Memorial Day

Last weekend we made an impromptu beach trip to Port Aransas with our very good friends the Browns. What a wonderful time we had! Josh and Matt are the best of playmates when they are together, and Will did a great job keeping right up with them. He tagged along in true little brother style. The three of them together are goofy, goofy. Those Browns make the beach experience, and anything really, super fun.

There were some awesome sand creations made.

And some body tracing in the sand.

And just plain lookin' good in the sand.

All that beach and pool play made for some pooped little boys. They cuddled up in the bunk bed and watched a video.

Down by the pool Will was more interested in running and dancing around than actually getting in the water. He either clung to the steps or was entertainment for everyone watching. He's quite the showman. Matt's swimming skills came back full force, and he even began jumping from the side of the pool--a big feat for Matt.

It's a Will burrito!

Before we parted ways on Monday we ate a yummy seafood lunch.

Followed by ice cream. Yeah! It was a really fun and surprisingly relaxing weekend. We are thankful to have had the opportunity to spend some quality time with Chris, Alison and Josh. We're looking forward to more beach fun in September!

10 Years

Yesterday Steven & I celebrated our 10th Anniversary. What? It's been 10 years already? I know. These hilarious pictures of us are from our honeymoon in Cabo. We look like children! I was a mere 22 years old at the time. Wow!

You're probably thinking, wait, I just saw Steven in that yellow shirt last week. Mmmhmm, you probably did. While we were walking around town in Cabo one of the "natives" called out to Steven as he passed by (reading his shirt) and said, "Hey road warrior", and giggled. Still, every time he puts that shirt on I say "hey road warrior" all Mexican-like. Hehee. He loves that.

Truly, it's been an amazing 10 years being married to this man. He is the perfect partner in life for me, and everyday with him is special. God couldn't have given me a more perfect gift. I am thankful for a happy, fulfilled marriage, and I pray He will bless us with countless more years of wedded bliss!

To celebrate the occasion, we took our big trip to Taos back in March. Last night though we went out to a lovely dinner and followed that up with some mini golf at Peter Pan.

There's a story here. You see, on our first date way back when Steven had elaborate plans to take me to dinner and then to play mini golf. We made it to dinner, although at this particular restaurant there was a live band playing so we couldn't carry on a conversation at all. Then, he drove us to Peter Pan and when we pulled up we discovered it was closed. What then? We ended up going to Mozart's for coffee because you know, that's like romantic and stuff. The funny part is, we never attempted to go back to Peter Pan in all these years.

Well, last night was the night. After we finally got a parking spot we started our game. I'll admit; I'm a terrible golfer, so it really wasn't any contest. I had flashes of brilliance though, so it wasn't all lost. We had a great time.

That Steven. He's lots of fun. :)

The Graduate

Somehow, 5 years have already flown by and we watched Matthew graduate from preschool last night. Matt had a great last year at Hyde Park. There were a total of 4 kids in his class. The preschool went down to 2 days/week from the previous years' 3 days/week program and it caused a great deal of families to leave the program. It's unfortunate for them, but for us it couldn't have been better. Matt got a lot of individual attention, and his teacher, Ms. Daphne, was able to teach Matt how to write--a skill that he had zero interest in at the beginning of the year. Ms. Daphne is perfectly suited to be a preschool teacher; I just love her. She was so patient and loving with Matthew and always gave me great feedback on him on what they had done during the day. We couldn't have asked for a better year. Matthew is totally ready for Kindergarten.

The program last night was really cute. The kids filed in (Matt was first!) and stood on the risers and sang 3 songs, my favorite of which was "Happy Trails". The youth minister from our church gave a brief message, and then they put on a slide show with pictures from the whole year. Oh my. So cute. Then they received their diplomas. When it was Matt's turn he walked up there and his teacher bragged on him for a minute dubbing him the "scholar" of her class. It was funny. All the children were asked what they wanted to be when they grow up and Matt's answer was a grocery store manager. It's something he's been excited about for a good while now. It makes sense because he loves food, he loves the grocery store, he loves to line things up, and it involves numbers. The other day he made a grocery store at home and organized all the play foods into produce, meats, dairy---and then he lined up his candy piece by piece on the table. To top it off he then went and used his magnetic numbers to put a price on everything. He's serious. But after I shopped at his store and had a basket full of items the total was only 25 cents. Score! When he first told me about his future career he enthusiastically said, "then Momma, I can sell you food and see you at the store!!!" Love that boy.

Matt had the best support group/fan club there, too. The Reners, Morans, and Grandma were all there to cheer him on. He was SO excited to see all our faces in the crowd.

I love this hug from Ava. The love between those two is thick I'm telling you.

After the program we had some cookies and punch. It was a great evening. I must admit that I got choked up watching him up there. My baby boy is growing up before my very eyes, and I am so proud of what a sweet, talented, good-natured kid he is. I'm excited for him because I know he will love kindergarten and will thrive there; I will just really miss him. He's my buddy, my helper, my level-headed child, and a constant playmate of Will's. I know the years are only going to continue to fly by. But, when he's all grown up at least I'll see him at my local HEB, right?

Keep on rockin' in the free world

In a month's time Steven & I have been to 3 different concerts. Kind of crazy, but lots of fun. And none of it would have been possible without the always fabulous Aunt Pam who happily (I know!!) watched our children for us. We've seen Kings of Leon, Band of Horses, Arcade Fire and Fleet Foxes. They've all been at different venues, each with their own pros and cons. Tall people and parking nightmares aside, I still love the experience of a concert. Music speaks to me like nothing else.

Our friend Mike was with us when we saw Fleet Foxes at Stubb's and he took this picture of us. This was at the end of the set and after we had been rained on. Nothing like rain on a warm spring night in a crowd of people. Eww...stinky.

I look nicer here...this was when I could kind of see; at the beginning when the opening act was on stage. I'd say I saw the lead singer 50% of the time. Just his head. Sounded great though!

The Reners gave us their Rock Band game, and we have been having a really good time with it. Typically, Will is all about drums, but in this case he owns that guitar. He'll hold it up and strum and sway back forth swinging his head all about. It's quite hilarious. Note that Matthew has toothpaste on his shirt. It's kind of his trademark now. Every morning he gets it on his shirt. I can't complain though...he's actually brushing his own teeth which is a true miracle. Look out world...the Jones Family Band is just getting warmed up!

Rain!!!

Thank you Lord for rain! We got our first good soak after what feels like months. Will said, "wook, Mommy, it's waining!!" We were eating our breakfast when it started to pour down and Matt decided he'd put his swimsuit on and play in it. Naturally, Will wanted to do exactly the same.

They had a great time running around. Lots of squealing. And they took turns riding the little bike around. Will would make a lap and say, "here go Matthew, it's your turn." Super cute. Matthew said, "you know Mommy, I'm going to be asking you to make me all new signs now after it rains." Mmm-hmm, I know.

Breakfast was recommenced once the rain dance was over. Only this time on the kitchen floor.

A little update

It's been a good week here at the Jones house. We were able to have a playdate with the Hinote girls at Zilker park this past week. We played on the playground, ate a picnic lunch and rode the train.

Tuesday I registered Matthew for Kindergarten. He was SO excited. We were waiting in line to receive our packet of paperwork and he was bouncing up and down. The kids were divided up and placed into different kinder rooms to observe and do some activities while the parents stayed in the cafeteria and filled out paperwork. Matt grinned and gave me an awkward pat on the arm as he walked away with all his future classmates. The boy is totally ready for school. He's got a summer reading log he's all excited about.

This weekend we got to hang with the Browns who were in town for both Nicole's Cinco de Mayo party and Chris's 100 mile ride from Austin to Shiner, TX. Josh & Matt were thrilled to be reunited. Saturday we played at the house and then treated ourselves to a sno cone. Yum! Josh got to spend the night with us that night, so those two had great fun. Those three I should say; Will is all up in it, and the bigger kids were really sweet about including him in their escapades.

Steven & the boys gave me these beautiful flowers for Mother's Day. I was sad that Steven had to work that day, but I was able to enjoy breakfast at Kerbey Lane with the Browns and Nicole before the Dallasites had to return home. Then the kids & I went to church and enjoyed a quiet afternoon at home.

I am overjoyed to be the mother of two perfect, beautiful, amazing little boys. I am so thankful that God has entrusted them to my care to love and raise to be godly men. What a gift those sweet boys are; I can't imagine my life without them. Mother's Day is a little bittersweet after the loss of my mom. I love this picture of her holding Audrey the day she was born. She's still in my heart and mind, and I still thank the Lord for her continued influence on my life. I miss her.

Will was enjoying a super long nap on this particular afternoon when I went in to rouse him. I dare say it, but he might be growing just a tad. Sleep, more than one meal a day, and he even ate some chicken today at lunch. For this boy who is typically a vegetarian, that's saying a lot!

Sweet Berry Farms

Monday we made our annual trek out to Sweet Berry Farms in Marble Falls with the Reners and Joy's sweet grandmother, Bebe. I look forward all year to bringing home a basket full of sweet, delicious strawberries. We picked a great day to come because hardly anyone else was there. There was one small home school group and a couple other families, so we had the place pretty much to ourselves. Matthew was all over it this year. He wanted to hold the basket and pick the fruit himself. He would get so excited when he found a good one.

"No Will...don't take that from Henry." Story of my life right now. He still thinks everything belongs to him. Little toot. He did fine until he wanted to be carried around.

We had a nice picnic lunch. Matt was hungry and ate all of that food. He'd been working hard!

And I love this one. So cute!

We visited the goats for a long time. The goats have gotten an upgraded pen with lots of things to climb on. They seemed like very happy goats. And they were hungry. The kids fed them tons and tons of leaves.

Ava gave them her leftover apple from lunch.

I love this moment of jubilation from Matthew. I love this age. Everything is so simple and he can get excited about feeding goats leaves he's found from a tree. It's just precious.

We said hi to the donkeys but weren't allowed to feed them. Quote of the day, "Momma, what's that black stuff between the donkey's legs?" Those are testicles, son. We made one more run up a row of strawberries on our way out. Bebe treated the kids to some homemade strawberry ice cream before we left. Matt inhaled his. It was so tasty! Will slept nearly the whole way home and then another 2+ hours once we got home. Kid was zonked. It was a fun day and now I have freezer bags full of strawberries begging to be put in some sort of baked good!