Catching up- Fall 2009 Edition...

A few things we did last fall ... (lame, I know, but had to catch it up... :)

We started school... Trio in Pre-K, Annie in 2nd grade. Two schools, two districts, three classrooms. So exciting!

Annie and Hattie on their first day of school- (and Annie's first time on the bus!!)

Silly, cheesy brothers...

We had a fun-filled visit from Aunt Sheri and Uncle Mark!!

...which included a totally FANTASTIC trip to the Puyallup Fair!

In October we took our annual trip to Leavenworth for "Autumn Leaf Festival"...

...and what would Fall be without a trip to the pumpkin patch...

...with our friends!

...lots of them... sheesh, what are you people, Mormon or something? :)

Mom got crazy with the costumes again... Annie's Cleopatra, Charlie is a skeleton, Henry's a vampire, Sophie is a ballerina witch and Miss Maggie... well, she's Bo-Peep, of course..

In November, our sweet Annie celebrated a very important birthday- turning 8 and getting baptized! She celebrated with Sophie and Hattie with a yummy dinner at Rainforest Cafe and a fantastic shopping trip at the mall- followed by her first sleepover at our house. Fun Fun!




(I'll post baptism pics when I find them... hmmm...) Annie was baptized during Thanksgiving weekend. She shared her special day with her friend Adriana. Both girls were baptized and confirmed by their dads- and many friends and some family members were in attendance. It was very special!

We finished the fall with a bang- the trio played an exceptional season of soccer under the careful tutelage of Rachael Redding, our coach of choice... :)

And our "California Girls" performed a jazz number in their dance studio's recital.(that's Soph on the end...)

...and we're just getting started! So many more things to update!

Playing catch-up...Summer 2009 Edition

The massive undertaking that is catching up the blog will begin with Summer 2009- though these pics are in absolutely NO chronological order... and I'm too lazy to fix it... so here you go, Cyberfriends. :)

WHAT WE DID THIS SUMMER By, The Jonesies

We rooted for Daddy (in the rain) in his first ever Triathlon!

We celebrated the Fourth of July...

We learned who DOMINATES at two-square...

We celebrated a very BIG fifth birthday...

....like three times....

We went to cheer camp...

...and for lots of park-dates with our friends...

We did LOTS of goofy stuff around the house- and LOTS of swimming in our new pool (though I don't have pics of that, unfortunately...)

We played T-Ball (though we prefer COACH pitch...)

We endured the worst heat wave in WA history by taking an impromptu trip to the beach!

(yes, we wear hair fancies when we wear bathing suits...)

We went fun places with our cousins...

...especially grandma's house...

We went to gymnastics camp...

We participated in a play...

We graduated from preschool...

...and lots more! But there's a taste... Now, on to FALL!

Why I haven't blogged...

Hello Friends.
I'm not sure what the standard etiquette is for not updating one's blog very frequently. I feel pretty confident that Emily Post and Miss Manners have little to say about the matter. I have been repeatedly chastened by multiple folks for my ineptitude. So I feel I will offer something resembling an explanation.

Upon thorough examination of the evidence, it seems apparent that my avoidance of the blogging world (excepting my business blog) began when The Upheaval (aka- preparation for my first major Tallulah Twinkletoes show) began. This was the point in the Summer when all extraneous activities (ie: reading, crafting, sleeping, blogging, etc) ceased to exist. Since this time, life has continued in much the same manner- the Upheaval began in August, and continued into the Fall months as I participated in a number of different boutiques and little Soirees, completed MANY custom orders and daydreamed about my business plan.

I took a brief break in December to enjoy the busy, blissfully craft-laden Christmas holidays, and now I find myself still busy...
This is, of course, good for business. Family life has been largely uninterrupted, thanks to the advent of FULL DAY SCHOOL for the trio, the support of a great husband, and three hour daily naps for the Magster. My nights are late, my mornings come early and I am still figuring this balancing act out, but life is good.

So please forgive my blog neglect. I will include, for your viewing pleasure (and mine), some photos of events gone by. Since my scrapbooking days are still on hold for another year (at least), I will be better about blogging and updating the status of the Jones family for those near and far...

xoxo

AOJ

Totally NOT Neglecting my blog...

Okay. I know. I've been, um, busy lately. I guess I took the Summer off- and the problem with that is, when one has the list of things to blog about that I have, returning to the Blogosphere seems a very daunting task. In truth, it will likely take me DAYS to catch up, but catch up I will, rest assured. A tasty morsel of things to come:

-end of school, 4th of July, visits from cousins, spontaneous trip to the beach, MCT, Gymnastics camp, bball camp, cheer camp, outings with friends, MORE outings with friends, triplets' birthday, Tball, two-square tournament, Sumner Arts Fest... and SO much more!!!!

I'm getting to it- I promise... It might take until Christmas, but it's going to happen!

Memorial Day Weekend Extravaganza of Family Togetherness!

So, in lieu of taking a one-night overnight trip (which often ends up being a nightmare... I mean, who actually sleeps the first night in a new place, kids don't calm down, it isn't until night two that anyone actually rests, blah blah) we decided to do some fun outings to keep ourselves entertained this last weekend!

Friday night, we went to the Valley Drive in to see:

It was our first family trip to the drive in since Annie was a baby, and it was a blast! The kids loved it and the movie was great... I recommend it!

Saturday, we cleaned the house (work before play, of course... :) then loaded up everyone and went to lunch at McDonalds (I know, but remember, five kids...) then to Parkland Putters- an old-school mini golf place near Tacoma. The kids were so excited to go mini-golfing and Maggie was very... helpful...

She's cute, can't fault her for that...

Since the day was completely GORGEOUS, we opted to take a family walk on Ruston Way on the waterfront in Tacoma. It was a busy day there, but the weather was glorious, which, as we Washingtonians know, is an occurrence not to be trifled with. So, walking we went...

By the end of our walk, we had worked up an appetite... So we decided to eat dinner at Tacoma's Old Spaghetti Factory- a fabulous place to eat with kids- Kids meals are only 4.99 and they include a drink, salad, entree and dessert! Awesome! And delicious- they even have whole wheat pasta now! Yay me!

We went home, got ready for bed, then went to church Sunday and enjoyed a restful, rejuvenating Sabbath.

Monday, we went got up, got ready and after lunch went to Federation Forest and did a family hike! The Jonesies LOVE to hike- even Maggie was enthralled! The trail was easy enough, and we probably walked a couple of miles, effortlessly.

We stopped by our favorite Farm Stand on our way home to get some fresh veg and fruit (and ice cream -OBVIOUSLY one of the four food groups...) and went to a relaxing cook out at the Deputy's home. And *bonus*, got to see the inside of the new house they're building... Fun day!

It was truly a fabulous weekend. Not perfect- never perfect, but very entertaining, and I think every Jonesie had a truly exhilarating time. I think we have begun a new family tradition- the Memorial Day Weekend Extravaganza of Family Togetherness (MDWEFT) will be something we look forward to each year... and I have 364 days to recover... :)

Annie's Program

Annie had her First Grade music program at school, "Hansel and Gretel Eat Right". She was the cutest squirrel in the bunch. It was really cute and actually pretty funny. Where else do you get to see a singing compost pile? As Jim stated (quite profoundly, I might add...) "Lessons we've learned: Sweets=bad. Fruits and Veg=good. " I would add: "Compost=essential (and apparently, musical)."

A few pics:

An Apple for the...

Check out these beauties! I made them for Annie's teachers at school for Staff Appreciation Week... Yes, I'm totally channelling Martha here... Yes, for the uninitiated, they are apple-shaped cake pops. In a bucket. With ribbon. Could I be more unabashedly girly?