For Erin, with love

This one's for Erin

:: My first real concert was The Cramps, on Halloween in San Francisco; I was dressed as a random dead person ::

:: I can't read this book without crying ::

:: Some of my favorite late night outings involve my Sisters, Sonic and/or Right Aid ::

:: I identify most with Vendetta::

:: I really can't by a dented box, even if it is just a box cereal ::

:: I miss playing night games ::

One Fish Two Fish

:: Family Christmas cookie party preparations w/ the wees and the Carpenters ::

:: Progress on my first "real" sock ::

:: Bed time sing-o-long ::

:: Today is gone, Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one. ::

Thanksgiving Week

It is so hard to believe that this week is coming to an end. I took the whole week off and it has been great. I thought for sure I would have more time this week to post some pics and updates but each day has been so busy. So, here is a rundown of this week's activities.

Monday - Supposed to be my first real day off for the week but I ended up having to go in and finish up some projects. So, I worked from about 6 am till 10 am. Then I left feeling free as a bird! I went home and we packed up the kids and went to see "Bee Movie." This was the 2nd trip to a movie theater for Josh and Jane and it went really well. Being an 11:35 screening on a Tuesday helped out as there were only about 4 other people in the theater. This time we used the booster seats with Camille and I in the middle and Josh and Jane on each side of us. They loved the movie and were quiet and still the whole time. Amazing! Just like every other 2 year old, Josh and Jane frequently use the word "Again" to express their interest in repeating something that they like - over and over and over and over again. Like spinning around and getting really dizzy - Again! Or reading a favorite book - Again! Or watching a favorite DVD like one we recently bought called "The Snowman" One day I would like to experiment with that one to see how many times in a row they would watch it if I were to continue to grant their "Again!" requests. I would guess it would be at least a dozen. Anyway, watching the Bee Movie in the theater was no exception. As soon as the credits started to roll at the end, Jane looked over and said, "Again!"

The movie was followed by a trip to Cafe Rio for lunch. Josh and Jane are huge fans. They will sometimes randomly say stuff like, I want a dia (quesadilla) from Cafe Rio. They even recognize the general location. I discovered this when we were driving on University Parkway and even though we were not driving right up close to the actual restaraunt, Josh looked over and said, Cafe Rio! The funny thing is that one day we were in Salt Lake and we passed by a similar looking strip mall and he thought that was Cafe Rio too. Last night we tried out the new Orem location. I guess it didn't take much time for the rest of Orem to see that it was open as well as the lines were just like the Provo location.

Tuesday Camille needed a little break and had some things to get done so I ventured out with the kids. Days off are great and I wish I had more of them. I had to mail a package and so we went to my post office of choice which is the one located inside of Days Market. There is rarely a long wait and it is just a lot easier, especially with the kids. The lady at the counter offered Josh & Jane mini tootsie roll suckers. A little stickier than I would have wanted but it was really sweet of her and the kids were totally digging it. Then it was off to Costco for gas and pizza. Josh got a little flirting in as well (see photo). We got home just in time for their afternoon nap and the rest of the day was pretty kicked back.

There was also a trip to Target Tuesday night which I only mention as an excuse to share a couple of cute photos from there.

Wednesday was spent preparing for Thanksgiving. This year was the first year since my mission spent away from my parents. This time it was them being away on their mission. Camille's parents are also on a mission so we had Thanksgiving at Camille's sister's house. It was great since they live 5 minutes away and we didn't have to split the day in half between families. Camille made a fabulous 21 lb turkey and I made the traditional Jones recipe Chestnut Stuffing. We used my parents kitchen since they have a convection oven as well as a second regular oven.
Check out the picture of Josh on the phone at Grandma's house. He just picked up and said these exact words..."Grandma? Hi. This is Charlie Brown... See ya" then hung up. priceless.


Here is the yummy Turkey that Camille made.




Since it was an all Holmes day on Thursday, we made Friday an all Jones day. We went up to Salt Lake and did a little Christmas shopping and then had dinner with Mike and Kate at their place. Jeff joined us as well so it was like another Thanksgiving. Josh and Jane enjoyed spending time with their twin cousins Harvey and Sammy. Since we mentioned the fact that we were going to see them earlier that day, they both kept saying, "Harvy Sammy! Harvy Sammy!"

Now it is Sunday night and I am really not looking forward to going back to work tomorrow. 4 more work weeks and then I am off for Christmas for at least a week and a half!

Until next time...

Thneeds

This is kind of a big deal, or should I say "heal"! I just can't contain myself, I just learned how to turn the heal of a sock! I can't believe that I pretty much got it right on my first try.

I just got some new knitting needles from Knit Picks ( size 4 interchangeable circulars) and I was playing with the "magic loop" method of knitting in the round, when I thought, hey, this would be a good time to practice turning a heal. Nah Nah! This process has always been very intimidating, yet I knew I would have to concur this fear to get to sock making heaven.

I am just really happy right now, most of the time when I knit something it starts out as a "thneed" (a fine something that all people need) and ends up a "UFO", (unfinished object). I have a lot of these hovering around my house. So just maybe with this little bit of knowledge my first pair of socks wont end up as "sweet spirits".

Rock Me

Jane loves to be rocked. Lately, every night when it is time for bed,
she says to Camille or me, "Rock me" it is super precious! She also
likes to be sung to while being rocked. One night when I thought I had
rocked her to sleep and I was about to get up to take her to bed, she
quietly whispered another "rock me" request into my ear.

Just going for a jog. Be right back

Wheeler Farm Nov 10 2007

Today we decided to pack the kids into the van and go to Salt Lake. We desperately needed an oil change first. While in the waiting room, we called a few friends to get ideas on what some kid friendly activities would be. Tom and Laura have a couple of youngsters and have lived in SLC for a while so we called them. Laura was full of good ideas. We took her advice on one which was to go check out the Wheeler farm in the Fort Union area. It was so much fun and the weather was perfect. I posted a few pics here but you can see more on our Picasa page by clicking here. If you live around here and haven't been, we highly recommend it. There is no entry fee and there are lots of animals and fun things to see. Check out their site for more info.

We also ate lunch at one of our favorite burrito places: Chipotle Mexican Grill. They just opened their 2nd Utah location and it is in Fort Union, conveniently located near the Wheeler Farm as well as Paradise Bakery, maker of the best cookies on the planet. No exaggeration!

Jane's 3 Halloweens

Josh's 3 Halloweens

BFF (best friends forever)

They are are always this nice to each other...well, most of the time.
ok, a lot of the time.

Really looking forward to hanging out with these guys this weekend.
Whenever I ask them what day it is, their first response is, "Sunday.
Church." They love going to nursery. One day we were driving in the
area where our church is and when we made a turn that looked like we
weren't going to church after all, jane turned her head and said "bye
bye church. Bye bye friends."

More pics to come this weekend.

Mom & Dad voted...

And all I got was this lousy sticker!

Jane's tower

Here is Jane, carefully, concentrating, building a tower of boxes.
Moments later, Josh came and knocked it down.

Here is some recent footage of Josh showing off his spinning and jumping skills.

Josh and Jane's first trip to the movies

Today we took Josh and Jane to see a movie at the theater for the first time. We assumed they wouldn't last long but they actually did really well and we were able to stay the whole time! We saw Ratatouille. It was super fun and nice to know that the kids are able to sit through a whole movie. The theater is right by Costco and so after the movie we went to Costo for dinner. What a great family outing!

New Pajamas

The twins seem to really be growing. As a result, we recently bought new pajamas at Costco. I just got done going up to Jane's room for the 4th time tonight since she went down. Each time, she has been out of her P.J.s. This now they are on backwards. This picture is from right before bedtime. See Josh in his new P.J.s below.

Bedtime for Josh

Josh is often really hard to take pictures of. He just does not sit still for long enough. These 2 pictures were selected from a huge gallery, most of which are completely blurry from being in motion right when I take the picture.

Halloween 2007

This year, Camille made some awesome costumes for Josh and Jane. Josh was Jack Skellington and Jane was Sally, both from Tim Burton's "Nightmare Before Christmas". Around 4:00 on Halloween, Camille brought the kids to work where StoresOnline had a trick or treating route for employees kids. It was super fun and it was also Josh and Jane's first experience with trick or treating and they loved it. See some pictures below with more to come.

Josh

Jane's costume