Christmas Letter

For anyone who didn't get our Christmas letter in the mail, here's what we had to say this year:

Greetings we send from the Joneses to you!

Well now, let's see...just what could be new?

So let's start with Brad, 'cause he is the Pop.

He's still in good shape with less on the top.

He still likes his job, he still likes to run.

Stays busy with church, but on to his Hun.

For Becca, you know, she has some big news,

She bought a new van and three pair of shoes!

She seems to work hard with Levi and Jake,

And learning to sew, cool things she can make.

She reads and works out, but you are beguiled!

For the biggest news is that she’s with child!

Now on to Jake. What’s new in his day?

He rides a bike well and goes to pre-K.

He’s learning to spell and learning to add,

His favorite thing is wrestle with Dad.

Thinks Woody and Buzz and his Lego’s are fun,

Pretends everything he finds is a gun.

Now Levi is sharing a bedroom with Jake,

Much fun and much noise the two of them make.

And with this new change they both wake at dawn,

And Levi excels at his use of the John.

He likes to help out, of this we are glad.

His favorite thing…is wrestle with Dad!

We’re grateful for Christ, the Savior of man,

His birth and His life, His wondrous plan.

Best wishes to you and all of your kin.

And then in a year, we’ll write you again.

Love,

Brad, Rebecca, Jacob & Levi (and baby girl - ETA Jan. 2012)

A First

I am 31 years old. Yes, I'll admit my age. I am not ashamed. Anyway, until this Christmas, I had NEVER in my life made a gingerbread house. I'm not sure what that says about my upbringing or the schools that I went to, but sadly, I had never done one before this year. Nevertheless, Brad went to Sam's one night and found a great little kit (making one from scratch would've been a huge thing for someone who had never done even a kit one before) and we decided to decorate a little gingerbread house for Family Home Evening one Monday night.

The kids thought it was great fun. I helped Jacob and Brad helped Levi in doing two sides each of the house.

One of us allowed more autonomy than the other of us :) Jacob really enjoyed putting the icing on the outside of the house.Levi and Daddy doing the icing.

Levi, watching Daddy put icing on the house. Levi enjoyed eating the candies and sitting on the table.
The finished product! I was actually a part of the whole process, so we did a family picture to prove it :) This was a lot of fun and I think it might become a family tradition.

Decorating

We decorated the house a couple of weeks ago for Christmas. It's always interesting to see how much the boys will want to help. This year, they really didn't do much for helping, or hindering, the process of decorating. They were around, but a lot of the time, they were too busy playing with each other to really get into anything, which was kind of nice.

I got new curtains, candles, and decorative ball ornaments to put near my mantle. I think it makes a great impact on the overall look of the room!We ordered new stockings this year. One for everyone, with everybody's names embroidered on them. Unfortunately, two days before my stocking was to arrive, I found out that the one I wanted was out of stock and they wouldn't be making any more...at least not right now. So, we have a stocking for Dad, Jacob, and Levi, but not one for mom. Oh well. Next year, once baby girl has been officially named, she and I will get stockings that will be hung up next Christmas.Aren't the boys cute posing by the fireplace under the stockings?!

Finally, we got a new star to go on top of the tree. It looks pretty good, if I do say so myself! I love the decorations for Christmas. It's always a little sad when it's time to take them down, so we're trying to enjoy them while we can.Jacob helping put the finishing touches on the tree!

Halloween

This year I was in charge of the Trunk-or-Treat that our church put on, so unfortunately, I don't have many pictures of that night. Brad was great and got the boys ready for the party while I was busy at the church setting everything up.

This year for Halloween, Jacob said he wanted to be Luigi! He would go around saying "Luigi Time" like Luigi does on Mariokart Wii. I'm not really sure why, but he was excited about it. Then, if you asked Levi what he wanted to be, he would say "Mario Time!" So, I decided to go about things the old-fashioned way and instead of buying the cheap, lightweight costumes from Walmart, I found some great overalls online, some nice Mario and Luigi hats online, and a red and green shirt for each of the boys. They LOVED their costumes!

Brad tried to get a good picture of the boys before heading off to the Trunk-or-Treat. But the neighbor was using a leaf blower, or something really loud, so Levi thought he had to cover his ears :) He went ahead and took this picture, but then remembered that Mario and Luigi have mustaches, so he ran back inside to make the adjustment.Ah, a picture with the mustaches. For the Trunk-or-Treat, the mustaches were a little "Hitler-ish", so we changed that for Halloween night.

Proof that I attended the Trunk-or-Treat. Believe me, as a six month pregnant person running the show, I was EXHAUSTED by the time the night was done. Every part of my body was sore by the time I got home. I took a nice hot bath, some pain meds so I could hopefully sleep, and I still had trouble. Oh well, the night was a huge success, so I guess it was worth it!

On Halloween night, Brad's sister Angie and her two kids came over and Brad and Angie took the kids trick-or-treating. Here is Mario, Spiderman, Luigi, and a little lamb all ready to go trick-or-treating!
We used our little cart/wheelbarrow for the kids to ride in around the neighborhood.
All four kids, piled into the wagon. It didn't last long and Brad wasn't sure the wagon was necessary by the time the night was over, but the kids had a great time. I, er, the kids got some great candy, and I stayed home handing out candy to the kids who came to our door. Another Halloween success!

You've Had a Birthday, Shout Hooray!

On Friday, the 28th, Jacob turned 5 years old! He was pretty excited to be 5. He had been four and a half for almost six months, so it was a big deal to him!

We had a small family party and Jacob had a great time. Both sets of grandparents were able to attend and wish our birthday boy a happy birthday.

One of his favorite presents was Army men that he got from Levi. It came with a jet, two tanks, and a helicopter. Jacob sure was happy with it. Good job, Levi, on picking the right gift for your big brother ;)


An odd gift Jacob asked for from Grandma Smith was an electric toothbrush. Jacob was so excited when he opened the gift. He has been looking forward to, and talking about his electric toothbrush for weeks now. He really enjoys brushing his teeth with it and is very protective of it. Grandma also gave him extra batteries and a charger so he wouldn't run out of battery power.
Jacob picked out his own cake. It turned out to be a rather small cake, but since we weren't having many guests, it just meant less leftovers...which is probably a good thing.
Blowing out all five candles!
The theme was the same as last year...Star Wars. Jacob was very excited to get the light sabers on the cupcakes and also the shield rings.

Displaying one of the shield rings!

Jacob is such a fun person to have in our family. Here are five fun facts about Jacob:

1) Jacob loves, loves, loves to wake up early. No need to set an alarm clock with this kid around. Heck, half the time, he's up before the sun. I think he should've been a farmers kid...he would've gotten a lot more done...that or he'd learn to sleep in ;)

2) Jacob has an amazing memory. He will still talk about things that he saw or did when he was 2-3 years old. Sometimes I'm not sure if it's because we have talked about them recently and he's remembering conversations or if he truly remembers. Other times, he'll remember something that I know we haven't talked about for a long, long time, so I'm pretty sure his memory is better than mine!

3) Jacob has been working on reading lately. He can read most 3 letter words and many words which are much longer. He doesn't have a very good attention span, so our learning is done in short bursts, but he definitely has the hang of things. I can even ask him how to spell van and from memory and sounding it out, he can do it (along with other words). I think he's pretty dang smart for a five year old!

4) Jacob's favorite people are his Dad and Levi. He looks forward to nights when mom is gone and he gets to have a 'boys night' at home with Dad and Levi. The minute he hears the garage door open, he runs to it asking for Daddy! If you ask him who his best friend is, he will most of the time answer with Daddy...sometimes Levi...rarely (if ever) Mommy.

5) Jacob has a love for technology! He loves to use Brad's android phone, the computer, the Wii, and anything else that seems too technical for a kid his age. I'm pretty sure he knows how to use Brad' s phone better than I do.

Jacob, we love having you in our family, even if you do wear us out! Love you and happy 5th birthday!

Pumpkin Time

We went with some friends to a pumpkin patch this year.

Here is Levi, Gracie, and Jacob. We know Gracie from the gym. She is just two weeks younger than Jacob and they get along great! Almost too well...he's already proposed to her several times :)



At the pumpkin patch, they had cut outs you could put your head through. Levi loved being Woody and Buzz!
Woody and Buzz together. If you enlarge this one, you can see the boys are kind of looking at each other. I thought it was cute.

After the cut outs, we went on a hayride.
More kids and friends.
This is Clark and Laura. Laura is Gracie's mom. Clark is one week older than Levi. They also enjoy hanging out together.
Me and the boys! It was very bright out that day :)
Halfway through the hayride, they had a little maze for the kids to run through.
Levi picked his pumpkin!
Jacob got his too.The boys together with their pumpkins. I wish there wasn't as much shadow, but the picture that had less shadow they were both making funny faces in.
Jacob pulling Gracie and Clark in the wagon.

It was a fun trip and we're so glad we were able to have fun with our friends.

A Camping They Will Go

Jacob has been wanting to go camping for awhile. It seems things just kept coming up making it impossible for Brad to take him. Last year at the Father & Son's camp out, it rained a lot, so Brad decided not to go. Then it was just too dang hot this summer to do much camping.

So, we finally found a somewhat free weekend and put it on the calendar for October! Brad, and Jacob and David & Nathan Church went on a camp out! Jacob was pretty excited about camping, but he wasn't too sure of sleeping without a light on and without Scripture Scouts to listen to.

Setting up camp!


Two little friends going camping together for the first time! Nathan is about a year younger than Jacob, but they get along pretty well and enjoyed hanging out together. Brad says taking two four-year-olds (Jacob is almost five, and Nathan is almost four) on a camp out is much easier than taking 18 young men on a camp out!
The camp site.
Cooking hot dogs over the fire.
Jacob and Nathan must've been hungry because as soon as they got the hot dogs out, both boys started eating them before they were even cooked...yum!

Jacob said he had a good time. When he got home I asked him how it went. He said it was good and that he, "Slept the whole night...except for those stupid trains!" I completely forgot when I scheduled this camp out at my parent's house (they have 10 acres) that the train tracks run along the back of the land. Oops! Apparently, the train came by several times that night and blew his horn really loud each time. Brad said that one of the times, Jacob sat up in bed, covered his ears, and let out a big scream. If you know Jacob, you know how ear-piercing that probably was. Oh well, better luck next time!

Way to go, camping boys :)

Did I Forget to Mention?

Yep! Baby #3 is on its way. If any of you have seen me lately, you know it's quite obvious that number three is coming along nicely. But, if I haven't seen you in awhile, this may be news to you. I am about 24 1/2 weeks along right now and Baby #3 is due the middle part of January!

I had an ultrasound around 18 weeks, but the results were inconclusive as to the baby's gender, so Brad and I decided to go do one of those neat 3D ultrasounds to find out what to expect in January.
Cute profile, eh?

Here's a face shot. I think the nose looks a lot like Jacob's (and also mine). The bridge seems a little wider than Levi's and Brad's nose. This is definitely a trait inherited from my dad!

So, come January, we will be getting the nursery ready for a...GIRL! Jacob was thrilled when we came home and told him. He's been hoping for a sister! I'm excited, and nervous at the same time, to have a little girl. It feels like a lot more responsibility when the child is the same gender as the parent! I am excited to see some cute little pink/purple/red outfits come through the wash though! So far she seems to be growing well and getting bigger (hence my growing abdomen!). She is also great at kicking and moving around. I am in the 2nd trimester right now, so I'm feeling pretty good most of the time. I do have a few aches and pains, but you don't want to hear about those! Anyway, just wanted my readers to be updated on the happenings in the Jones home!

Family Vacation!!!

We decided to take a family vacation this year. Brad and I have been lucky enough to go on several vacations without the kids since graduating from residency, but this time, we thought the boys were old enough to go with us. So, I found a nice beach house (equipped with a pool & hot tub in the backyard) in Destin, Florida and around the 10th of September, we headed off on our first family beach vacation!

Luckily, my parents were willing to come on vacation with us so that Brad and I were still able to have some relaxation time. So, sit back and enjoy the pictures (along with a little commentary) of my FABULOUS birthday week/vacation!
Dad on the body board. He was probably the most into catching a good wave!
The first day at the beach, Levi mainly dug in the sand. He didn't get too close to the shore, but he would run in the water that had washed up in the middle of the beach.
Jacob thought the beach was pretty cool.
The first day at the beach, Jacob spent most of his time digging a giant hole. He talked Brad into helping him...and also Grandpa.
The hole got pretty deep. It's up to his shoulders! Once it was complete, there was water in the bottom of it, and Jacob would just sit in it and sort of lay down...it was a bit cozy for laying down, but he sure had a fun time digging that hole!
Eventually, Levi got sick of being at the beach and thought he'd find his own way home ;)
Grandpa was kind enough to get him and bring him back. You can see (especially if you click to enlarge the picture) that Levi didn't really like the sound of the waves.
Here's my beach boy!
Jacob enjoyed jumping in the waves.

We also talked him into going out into the ocean with Grandma on a raft. He wasn't so sure at first, but being the nice parent I am, I forced him and then he got used to it.

While on vacation, I had my birthday. This is before Brad and I went on our date. (Yep, that's my belly at about 21 weeks pregnant.) The family on my birthday.

We waited until the next day to have birthday cake since we got home kind of late from our date. I think Jacob was a lot more excited for my birthday than I was.
At the beach, we found a crab. My Dad spent about 10-15 minutes catching the crab, just to release it. We had no fishing license, so we didn't take it home to eat...beside the fact that none of us really likes sea food!


Levi made himself useful by bringing the raft in from the beach :)

I found a really hot guy coming out of the ocean, so I took a picture.
Same hot guy showing off his 'mad' Frisbee skills!
Even the old guy on the beach had some nice catches!

We took the kids to a place called Fudpuckers. You're supposed to be able to feed the alligators...but these alligators must've already been fed because they weren't too interested in what we had to give them. The one with his mouth open is YAWNING! not asking for more :(


The boys enjoyed more riding on the alligators :)

At the pool in our backyard, my dad found a small gecko in the pool. Jacob was too scared to hold it, but Levi doesn't know yet to be scared of things, so he held it...the photographer was just a little late snapping that picture!

The boys in the hot tub. They loved it!

Jacob sure seems old in this picture to me! He really enjoyed relaxing, having unlimited access to Brad's phone to play "Air Slice" and he enjoyed the XBox that was in his room of the rental house.
Levi enjoyed bike rides with Grandpa and having unlimited access to Teletubbies in his bedroom. (There were 4 bedrooms in the house, each with their own TV...the boys were in heaven!)
The ride home was long, but it was definitely a fun trip. I'm pretty sure my mom has seen Toy Story enough times to never want to see it again!

We had a blast as a family and I would highly recommend Destin if you ever want to take a beach vacation!