettuce/spinach, and another batch of carrots!

A great gift!

2010-08-01T15:34:00.000-07:00

At VBS this year, Dylan played non-stop on the toy horses they had set up as part of the decorations. So my pastor's wife, Jen, said she had an old one we could have. So this week, we went by and picked it up! It was a great gift and he loves it! Thanks Pastor Roger & Jen!

Dylan's 4th Birthday!

2010-08-01T15:14:00.001-07:00

Dylan had his first "friend" birthday party this year and he had a blast! Guests included his friends: Colton & Clayton Peters, Noah Carter, Auntie Brooke, Seth & Dillon Henderson, and Sydney, Luke & Mackenzie Legler! (and mom's too!) First we had cake (which you can see my awesome cake decorating skills). Then we opened presents - and when I say "we" - I mean everyone! It was pretty much a mob of kids grabbing at presents! ha! Then we went outside for a "spongebob square pants" piniata - the kids had fun whacking it and actually stayed behind the danger zone until candy started to fly. Then it was a free for all! But luckily no one was hurt! Then they all hopped in their swim suits and played in the sprinklers! All in all, it was great! Wild and fun - just like my boy! I was blessed to have my good friend Staci Legler in town so they were able to come!

Later after dinner, Grandpa and Grandma Jones picked up Dylan and took him out to eat at a mexican restaurant where they gave him a large sombrero to wear while the waiters sang happy birthday. He wasn't sure what to think of that. Then they took him to "Toys R Us" and he picked out a bunch of toys (snake, dinasoar, alligator, sword, etc.) So he had a blast! Thanks Grandpa!

The weekend after, we all went over to Pocatello to see Grandma and Aunt Alyssa. They had another birthday cake and tons of presents for him! He even got his own camera from Alyssa! Lots of fun!

On his birthday, he woke up and after confirming that he was indeed 4, he said, "Mom, it feels much better to be 4." The day after his birthday, he said, "how many more days until I turn 5?" Already starting the countdown!

July 4th Block Party

2010-08-01T15:11:00.000-07:00

On the Friday before July 4th, our neighbor, Kaye, went with us to a neighborhood block party. They had a big jumpy house for the kids to play in and Dylan loved it! Each house on the culdesac had something different (popcorn, hot dogs, cotton candy, ice cream) one house had face painting, one had a band playing, etc. It was actually pretty fun even though we didn't know many people. The kids were doing fire crackers in the street. Dylan thought it was fun to eat all the yummy stuff!

Dylan's funny sayings

2010-07-13T13:28:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, after getting groceries, we are in line at the checkout. Dylan picks out some whoppers and I told him he could have them. He then went up to the cashier and asks, "Um, Excuse me, are these yummy?" Her reply was, "Well, I like them" and then she looked at me and said, "well, that was a new one." ha!

Also, in the car last week we were talking about grandpa's and so I was trying to explain to Dylan how someone becomes a grandpa and how when he has a baby, then his dad will be a grandpa. He said, "well, I don't want to have a baby." And so i asked him why and his reply: "well, what if I was giving him a piggy back ride and he puked in my hair?". Where does he come up with this stuff?

Promotion

2010-07-02T08:12:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, Eddy was promoted to Lieutenant at his job. He is now in charge of his own crew! He still works the same shift work, but he is enjoying his new position. There was a private promotion ceremony held and these are a couple off the pictures from it. One is the group of guys that were promoted and the other is his dad giving him his new badge. Congratulations Ed! I'm proud of you!

Hot Afternoon

2010-07-01T12:00:00.000-07:00

Before we did firecrackers - we spent most of the afternoon out in the backyard. It was a hot one, so Dylan stripped down and ran thru the sprinklers. We gave him this little toy sprinkler early (we had originally bought it for his birthday). Then I ended up running thru a few times with him -he wanted me to take off my clothes, but we figured the neighbors wouldn't appreciate that much! ha!

Fireworks

2010-07-01T11:56:00.000-07:00

We celebrated July 4th early this year because Eddy is working over the holiday. So we BBQ's some steaks and watched a movie til' it got dark and then came out to do a few firecrackers. Dylan was really excited! Eddy even let him help light some of them. We only had one small fire (ha) -the blanket Dylan had brought out caught on fire somehow. But we put it out quickly. Josey even came out and sat with us and only tried to attack the last ones we did. Dylan was too afraid to hold the sparklers last year , but this year he was brave and did some! It was a fun evening!

New Flower Garden

2010-07-01T11:53:00.000-07:00

We added a small flower bed to our backyard (much to Eddy's dismay!). He always wants to keep his grass perfect and wants nothing to interfere, but I think we found a spot where it's out of his way and looks nice. We also planted some blueberry bushes and some willow bushes (no pictures).

First Fruits

2010-06-16T13:22:00.000-07:00

So today we tasted the first fruits from our garden - two ripe strawberries! And yes they were yummy and much sweeter than store bought! Everything is now sprouted and growing in the garden! And my peas are flowering!

Garden Decoration

2010-06-05T12:48:00.001-07:00

Dylan's flower he planted at BSF and the poke he painted to go with it.

I took a stab at tole painting some plant pokes and a little plaque to hang near my garden. Mom had taught me some of the tole painting basics years ago, but I've forgotten most of them. So they aren't anything fancy, but I had fun making them. I also made several flower shaped ones, but I liked the watering cans better. Also, you can see that I've added a trellis wall to my garden for all my vining plants when they start to grow!

Backyard Bliss

2010-06-05T12:07:00.001-07:00

Front yard

Back Deck

Back Yard

New Swing

Relaxing with the pets!

We spent Monday afternoon out in the backyard. We bought a new porch swing to hang under our deck. Dylan hung out with his buddy, Kramer (the cat), while Dad and put together the swing. Then Dylan had a blast taking pictures of random things around the yard, and some of me and Ed. He actually took this picture of JOsey. You might notice in the pictures of our yard that we tore down the shed that sat in front of our deck. Now it is wide open for us to see the yard when we sit under -so we thought it the perfect spot for a swing.

Dylan's Collection

Garden Update

2010-05-16T14:32:00.000-07:00

Today, I planted the rest of my square foot garden. I have 3 squares of flowers (one is my Dahlia -which is the big bloom I took pics of) and then in the rest I have pumpkin, tomato, cucumber, watermelon, cherry tomato, lettuce, spinach, peas, carrots, potato and strawberry. Can't wait to take updated pictures after everything is sprouted. OUr next project will be to build a netted wall for the back to vine the pumpkin, watermelon, tomato and cucumber on (so they will grow vertically). (my peas are pictured also)

Beach Party!

2010-05-10T19:07:00.000-07:00

Today, we had a beach party for Dylan's last day of preschool! (He of course, will be back next year, but this year is done.) We all went to one of his teachers, Miss Jana's house. It was finally warm enough for us to be outside, but not quite warm enough for swimming in the pool. So they were able to wade and that was it. But they had several stations they got to do (making crafts), and then we had pizza and drinks. Jana led them in games (red rover, etc.). A stray dog showed up and hung out with us for the morning. The kids all got their hair sprayed crazy colors, so the dog got some too! They ended the party by shooting eachother with potato guns! They had so much fun and I got to stay and help out -which was a blast!

I also got to help out at one of his regular class days last week. I didn't get any pictures, but it was so much fun! And oh what they get accomplished in 2 hours! They are constantly moving those little bodies from one station to another, practicing writing their names and the letter of the day, doing a craft, singing songs and reading stories, having snacks! It was alot of fun and Dylan thought it was fun that his mom was there. They wrote letters that day (to anyone the wanted) and we helped them "fill in the blanks" on the letter. It read something like, "Dear so and so, Miss Joan is ______, and Miss Jana acts like a ______. _______ is my best friend because ______." The answers they got were hilarious -anywhere from Miss Joan being old and Miss Jana acting like a monkey, to them being nice or funny. The kids' favorite word was "dork" because Miss Jana used that as an example, so they got that one alot! Dylan of course wrote his letter to Seth and Seth wrote his to Dylan!

A Hike

2010-05-10T18:58:00.000-07:00

Saturday, we went on a family adventure to a nearby hiking area (near Cress Creek). It is right along the Snake River where Eddy likes to fish. We hiked up a hill and back down. (a little over a mile) It was really pretty - and once we got to the top part, there were beautful streams and greenery, etc. Dylan had lots of fun -especially finding his first June bug , which he carried for most of the way until he couldn't stand the biting anymore, so he let it go. Josey had soooo much fun - running around and splashing thru the water. Poor girl - she could barely walk by that evening, but she's doing much better now. It was worth it I'm sure - she had so much fun!

My Garden!

2010-05-10T18:55:00.000-07:00

I am trying a garden this year. It is a square-foot garden that is basically a box off on the ground that you can plant 16 different squares with different vegetables, fruits or flowers. So far, I have only planted carrots, lettuce, spinach, peas, potatoes and strawberries. After the weather gets warmer (or I should say, If the weather gets warmer) -I will then add pumpkins, watermelons, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, and cucumbers -along with some pretty flowers to dress it up! We also planted some raspberry bushes nearby. I am so excited to see what all I will get this year!

Swimming Lessons

2010-05-10T18:52:00.000-07:00

Dylan started his first set of swimming lessons in April. He loves it so far! He is a little leary of the water, after jumping in and getting in over his head a bit. The first lesson was rough - he would not listen to the teacher and kept wandering out into the pool while she was working with the other kids. THey finally got the lifeguard to start threatening him. Eddy and I were pretty embarrassed and Eddy was glad that I had to go down and claim him afterward. (jerk) - But we had a good talk with him and he has been behaving lots better now! They are learning to kick, jump in, blow bubbles, back stroke, and much more! The pictures I took turned out really blurry, but here they are . . .

The Cooks

2010-05-10T18:50:00.001-07:00

Dylan and I cooking together. Dylan is a really good helper in the kitchen - he even knows how to crack the eggs open. He is modelling a new apron that his grandma bought him, and I'm modelling a new one that MY grandma got me!

Easter Egg Hunt

2010-05-10T18:42:00.000-07:00

After we arrived home, all 3 of us went over to Grandpa Jones' house for dinner. Afterward, they had an easter egg hunt in their backyard for the little kids. Dylan had a blast looking for eggs, and even more fun finding all the candy and money (his 2 favorite things) hidden inside them. He made out with quite a stash. Mom and Dad stole some of it to play "31" (the annual tradition at the Jones'). And Eddy ended up winning the pot! yay!

Coloring Eggs

2010-05-10T18:36:00.000-07:00

On Easter weekend, Dylan and I went to stay the night in Pocatello. Dylan stayed at Grandma's and I stayed at Alyssa's. We beaded and watched New Moon (which we both had memorized by then). The afternoon before, we dyed Easter eggs at Grandma's house. Alyssa's dog was a great Easter egg hunter! The next morning, Dylan found that the Easter bunny had been to Grandma's. Here are some pics of us coloring eggs.

Miscellaneous Pictures

2010-05-10T18:25:00.001-07:00

One rainy day, Dylan found a way to keep dry... by putting a bucket on his head. He wandered around the backyard and even rode his trike without being able to see.

Ever since Dylan was a baby, basically, he loves to get his picture taken. He will ask me to take pictures of him often and this day, he had a small owie on his ankle that he wanted me to take a picture of.

Dylan posing again - with his buddy, Kramer. Kramer puts up with just about anything and because he is so big and heavy, Dylan is unable to carry him. But he has found that if he just rolls him, he can get him to where he wants.

Dylan and his prized possessions, worms! His favorite thing is to dig for worms in the backyard. He has saved tons of them for Eddy and his fishing bucket. His other favorites are rolly-polly's.

Best Friends

2010-05-10T18:17:00.000-07:00

Dylan's best friend is Seth. They have been best friends this last year or so and do most everything together. Seth is a year older, but they get along very well. They find trouble very easily though. Seth has a big brother, whose name is also Dillon. So we have Big Dillon and Little Dylan. Whenever we get done playing, Dylan always tells me that he misses Seth. They have pre-school together as well and other activities. (church, MOPS) And their moms are good friends who love to bead together, so they have plenty of opportunity to play.

Sammy the Snake

2010-03-01T17:16:00.000-08:00

Today at preschool, Dylan learned the letter "S". So he came home with this cute snake painted on his arm. One of his teachers is a pretty good artist and often will paint on each of the kids' arm. Last week they had a beautiful Rainbow for the letter "R". We painted pictures this afternoon, and Dylan informed me he wanted to paint like his "miss teacher" and so he did the other arm. Oh well - atleast it is washable.

My 'new' bathroom

2010-03-01T17:12:00.001-08:00

Saw some cute towels in Walmart today so I decided to re-decorate my bathroom. Haven't changed it since we moved to Idaho. Then went down to the Rod & Vinyl store here and found these cute stars to hang. I love it! Also , I have a new plug-in scentsy warmer that is red that matches. Anyway, I'm sure everyone REALLY cares about this, but I'm excited so I thought I'd post pictures. All in all, I only spent about $45 to redo it! (I didn't have to buy rugs)

Three Little Monkeys

2010-03-01T17:09:00.000-08:00

Dylan and I finally sat down and did these fuzzy monkeys. My grandma sent them for Christmas and they were super easy and fun to make. We put them together and they also came with a swing and some accessories (neck ties and superhero capes). We made them a bed and a blanket, etc. Then, within a couple hours they had no heads and soon after were completely taken apart. Haven't decided if I'm going to fix them or not. He has to destroy everything!! Thanks Grandma - we had fun!!

Sleeping

2010-02-16T16:15:00.001-08:00

Eddy pulled the old "shaving cream" trick on Dylan while he was sleeping the other day. He put a bunch of shaving cream in Dylan's hand and then tickled his nose. Poor guy -he was covered in it and was still half asleep.

Looks comfortable!

Blog Updated

2010-02-16T15:27:00.000-08:00

I finally updated my jewelry blog! Check it out - also here is my most favorite piece so far. A necklace that I made today. It is a really long chain that will hang under the bra-line, or if you hook the clasp to he hoop in front, it becomes a double-chained shorter necklace.

Family Pictures

2010-02-13T18:30:00.003-08:00

My friend Amanda, came over to take our pictures a few days ago. She did a great job! We haven't had them taken for awhile. So if you see these and want prints, please let me know what picture and what size. thanks! (I absolutely hate Dylan's hair in these! Eddy and I need to get it together when it comes to styling little boy's hair!)

Mops Haircut

2010-01-21T12:11:00.000-08:00

(before picture)
Today at our MOPS (Mother's of Pre-Schoolers) group, we had 2 ladies from Defining Line Salon come in and teach us a basic boy's haircut. Dylan was their model and he did a great job! He sat very still and didn't make a peep the entire time! I was a little surprised. He didn't really like it, you can tell from some of the pics -he hates it when he gets hair on his neck. But he still did good. We went out for an ice-cream cone afterwards since he behaved!

Snowman

2010-01-21T11:50:00.000-08:00

Well we finally got some sticky snow, so we headed out to make a snowman. Dylan tried out his new intertube (josey wasn't that excited about pulling him). Then him and Eddy built the snowman and I helped decorate his face. Here are some pics :

Singing

2010-01-01T10:37:00.000-08:00

Dylan's class at church came up a few weeks ago and sang for us. They all did really good this time! They sang Happy Birthday to Jesus and one other Jingle Bell song. They also pulled out their pretend bibles and recited, "For God gave His Son". Dylan has learned so much from all his classes and especially BSF. The other day, Eddy jumped out to scare him and after his heartbeat was beating fast, he grabbed Dylan's hand to show him. He said that this was his heart. Dylan said, "No, that's Jesus" (because he learned that Jesus lives in our hearts). Also, while playing blocks, he was having some trouble and I heard him whispering, "Jesus help me, Jesus I'm lost.". So sweet.

Christmas

2010-01-01T10:31:00.000-08:00

We pretended that Christmas Eve day was Christmas Day this year. Dylan woke up to find Santa had left him new stuff and a fish tank. He of course was more interested in the candy. He had a lot of fun this year opening stuff. Josey got a huge candy cane shaped chewy and she was so happy. She also had to try out our new massaging neck pillow. For some reason, I have no pics fo Eddy, but he was here! ha! Then on Christmas Day, Dylan and I went to Mom's house (Ed had to work) and opened more presents. Alyssa will be thrilled that I posted this picture of her. hee hee

Christmas Ornaments

2010-01-01T10:26:00.001-08:00

Here are a few pictures off these beaded ornaments I made. I mailed out quite a few as gifts, but only about half made it without breaking. They were really fun to make - I kept a few for myself.

Best Friends

2010-01-01T10:24:00.001-08:00

Santa!

2009-12-20T17:58:00.000-08:00

Dylan visited Santa at Walmart this year! We wondered if he might be scared of him, but when we got there, he climbed right up on Santa's lap and started posing for the pictures. Then afterward, Santa asked him what he wanted this year and he replied very matter-of-factly , "I want a fish, turtles, frogs and a dolphin." And that was that! We knew he wanted the first 3 , but the dolphin was a small surprise.

Papa Dan

2009-12-20T17:56:00.001-08:00

Dan came to visit for a couple days last month. Dylan loves it when he comes to see us (well, we all do!). He brought him a "Cars" flashlight, which was the greatest toy ever!

Advent

2009-12-08T06:23:00.000-08:00

This is my advent calendar I made for Dylan. He ended up stealing a couple candies, but I think he understands what it is. (kinda) He told me yesterday that when all the candy is gone, Santa will come and bring him a present. Don't worry, we're working on the true Christmas story too!

Christmas Tea

2009-12-08T06:17:00.000-08:00

Me, Cheri, Jennifer and Tanya

Last Saturday, our church had it's annual Christmas Tea! The men served us a wonderful dinner, we had singing, a skit, and a great guest speaker. I hosted a table so I got to decorate and bring in place settings for everyone at my table. It was really fun!

Piggy Banks

2009-11-21T14:13:00.001-08:00

Here are some piggy banks I painted for Dylan's cousins. It's their Christmas present, so Aunties if you see this, you'll know what they're getting. Hopefully, the kids won't see. Dylan helped me by making some coffee mugs with his markers.

New Furniture

2009-11-14T08:26:00.001-08:00

Before

So Eddy and I had a large couch that was so uncomfortable that we would actually fight over this old, broken lawn chair. So we decided to break down and buy ourselves some new chairs. They are much better! Eddy got his recliner and I actually got a recliner too, only it's smaller and way more comfortable. Dylan got this banana chair and he seems to like it ok.

mine

Eddy's recliner

Dylan's banana chair

Lazy Cat

2009-11-14T08:24:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture (didn't turn out too good) of our fat cat, Kramer, drinking water. He literally lays by his bowl to drink. It's pretty funny.

Halloween

2009-11-14T08:15:00.000-08:00

For Halloween this year, we went to Boo at the Zoo! Eddy had to work on actualy Halloween so we went a few days before. We just walked thru the zoo and saw the animals and then there were tons of booths set up for the kids to trick or treat at and some had games for them to play. It was actually really fun, except that it was freezing that evening so we ended up rushing thru the end. Dylan thought it was fun and of course loved the candy. Then on Halloween, I took him around our neighborhood and he got some more candy. He knocked on the doors all by himself, but one of the first houses we went to he knocked and then was almost going to open their door and go on in. He liked to chat with all the people - mr. jabber jaws. Most of his candy was thrown away within a couple days - after a meltdown from eating too much.

Pumpkin Carving

2009-11-14T08:08:00.000-08:00

We thought Dylan would love carving pumpkins this year! But he would not even touch and of the pumpkin guts. Guess we'll try again next year. He thought it was fun to watch us do it!

Pumpkins Pumpkins!

2009-10-13T14:10:00.001-07:00

Today, we went to a local pumpkin patch. Dylan went thru a small maze of hay, and then him and Eddy picked out a couple good pumpkins. It was pretty fun!

Dylan's first church performance

2009-10-11T12:01:00.000-07:00

Today in children's church, the little kids came out to sing for us. They were all dressed in their Armor of God and were supposed to sing Jesus Loves Me. When they all got out on stage, the audience ended up singing and they all just stared at us. But they were pretty cute!

I've fallen and I can't get up!

2009-10-11T11:59:00.000-07:00

Dylan got stuck in his Lincoln Log bin - he was crying for me to help him out, but I had to get a picture first. Then the camera batteries went dead, so he patiently sat there while I loaded new batteries in and posed for a few. Then finally I let him out. Too funny.

Circus Day

2009-10-11T11:52:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago, Dylan had circus day at preschool (to help them learn the letter "c"). They all came out with faces painted and hair sprayed different colors. I guess he didn't want his face painted, but they painted a cute decoration on his hand instead. He immediately wanted it washed off when we got home.

Another funny preschool adventure - I went to pick him up last week and when I was walking up to the door, one of the teachers came walking out and says, " we can't find him, he was here a minute ago and now he's gone." So I went in and the other teacher was heading upstairs to look if he had snuck up there. She told me to walk around and call his name in case he was hiding. I didn't see him anywhere. She ended up heading out to look outside - even though she said she was sure he hadn't gotten out the front door. So by now, I'm starting to feel quite panicked and finally one of the little girls says, "there he is" - and pointed under one of the little tables. He was hiding under there, just grinning from ear to ear. I had him dressed in "camo" that day, so maybe that's why no one saw him, ha! The teachers were both just sick over it and I lectured him the whole way home about not doing that again. Quite the adventure.

New Craft Blog

2009-09-21T14:07:00.000-07:00

So I finally got around to making a blog just for my crafts - primarily jewelry right now. To view it, log onto www.craftsbymandy.blogspot.com . It's still a work in progress and hopefully the pictures will show good enough tht you can see what this stuff really looks like! Pass it onto your friends to see too!!

PreSchool!

2009-09-21T13:09:00.000-07:00

Dylan started pre-school last week! He did great! The pre-school is in a residential area, so they don't allow us to drop and pick-up at the school. Instead, we meet at a corner and the kids all hold onto a rope and walk down to the school. I thought he might be nervous with me not going with him, but I explained about the rope beforehand and when we got there, his friend Seth was there, and he grabbed on to the rope and left. Didn't even say goodbye to me ! When I picked him up I asked him if he had fun and if he did crafts and played games, etc. and his answer was, "No, I just hit, it's my new favorite thing." I asked his teacher today and she said he hasn't been hitting. So he's just making up stories I guess. They said he's been doing really good, just not sitting still very good, but that is normal for this early in the year. He comes home each time with a writing sheet where he has practiced writing the letter of the week, his name and then colored a picture. He usually has a craft they've made too. They are learning letters, numbers colors and words like "a, the, and" etc. etc.

Crafty

2009-09-04T17:43:00.000-07:00

Here are pictures of a crosstitch I made for Eddy (my friend Cheri helped me frame it today). In case you can't see, it's just a picture of a man, boy and dog going out to fish. And the other picture is the latest addition to my living room- I just put vinyl letters onto the frames and then picked out paper to put in the background. I plan to change it out for holidays. I'm also thinking of starting my own craft blog so I can show off the jewelry I've been making and possibly sell some. We'll see!

Lemonade

2009-09-04T17:40:00.000-07:00

We had a yard sale last weekend at my sister's house. I set up a little lemonade stand for Dylan. He was a great little salesman - everyone that came to the yard sale, he would run up to and yell, "Hey! I got remonade!" (he can't say the "l" sound yet). So needless to say he drummed up quite a bit of business! I would tell him to wait and see if they asked for lemonade and he would say, "but mom, do they have moneys or not?".

Biker Boy

2009-09-04T17:37:00.001-07:00

My new haircut

2009-09-04T17:34:00.001-07:00

So I'm trying to grow my hair back out and went in for a trim and came back with the shortest cut yet. But she said it will grow out nicely from here. I dont really like it all that much, but it's funny -I've gotten more compliments on my hair than any other time. It's easy to do so we'll see what happens. what does everyone else think? Keep it shorter or let it grow to my shoulders?

Playing with Auntie Brooke

2009-09-04T17:31:00.000-07:00

Dylan's Aunt Brooke came over and played in the swimming pool and the slip n' slide. They had fun together! The big pool with the zebra was Dylan's birthday present from her.

Dylan is three!

2009-07-20T07:09:00.001-07:00

On Sunday, we had a little party for Dylan! He got lots of great presents. Then we had cupcakes and I think he really liked it when we all sang to him, he just sat there and smiled.

We got him a new bike that's a little too big so here are some pics of the boys riding the bikes. (I think the big boys had more fun than the little ones).

Aunt Alyssa got Dylan a cowboy outfit and we got him the stick horse.

Aunt Alyssa (new haircut) and me

Family

Cousins

2009-07-20T07:04:00.000-07:00

Eddy's brother, Adam, and his family came to visit for the weekend. Dylan had a blast with his 2 cousins, Burkley (6) and Breckin (2). They actually got along really well! We went to the zoo and a fun park where the kids and dads rode on the Octopus ride. Then we came home and played in the sprinklers. Bedtime was interesting - trying to keep them in bed and get them to go to sleep. Here's some pics of the 2 boys trying to play guitar hero!

Summer Fun

2009-07-20T07:00:00.001-07:00

Grandpa Jones pushing Dylan on the swings and eating a really cold popsicle with his gloves on!

Recent Stuff

2009-07-01T17:41:00.000-07:00

Finally, i'm updating the blog! Mom & Alyssa came over last weekend. We went to the zoo and then Dylan opened his birthday present from Mom early. He got a slip'n slide! So we set it all up and tried to convince him to slide down. Mom even slid on it to show him how it was done. But he never really got into it. He liked it for us to pull him down the slip n slide. I'm sure after he sees another kid do it, he'll love it! He also got a Scooby Doo ice pack and bandaids, which came in handy later in the week. He saw a bug swimming in his pool and picked it up, but it was a hornet. So it stung & bit him all over his thumb. An important life lesson - as Eddy put it.

Another cute thing he said today, after dinner he came wandering in with his hands folded and he says, "I'm praying." I asked him what he was praying for and he answered, "I'm praying for my Jesus.".

We are having a pee-pee problem. He is doing pretty well at going to the potty, but he thinks it's great fun to go outside. (thanks honey) - so while playing at the playground on Tuesday, he repeatedly pulled his pants down and I had to run over and tell him to pull them up. We will keep working on it.

Yesterday, we went to the swimming pool and let Dylan swim for the first time. At first he seemed pretty scared, but we had a little life jacket on and by the time we left, he was floating on his back and kicking his feet. He thought it was pretty fun!

Here are some pictures of a new toy he got - pistols in a holster. Also, today we pulled him around in the wagon with our lawnmower. First Eddy pulled me and Dylan and then I drove the tractor and pulled Ed & Dylan. It was fun!

Dylan also has been obsessed with catching bugs. He loves Roly Poly's but calls them his "macaronis".

Eddy took Dylan fishing and he caught a fish and got to reel it in and everything. We BBQ'd it that night so he got to taste it too. He thought it was fun. I went to Logan to visit my friend, Jessica. She had a scrapbooking party for me and so I got to visit with her and see her kids. It was alot of fun! Dylan stayed home with dad and they had fun.

Painted Fingernails!

2009-07-01T17:36:00.000-07:00

The other day, I was painting my fingernails and Dylan wanted his done too. So I did his toes and fingers. He loved it! Later in the week, I got his paints out for him to paint pictures, and finally when I looked over, I noticed he had painted his fingernails blue!

Crashed Out!

2009-07-01T17:33:00.000-07:00

A fun night hanging out with Daddy! Dylan eventually fell asleep under the computer desk, using Josey for a pillow!

Wearing my towel like Daddy!

2009-07-01T17:28:00.000-07:00

The other night, after Dylan's bath, he informed me that he wanted to wear his towel like Daddy. So we wrapped it around and he posed for pictures. He especially thought it was funny to pose a picture of his bum!

I scream for ice cream

2009-06-04T14:15:00.000-07:00

We went for a walk around the block today and Dylan rode his trike the whole way. It was pretty hot out there and luckily as we got home, the ice cream truck was coming down our street. So Dylan got his first treat from the ice cream truck - a spiderman treat.

Mowing

2009-06-04T14:13:00.001-07:00

Here's a picture of Ed and Dylan mowing the yard. It's still as fun as it was last year, but the hum of the mower puts Dylan to sleep. He will actually fall asleep standing up on the mower.

Dandy Flowers

2009-06-04T14:10:00.000-07:00

Dylan's funnest job this summer so far has been picking "dandy flowers". He goes out in the yard and picks them and also likes to pick other people's "dandy flowers" when we take walks, too. And he always reminds me that "daddy hates dandy flowers".

For the Birds

2009-05-22T19:51:00.000-07:00

We went over to the falls today in the hopes of seeing baby ducks. No luck - it must be too early. But all the geese and ducks were anxiously awaiting the bread we brought for them. These are wild geese & ducks that hang out along the falls and are so tame, they take food from your hands. Dylan thought it was pretty fun to feed them, until one of the geese bit a little too hard I think. After that he wouldn't hold it out for them anymore and said 'they bite'.