Our trip home

We spent the last couple of weeks with Logan's family. Carli's probably bored now that we're home, I know I am. We did a lot of fun stuff, but it was great just being with the family. Logan only got to spend a few days with all of us, than he had to get back to work, so that was the only downer. We were glad to be able to spend so much time with Aubrey before she goes on her mission. Hard to believe she leaves tomorrow!
Her talk was great and the brothers' musical number was beautiful. I wish I could have taped them both. I didn't take very many pictures (again) and I'm so sad about it. I guess I just get distracted. We went swimming a couple of times and Carli absolutely loved it. She shrieked, giggled, kicked and splashed like nobody's business.
Here's and in-action picture of Carli and Uncle Will on the carousel. Carli loved getting to know her uncles and Papa Tommy. She was sure happy to see Grammy and Aunt Aubrey again too.

I caught this exchange a little late on the camera, but it's still cute. Haven realized that when she moved around on the air mattress it bounced Carli. Before this video Carli was laughing harder than I've ever seen. Thanks Grammy, Papa Tommy, Uncle "Kelby", Uncle "Wilbur" and Aunt Aubrey for letting us come visit and for such a fun time. And thanks to Ben, Rachel, Haven and Rory for helping us on the trip to and from.

Our little girl is seven months old! She's learning to sit on her own pretty well, has added a few more sounds to her repertoire (including dada), rolls around quicker than I can keep up, has mastered cereal, fruits, vegetables and the sippy cup, and loves to be tickled and sung to. She gets more and more fun everyday and I'm starting to think my decision to stay home with her was purely selfish because I enjoy it so much. What a blessing!

Our first tornado weather experience

At the beginning of the month we had our first brush with tornado weather. It was kind of exciting at first, but when we realized that we were being sent to the basement and that the little town where our church is was hit (a couple of houses, a church and a barn were damaged) it was less exciting and a little scarier. We were happy to have a sturdy home to protect us. The clouds got much darker than this picture (this was just before we went to the basement.) We got a lot of wind and tons of rain, and we're still under a flood warning. A few roads around us were closed for awhile, but our basement stayed dry and nothing was damaged.


Here's our little stash for the hour or more we were under the tornado warning. We played yahtzee and had a good time.

More pics

You'd think I was trying to win a cutest baby contest. Nope - just suffering from PMS - proud mom syndrome.

6 Months!

Carli turned six months old while we were in Chicago, and she had her checkup yesterday. She's healthy and happy, but the poor girl has some unique proportions. Height - 26" (46%) Weight - 15 lbs (26%) Head - 45 cm (96%) I think we have a smartie! We think those proportions must be just about perfect, because she is.

She's sure growing up on us, we're sort of sad about it so it's a good thing she just gets cuter and more fun everyday. She is so active now. We put her in her crib to go to sleep and find her crosswise all tangled up in her blanket giggling. She loves her cereal and vegetables and will grab anything within (or not) reach. You can tell by those eyes that she is a curious one.

She says "mama" - and we're pretty sure she knows what it means (she always says it in reference to me). She rolls all over and has started to scoot backwards, even though she means to scoot forward. She loves giving her mom and dad big, slobbery kisses and giggles and squeals everytime her dad comes home (even when she was not very happy with mom one minute earlier). Her hair is coming in thick, and we love the double cowlick in the back, even if she'll hate it when she gets older.

She loves going on walks outside, especially following her dad around the frisbee golf course. She's doing great in her baby etiquette classes. Not really, we just love how dainty she is. She almost always sits with her ankles crossed and her hands folded in her lap like this. When she stands it's always in a ballet position. We'll laugh when she wants nothing to do with the girly stuff later on.

She sure is a cutie and we just can't get enough of her!

Other than that, we're doing well here. I got a new calling after only a few months of being the Primary chorister (which I loved). I am now in the Young Womens presidency and I'm a little nervous. I suppose I'm destined to work with teenagers. I figure it's one of two things: to help me survive Carli when she's a teenager, or to help Carli survive me when she's a teenager. I am excited to work with the girls too. This is the first time I've been in a ward with YW so it should be quite a learning experience.

We're also looking forward to a trip to Logan's home to see all the family next week. Carli has never met her uncles or her Papa Tommy. I can already tell she will love them. It will be a fun vacation, although I will be without Logan again for part of it, which I am sad about. Good thing I married him, since I can't get enough of him either!

Well, there's our update, complete with pictures of Carli - the most important part!

Memorial Day Weekend

This weekend I went with Logan on a business trip to Chicago. He had to work 13 hour days on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, but Carli and I had a lot of fun wandering the city. I, of course, didn't take any pictures. My excuse is that it was too hard with just me and Carli. Besides, I found pictures that are way better than any I would have taken (except that they don't have Carli in them). We stayed at a hotel on the Magnificent Mile and we got there Saturday night. My first Chicago experience was deep dish pizza. I found out why we call them "pizza pies". Mmmmm. . .

Sunday we walked around Navy Pier. It was a cool place and it was perfect weather. At Navy Pier we walked through the stained glass museum. It had beautiful artwork. We also went to a "beach" on the lake.
Monday we walked the Magnificent Mile on Michigan Avenue. It was fun to "shop". Logan said I'm ruining Carli's idea of shopping - she's never heard the "ding" of the cash register. I should have come home with some $300 Prada sunglasses or something. . .

This picture isn't very clear, but I saw this guy on Michigan Avenue. I wouldn't have taken a picture of him anyway since he charged for pictures. Ha ha, I got one anyway. He was pretty good, but he certainly was serious about no photos until he got paid.
Tuesday we went to the Museum of Contemporary Art. Not my thing. I like the old stuff. Don't get me wrong, I love art, those were some of my favorite classes in college. But, I'm not really into the stuff I feel like I (or Carli) could do myself or that makes me feel really uncomfortable. Call me shallow, but I'm a feel-good type. I don't particularly like to ponder drugs, or school masacres, or other such things the way those artists portray them. I feel like they often try to blame society and me as an individual for the horrible things in life instead of calling for change through their art. I suppose I just don't have the mind of an artist, I just don't comprehend what they're point is a lot of the time. Anyway, I guess it made me think, either way.
I also went to American Girl Place Tuesday. It was one of my favorite places, as I was very much into American Girl when I was younger. It of course had a store where you could buy the dolls and the books and everything. (There are a lot more girls than there were when I was into it!) It also had a photo studio where you could get your picture on the cover of the magazine. There was a theater with live characters, a doll hair salon, and a place where you and your doll could dress alike. I almost envied the little girls carrying their dolls around in the store because I had always wanted a doll - not that I ever could have decided which one I wanted anyway. It was a fun trip down memory lane.

Otherwise we ate a lot of pizza, walked a lot and I took Carli to dip her toes in the pool. She absolutely loved it. In fact, she splashed her feet so much that the bottom of her onesie was soaked, so I took it off and dipped her in the pool up to her shoulders. She gasped a tiny bit but then shrieked with delight. All in all it was a great time for Carli and me. It sure beat being alone all weekend without Logan. And, fun for us, he gets a 3 day weekend this weekend to compensate.

Carli is growing up and is so much fun. She is becoming incredibly social and she gets so sad if you walk away even just a little. Then she giggles when you come back into view. She does this cute little chirp when she "talks" to you now and she can hardly get to sleep because she has so much fun talking, wrestling her blankets and trying to grab the little bunny and kitty in her crib. What a cutie! I'll post pictures of her soon.

Family Fun

It was a fun week around here last week with Grammie and Aunt Aubrey here. We did quite a few things and they helped a lot with Baby Rory, Haven and Carli. I only captured a few of the moments, but we were sure glad to spend time all together.

Carli with her Aunt Aubrey.

Grammie and her girls. (Yes, Carli has a binki. It was either that or screaming.)

Mother's Day was great. Everyone stayed at our house Saturday night and we woke up to a wonderful breakfast made by Logan and Ben. Logan spoke in church and I led the primary (I'm the primary chorister) in singing "Mother Dear". Lori was great to take care of Carli during all of the meetings. Afterwards we ate a great Mexican meal, Logan, Ben and Aubrey showered Lori, Rachel and me with lots of fun gifts - new clothes, chocolates, jewelry, etc. It was also so thoughtful of Tom to also give us chocolates. It's been a little while since I've had chocolates mmmmmmm. . . I was reminded how wonderful it is to be a mother and to have such great examples of mothers in my life. It seems I owe so much of my happiness to those two things alone. Thank you to all of the mothers who have helped to shape me, especially my own mother.

Here's to our moms. (Sorry Dads, for the purose of this post you got cut out of the picture.)

And here's to the little girl who makes me a mom - who, by the way, became officially mobile today. She rolled across the room until she was stopped by the tv stand. Child proofing, here we come!

Our House

A few people have asked for pictures of our house. I have some, (I took some to use on a virtual decorator on the internet, so they're not great) but please realize we have done almost no decorating. I can't make up my mind - maybe some of you have some ideas and suggestions?

These two pictures make up our front room. I'm taking the picture from the entryway. To my left are the stairs to the basement. The doors lead out to our back deck. The archways lead to the kitchen. To my right is the hallway to the bedrooms.

Above is our kitchen. This is my favorite room in the house. To the right is the entrance to the great room. Behind me is the mud room and garage.

This is the master bedroom. To the left and back is the master bathroom. Behind me is the door to the hallway.

I didn't take pictures of the nursery or the guest bedroom or bath. And, as you can see I don't have a wide lense to take good architectural pictures, but hopefully these will do for those of you who were curious. Like I said, I'd love your ideas on how to decorate - as of now it is lots and lots of white - we need some color and personality.

Carli Q

Welcome Aurora May!

Our little niece was born last Thursday and we are so excited to welcome her here! It's so fun to live close to Ben and Rachel and their two little girls. I think Aurora May is such a beautiful name! Good thing, 'cause she is a beautiful girl.

We're happy to have Grammie and Aunt Aubrey come to visit the three little girls. It's amazing how watching this tiny baby has made me look at Carli so differently. She's so big and old! She's growing up and seems to be cuter and cuter everyday. I just can't get enough of her!

It's Alive!!!

Things have come back to life around here finally. I had quite an adventure around the house this morning to inform me of that. I was so sad that I didn't take a picture of the whole fiasco, but here are a few to help picture it a little. So, it has rained A LOT here lately and we've been periodically checking our basement to make sure there is no flooding. I went down this morning to find

this

and this (and several other little frogs) and a tiny baby bunny who belongs to a bunny family that lives under our neighbor's deck that all got trapped together in our window well. I wish I'd gotten pictures of it, it was so cute - it could fit in the palm of your hand. So, I decided at least the little bunny needed help immediately (Logan can take care of the frogs when he gets home from work). I got a towel and a bucket and headed downstairs to the window (it was too deep for me to do from outside). Well, if you've ever tried to catch a bunny before, it's harder than you'd think. After trying unsuccessfully to catch the little guy for quite sometime the poor little thing jumped through the window into my basement! It found a nice little hiding place under the bottom step. After getting my morning exercise by chasing it around the basement for awhile, it finally got tired enough I caught it in my towel and let it go to find its little family. It was quite the adventure. Carli has no idea I'm training to be the next Steve Irwin while she naps. Here are some other things we've found living around our yard.

These little birds made a nest on the vent for our fireplace on our deck. There's always warm air coming out of it. I hope they liked it while it lasted, they'll have to move soon.

These flowers came up on their own in the front yard! (Not a great picture, they're yellow in real life.)

And something else is growing around here too. . .

Again, not great pictures but I love the look on her face. She looks like she wonders what I could possibly find so amusing to be taking pictures. She likes to hold on to the little toys on her tray and lean forward. She grins and gets excited like she's on a roller coaster ride. I can't believe she is 5 months old (yesterday)! How time flies. She is still on her "nursing strike" (which is really what it's called) and I'm about ready to quit. Anyone had this experience before who has any suggestions?

Grandma Jones

This video is of my Grandma Jones playing the piano at the luncheon after my grandfather's funeral. She really is an amazing woman. She played a few of my grandpa's favorites at the lunch. She is 82 years old, can barely walk with a walker (as you can see, she was in a wheelchair that day), can't see well enough to read music anymore, but can play the songs she learned from the time she was in junior high. My dad always liked me to learn the pieces my grandma played (they were his favorites) and I can't even remember them from at most 10 years ago. Anyway, I will count myself lucky if I ever have the strength she has in her fingers, mind, heart and spirit.

My latest trip

Well, I'm back from my trip. It was a nice trip, even though it felt pretty short. We were able to visit both of my grandmas and it was pretty amazing that all of my grandfather's 26 grandchildren were there except one (my sister who is too pregnant to travel). He left quite a legacy. It was nice to see all the cousins I haven't seen in quite awhile. I intended to take LOTS of pictures, but obviously didn't. You know what they say about good intentions. . . Anyway, the picture is of Carli and her Great-Grandma Jordan. I can't believe how old she looks in this picture! She's not so little anymore :(. When we got back from the trip, Logan left for a business trip, so Carli and I are all alone at home. (Notice the time this is being posted. Sleep doesn't come quite as easily when Logan's gone.) Poor little Carli has thrush, so she and I are trying to work out the whole eating thing. It hurts her to nurse, so we've had to make some adjustments. Surprisingly enough, she took the bottle like a pro! I sometimes worry that because she is so good-natured and wonderful that we're going to pay for it someday. It really tugged at my heartstrings the other day when she was so hungry and tired and didn't feel good while I was getting medicine and stuff yet she still gave me the cutest smiles from her carseat. What a good girl! She is becoming more and more interested in food. She stares at the food going from our plates to our mouths. I think I'll start her on cereal once Logan gets back from his trip. We are SOOOO happy it is finally Spring!!! Carli and I take walks everyday to enjoy the warm weather. It has been beautiful here lately. We're also finally meeting our neighbors - everyone has come out of winter hibernation. Carli is also becoming much more vocal. She talks herself to sleep through her binki now. She also loves to bite into my shoulder and yell as loud as she can. When she feels the wind in her hair (which she has much more of now) she squeals and gets so excited. She is also much more wiggly and it's much harder to change her diaper and bathe her now. She can bring her knees all the way up to her chest when she's on her belly and I'm afraid that crawling will come much too quickly. She is getting into peek-a-boo and giggles like crazy when you appear from behind a wall. She finally snuggles into my shoulder instead of insisting on looking around all the time. She's been especially snuggly since she hasn't felt well the last couple of days. I could go on and on about her, but I figure I'm just making people jealous that I get to be with her 24/7. She is such a joy! I know everyone says that, but I never knew just how deeply they meant it until this little sweetheart came along. There's just nothing like watching the way she just stares and grins at her dad when he gets home from work and how she giggles for him like she does for no one else. How did I get so lucky? Well, if anyone's made it this far into the post, you're probably thinking I'm lonely and sad without Logan here and you'd be right. So, I guess I'd better go to bed. I'll get more pictures of Carli soon, I know that's the most exciting part of the posts.

Grandpa Jones

My Grandpa Jones passed away this weekend and I will be going to his funeral on Saturday. Grandpa was a great man. Someone said that he somehow fit 150 years of living into 82 years and I think it's so true. He was an extremely talented, intelligent man full of integrity. I have many memories of him, all of which make me smile.
1. He used to tease me about my cats when I was little. He once painted my kitten's nose pink with a paintbrush. He also convinced me that the garage door opener let my cat out from several hundred miles away.
2. He always made breakfast for us when we visited. I think my dad got that trait from him.
3. I remember helping him chase a stray cow back into pasture. He was in the truck, I was standing on the road with absolutely no idea what I would do if a cow came charging toward me.
4. He knew a tremendous amount about his ancestors and the area they settled.
5. I loved visiting his woodshop. I still have a wooden outline of my hand when I was 5, plus a miniature rocking chair and a beautiful rocking chair he gave us for our wedding. I asked him to make me a chair before I met Logan and they asked if I was announcing something. (A rocking chair is the traditional wedding gift from my grandparents.)
6. He always wanted me to drive the boat and snowmobiles. I was scared to ride the snowmobile on my own, so he told me he'd ride with me. A bit into our drive I felt the snowmobile surge and start going much faster. My 70-something grandpa had jumped off the back of the snowmobile so I'd be driving it alone!
7. Logan always remembers when I was getting ready at my grandparents house and my grandpa thought I was taking too long he said to my dad, "Evan, you tell that girl to shake a leg!"
8. Whenever I'd travel through I'd stop for a little while to visit Grandma and Grandpa. He would always update me on the cousins and then offer a couple of "pops" for the road and walk me to my car.
9. My grandparents came to my reception, which I know was quite a sacrifice to drive so far in the car when it wasn't terribly comfortable. That always meant a lot to me.
10. I was so glad to go to lunch with him a few times as he made trips to Salt Lake to the doctor with my parents. In his little ways he let me know that he was proud of me and the choices that I'd made.

The 4 generations of Jones boys. These are the only ones out of LOTS of grandkids and great-grandkids. (My grandpa, dad, brother, and nephews.)
Taken on one of my vists awhile back.

Home again, home again. . .

Well, Carli and I are home again. It was a wonderful trip and I was so glad to spend so much time with my family, especially my parents. I was sad to go, but I missed Logan like crazy, so I am happy to be with him again. The trip home wasn't all that fun though. What was supposed to be a 6 hour trip turned into a 36 hour trip. My flight was delayed, which meant I'd miss my connection and the other option that day just wasn't feasible, so I opted to wait and leave the next day. Again, my flight was delayed so I missed my connection and then the next flight I was supposed to be on was continually delayed, so I ended up sitting in O'hare airport for over 7 hours as the time just kept getting moved back and no one would tell us why. Luckily, Carli was an angel all day or I would have been going ballistic. After several hours in the airport and about 5 delays, an older woman came to me and said, "This question may sound weird, but have you eaten or been to the bathroom today?" Until then I thought I was managing pretty well, but she made me realize I hadn't been to the bathroom in about 12 hours. I started to cry. She offered to stand in front of the stall in the bathroom so I could see her feet while she held Carli. She held Carli for the next hour or so to give me some rest and Carli rewarded her with constant smiles and giggles. She was on her way to visit her two grandsons. What a wonderful lady!!! She told me I could repay her by doing the same for a young mother when I'm a grandmother. I will always remember her kindness.

In coming home I was glad to see there is NO SNOW on the ground! And it actually got into the 60s! We walked around our yard yesterday and there are plants BLOOMING! I never knew Spring would bring me such sheer joy! Other news is that Carli has now learned how to shriek in delight. It is the best sound in the world. She also has decided that she likes to listen to herself, and if that's the case she might as well do it loudly. My quiet little girl is no longer so quiet. But, I love it. Other than that, I have decided that since the snow has melted I no longer have an excuse to sit in my house without friends or activities to keep me busy. Anyone have suggestions for what a young mom can spend her time doing to make friends and have fun? I would love any and all ideas!

Here are some photos from our trip home:

Grandma and Carli telling each other stories.

Aunt Shanna and Carli telling each other stories.

Carli swinging from the tree (literally) in the front yard. I thought she looked so old hanging on to the rope like she knows how to do it by herself.

Happy Easter!

Well, we had a great weekend with my family. We were lucky to have everyone (except Andrew who we missed) together at once, which hasn't happened for a very long time. We got an updated picture finally and even though it isn't the greatest, I will certainly treasure it. Surprisingly enough everyone was looking at the camera, even though it was just on the timed setting. Anyway, we had a lot of fun all together. The cousins all got to meet each other and the siblings all got to catch up. We played disc golf, which Logan was thrilled about, played ping pong, ate, went to the park and thoroughly enjoyed the great weather (you can see the beautiful blue sky in the picture). Logan went home today and I miss him already. I don't like being away from him, but I'm glad I get this time with family and that Carli and her grandparents will get to know each other a little better. Carli has been a doll with the travelling. I feel so blessed to have such a sweet, patient, calm and happy little girl. Hopefully I'll have more pictures to post later this week or when I get home.

A few pictures for your viewing pleasure

Carli reading with Dad.


(We're not sure where she got the Asian heritage it looks like she has in this picture.)

Going for a walk with Mom when it got above freezing. Poor thing looked like the kid on A Christmas Story and a lot like Boo on Monsters, Inc.

Hanging out with her cousin Haven. She thought she was so big.I will hopefully be posting a video later today or tomorrow as Carli rolled over for the first time! Pretty exciting times!