Keepin' up with the Jones'

Aunt LoLo and Carter visit

2011-10-05T01:00:00.000-07:00

Aun

Family Pics

2011-09-24T03:25:00.000-07:00

Back to School!

2011-09-06T08:32:00.000-07:00

Ava's Last Day of Preschool!!

2011-05-29T05:13:00.000-07:00

We have just loved Miss Terri the last 3 years!! She has taught Tanner and Ava so much, they love going to her house for school!

The theme was "See Ya Later Aligator"

Izzy, Tylie, Ava and Tyler, (Jack and Sean not in picture)

We have had a great year of Preschool and Kindergarten but we are sooo ready for summer time........and Ava looks ready for a NAP:)

Spring Soccer "The Snakes"

2011-05-23T02:29:00.000-07:00

Tanner played soccer this spring( freezing btw) He loved it and especially that Brandt ended up being the coach!! (He volunteered when no one else did, great Dad!!)

I loved this picture, that is Tanner's best friend Kellen! Who teaches Tanner those faces ?/??

Coach Brandt and Tanner................so proud!

Here is one of Ava and her Puppy that came a lot to games and practice!!

Brandt got a Trophy too!, he sleeps with it now.! Jk

Easter and Mother's Day

2011-05-19T20:32:00.000-07:00

The kids were pumped as usual for a holiday!! We had fun at home and also at Grams and Poppy's place. We also enjoyed church that day(a little to early in the am though)

This is me on Mother's Day trying to soak up some warmth in the front yard.

My favorite thing ever are homemade cards!! Every year they get better and better.

Brandt got me cards(yes three), flowers, a polar wrist watch calorie heart rate monitor and made me dinner, so yummy! Thanks babe

Im the luckiest momma ever. Especially now that they walk, talk, go potty, and tell me jokes.....Life is good!

Tanner Turns 6

2011-05-19T05:09:00.000-07:00

My baby is 6, I can't believe it. I also can't believe I celebrated that with a RAT!! Ha, Brandt made so many funny jokes about Chuck-e. Like does he have mice employees in the kitchen and eating table scraps at night when the parties are over.

The kids loved it! Tanner wanted a StarWars cake (after being at Disneyland and meeting DarthVader!) He only wanted his best friend and his sister at his party......it was sweet!

He was the most excited about this and was able to actually come out with lots of tickets!! That's my BOY!

We love you Tanner and are so happy we are your parents!! You are a fabulous 6 yr old kid!!

Yeah, it's been cold!

2011-03-21T18:03:00.000-07:00

We have had a pretty mild winter...knock on wood!! Although we did get some snow and a sled and some cute pictures while we were at it!!

Daddy pulled them around the neighborhood!! Good thing they didn't ask me....Im kind of a wimp in the snow after about 5 mins!

These two are the best and worst of friends.......case in point!!

And......back to being friends!!! Gotta love siblings

Gotta love that hair!!!

Ava is 4

2011-03-21T17:55:00.000-07:00

My Mom and I made this Belle Cake for Ava.....ok mostly my Mom did it! Ava loved it. It was a hit.

My baby girl is just getting so big!! She even has tried on a wedding dress...ha! So sweet. SHe loves to dress up

Good Times partying with the princess with family and another day with some little friends. Ava's face is just too funny in this one!!

Grandma Visits for Ava's Bday

2011-03-21T17:49:00.000-07:00

Im so behind with blogging....Ava turned 4 in January and my mom came to celebrate with us!! It was a blast!

Grandma Teresa we sure LOVE you!! I love this picture.

My kids are getting so big!! I love it. I am so proud of them both

Ketchup!

2011-02-07T01:42:00.000-08:00

Having a cookie at Gramsies! Her sugar cookies are to die for..............they are a big deal! Yum

This girl loves ketchup!! She also digs pepper! She is such a character, when I share my egg whites with her every morning she always says thanks, but I really like more pepper.......and I think I use a lot! Just looove this little lady and can't always get her to smile for the camera but maybe I should try snappin her picture more when there is Ketchup around?!?

Had to throw in this picture of these boys!! I sure love them!!

Jones Fam Pictures

2011-01-13T13:38:00.000-08:00

My Babe and I! He celebrated his 35th Bday this December....Love you Babe, and thanks for letting me borrow your cute socks.

One of all the adults! We didn't dare try and get all the cousins in there as well! There are 10 little grandkids under the age 6!

Our crew!! It is so hard to get everyone to smile, but somehow our silly face picture was super easy!

Christmas morning!

2011-01-09T16:16:00.000-08:00

She ended up in our bed Christmas morning around 5 and fell back asleep! She is too funny!

They got to open 1 present before going downstairs......pajamas of course. They are just growin up so fast!

Christmas Eve!!

2011-01-04T00:23:00.000-08:00

The Nativity was a hit this year! Aunt Brandy organized it and it was awesome! So darling.

A little jingle bells performed afterwards! Always fun.

Ava's faces in these are classic. She was having a blast a second before, she can be quite sassy,,,,,,she probably gets that from her father!

They were so so excited for Christmas and Santa!

Just Cause

2010-12-14T01:44:00.000-08:00

Halloween

2010-12-02T13:43:00.000-08:00

I forgot to update the blog for Halloween! October was a busy month for us! Here are a couple pics from the ward party...........always a rager! We had fun.....Brandt and I look like dorks, and as usual Ava was unavailable for a good picture!

Oh and I am also throwing in a picture of Tanner from his Soccer Party. First trophy he ever received....he was a little excited! His team was undefeated. Go Pirates!!

Just for Fun

2010-11-27T02:04:00.000-08:00

I took these pictures back in Oct! The kids have so much fun with Dad! Ava also recently informed me that I am pretty and funny.....but that Dad is very funny!

Disneyland

2010-11-06T05:16:00.000-07:00

We went to Disneyland in Oct and it was AWESOME!! The kids did great, and we enjoyed every minute of it. Ava loved the princesses!!

We went to Disneyland for 3 days! The first 2 were just us and then the last day we met up with my family! It was great!

Our kids saw and played at a real beach(with an ocean) for the first time!!

We can't wait to go back!

Mom is 30!

2010-11-03T05:12:00.000-07:00

I think this is how Ava thinks I look!! Ha .....or how she feels after traveling to Reno! So funny. THe kids are super good on planes now! They are enjoyable to be with while traveling these days.....I love it

We were at my mom and dad's when I turned 30. Brandt spoils me as always...I tell him not to! A new flip video camera and a new camera

Brandt and I got to go out to a steak dinner and to a hotel for the night and my mom and dad had the kids! It was a blast

Turning 30 isn't so bad when you have an awesome husband and darling kids ...............to go with the wrinkles and 8pm bedtime:)

Visit to Reno

2010-11-03T05:04:00.000-07:00

I am playin some serious catch up. We have two different cameras. Anyway we went to Reno in July to visit family! We had a great time. Here is a pic of my man and my brother Dave. A rare occasion to be all together. We were headed to the lake

Tanner loves being in the water....even if it is waaay cold! But Brandt is always up for a good time! Ha

We swam a lot that week! Gma Teresa rocks, she is so fun and the kids love all the toys at her house, and her lukewarm spa!

On Gpa Dan's boat! They loved it. Ava is wearing an old lifejacket I remember my brother Mark wearing when he was that age. Oh the memories.

Growing up!

2010-10-09T20:51:00.000-07:00

I just have to post these pictures (for myself!!) My little baby girl is just so grown up! All tall and skinny and pottytrained...sleeps all night in her big girl bed and can write her name and sing her phone number! So so darling!

And this guy....! He just loves his dad and has now become a bit obsessed with watching football...even learning the rules and plays!! Wow! Sure love my kids.......................and the Hunk on the bike too!!

End of Summer and Start of School!!

2010-10-03T14:24:00.000-07:00

We had a great summer! We hung at the pool a lot and played on the trampoline a lot! We didn't travel too much, but that's what we wanted this year. Ava loves to swim and does great in the water!!

Ava figured out how to wear flip flops this summer!!

Tanner started Kindergarten this year and really likes it so far. He has Mrs. Jones as his teacher and goes in the afternoons..........we are really enjoying our last year of sleeping in!
Im so proud of Tanner, he is one cool and smart kid!!

Soocer Time

2010-10-03T14:17:00.000-07:00

(His soccer team is the Pirates and they make a pirate hook are say arrrrrrrrr when they score.....so funny)

Tanner has started playing soccer this year and really loves it! He has a lot of energy and is fun to watch. He says he loves soccer ( I think he likes it so much because his team is undefeated.........that always makes it fun!)

Tanner and his buddy Kellan, they go to school and church together too!

Tanner striking a pose!!

I sure love you Tanner Boy! You are so smart and wonderful!

Steamboat Springs

2010-08-10T06:39:00.000-07:00

We took a weekend trip to Steamboat Springs a couple of weekends ago. We swam, ate out, did some alpine slides, and hiked(a bit)! Great weekend!

Ava, Tanner, Kellen, Aidan, and Rick. Brandt was taking all of the pictures (with our new camera) so I didn't have him in any shots!

This kid loves loves to swim!! They could've swam all day!!

I wanna soak up the sun!!

2010-07-11T17:26:00.000-07:00

We have been able to do some swimming lately!! The kiddie pool rocks, the kids can swim in there for hours without drowning!! Pool days are the best...(other than smothering sunscreen on my insanely adorably pale kiddos the whole time!!)

Ashley and Cody are one of the nicest couples....really! They invite us to come swim all of the time, and we love to crash their community center, it's way less crowded than ours!!

These days are always followed by a trip to Baja Fresh for diet coke and lots of yummo chips and salsa! I will miss these days when we are back in our coats and boots with the bun warmer blasting in the car... I don't love the cold....so we are really loving the summertime!

Ava is a natural little swimmer just like Tanner. It is hilarious to watch them constantly putting their faces in the water and then come up smiling and gasping for air....then they go back under for more!

Happy Father's Day Brandt 2010

2010-07-11T17:16:00.000-07:00

We sure love our Daddy!! We celebrated Daddy with a sweet breakfast, lots of new clothes and dinner out at a new Mexican restaurant we like. Thanks for being so wonderful to Tanner and Ava....(and me). I am lucky to have a wonderful husband who makes it possible for me to stay home with the kids!

We also went to a car show that weekend. Tanner was in heaven!!!

Preschool Graduation

2010-07-11T17:06:00.000-07:00

Tanner and Ava both went to Covenant Kids Day Out this past school year! It was our last year there, and they had a lot of fun. I am like 2 months behind.........

Their end of school performance was classic. Ava's teachers told me she could sing and dance to everything, but when showtime came she literally just smiled the whole time, no singing at all. It was so cute!!! Tanner did awesome despite the hyper problem child that he had to stand next to who kept jumping around and bumping into him!!!!

Tanner had Ms Rebecca(and a couple others before who couldn't handle the class) and Ava had Ms Angela....she was wonderful to Ava and even let her bring her flower blankie to school all of the time!! Ms Angela never even made me feel bad for having a 3 year old princess who still didn't use the potty completely at the end of the year............so Ms Angela rocks in my opinion!

We had a picnic afterwards with all the teachers and parents and then it was officially summer!!! Thanks CKDO for a great year and some quiet hours for mommy!

See ya later...

2010-05-26T13:59:00.000-07:00

ALLIGATOR!! How cute, right?! Tanner has gone to Miss Terri's Preschool for 2 years now. The days he isn't here he has been at Covenant preschool! We have loved Terri so so much and love to go there!

I can't believe my cute little man is done with preschool and off to kindergarten! It's only 3hrs so it wont be a huge emotional change for me but it is elementary school, and it's free so woohoo!

Miss Terri said that one of the things she loves about Tanner is that she knows that she can always count on him to know the right answer if no one else does!!!...........um he must get that from his Daddy!!

Luckily we will still have Miss Terri in our daily lives because Ava gets to go there next fall!!!!!!!

Getting Away from the Cold!

2010-05-25T15:50:00.000-07:00

A couple weekends ago Ava and I flew to Phoenix to see my sister Lori! We had too much fun being together, We are ridiculously alike! Carter is so big and is so fun to be with!!

We were in shock going from 55 degree weather with rain and the day prior SNOW to 90+ degree weather!! I loved it. We swam and caught some rays!

I even got to meet up with my old highschool friend and roomate at Ricks Lindsey Hahn Johnson! It was a great trip! Thanks Lori for a fun weekend.................I can't wait to come again very soon!!

Me and my kids!

2010-04-30T14:14:00.000-07:00

Aunt Lori came for a visit and took a couple shots of us.....it wasn't planned, so we don't match.
How cute are these kids!!

These are the faces of a 3 year old princess....happy one minute, sassy the next! Now it is well documented!

Easter Time!

2010-04-24T17:46:00.000-07:00

Some of the Jones cousins after the annual easter egg hunt at Grams and Poppy's home. It looks like Ava was sad and didn't find one single egg but that is just her silly faces she makes for pictures sometimes!!

Can you tell that they just woke up??? They were pumped that the Easter Bunny came, but Tanner kept asking where "the rest" of the presents were! ha.....he must have been spoiled by his experience with Santa.

LOVE these little kids!! They are so sweet and smart and bring so much joy to our lives!!!! Happy Easter.

Tanner turns 5!!

2010-04-18T16:40:00.000-07:00

I just can't believe how big and smart this kid is now! I am so proud of him and just adore him. I have learned a lot by being his mom and enjoyed (almost) every minute of it!!

A birthday dinner at RedRobin with grandma teresa and grandpa dan and family! It doesn't get much better than that.....at least in our family! Love ya Tanner Boy!!! Love, Mommy

Grandparent time!

2010-03-31T13:59:00.000-07:00

My mom came for a week! She came because Brandt was leaving to go to Whissler in Canada for a guys snowboarding trip and my dad came for 2 days to help celebrate Tanner's birthday. I just love my parents....and so do my kids! Above, is my mom with the kids at the zoo, on a sunny day!!

Im pretty sure that Ava would sit on my mom's lap for 3 days straight.

My kids spend a ridiculously wonderful amount of time coloring!

ANd yes, Ava really does wear that dress almost everyday! She only wears dresses.........anyone want a closet full of cute shirts and pants and skirts in exchange for "poofy" dresses! Ha

Potty Training Nightmare

2010-03-30T18:59:00.000-07:00

After having such a tough time getting Tanner to use the potty when he was 31/2 I waited until Ava was 3 to really start trying.......she is totally ready and can hold "it" and will go hours dry and then pee her pants when we get home on the carpet instead of just telling me she has to go. You get the idea! Just a nightmare. After weeks of on and off the potty and bribing her with dresses, dolls, candy, a trip to disneyland, etc, /................even letting her watch movies while she "tries"..............she is back in diapers (her choice). Ugh. I am just going to wait until she isn't stubborn about it and wants to be big. I look at other kids that are potty trained and are like 2 and just don't get it. Oh well. Atleast I don't have to "hold"her like the picture below everytime.....and she would always say that she DIDN"T need PRIVACY, how funny. GIrls are just made to be social peepee..ers!

St. Pat's Day morning I think Im a cool mom and make them green pancakes with a shamrock in the middle..................do you think they ate them? Of course not, they are green mom! SOOOO they had cereal.

Never say never

2010-02-22T15:12:00.000-08:00

Who would have guessed we would be MONSTER TRUCK fans!??

Okay well I guess if you really know me you know I am ghetto and a little W.T. The truth is that when you get FREE tickets.....you go(especially when you get to sit in a sweet private box with a bathroom and drinks....need I say more!?)

Thanks to an endodonist that Brandt refers to we get to go to Av's games and my favorite..... Nuggets games.

The kids had a good time once they got some earplugs. Those trucks are ridiculously loud! How cute is Ava? All GIRLIE at a Monster Truck Rally.................not sure who she gets that from.

Torro Loco was the best that night. Of course we all enhoyed seeing Grave Digger......I remember having my little 3 year old telling people that Grave Digger was his favorite m.t. years ago and being embarrased that he even knew those words....but maybe he didn't know the meaning or that's what I would tell myself!

As you can see............................. we all got into in and had fun. And no he had not been drinking.!!

The Princess is 3

2010-02-05T10:35:00.000-08:00

That 's right...as much as I think of her as my baby...."she is a big girl(who refuses to sit on the potty!!) Hilarious....I must have been the most hard headed and stubborn little child because BOTH of my children have this wonderful quality. Payback is a B!! Just kidding

Heres she is with her favorite Prince......her Daddy. Hopefully it will be years before that changes!

Ava and Grandma worked on her cake together! So darling.....everything is more fun when sugar is involved too!

Ava got a lot of cute things for her birthday...lots of princess dress ups and a sweet slide type castle thing from grandma teresa and grandpa dan. Thanks for coming to visit us for her birthday.

Just love love this little lady. Happy Birthday Princess.

Grandparent time!

2010-01-24T17:16:00.000-08:00

Here are the kiddos with Grams and Poppy before their school Christmas program. Grams made Ava's dress and bow and gave Tanner that new stylin outfit to wear. They both sang so well that night. My smile muscles hurt that night when they werer done with their program. Brandt and I were so proud.

Unfortunately I didn't take too many pics at Grandma Teresa and Grandpa Dans. But we got the kids together and this is one of my favorites. Hard to tell which one Ava is right?! SHe is the one in purple with the ridiculously huge bow. It was part of a dress up she got from Santa and she wore it for like a week afterwards. It was fun to play with Carter, Lizzie, and Katie. We wished we lived closer. Congrats to my sister in law Mara. She is expecting # 3!!!

On new years eve we got to spend time with our buddies the Barton's. Just love their family. Thanks for a fun night in your new house and Happy 2010 to us all!!!!!!!!!!!

Startin to catch up

2010-01-24T17:06:00.000-08:00

You know you are busy during the holidays when you have slacked on your blog . We had a great holiday with lots of family. We had dinner with Grams and Poppy the night before Santa came and then the day after Christmas we flew to Reno to see all of my brothers and sister. It was a quick trip but fun.

Tanner and Ava were so sweet on Christmas morning, excited and grateful for each thing.....we loved it. They are so fun and darling. I was so pumped I didn't sleep the night Santa came.

We are so grateful for a loving Savior and the Christmas season. We have so much to be thankful for and know that all we have comes from a loving Heavenly Father and his Son.
We look forward to next Christmas......but I won't lie, it is nice to be done with all of the chaos for a couple months.

Christmas Breakfast

2009-12-18T07:57:00.000-08:00

Our ward held a Breakfast with Santa! The kids loved it. This year Ava didn't even scream at Santa!

Here are some of Tanner's good buds from our ward,neighborhood and preschool.........and his cute sister

Ava actually had a nice long conversation with Santa, and I LEARNED THEN that she wanted a PINK KITTY from him! Santa works hard!!

Maybe it was the sugar or the excitement of Christmas, but these faces were easy to get out of these kids!!! Tis the Season

Thanksgiving 09

2009-12-13T14:40:00.000-08:00

We had a fun and busy celebrating Thanksgiving with Brandt's family! We have so so much to be grateful. Look at the size of that table! Half of it is kids.

This is Ava and her cousin Quint. All of the cousins play so well together now that they are older! Of course I didn't get a pic of them all together.

Such fun ages!

2009-12-08T18:21:00.000-08:00

These are just some recent cute pictures of my kids. I just love this age for both of them. They are adorable. If kids were born at the age 2-3 I probably would have more kids. Anyway....I just love them and am so lucky to be there mom!

This is my favorite girl! She has so much sweet in her... and even more smart! I just love being around her!

Tanner's Thanksgiving @ Preschool

2009-11-26T02:54:00.000-08:00

Tanner and his classmates. Boston Kellen Tanner and Briggs. .. Jake was traveling. They did a cute program and then a feast for the moms and siblings. Happy Thanksgiving!

This is Mrs. Terri. We just love her, she is amazing.

Comfy nap

2009-11-25T07:25:00.000-08:00

I found my little Ava asleep like this while her and Tanner were watching a movie one afternoon. She has stopped taking her 1-2 hour naps in her room, but sometimes falls asleep for awhile in the car or on the carpet. I had to take a picture, then I woke her up and tried to cuddle her but she just cried and cried......I should have left her I guess.

Halloween 2009

2009-11-03T13:52:00.000-08:00

It is rare to get everyone smiling at the same time for a picture, we lucked out here, but Daddy isn't in it, he is behind the camera.

Tanner was a Power Ranger and Ava was a fairy from the movie TinkerBell. The kids had a great time Trick or Treating and they really liked handing candy and toothbrushes out to the kids who came to our house.

Grandma Teresa Came

2009-10-31T19:29:00.000-07:00

........And so did the SNOW!!!!

Our poor snowman fell over shortly after the above picture! Luckily it missed Tanner.

Pretty lame this is one of the only pics of my mom I took the whole time, I guess we were pretty busy...kids, shoveling snow, cookin, cleaning,shopping........the regular.
We love Grandma Teresa, she is amazing! Can't wait to see her again at Christmas!

Tagged

2009-10-26T14:41:00.000-07:00

I'm not usually a fan of these things, but because Rhonda tagged me........why not. She is like my second mom. I'm supposed to answer these questions in one word. That is hard for a big mouth like me, but here it goes...........

1. Where is you cell phone...purse

2. Where is your significant other... pullin teeth

3. Your hair color... blonde

4. Your mother... perfect

5. Your father...hard working

6. Your favorite thing... bed

7. Your dream last night... blurry

8. Your dream goal... happy

9. Room you're in... office

10. Your hobby... eating

11. Your fear... fat

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years... here

13. Where were you last night... home

14. What you're not... athletic

15. One of your wish-list items... cure

16. Where you grew up...Livermore

17. The last thing you ate... salad

18. What are you wearing... Jeans

19. Your TV... large

20. Your pet... fish

21. Your computer... information

22. Your mood... happy

23. Missing someone..sister

24. Your car... new

25. Something you're not wearing... coat

26. Favorite store... Target

27. Your summer... TRAVELED

28. Love someone... family

29. Your favorite color... pink

30. Last time you laughed... today

31. Last time you cried.....?

Field Trip

2009-10-13T18:48:00.000-07:00

Last week the kid's preschool had a pumpkin patch field trip....it was pumped. This is Ava's Class (Miss Angela).
This is Tanner's class......PreK (Miss Laura)
Is it too much to ask for some smiles??
It was a fun trip, the kids loved it.

Lake Mead

2009-09-20T20:37:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we flew the fam to Las Vegas. We stayed in a rental home with some of Brandt's old roomates and their families from BYU days and ofcourse Goodman.....a dental school friend. We had fun on the boat each day. We wakeboarded and tubed. The kids just loved jumping into the water to cool off.

It was a fun trip, although I must say I am done with traveling for a while....until Christmas rolls around and then I will be all ready to fly again.

School Pictures

2009-09-09T11:16:00.000-07:00

Here are some quick mug shots I got before we took them to school last week on picture day! I can't wait to see what the professionals got. Ava is just getting so big. When I tell her that she always says.....no, mom I am small.

Who says you have to wear a shirt to watch a movie late at night and eat popcorn??!!
I guess it's not a rule here.......yet!

Rockies Game

2009-09-07T07:54:00.000-07:00

We got some tickets from an Oral Surgeon to go to the Rockies game. The weather was perfect and the seats were great. The kids even did surprisingly well. I know I look like a giant amidst my cute little family......I didn't hurt them.

This is Ava on the way to the game.

Here are the kids before school one day...........they are still lovin school.

Tanner and Ava at the top of "the rock" in Castle Rock. We climbed that last Saturday....... it was hot! Ava didn't break a sweat though, she got to ride on Daddy's shoulders.
They both got hurt soon after this picture was taken................ What is a hike without some crying involved, right?!!

Trip to Reno

2009-08-23T18:37:00.000-07:00

We got to fly to Reno last weekend to meet up with everyone in my family. It was a miracle. We saw Uncle Dave, Mark and Paul. I haven't seen any of my brothers in 3 years. We went out on Grandpa's boat one day, then to Tahoe, and just ate and played with the kids a lot!!

Here are all of the little ones. Lizzie looks like one of mine! I would take her. She is potty trained, sleeps through the night and very cute and smart. Lizzie is holding Carter(Aunt Lori's baby) and Katie is Paul and Mara's newest addition.

It took Ava and I a little while to get in, but we did. Brandt and I went wakeboarding, but I didn't get any pics of that.

Good times with Grandpa Dan!!

School is great.......

2009-08-18T18:53:00.001-07:00

...............WHEN YOU ARE THE MOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Both Tanner and Ava started up school! This is Tanner's second year and Ava's first year of preschool. It has been so good for them, and fun for me!!
This is just a cute fam photo that was supposed to be last in this photo line up......Grandma Teresa took it this one
Ava is in Mrs. Angela's class this year.
Tanner goes 5 days a week at Mrs Terri's and then at Mrs Laura's.
They are just so cute, and their backpacks are as big as them, it is hilarious. I am so proud of them!

Cozumel

2009-08-08T19:27:00.001-07:00

We just got back from a week in Cozumel. It was awesome. We stayed at a resort for the first half, and then stayed with Chase and Valerie in a condo for the last part.
We had great weather and didn't get sick!! We snorkeled, swam, ate, slept, and Brandt went scuba diving a couple of times.
It was so fun to get away! We actually got to talk to eachother for more than 10 seconds at a time without being interrupted. (Thanks for watching our kids Mom!!)

My birthday!

2009-07-28T07:49:00.000-07:00

The last birthday of my twenties! Chili's for dinner and cupcakes.
It was a good day!

Yea, we brushed teeth extra long that night!

4th of July Reunion

2009-07-06T22:49:00.000-07:00

Fri-Mon of this past weekend we spent time with Brandt's family and extended Jones family up at the cabin in Blackhawk. The kids were in heaven playing all day with cousins and eating cupcakes at every meal.....or so it seemed.
We had a great weekend and are so grateful to live in America and enjoy all of the freedoms and rights we have. America rocks.

Tanner is so in his element when he is outside. This kid loves it. He is getting so big. Just love that boy!!!!!!
Here we are all around Brandt's grandma GG Jones. The Jones' are an amazing family. This is only a portion of the people at the reunion. There were tons!!

Daddy Day

2009-06-23T15:43:00.000-07:00

Here is Brandt with the kiddos on Father's Day morning. We had a sweet breakfast and then went to church. Later Brandt's parents came over for steak and stuff. It was a good day.

We all love you babe. You are a fantastic daddy. You are a lot of fun and and work so hard to provide for us. We luvvvvvvv ya!

Don't ask me about Ava's hairstyle, I am not proud of it.

Homemade gift wrap and cards are cool!! Right, or maybe just cheap.

Great Dads!!

2009-06-21T14:39:00.000-07:00

I have been so blessed in my life to have my dad. He is smart, driven, fun, sporty,spiritual, supportive and many other things. Most importantly he has been there for me no matter what. He always seems to love me. I sure love him too.

Thanks for being so awesome and for loving my children now too. You are great dad. Happy Father's Day!!

I have also been blessed to have a great father in law. Brandt's dad Lee Jones. He is amazing. Happy Father's Day.

(More to come later about Tanner and Ava's Daddy on Father's Day.....................

Volleyball

2009-06-13T06:36:00.000-07:00

I just love this picture of Ava. She is hilar in her glasses and pigtails. We had fun at Brandt's volleyball tournament but didn't stay long due to the ridiculous amount of wind and Tanner was feeling sick, but at least I got some pictures.

Brandt and C-Bass (Sebastian) took second place....................... and they looked good doing it too!!

A few more

2009-06-09T12:25:00.000-07:00

Okay so we also got to go to the zoo while we were in Kansas...it was great.

Tanner got to see his first friend, and best friend Carter. These guys were friends before they could even talk!
Carter's little brother Jack was there too, wow has he grown. Ava tried to boss him around a lot.

I got to see Jenny, I just miss this girl. We have fun together. She is pregs again with number 3. I wish we still lived a minute away from each other.

Tanner and I got to go golfing with Grandpa Dan(okay we mostly just drove around)but it was fun. I miss being in KS( can you believe that?), it was warm there. I think the high here in Denver today is 70 degrees!!

Time with Gma and Gpa

2009-06-06T14:23:00.000-07:00

We just got back from a long trip visiting my parents. They were so good to have us for a couple of weeks and we miss them already. Tanner is old enough now that he says that he wishes that Grandma lived closer.......me too, me too...(especially after that drive)
I love the above picture. It is me with the kids BEFORE church. You know you are in trouble when your kids wont even sit still and cooperate before church!
Somehow we survive the baby and toddler stage...

Here is Ava as a brunette!
Ava is as sassy and demanding as the day is long, but I just luv her tons!!

Tanner and Ava just adore my Mom. She just gets them, and knows how to make them smile even during a tantrum.

Ava is a bit attatched to Grandpa Dan......who wouldn't be?  I think she was trying to secretly take his iphone and play with it.
He is always very patient with her and listens to her constant singing and little lady stories.

Mothers!!

2009-05-10T22:09:00.000-07:00

I just love love my mom. Here is a shout out to her for being so amazing. Happy Mother's Day. This picture shows how amazing she is. When Tanner was 14 months and I was pregs with Ava, and Brandt was busy at his Dental Practice in Burlington............trouble struck when he fell off of his changing table and to our surprise(a day later at the hospital) broke his little femur bone.
That evening my mom flew into Denver and we picked her up at the airport after we had been at the Children's Hospital in Denver watching our little man suffer and then go under and come out in an almost full body cast. UGH. It was summer and I was pregnant.
My mom stayed with us in Burlington for 2 of the 4 weeks that Tanner was miserable in his cast. That is true MOM love. SHe could've just send a card or called me everyday but no she was there. And Tanner wasn't the easiest little guy, so even more amazing. I love my mom. What an amazing and selfless example she is to me.

I love these two little blondies. Brandt took them out so I could have nap and get my nails done on Saturday. They came home sunburnt, cranky and hungry, BUT I just loved having a minute to myself. THanks Brandt. Love ya all!!!!!!!!!!

Just love my kids!!

2009-05-06T14:30:00.000-07:00

Tanner was really quiet one morning while I was cleaning up breakfast and getting his lunch ready for school. THis is the project he was working on. He has a true passion for cars and monster trucks. I think he had lined up 20. Spoiled...? Yes. Hopefully he will be able to have this much perfection and attention to detail when he grows up. Maybe he will be an awesome dentist like his daddy.

This girl just gets better and better( not her hair though). I actually think it gets funkier as she gets older. Takes after her mommy. I can't justify using hair product and a hot straight iron on her yet though.

She is just so smart and funny. I love her!

The happy couple

2009-04-23T18:34:00.000-07:00

Here are Chase and Valerie surrounded by some of the little boy cousins! Notice they all really like Valerie!

Brandy, Valerie, Amberlynn and I
Brandt and his siblings. This pose is now tradition!
They are a darling couple, we are so happy for them. It was a fun weekend!

Wedding pics

2009-04-20T19:52:00.000-07:00

We drove..yea DROVE to Idaho this past weekend for Brandt's brother Chase's wedding in Idaho Falls/Rexburg. Here are some of my favorite photos from this weekend (of our family) I will make another post showing the new happy couple.

Conference

2009-04-05T16:25:00.000-07:00

We had cinnamon rolls and watched conference today! It is now almost 6 pm and Ava is still wearing the same PJs!

Celebrating with Gradma Tersa and Gpa Dan

2009-04-01T11:35:00.000-07:00

My parents came into town to visit Tanner for his B'day about a week before he turned four. We just had to have a little party for him and make a monster truck cake!!

We just love our Grandparents, Tanner says that he wished they live closer........me too!

2009-03-31T20:07:00.000-07:00

Big Day

2009-03-31T20:06:00.000-07:00

Lo Lo went in for a C section to have her little boy Carter. All went well and we are so excited to have a new little cousin!

Girls

2009-03-21T13:10:00.000-07:00

This is Katie....my new bestest friend. She is one of the funniest and coolest chicks. She also is my hairstylist...that is how I met her.
She's great. There should be more girls like Katie in the world. I love my mom and sis but they live so far. Katie is kind of their sub as well as my bud.

Here is one of my other favorite girls in my life. This girl just gets cuter and smarter everyday. She is two and can identify all of the letters of the alphabet. Love ya Ava.

Around the House

2009-03-06T15:45:00.000-08:00

It has been a while since I have updated our lives.....these aren't very exciting, just cute. Here is Ava and once again her amazing "after nap hair".
Here is Tanner strutting some attitude!
Ava in her chair having a meal!!
Tanner watching TV in his favorite spot!
The tiger and a lady bug strutting their stuff.

Tanner's new hair

2009-02-08T18:33:00.000-08:00

When I see this picture I can just so see Tanner as a teenager. I love it. He got his first haircut(aka, I didn't shave it) . Katie cut and styled it for him and he was just so good and cute about it.

This was Sunday morning. I thought they looked pretty slick so I got out the camera. I don't think I have ever got this many pictures of them together in all of Ava's 2 years of life.

This is Tanner after church, I think Brandt told him that he had big shoes to fill someday. LOVE MY KIDS!!

Ava's 2

2009-01-29T10:11:00.000-08:00

Ava loved her 2nd birthday. We had some Jones cousins over and had hamburgers and cupcakes...it was a rager. We even had both sets of Grandparents there. Happy B'day Ava, you are so sweet and smart. We love ya!

Tanner's new bed!

2009-01-24T13:03:00.000-08:00

We finally took down Tanner's crib and bought him a full size bed. We got our $ out of that crib. Up until a week ago he has slept in it with the front rail off. He was so excited when the delivery truck came and brought his bed into his room.

Brandt loves this bed. He always falls asleep with Tanner now that he can lay down and read stories right by Tanner.

Grandma Teresa and Grandpa Dan got here late Thur. night from Kansas for a visit and for Ava's birthday. We love having them.

Wrights came to town!

2009-01-24T12:47:00.000-08:00

Our good friends from Burlington(now Kansas City) came to visit for the weekend last week. Tanner and Carter picked up right where they left off from last time. They just love to play and laugh together.

We played a little Rock Band, ate out, and watched The Office!

I just love this girl. We used to be together almost every day, and now we see each other like every 6 months. She is great, it was fun to hang out again.

This is Tanner and Ava that Sunday after church. They both had new clothes on!!

Sunday

2009-01-13T14:30:00.001-08:00

Ava right out of the shower, gotta love her hair. She is so cute!

Tanner eating chocolate m&m's after church.....perfect!

Nusery is truly exaustimg!! Here is the proof. I do have to admit that church is more enjoyable now that I don't have baby on my hip the whole 3 hrs. Tanner is a sunbeam and Ava is in nursery. I get to see Tanner because I am in the Primary Pres. It is cute to watch him with his new class.

Brandt is 33!

2009-01-07T18:28:00.000-08:00

No Brandt hasn't joined the West Side Gang"they said he was too white!". Brandt turned 33! We got to go on a date while my parents and Lori and Ryan watched the kids.

Brandt is a crowd pleaser around 3-4 yr olds!!

He lead us in singing to him, he really likes to be in charge. I let him think that he WAS for the day!
Happy Birthday Babe, I love you......here is to another 33 years!

Christmas with some Jacobsen's

2009-01-03T19:16:00.000-08:00

Ava and Tanner got a new drum set the second time SANTA came and some other great stuff. Santa was a little too busy this season, wow. My parents and Lori and Ryan Jones came to visit on th 26th-Jan1. We had fun!

Tanner never falls asleep on the couch around 7, but I think Grandpa's stories and jokes can have that affect on anyone!! J/K

Lori showed Ava a good time by always giving her chocolate. Here she is discovering the power of brownie mix. Delish!

I think having family just wore us out, here is Ava all cuddled up with Uncle Ryan. He is so sweet to her and she loves it!!!

Christmas

2009-01-02T18:38:00.000-08:00

All the little JONES cousins, so cute! They sang jingle bells for us moms and dads

Christmas morning at home!! The kids were pumped.

Ava in a new Christmas dress, she got gum on it about 2 hours later. DW40 got it out!!

Christmas Time

2009-01-02T18:30:00.000-08:00

This is Ava on our way to Grams and Poppies house.

Brandt wanted a picture of our kids with his Grandma Jones, Tanner took it very seriously!!

Brandt's brother Coby and his wife Brandy and their boys!

The cutest shepards in America.....and yes they used those candy canes as weapons as soon as the nativity was over.

Jingle Bells

2008-12-19T08:12:00.000-08:00

This is Tanner after his Preschool Christmas program! He was so cute, even if he didn't sing and just made funny faces the whole time. At least he wasn't holding himself during it, that was impressive.
This is Ava who willingly will wear a Santa hat, but won't wear a hat outside when it is 7 degrees!

Let me just warn you that this is a long video, and I sing in some of it....sorry!

New PJ's for a Haircut

2008-12-18T20:17:00.000-08:00

Tanner has to be bribed into many things.....getting his haircut is one. Brandt says it is a bad habit that I have bribing him, BUT if I didn't his hair would be to his shoulders. I let him open this present AFTER he let us cut his hair. I strategically planned it because the next day at his preschool was a PJ party.....Mom's are so smart!

Don't those glasses make Ava look SMART?!? Ha

Brandt's new staff at our Holiday Lunch last weekend. Such a great group of Gals!!!

"You better not pout, you better not cry......"

2008-12-15T09:26:00.000-08:00

The song says it all! Although Santa sure is generous, I'm sure Ava will have a little more than COAL come Christmas morning.

I guess snow is okay...

2008-12-02T04:14:00.000-08:00

Here is Ava watching Tanner and I work!
Grandpa Dan and Grandma Teresa visited us on their way to and from Utah!
(This picture was supposed to be shown last......but it is 5 am and I can't move it to the bottom , so whatever...I love computers. Ha)

We made snowmen in the front yard. I think I have lived in CO for almost 8 years now and these are the first snowmen I have made. Having kids does make life more fun.....sometimes!

Tanner was so pumped, he could have watched ME make snowmen all day.

Lately

2008-11-28T20:56:00.001-08:00

Tanner and his cousin Connor!
We all got together for the BYU vs. U of U game. We won't mention the outcome of the game.....but the kids had fun!
Here we are posing for a picture at Grams and Poppy's house on Thanksgiving Day

Here's my little Ava in the morning......and she is a better morning person that Tanner...scary,huh?

Here is Tanner and Daddy at the BYU vs. Airforce game a couple of weekends ago in Colorado Springs.

We are doing great and are super busy. We had a fun Thanksgiving and we even are decorated for Christmas now. The holidays sure are more fun with kids. They get so excited about everything.

Trip to AZ

2008-11-13T05:22:00.000-08:00

I made a last minute decision to use some credit I had with US Airways to fly to AZ for a long weekend. I am either really BRAVE or CRAZY because I flew with Tanner and Ava all by myself. I even drove myself...which means I had to park in a lot far from the airport(yea I'm cheap still) and then catch a shuttle to the Airport.

The trip was well worth it. We had so much fun playing outside and shopping and ofcourse eating out. Lori and Ryan's house is great because we all had our own rooms! Lori found out she is having a baby boy. We are all excited for her. She was kind enough to let Ava sleep in the nursery she has set up for the baby.

Ava was especially attached to Ryan and their dog Sophie. It was hilarious. She would walk around the house saying"Ryan, where are you?" When their dog Sophie was around she would just say "Doggie, Doggie..over and over and over"
We had a great trip. The airplane ride was a success due to coloring books and mostly our portable DVD player (it is worth it's weight in gold).

Bathroom Humor

2008-11-10T22:08:00.000-08:00

The other day Tanner was going potty and as always Ava came wandering in.
I was waiting for my glorified job of wiping Tanner's little bum.....Ava then points and says POO POO.
Tanner says to her (in a rude voice) "No Ava, that is my POOP........It looks like me. Ha!
Oh the joyous moments of motherhood. I was lauging too much to even consider how to make that a teaching moment.
I did however take the time to document it in our blog......I think it will be a great story to share with Tanner's future girlfriends.

...but I don't like Candy Corns

2008-11-03T19:21:00.000-08:00

Halloween

2008-11-02T19:09:00.000-08:00

You guessed it. Tanner was McQueen again. I was glad. We spent like $40 on that thing last year so now we have got our money's worth....maybe.

Little Ava was TinkerBell. She wouldn't wear her wings and her hair was also a mess, it frustrated me.............but she had fun!!!

This is a picture of us all at the ward Trunk or Treat. All in all it was a great day with lots and lots of CANDY.

Ava's First Haircut

2008-11-02T18:29:00.000-08:00

That's right, I had had enough of the mullet and her bangs always being in her eyes, so I did a little whack job for her.

She is so so cute. I love her to pieces!

There's no basement in the Alamo!

2008-10-25T19:10:00.000-07:00

Brandt and I got to get away for the weekend! No kids, cleaning, diapers, carseats, Blue's Clues, bottles, tantrums, etc! It was great. I think I appreciate the time away a little more than Brandt does though. We went to San Antonio,TX for a dental convention. We met up with Brandt's bud from Dental School "Goody". When they weren't at the convention we all ate out, went to the movies, swam, mini golfed, and hung out a lot in our hotel room. It was a good time.

Yes, that is a toothbrush in Brandt's mouth. He is addicted to those things!

Here we are at miniture golf. Goody won by 2 points.

This was the coolest thing in San Antonio......besides the ALAMO. It is called the Riverwalk and it was beautiful. It is a big loop you can walk next to a river and it is lined with pretty landscape, restaurants and hotels.

Coming Home

2008-10-25T18:56:00.000-07:00

Tanner and Ava didn't let me out of their sight for the next 24 hours after we got back. I guess it is nice to be needed so much!

Thankfully, Lori and my mom are amazing and came to stay with the kids while Brandt and I left for the weekend. They are amazing.

Lori is going to find out if she is having a boy or girl in Nov. We are all excited.

Tanner was pumped when Brandt showed him the hat he brought back from Texas. Tanner is such a character. I don't know where he gets it from.

Sorry it is confusing

2008-10-13T18:30:00.000-07:00

Okay, so we moved to Burlington 3 years ago (after Brandt finished dental school) and lived in that house from 2005-now. In 2007 we bought this house in Castle Rock as a 2nd home(in hopes that we would live here permenantely after finding a dentist office to buy. SO......for the past year we have been living in 2 homes at the same time!! We lived in this house (castle rock) on the weekends(Fri-Sun) and in Burlington( M-Th). The drive between the two is 2 and 1/2 hours(that part really stunk).

So a couple weeks ago Brandt sold the Burlington practice and bought an existing practice in Castle Rock from a dentist that is retiring. Luckily, Heavenly Father has blessed us so much with all of this transition and opportunity. For example, our little home in Burlington sold in 2 days!

We love living full time in Castle Rock. Having a brand new house is the best. It feels good to have ALL of our stuff in one home now and not have to grocery shop for 2 homes!
These are just a few pics. I haven't taken any in a while.

Does that make any sense?!?

Bye Burlington!

2008-10-12T12:55:00.000-07:00

Here we were Friday finishing packing up and moving completely out. We had been living here and in Castle Rock for a year. We appreciate the opportunity we were given in Burlington and will miss some people and some things about it. So Long!

Tanner's First Field Trip

2008-10-10T19:30:00.000-07:00

This was the perfect 1st field trip for Tanner. He is so PUMPED about Halloween and pumpkins. It was a cute trip. We had fun.

Conference and Pumpkins!!

2008-10-07T19:05:00.000-07:00

Those two words sum up the events of the weekend!

On Saturday our friends the Scotts (rad lds neighbors, originally from No Cal) invited us to go to a place called Anderson Farms to get pumpkins, ride rides, see a petting zoo... etc! We had a great time. They even had a corn maze, but it started to rain and our kids were a little fussy after a couple of hours of fun. We actually got to ride behind a tractor and go to the pumpkin patch. We even got to pull the pumpkins off the vine.
Isn't Brandt such a babe?!

Our friends the Scotts! Rick, Aidan, Kellen, Jyll and snuggled up close to his mommy....Curren.

We watched a lot of conference and chilled in our pj's for most of the day on Sunday. Great weekend!

more pumpkins

2008-10-07T18:50:00.000-07:00

Ava is so so darling, and she also cries and whines so so much......bless her heart. She mostly had fun at the pumpkin patch!

Tanner's favorite thing was the maze....I think this picture shows Tanner running away from Ava's crying. He also enjoyed milking a fake cow.... Brandt and I are so proud. I think he is ready for household chores!

A new cousin!

2008-10-07T18:43:00.000-07:00

Ryan and Jessica Jones had their 3rd baby! Ok...Jess had her.

She is so so sweet! They named her Jolie Michelle Jones. What a cute family they are. Congrats to you all.

Picture This

2008-09-14T13:18:00.000-07:00

Tanner had school pictures taken!!

This is him and his sidekick on that morning. These pics are cute, but I'm nervous to see what the school pictures look like. He really likes to stick out his tongue and make faces when the camera comes out.

Here are some fun times on the couch. We like to read monster truck books and of course eat. These are the days!

Family Fun

2008-09-14T13:07:00.000-07:00

We got together for a BBQ with the Jones's. Chase is about to head back to BYU Idaho, so we wanter to say good bye. The kids made little s'mores, and ran around playing, it was great.

This is Brandt and two of his brothers. Ryan and Chase. They did some mountain biking together recently!

She's Talking!

2008-09-01T12:27:00.000-07:00

Our little Ava has become quite the talker in the last couple of weeks. Brandt and I are blown away by this because Tanner vocabulary wasn't even close to Ava's. She just talks more everyday. It is fun to see her grow and develop. She is very sassy and sweet and pretty patient...due to the fact that she is the second child.

Here are soome of the things I can think of that she says.......Thank you, please, ice, get down, I did it, push, share, truck, shoe, sock, bye, hi, more, chicken, cookie, morning, mommy, daddy, Tanner, no, book, popcorn, drink, juice, bottle, blankie, nite nite, bath, shower, hair, show, sunscreen, swim, duck, cow, cat, bug...the list goes on and on.
WE LOVE YOU LITTLE AVA LYNN!