A Life Worth Living

Five Already??

2011-04-26T10:42:00.012-07:00

A few weeks ago our little Jake (not so little anymore) turned 5!! I can't believe that he is that old already. It goes by WAY too fast. We still laugh about our little NAUGHTY baby that never slept and cried for about a year straight. He was lovingly called Baby Raptor by my family! :) We love Jakey so much and are so glad he is part of our family. He is our sweet little boy - nobody gives better hugs than him. He is also such a good big brother, Mason loves him so much.

Here are a few pics from his birthday!! We had his family party on Sunday, and then on his birthday we took him to do his two FAVORITE things - Bowling and McDonald's (of course)!

Mason was more interested in the popcorn than the bowling!

p.s.....I made the cake!! Didn't it turn out cute?!

SnOw DaY

2011-01-26T12:43:00.005-07:00

Yesterday we got about 6 inches of snow, and Shane was off....so we went SLEDDING!! Here's a recap of our day!

This was Jake and Mason's first snowman....I know...slacker, right? (and let's face it...this snowman is a little sad!)

Highlight of the trip:

p.s. you can laugh at Shane....I did! :)

Christmas 2010

2011-01-05T19:56:00.006-07:00

We had such a good Christmas this year. Shane got the week off before christmas, and a few days after, so it was nice to have him around! The boys were so cute and were so excited for the big day. Here are a few pics of our holiday.

Mason was so funny to watch, he kept pulling the cutest faces!

Our little Buzz Lightyear!

Jake is really in to Star wars right now, here are his new jamies and "guys"

We had a family sleepover under the tree a few nights before...we all thought it would be fun to sleep on the floor...then we remembered that we're OLD and the floor hurts!! Mason ended up in his crib because he's a crazy sleeper, and we laughed hard when Jake said this: "Dad, you can go sleep in your bed." Shane: "wow, thanks Jake. You don't want to sleep by me?" Jake: "No, i'm gonna follow you!" Maybe you don't have to be old for the floor to be hard!!

Can't wait for next year!!

Pajama boys

2010-09-08T20:22:00.004-07:00

I took these pictures of my boys tonight and thought they were pretty cute. I love fresh babies in jamies!!

Mason's Surgery!

2010-07-17T21:55:00.004-07:00

We just wanted to tell everyone thank you for all your love and support. The help, comments, phone calls, messages, prayers and thoughts were all so appreciated. We are definitely blessed. Mason is doing great now, he is as happy as ever! Here are some pictures of our tough little Masey.

Pre-surgery: It was totally breaking our hearts that he was SO happy that day!

We had to be at the hospital at 8:30am and his surgery was scheduled at 9:30, but there ended up being an emergency, so he didn't go back until about 11:30. That was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. They let us walk him back with the Anesthesiologist, and at the door we just had to hand him over. He was fine, and went right with her, but Shane and I were not! There were more than a few tears shed then. So hard.

The surgery lasted about 7 hours total. It consisted of two anesthesiologists (the first one had trouble with his picc line) and two surgeons (one neurosurgeon and one plastic surgeon). When they took out his breathing tube after surgery, he stopped breathing, so he had to have another one put in, that's what's in his nose besides the oxygen tube. That made our hearts stop when we heard that, but thankfully once they put the tube back in he was fine. We finally got to see him in the ICU where he stayed for the first night.

Evening after surgery: so hard to see him like this and not be able to hold him.

We went back to our hotel (Ronald McDonald house) that night to sleep for a while because there wasn't anywhere for us to stay at the hospital - all the sleeping rooms were full. But that turned out to be a blessing because the next morning I woke up feeling awful and realized I had strep throat (AGAIN). The worst possible timing ever. We had to drive around SLC just to find an OPEN urgent care that accepted our insurance, and then I had to spend 24 hours away from Mason. Cried some very hard tears that day! But Shane was there, and Shane's parents, so Masey was in good hands, but I missed him immensely. Thankfully my parents and sister came and rescued me for a few hours.

Day One Recovery: It almost looks like he is smiling in this picture, but he just had this blank stare in his eyes, and we knew he was hurting because they couldn't keep his heart rate under control with pain medication. The nurses were on the verge of sending him back to the ICU, but he finally started to respond to the medicine.

Starting to get a little more swollen.

Day Two Recovery: After seeing this we loving starting calling him "shark bait"

The surgery consisted of completely removing the top part of his skull and breaking it apart to reshape it and open the fused suture. We estimated he had about 120 stitches on the outside and numerous dissolvable plates and screws on the inside. So amazing that they can do that.

Day Three Recovery: Getting even more swollen, poor little guy.

Notice the mask...
Shane's little brother had brought him this balloon, and he would not let go of it for the life of him. Even when he fell asleep, he knew when we took it out of his hands and demanded it back!!
Once we got through this day, his swelling started looking so much better, and his little personality started to come back. He was batting that balloon around like crazy!
Day Four Recovery: Waiting to go home!! Mase was feeling so much better, and we were glad to have our little monkey back. We were also ready to pick up Jake, and go HOME!

We are so relieved to have that over with, and so grateful that besides this little bump, we have such healthy boys. Being at that hospital definitely made us realize how lucky we are. We love our little "shark bait" and are so glad that he is home and back to his old self - new head and all.

We Love You Mason!!

2010-06-24T01:23:00.004-07:00

We are taking this cute little BALD baby down to Primary Children's today for his surgery on Friday.

We really don't want him to have to go through this, but we are so thankful that it can be fixed, and it'll be over soon. Thanks to everyone for the concern, prayers, and help. We are so blessed to have good friends and family! Here's to hoping this is the fastest week ever!!!

DiSnEyLaNd!!

2010-06-19T20:52:00.007-07:00

A few weeks ago we went on a road trip with the Jones family to the Happiest Place on Earth! We love going to Disneyland, and it's usually our destination of choice when in comes to vacations. We left on a Saturday and drove to Las Vegas to spend the night. Then drove to California for five fun-filled days at Disney! We had so much fun, and were even a little "disney-ed out" after the last day. Before we made the long trek home we did a little shopping in California, then were lucky enough to spend some time with my brother and his cute family. We had such a good trip, even the car ride wasn't too bad (we sent Mason with Grandma and Grandpa on the airplane! hehe). We had a blast swimming, eating lots of delicious Disneyland treats, hitting all the rides, and spending time with family! We even got to go to an Angels game Friday night, which was really fun.
This is Mason pointing at the bird on Pirates of the Caribbean. He was OBSESSED with all the birds in Disneyland...and is now one of the only words he says....and says OFTEN! Jake and his "Hunt" cousin Logan....despite the face, these two had a blast together. We're glad we got to spend some time with them!

Us waiting in line for the BELOVED Toy Story ride. Mason's second word = WOODY! He picked himself out a cute little Woody for his birthday...which he had while we were there! (more on that later...)

Jake was all about the characters this time....except Woody, he had a really big real-looking head and Jake decided (after we waited in line for 30 minutes to see him) that he was a little scary!! Shane's Dad with all the cute grandkids (all boys!). Mason wasn't sure what to think of the crazy thing standing next to Grandpa....

This was on the Hollywood Tower of Terror...Shane's parents and I aren't sure Shane was on the same ride. Mason cheering for.....whatever everybody else was cheering for! He was all about the cheering!

We had so much fun and are a little sad our summer vacation is over....Jake and I are seriously thinking of RELOCATING!!

New Pictures

2010-06-18T20:58:00.012-07:00

I had the boys' picture done for Jake's 4th and Mason's 1st birthdays. I thought they turned out really cute. Here are a few (ok...a lot) of my favorites!

Catching up!

2010-04-05T21:46:00.006-07:00

So, my blog has been badly neglected for the last little....ok, long while and I think it's time to finally catch up!! The kids are growing up so fast, I can't believe it! Today is Jake's Fourth birthday! Shane and I don't believe that we've had this little guy for four years! We love him like crazy! He's our sweet and sensitive little guy, that always keeps us laughing! He never stops talking, and he catches on to things (like naughty words....thanks Shane!) so fast. He just finished swimming lessons and is on to T-ball. Everything we hear about right now is SUPERHEROES! So of course for his birthday I had to make him a superhero cape (of course with my mom's help). And we couldn't leave Mason out! Isn't this the cutest little superhero you've ever seen? Mason is so fun right now. He is always happy and is such a little cutie! He's crawling like crazy and just started pulling up on the furniture. He has no fear so I'm sure we're in for it!! He's hard to resist with his big beautiful blue eyes! He has to go in for surgery on his head soon, so Shane and I are refusing to cut his cute hair. I know it's long, and I get asked if he's a girl all the time, but I love it, and it's starting to curl in the back, so there's no way I'm cutting that off!! We love these boys so much and our lives would not be complete without them!

Happenings

2009-10-06T22:17:00.005-07:00

Life has been pretty crazy at our house the last few months. These two (three) boys are keeping me on my toes!! Summer seems to have went by way too fast, and I can't believe it's October already.

Jake is our constant entertainment-we are always laughing at the funny things he says and does, and he is growing up so fast! He is so sweet and reminds us several times a day that he loves us - he has great timing too, like when he's getting yelled at for doing something naughty! How can you get mad at that??

This would be one of those times....How do I dress Mason, when Jake already has on his clothes?

Mason is getting so big! I can't believe how fast he grows! I just want to freeze him right now because I love this stage, he's so sweet....and he can't move yet! :) He squeels and laughs, and loves to talk to all his toys. He's definitely a mama's boy too....Shane and him don't exactly get along when I'm at work. It's good for them, right? Good for Mason's lungs, and good for dad's patience!

Mason recently got his first haircut. He went from this old man's hairdo:
To this cute little bald baby!! I wasn't really thrilled at first, a few tears were shed! But it growing on me, he's adorable with or without hair!

Love these crazy little boys!!!

Mason Hunter Jones

2009-06-05T22:09:00.005-07:00

Introducing the newest member of our family!! This cute little guy was born on May 27, 2009 at 7:14 a.m. He weighed 8 lbs 1 oz, and was 21 inches. He has tons of dark hair, and is so sweet! We love our little guy!!

Mason sleeps A LOT, and eats even more! He hardly ever cries, he mostly just grunts and moans when he's hungry. Love those little baby sounds!!

Jake has been so sweet to Mason. We were a little worried how he was going to react, but he's been so good. He gets a little hyper sometimes and has to show off a little but that's it. It's so cute to see him kiss Mason and want to hold him all the time.

This delivery was SO much easier than Jake's. I was really worried about the c-section, but it was so fast...like 30 min and I was done, and I've felt really good. It's also been really nice having Shane home to help.

We are so excited to finally have this cute little guy here! He's been such a good baby, and we love him so much!

Look Who's Three!!

2009-04-07T23:02:00.006-07:00

We started the day with Chocolate chip Mickey Mouse pancakes!

Then it just got better with two days of friends, family and presents. Jakey is one lucky boy!

Is it bad that my three year old drives a nicer car than me?

We even had Mickey Mouse cupcakes, or "puncakes" as Jake calls them.

I love this picture of Jake. Don't you wish birthdays were always this fun?

One tired little birthday boy. You know it's been a long day when you fall asleep eating a turkey sandwich!

Happy Birthday Jake, we love you very very much!

Baby Brother and "Broken" Beebees

2009-01-20T22:23:00.006-07:00

So last week we got to have our ultrasound and we found out we're having another baby boy! Both families were sure it was going to be a girl, but I had a feeling it was a boy. It would have been fun to have a little girl in the family, but were happy with another boy too! Everything was healthy, so that's all that really counts. Jake was a little disappointed, he was sure he was getting a "baby sister" and he gets a little upset when we have to pick out "boy" things for the baby, he'd rather the "girl" things. Haha...can't say I blame him...the girl things are usually so much cuter! Jake was quite the comedian at the ultrasound, some of his comments were "look mom, it has horns!!" which got us all laughing pretty hard, and "that's not a baby, it's a fish. Look, it's swimmin!" I'm pretty sure the tech didn't know what she was in for when Jake walked in. So here are a few pics of our newest addition - a profile shot and some little baby feet. If any of you have any cute names, we're open for suggestions! If you know us, you know we have a hard time deciding (mostly agreeing is the problem!).

This week we also decided that it was time for Jake to give up his binkies, or "beebees" as he calls them. He has been so hard to get to sleep lately, that we decided just to get it all over with at once. We cut the ends off of them, and told him they were broken. He gave us the saddest little face you've ever seen when he saw them! It about broke both our hearts! But it was way overdue, and if any of you know Jake very well, you know that he totes those things EVERYWHERE! They were his best friends - so it was time. I wanted them to be completely gone before the baby came so we didn't have any "binkie swapping". So far he's done really well! We're very proud of him! (thank goodness for benadryl!)

Here are a few pics from Christmas. We had such a good holiday, I can't believe it's the middle of January already!

Here's Jake on his new bike...sorry out of all the faces he pulled, this was the best.

This is what Jake INSISTED on wearing Christmas morning! They're his new "tumbling" clothes for the lessons he got!

Probably his favorite Christmas present...poor maui.

Christmas outfit for Sunday
Our cute little boy!

CHRISTMAS VACATION!

2008-12-17T16:37:00.006-07:00

It is definitely time to celebrate! I'm finally done with the semester, so Christmas can finally start! Yay! Here are a few pics of the festivities! We went down to SLC a couple weekends ago to see the lights on Temple square, our Jones family tradition! It was sooo cold, but it's always fun to see.

Shane, Jake, and Dreyson (Jennie's little boy)

We also started a new tradition of making Gingerbread houses! They turned out really cute, and surprisingly (no thanks to Jake) our even ended up with SOME candy on it! He was definitely more interested in eating the candy than he was putting it on the house. I also seem to be finding a few less pieces on the house every day...sneaky Snakey!

Me, Jakey and Kooper (Jacque's little boy) I know, I know...pregnancy looks so good on me...or NOT.

For those of you who didn't know...we're expecting! Our newest addition should be here early summer, and we're very excited. Jake's not so sure about it, he keeps telling me to "get that baby outta there"!! But he's pretty positive it's a baby sister....we'll keep our fingers crossed.

Happy Holidays everyone!!

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

2008-09-25T23:06:00.003-07:00

I know...about time, right? Check back soon!

Ahh...SUMMER!

2008-05-09T22:56:00.003-07:00

Finals week has come and gone...although it didn't go quite as good as expected, at least it's over, right? So, technically....it's SUMMER!! We have finally had a few warm days, and Jakey has been DYING to go outside! Here are a few pics of us enjoying the SUNSHINE!

If anybody knows my dad...you know how "thrilled" he was to see this when he came home! :)

But how could you resist this???

Check out that form!

Jakey woke up from his nap with the funkiest hair! We both thought it was pretty funny.

LOOK at what's almost done!! We are on the count down to moving day! It should be completely done next Wed. We can hardly wait!!

Finals week....here I come!

2008-04-23T22:05:00.004-07:00

So, finals week is still two weeks away, but here's the official "to-do" list...

this week: 3 tests, Saturday lab, and a power point presentation

next week: 2 tests and a paper

the next week: 2 finals

Should be fun right? oh yeah...and fit in there somewhere MOVING! Our house should be done in the next couple of weeks! We are getting pretty excited! Jake keeps telling us that he want to "go home"...we're assuming that means to his new house. Hopefully that transition will go smoothly for him! He's going to miss his Papa and Gwama! Here are a few pics from the past couple of weeks...the first one I just couldn't resist, he's too cute!!

Jakey got his first bee sting last week...we couldn't help but document! In Jake's words: "Buggie Owie!!!"

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAKEY!!

2008-04-05T21:28:00.006-07:00

Jake turned two today! We had a fun-filled weekend of parties and birthday cake! I can't believe two years went by this fast. He's officially into the "terrible two's" and we've got the tantrums to prove it! But Shane and I love him to death, and he really is such a sweet little boy.

Here are a few pics from this weekend.

Jake couldn't have been more excited when we brought his "cicle" (bicycle) upstairs. He didn't want to get off of it all night. And, he obviously enjoyed his cake and icecream! He had wanted a cake with a "car with the lights" (Shane's police car) which was no easy feat! But it turned out okay, and Jake was thrilled! He had to blow out the candles three or four times! We love our little two year old so much!! Happy Birthday Snakey!

Welcome Back!

2008-03-27T22:50:00.011-07:00

I know...it's been forever. A lot has happened since October! We said "goodbye" to Pheasantridge and "hello" to my parent's house! (Thanks mom and dad!!) Our new house should be done in about 6 weeks and we can't wait! Also, Jake will be TWO next week!! I can't believe it! He's getting so big, and even more cute! Here are a few pictures from over the winter...and happened to still be on my camera. If you're lucky, you may even get a video!

Oh yeah...Did I mention we got a new dog? The newest member of the family, Sage.

This was Jake's favorite Christmas present...he wouldn't get out of it, and would you argue with that face?

COOKIES!!

Now, try to ignore the parents and focus on the cute little boy!

One Cute Baby!!

2007-10-07T23:35:00.000-07:00

So, last weekend Jake and I got to go to California to see the newest member of the family...LOGAN!! And isn't he cute?!

It was so fun to see him...not to mention Kyle and Trisha (but mostly just Logan) :) Jake had his first plane ride, and get this - he was good!! I can't say much for the rest of the trip, but for the plane ride...he was an angel!! It was so nice to have the warm weather again, and did I mention it was SNOWING in Poky while we were there? Wow...really sad I missed that. Anyways, here are a few pics of the trip. Enjoy!!

Happy Birthday Shaner!!

2007-09-09T10:29:00.000-07:00

Jake and I just wanted to wish Shane a Happy Birthday, and tell him that we love him so much! Here are a few pics of our wonderful husband and dad!! We love you Shane!

The End of Summer...

2007-09-08T23:36:00.000-07:00

So, it's here. The end of summer. I hate to say it, but I was kind of looking forward to it this year. I officially quit my job on August 22nd and I'm going back to school full time. It's going to be a nice change, and who knows - maybe some day I'll finish! Anyways, Jake and I celebrated our last free weekend with a trip to the cabin, Shane-less. Unfortunately, Shane had to work all weekend, but we were able to survive without him! :) We headed to Island Park with my Mom, Dad, Cory, Ashley, Bubba, and of course Muddie. We all had a good time, and we even discovered a new favorite past time in Yellowstone - SWIMMING!! I don't know how many times I've been dragged through that park and I've never been able to enjoy FIRE HOLE! It was fabulous. Jake thoroughly enjoyed the car seat break and a little dip in the water. Cory, Bubba and I tried our hand at swimming up stream and scaling rocks for a little adventure - If you jumped in the rapids at exactly the right spot the current would take you for quite a ride and spit you back out at the bottom. It was actually really fun, and a little harder than it looked! Here are a few pics of our last summer outing!

If you couldn't tell, Jake has been really into keys, climbing and puppies. He loved playing fetch with Mudd down at the river, and would get pretty excited when she found the stick and brought it back. But I'd have to say that his obsession with "teys" (keys) is what made the trip. He was in heaven with all the keys that were lying around the cabin, and wasn't quite satisfied until he knew exactly what hole they fit into - and don't even try giving him fake keys, believe me, he knows better.

Camera Blues

2007-05-30T21:41:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the long lapse in posts (kyle). Part of the reason I haven't posted anything lately is because I HATE my camera. The recharge time is absolutely ridiculous, and the "moment" is long gone by the time it actually takes the picture. I just end up getting pictures like this:

And he was being so cute.....anyways....Here is the camera I really want. (not to mention it's red). Let me know what you think, or if you have a better idea!
Here are a few random pics of Jake from the last few weeks. He's growing up so fast! He absolutely loves to be outside, and every time someone opens a door he starts saying "bye bye bye" and tries to escape!

Kinda blurry...I know...I blame the camera. Still one cute kid though!

And Shane wonders why I'm going insane while he's gone!!

This picture almost captures Jake's gargoyle wings that he has when he's trying to run....very cute, and quite amusing!

Yeah...that's right, he had two popsicles. Problem??

Check out the dog....now you know why she gets sent to her room on a regular basis.

Pool Time!!

2007-05-10T20:41:00.000-07:00

It was finally warm today! YAY!! I wanted to get a little sun today, so Jake and I decided it would be a nice day for the pool! Jake only lasted about 20 minutes, and probably had more fun drinking the pool water, than actually playing in it, but none the less, we had a blast! I couldn't resist taking a few pictures (okay, a lot) because he's so dang cute in his swim suit!!

I loved this picture...

told ya....

Check out those abs!!!

CUTE CUTE BABY!!

Good to be Home!

2007-05-06T15:40:00.000-07:00

I just got back from Women's Conference yesterday. I had a really good time, but it is good to be home. The conference itself was really good, and the company was even better. I really missed Shane and Jakey. It was SOOO cold there, I couldn't believe that it was May! It's nice to see the sunshine today, much better than the SNOW yesterday! Well....5 weeks down and 5 to go of Shane's training, I can't wait for him to be done. Sunday's have become my least favorite day! Here are some cute pics of my favorite guys!!

Incidently, Jakey now loves the "Vroom Vroom"!!

One down, many to go...

2007-05-01T09:05:00.000-07:00

Nothin like jumping on the bandwagon! I enjoy reading everybody else's blogs and pages, that I thought I better start my own! I need to get some pictures out to everyone, and thought this would be an easy way! Anyways....Life is good right now. Shane is at POST training for his new job at the Pocatello Police Department, so I'm a single parent right now (at least during the week)! It hasn't been too bad, but I definitely wouldn't want to do this full time! I like having someone else for Jakey to scream at occassionaly! Jake is getting sooo big, he's walking like a maniac, and finds everything that I don't want him to find! He is absolutely fascinated with the toilet and that it actually flushes...can't tell you how many times i've had to wash his hands after he's stuck them in the water! I guess it's a good thing they're clean, right? He's still obsessed with puppies, and thinks that he sees them everywhere we go. I think he dreams about them and balls because that's the first thing he says when he wakes up.." Puppy Puppy Puppy Ball??" He's adorable.