The Jones Family in 2011

Our Christmas letter this year was a multiple-choice questionnaire...and I promised answers. So, here they are:

1. In 2011, the Jones family has:

a) travel to various countries including Canada, Belize, Honduras, and Mexico.

b) hiked Mt. Kilimanjaro.

c) thought about walking to the park.

d) driven to the mailbox.

Correct answer: a

In addition to our annual pilgrimages to Canada and Idaho, we finally had our "do-over" cruise and chose a 7-day Western Caribbean trip. It was awesome!

2. The children have:

a) been absolute angels; consistently worthy of cuddles, kisses, and kudos.

b) managed a 24 hour period without watching the TV.

c) keep us guessing, fuming, laughing, and crying.

d) had trouble with the law.

Correct answer: c (obviously)

The children, also known as "our opportunity to develop patience, tolerance, and more patience", excelled at making our home as un-boring as humanly possible. As they've gotten older, we've noticed their independence growing...along with their opinions. Tricky.

3. Ian, the Father of the family, has spent the year:

a) achieving true "Unagi", to be prepared for any danger that may befall him.

b) enforcing late-work acceptance (or non-acceptance) policies for UVU Aviation class.

c) lamenting the increasing levels of hormones in a houseful of girls.

d) planning the construction of his Christmas village.

Correct answers: b, c, and d (+ bonus point for recognizing Friends reference)

In addition to his normal job, Ian has spent another year taking care of an online aviation class for UVU. He and I have noticed, on more than one occasion, that there seems to be an inordinate amount of students (aka "slackers") who ask for extensions on due-dates because "they haven't had enough time to do the work". Boy, if I'd known that excuse was even an option...

4. Amy, otherwise known as "mom", has:

a) deemed it necessary to fire her maid

b) remained incapable of learning the "running man".

c) filled up the minivan with gas before the gas-light came on.

d) developed an irrational dislike for Idaho Falls.

Correct answers: b (true story) and d (miss you, Amy)

5. Our oldest child, Lindy, has:

a) nearly forgiven us for getting rid of her dog.

b) regained her love of school. And math.

c) stopped tormenting her mother.

d) earned her baccalaureate in underwater basket-weaving.

Correct answer: b

After a particularly rough 2nd grade year, it has been refreshing to watch Lindy wake up each morning excited to go to school. She LOVES her teacher...and doesn't really care for weekends or holidays. (She actually cried as she left for Christmas break!)

She was baptized in March. It was a wonderful experience for our family. She is such a smart, capable, and loving girl. While we often find ourselves at odds with one another, her sweetness usually shines through. And no, we have not been forgiven for the dog.

6. Ellie, the middle child, was:

a) enjoying being flanked by two non-confrontational siblings.

b) top of her class in cross-country ballroom dancing.

c) finally old enough to go to kindergarten.

d) in a week-long, Barbie-movie-induced coma.

Correct answer: c

Ellie, with her typical nonchalance, finally entered kindergarten. She has loved every second of it (in spite of some "super boring" assemblies). She is generally quite happy and helpful...although has begun to develop a little bit of rivalry with her younger brother.

While she didn't actually reach the point of "coma", she has developed a rather keen fondness of all things Barbie. Her mother and father are perplexed (and often nauseated) but what defense can you wield against this smile? I ask you.

7. Curtis (affectionately known as "The Boy") managed to:

a) complete his first solo flight in an SR-71.

b) earn the rank of Jedi Knight.

c) hit his sisters repeatedly with his Jedi weapon.

d) redecorate multiple rooms in our house with nothing but a vision...and a Sharpie.

Correct answers: c and d

This year Curtis has officially replaced Lindy as our most-blogged-about child. This three-year old lives by his own set of rules. (Few of them mesh with my rules...) 2011 has been the year of weaponry. He has a particular love of guns (aargh) and light sabers but seems quite happy with anything that will resemble a gun. Or a light saber.

He's 3. And...that sums it all up quite nicely.

8. In our spare time we:

a) are active members of the NRA.

b) are training to survive the zombie attack of a post-apocolyptic future.

c) clean the bathroom.

d) sing madrigals and utilize the Satsuma biwa.

Correct answer: c

Why? Well, because Curtis likes to shove things in it. (Refer to above-mentioned age.)

9. The Jones Family Christmas letter does not include a family picture because:

a) the zombie attack has already begun and the photo has fallen victim to their evil plan.

b) our photographer is currently on strike.

c) our recent vampire transformation has rendered us impossible to photograph.

d) Curtis is a three year old.

Correct answer: Yup, you guessed it, d...every shot looks something like this:

10. Our hopes and wishes for the future include:

a) a vacation that doesn't involve children. (did I say that out loud?)

b) a completed Christmas shopping list on or before December 1st.

c) snow for Christmas.

d) your continued friendship.

Correct answer: all of the above.

We hope you all had a very merry Christmas and we wish you the best 2012 has to offer!

Happy New Year!

Love the Jones Family

(If you're keeping score...give yourself one point for each correct answer. Anyone feel like sharing?)

Lights

It's been a few years since we have been to Temple Square during the holidays. Mostly because I'm a wimp. (It's true...I hate the cold.) In addition, the thought of corralling the children through the crowds of people always seemed a little more than I could fathom.

This year, however, I made a goal: we were going to take the kids to see the lights at Temple Square. Lucky for me, we haven't really had any snow yet this year. With daily temperatures hovering around 40˚ I knew we'd been given the go-ahead from mother nature. Yahoo!

I ended up taking more video than photos...but what I got were fairly representative of our evening.

Sticking tongues out at the camera:

Sisters getting along (surprisingly well):

And Junior, less than thrilled with the hoopla:

In spite of what that face tells you, we had a great time. Who knows...we might actually bring them back before another 10 years passes by.

Christmas Day 2011

I just have to say, this "waiting at the top of the stairs" picture communicates so very many things about my children:

• contrary to popular belief, it is physically possible for Lindy to be happy in the morning.
• under certain circumstances Ellie is not above begging and pleading.
• Curtis doesn't care why his sisters would drag him out of bed...he just doesn't like it.

But, it's Christmas morning! The circumstances are one of a kind!

As they peeked down the stairs and saw the half-eaten cookies and nibbled carrots, they knew the big guy had paid a visit.

Lindy's belief wavered a bit this year. She's in 3rd grade...she hears things. A girl in her class actually told her that her parents did all the Santa stuff! I asked her what she believed. She thought about it for a moment and decided she was a firm believer in St. Nick. And who wouldn't be? Heaven knows mom and dad don't want a gumball machine around the house. And why would we let her wear dangly earrings that make her look more grown up? Nope...not us.

Ellie is our steadfast believer. She knew Santa would come through for her. And did he ever. I figure he must have spent A LOT of time finding all the amazing dollhouse furniture. A LOT of time. Because, from what I've heard, it's near impossible to find these particular items! Impossible! But not for Santa...(he must like Ellie a whole bunch).

And Curtis? Well, he couldn't care less about the man in red. After all, it was grandma and grandpa that got him his heart's desire...not Santa.

In spite of a marked lack of stuffed animals under the tree this year (mom's rules...I told Santa he'd get a big time-out if anything fluffy showed up) the children were happy and grateful for the thoughtful gifts they received.

Like fuzzy slippers, jewelry, a little makeup bag...

...Barbie dolls, Barbie movies (x2), Barbie suitcases, fuzzy warm gloves...

...a ridiculous amount of Lego, Star Wars stuff, Star Wars Lego...

...and a pair of binoculars to spy on the neighbors.

(Sorry, Norby family.)

Merry Christmas everyone! We hope this season has made you a believer too!

Christmas Eve 2011

I have a confession. Christmas isn't necessarily my favorite holiday. I seem to get so bogged down by the sheer number of "to-do's" in my life that I haven't always enjoyed the holiday. However, I decided to set a goal to do my best to enjoy it. No matter what.

And, do you know what? I did. The stores were full of rude, pushy shoppers. People drove like maniacs. The lines were long, the shelves were empty, and it took a Herculean effort to take care of everything. But...I made a goal, darn it, and I tried to stick to it. I tried to smile more, to let people in front of me, and, more importantly, to be NICE. And...it worked. I managed to keep a spirit of kindness and gratitude throughout most of the season's less-fun experiences.

I became even more grateful for my abundant blessings after two specific incidents. As I stood at the check-out counter one day, I started talking to the lady next to me. She had piles and piles of winter clothing in her basket. I asked her if she had something special planned for the holidays. She told me she just wanted to have her family see the Christmas lights at Temple Square. Their house burned down at the beginning of the month and they were simply trying to re-build their meager possessions. She told me how they wanted to spend some time at Temple Square together as a family...because they were all safe and grateful to be so. All they wanted were some warm clothes. I may have cried a little as I wished her a Merry Christmas and left the store.

Then, this morning, as I was leaving another establishment I noticed a table set up outside the store offering free gift-wrapping. They had a jar at the end of the table for donations. I threw a couple dollars in and continued on my way. But when someone behind the table recognized me and said "thank you" I stopped and asked her what they were doing the wrapping for. She told me of a young boy who had a degenerative eye disease and insurance wasn't paying for the surgery. The gift-wrappers were simply doing what they could to help out an overwhelmed family.

And that's when I was really able to feel the true spirit of Christmas. I admit I teared up a little as I drove home to my healthy family waiting safe and sound in our warm home. Everything else seemed a little ridiculous. I was determined to spend some time with my family and feel the blessing of what I have in my life.

So...we happily began our Christmas Eve celebrations. We broke a long-running family tradition (my family) for dinner. Instead of the usual Chinese food, we had Mexican. Well, we had Cafe Rio. In spite of being accused of making Santa and baby Jesus weep because of my traitorous act, we enjoyed it.

We then moved on to family fun. We taught the kids how to play Uno. (Can you believe we haven't done that yet?)

Curtis spent a little less time playing games and a little more time showing off his mad-Jedi skills.

We watched a nativity movie and talked with the children a little bit about the birth of the Savior. Then...on to Christmas PJ's.

Mixed in with a little more Jedi maneuvers.

And fake deaths.

The girls helped us put out some milk and cookies for Santa and some carrots and apples for the reindeer. Pretty soon we had three happy but tired children. They all went to bed around 8:30 and promptly fell asleep. Visions of sugarplums danced.

The Village

If you've never been to my house at Christmas time...you've missed out on a rather spectacular feat of Lego-building mastery. Each year Ian pulls out his (enormous) stock-pile of Lego and proceeds to create a festive Lego Christmas Village that surrounds, and even goes under, our Christmas tree.

The kids love it. They wake up each morning and run for the tree to spend a little time with the village inhabitants before readying themselves for school. No really...they run to it. The village include a toy shop, bakery, post office, train station, ice-skating pond, ski hill, farm (with animals), hotel (that's what I'm calling it), and a gazebo with live music (to name a few). Several of the lampposts actually light up. Oh, and there are two trains that service this particular village.

At any given second someone is usually begging for the opportunity to drive the trains around (and around, and around) the tree. And yes, that someone is usually Curtis.

Oh, I know...you're asking yourself "where are they supposed to put the presents?"

So am I. (Ian keeps reminding me that there's plenty of space. On the floor. Next to the piano. Downstairs...)

Don't tell him I said this, but...I kind of like it.

You may, however, tell him that the village needs a library.

Here Birdie, Birdie, Birdie

So...we have a big bag of bird seed. I bought it because I tend to feel bad for the itty-bitty creatures during the cold months of winter...and I like to do what I can to make their lives more comfortable. Then...my children developed a fascination with the winged creatures. They will stare out our back window forever watching them as they flit around.

Today they presented our flying friends with a little Christmas present:

Their offering attracted dozens of birds. (I did worry that they had created another hawk-sacrifice like last year...but no sign of any predatory birds this Christmas!) Within a day it was reduced to an unreadable version of their gift...and the girls were ecstatic! Who knew bird seed could be so much fun?

Preferred Apparel

On any given day...okay, on every given day...this is what you will find my son wearing: shorts and a t-shirt. These two items do not necessarily have to match, either. In fact, it seems he is partial to the most mind-boggling combinations possible.

This is acceptable in the house only, mind you. (I do have standards of parenting when we venture out in the winter wonderland.) Which also means that on every given day you can find a path of pants, socks, shoes, and shirts strewn from the van to his room as he races to change back into his favored garb. What a nut.

Santa, Baby!

Our Little Luchador

He calls them "mas-kes". Two syllables. And he loves them.

Book Group Christmas

Each year my book group gathers for a year-end celebration. We eat (a lot), exchange gifts (all books, in a white-elephant-type gift exchange), and vote the 11 picks for next year. It's possibly my favorite event during the month of December (other than the actual Christmas Eve/Day hoopla with my little family).

I'm looking forward to (most) of the picks for this next year:

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

The Apothecary by Maile Meloy

The Reading Promise by Alice Ozma

Girl in Translation by Jena Kwok

To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis

Lost in Shangri-La by Mitchell Zuckoff

Dressmaker of Khair Khana by Gayle Tzemach

When We Were Strangers by Pamela Scoenewaldt

Little Princes: One Man's Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal by Conor Grennan

Factory Girls by Leslie Change

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Christmas Fun

On the 2nd we took a family trip to Costco for all the typical purchases...with one exception. At the checkout we asked for a tree. You know, a Christmas tree. A semi trailer sat in the parking lot, noble firs wrapped up like presents, and with a receipt you could have them toss you one. Adios to wandering around in arctic cold tree lots searching for the perfect tree...just give me what you got, I'm happy. As it turns out, we were happy. It turned out to be a beautiful tree.

We started decorating right away.

Curtis was so excited to put his new Star Wars ornaments on. The same branch. All of them. (I did some rearranging when he wasn't looking.)

We started a new tradition this year...Lego Advent Calendars. We had a regular one for the girls and a Star Wars one for The Boy. So happy.

Meet Zizzy

We have a surprise house guest for the Christmas season. Her name is Zizzy (name carefully and thoughtfully chosen by our two girls, of course).

I didn't manage to take many pictures of Zizzy and her many antics throughout the month. In spite of the lack of daily documentation, she became a fun part of our holiday traditions we look forward to continuing next year.

In addition to hanging upside-down from a lamp, Zizzy also spent some time riding a moose, eating marshmallows and crackers, hiding in the Christmas tree, checking out the inside of a stocking, hanging out in a birdcage, and playing Farkle with a dinosaur...to mention only a few.

The girls loved waking up each morning and trying to find out where Zizzy hid the night before. (It was actually a FABULOUS help in getting them out of bed in time for school...go figure.)

See you next year, Zizzy!

Lindy

School pictures this year were something of a nightmare. (It's a rather long story I don't want to bore you with...sigh.) So, I decided to hustle Lindy outside for a quick photo-shoot this morning...to see if we could (better) capture my 8 1/2 year old.

She's growing up waaaaaayyyy too quickly (in my humble opinion).

The Boy

School Pictures - Fall 2011

So, he wasn't exactly cooperative with the photographer. I stood on the sidelines, less than surprised as he refused to respond to her many, kind attempts to produce a smile. But, I do know she did much better than I could have...he actually held still for her!

The haircut is courtesy of the Jones Family Clippers. That's what happens when our stylist is out of town...so don't judge, Kim. It could have been worse. Trust me.

He has kept us laughing, which is par for the course, this week. There were a couple things that stood out, however, and I knew I wanted to document.

As we were driving down the street the other day Curtis randomly asks, "Mom, do you like nuts?" Ignoring the oddity of the question, I responded, "Yes, I like nuts." He pondered this for a moment then added, "Hmmm. Only bad mommy's like nuts."

Last night he sidled up to me, gave me the sweetest, kindest smile he can produce and quietly asked, "Mommy, may I pleeeeeaaase have a yogurt to eat? Please?" With that he tipped his head ever so slightly to the side and batted his beautiful blue eyes. What could I do? I opened the fridge and told him, "Well, of course you can have a yogurt. You asked me so nicely!" He then grabbed the yogurt, let out a less-than-sweet chuckle, and said, "I was just pretending."

Oh dear.

Halloween

Halloween started off with the annual Costume Parade at the girls' school. They moved SO quickly it was nearly impossible to get a good picture...but I'll take what I can get. Here's our little witch, Ellie:

And Lindy, the Fairy Princess:

I'm also lucky enough to be neighbors with the room mom for Lindy's class. That means I get to help out during the parties. I'm not sure why Lindy looks bored in this photo...I specifically remember her having a blast! Here she is next to her BFF, Ashlyn, making noodle skeletons.

We had to get in a picture of Lindy's teacher. She has worked miracles with Lindy this year. We heart her!

After all the school hoopla...grandpa and grandma H. AND great-grandma R. arrived to join in the fun. While great-grandma stayed home to hand out candy to the neighbor kids (dressed in a slightly scary clown costume...) the rest of us ventured out to fill up those buckets. (Notice the Jedi stalking off in the background? Curtis had a great aversion to the camera that night. Jedi's have bad days too, I guess.)

My favorite costume? My hubby dressed as a police detective. The mustache made me laugh. Every. Single. Time.

Happy Halloween everyone!