Happy 10th Birthday Tyler

I feel bad I am behind with posting this, but my oldest turned 10 last month! A great day of celebration started with Tyler going to school! He took some treats for all his class. While there, he got to pick a game for the entire class to play, and they all colored him a card that was put in a book for him.

We decided to make it a family birthday and my parents and my sister Amy and her two children came and joined us for dinner. We all enjoyed pizza, breadsticks, salad and of course - a WONDERFUL chocolate cake! YUM!

He got some great presents - a couple of wii games he really wanted and a Harry Potter lego set that after you build it, it becomes a game board.

Over all, it was a great birthday. I can't believe he is already 10!

Braden's Latest Adventures

After the funeral, we went to one of the local ward houses and ate a nice meal. After the meal, we brought clothes to change into so we wouldn't have to wear our sunday clothes all the way home. I took Braden into the bathroom, locked him up in this one little area where I could easily change him. Unfortunately, I didn't think well enough and he escaped underneath the stall. Next thing I know, I hear a lot of splashing and playing in the toilet. The shoes were in the toilet completely soaking wet. *sigh*

I finally get him dressed and we met up in the cultural hall to say goodbye. We were one of the last families to leave and we left through the kitchen door. Allen's brother left through a different door. We were putting things into the car when the screaming started. Braden was running out the door and down the sidewalk and completely missed the curb. He went flying and landed in the parking lot on his face.

There was blood everywhere. It was coming out of his nose, mouth and from his face. Lots of it. We were worried wondering if he might have lost or broken a tooth. We got him cleaned up the best we could but his lip was so swollen we really couldn't see into his mouth at all.

On the way home, by the time we had hit Idaho Falls, his nose was really swollen and bruised badly we were worried if he had broken it. We did a swing by community care to have him checked out. They said it looked ok, but they couldn't tell for sure because of how swollen he was - but they were pretty sure he was ok.

Anyway, this is the day after the accident - and it looks so much better in this picture. It has now been six days, and all signs are completely gone - he is all healed except for his nose is still bruised. It's amazing he can heal so quickly.

M. Glen Jones Funeral

Probably too many pictures from a funeral, but the whole reason I blog is so my children can have a book of what is happening and is important in our lives. So here goes.

On Monday, September 20th, we received the call that Allen's dad had passed away peacefully. These last few years have been a challenge for him health wise and we knew of his desire to pass on and to be able to return to live with his wife Elma.

Allen and I took to trip to Burley Idaho that afternoon where he and his siblings made all of the funeral arrangments. Time was also spent visiting and remembering some of their most fond memories. It was decided that the funeral would be the following Monday on the 27th.

On Sunday, the 26th, we packed up and headed to Burley to stay for the night. We stayed in a hotel and attended the viewing that night and woke up for the funeral the next day.

It was a great funeral. The spirit was strong and it was inspring to make us want to do and be better. It made us appreciate having the gospel and knowing that it is possible to be with our family again.

Tyler was an "active" pall bearer, and Braden an honorary one. Which meant Tyler got a red flower and Braden got a white one to wear. It threw the funeral workers off a little bit when I went to them and told them Ty was
a pall bearer. They looked at me weird and asked if he was an honorary one. I said no, so then they asked "an active one?" So that is where that funny phrase came from. Imagine their surprise when I told them that Braden was an honorary pall bearer and needed his flower!

Allen's dad was a highly decorated war hero and because of his service, he had full military rites. I have not ever experienced that before and it was such a neat thing to be there for. They had the flag over the casket, a gun salute, taps was played and the flag was folded and presented to the family.

We sure love Glen and will miss him dearly - but we are so grateful to have been apart of his life and grateful to know that we will see and be with him again.

Braden's First Haircut

We decided we had better do something with Braden's hair since he was starting to look so girly. So we put him in the bathroom and started cutting. Always a scary thing to do. He actually sat really still (a definite miracle) and while he doesn't look pleased, he really didn't mind it. The sad part is he doesn't look so baby like anymore. He sure is growing up fast!

Trip to Utah

A couple of weeks ago, we decided at the last minute to take a quick trip to Utah. We were going to go down for just Saturday the 28th, and then drive back the same night. We met up at a park with my family for a little picnic/bbq. My sister and brother in law from TN were here and it is the only time we have all been together in quite a long while. Sadly, we didn't get any good pictures of all of us. We were just more worried about not being blown away!


You will be glad to know that nobody blew away - but you can tell it was extremely windy!
For whatever reason, it was one of those tornado like windy days. I couldn't even eat any of the delicious salads that were there, because the wind was blowing the salad right off the plates. It took a lot of effort to eat a hamburger and keep your plate held down. The children however, didn't seem to mind the wind too much and had fun climbing EVERYTHING!

After we were fed up with the wind, we went back to my sisters house where we chilled for a little bit. Braden was in love with this dog that my sister is babysitting.

We met a new nephew/cousin - Tommy. He sure is cute and smiley.

We decided to stay the night instead of drive back home. There wasn't a lot of room, and it was basically wall to wall people. I set Braden up in the play in pack in the laundry room and the rest of us were all spread out on floors throughout the house. But isn't it all about the memories? Or so I'm told!

The next morning when we woke up, this is what my niece's hair looked like. I thought it was so darn funny and cute.

It was a fun trip and it was fun because the kids had fun and were so excited just to get away for a little bit. Thanks guys!

Advancement in Rank

So on the first day of school, August 25th, was also pack night. Tyler received his Bear patch. We were so excited for him. I know this isn't the best picture, but he really was excited too. I feel bad though, the bottom picture I just couldn't seem to keep Braden out of it. Anyway, way to go Ty!

First Day of School

August 25th was the day we were all anxiously awaiting. Back to school! This year, McKenna and Kylie are in 1st grade with Mrs. Orr and Tyler is in 4th grade with Mr. Moss - same teacher as last year, but he moved up a grade. They were pretty excited about the first day. Here is each of them.

McKenna

Kylie

Tyler

I was anxiously awaiting for the bus to come home. I waited outside what seemed like forever and made them all stand there and get their pictures taken again. I am just happy they were all still smiling. They all said they had a good day and they were willing to go back the next, so I figure that's a bonus. The girls are "enjoying" their homework, and Tyler is excited because this year he has an actual text book for math. He was pretty excited about it. Hopefully soon we will get into a more settled routine - it's still all a little new.

As a funny side note, the first thing Kylie said to me was "I need more sleep tonight. I'm exhausted!" Kind of funny. That transition from Kindergarten to all day can be tough - luckily they have a great teacher who seems to really get that.