A Night Under the Stars...

This past week was Spring Break so we decided to take a quick trip to the beach....only one problem....my parents condo was booked! Bummer! So we had to revert to "plan B" which was a weekend camping trip...which actually turned into a one night camping trip due to the bad weather that was coming in....but we still had a blast!

We packed up our things and our cute little pop-up camper and headed to Mallard Creek Campgrounds. We had never camped there before, but we will be going back for sure! It is very clean and quiet (until the Jones kids got there) and almost every lot is on the water.

This was the view as we stepped out of the camper....

Being surrounded by river water means only one thing to Mark....fishing! So we did a lot of this...

Kayli was a little distracted (as was I) by the water snake that was swimming around....

After we fished for awhile, we decided to relax before we searched for firewood...





After that short break, we were on the hunt....

Thanks to the guy that ran a red light and crashed into Mark's truck a few weeks ago, we are still with out the truck....so we had to make due. (I had lots of vacuuming to do afterwards!)

After gathering wood, we did a little more of this.....

...and it's a good thing because we caught enough fish to have a fish fry!

Mark had to do the dirty work first...

While he did this, Kayli and I ran to find a Dollar General that was supposedly "6 or 7 " miles down the road, which ended up being about 15 miles down the road! Anyway, we had not expected to cook fish so we needed a pot, oil, and batter.

After we returned, we realized that we had one more problem....we didn't have a way to heat the oil! Oops! So we improvised once again....against my will, I put the oil in the pot and Mark held it over the fire to heat it. I was so nervous! Oil and fire...not a good combo!

We weren't even sure it was going to work, but....

It did! And Mark was so proud! haha!

Kayli and Chase waited patiently while we were solving our dilemma....



I should brag on them for one second. They behaved so well on this trip! I was worried at first because our lot was in between 2 elderly couples but they were quiet AND they got along-AMAZING!!

Now back to dinner.....

(I don't eat seafood so I also grilled pork chops!)

Finally it was time to chow down!

I think Chase enjoyed the pork chops as much as I did! haha!

After dinner, what else could we do????

SMORES, of course!!!

After a sticky mess and a belly full of roasted marshmallows, we were all ready for bed so we fell asleep under the stars, with the crickets chirping in the background....what could be any better?

The next day we woke up early and guess what we did???

Yep....fishing.....again!

I reminded Mark that he was lucky to have a wife who actually likes fishing....maybe not quite this much.....but still, I do like to fish and the kids were having a blast, so I cooperated. We caught a ton of big fish on this day....

Even though this was a short trip, I enjoyed it so much! It was so great to have my 3 favorite people all to myself. No thoughts of school, baseball/softball, work, housework, etc. cluttered our minds. We simply enjoyed the beautiful weather, our beautiful surroundings, and most importantly, we enjoyed just being together. =)

Too much sugar!

For some reason, lately I have become sort of "Suzy homemaker-ish". I guess it's because I have some extra time on my hands with Spring Break and the store closing. I have been making casseroles and freezing them for later....I know, strange right? I don't even like to cook....I'm not sure what's wrong with me. Anyway, the kids are thoroughly enjoying the leftovers.....

After Chase had been licking the chocolate from one bowl and the pudding mix from the other bowl for close to 30 minutes, I asked him if he'd had enough, to which he replied, "I've never had enough!" OK then....carry on!

Kayli enjoyed it as well, but was too cool to pose for a picture, as usual! =)

PEACE OUT!

I am off now to tame the wild indians that they have become from all of the sugar!

Fight Night Friday....

Just a quick gimpse of our Friday night so far......YIKES!

It started off with a simple picture of thier matching outfits....

and then things took a turn for the worst....

and poor Kayli was the target....

but not for long....
check out that GIRL POWER....

is that face intimdating or what....

Look out! Here she comes!

I'm not sure who actually won the battle but they sure put on a good show!

AN AWESOME NIGHT....

It's been a long day for The Jones' . We have been around the world today with work and practice and late ball games. As I am typing this at 9:45pm, Chase is still awake and Kayli isn't even home from practice.....(it's going to be a rough morning tomorrow!) Aside from our exhaustion....we are so hyped up that we can hardly sit still! Chase played AWESOME tonight! He had a great hit (all the way to the fence) and even kept playing after getting hurt as catcher. Not only are we proud, but his coaches thought so, too, because.....HE GOT THE GAME BALL!! YEA CHASE!!

This is a pretty big deal for Mark and I, not just because he played great, but because we have had sort of a rough start to the season. As I mentioned in the last post, he has had a bit of a bad attitude which has made him not play very good. We have had many discussions about how important it is to be a team player and a good sport.....and (it's a miracle) he actually WAS listening! HALLELUJAH!!!

Overall it was an outstanding game and "The Astros" ALL played great and deserved the win! Oh yea, did I mention that we also knocked out the 1st place team?? WOOHOO! I have to stop now....I am just so proud of our team!!! I could go on and on but I guess I should calm down and try to get these wild ones in bed! Good night!

Another week at The Jones'....

Not much has been going on around here this week, just the usual running between ball fields, work and school, but I thought while I had a minute I'd try to keep everyone "up with the Jones"....

Mark moved into his new position as "Operator A" last week. Before he was "Operator B" which is kind of the back-up. He has wanted the A position for a while and finally got promoted a few weeks ago. He is happy but quite nervous. He digs the holes (with a backhoe) to fix live gas and water mains and has to be very precise and careful not to damage the lines. He will be fine, though, once he gets comfortable.

Kayli is being a normal 12 year old girl...loud teeny-bopper music, make-up, boys, and, of course, uncool parents. Where did my little girl go??? She is definitely testing her limits with my patience. I wish that I could lock all of the doors and windows and never let her out of the house so that I can keep her from growing up any more. In less than one year she will officially be a TEENAGER!!!! Pray for us......

Chase has been all about baseball. Luckily, the rain has not interfered much with our games this season. Yesterday, his team was tied up for 1st place...but we lost our game and now we are in 2nd. I know, I know....it's supposed to be about the fun...but it's fun to win, too! Chase has been a little bit pouty about playing the positions that he is told to play. Last season he played 1st base and loved it. This year he is a first year kid and has been in the outfield and he is not happy about that. So, we have had MANY talks about attitude, sportsmanship, and hard work. He loves baseball, though, and is having a great time!

As for me....this is our last week to be open at Frankie's. The store is so bare. We have hardly anything left. I, so far, have not been terribly sad...just scared. We opened Frankie's 10 years ago, when I was 20 years old. It is all that I have known for my adult life. I am excited to move on, but the change is what scares me. I am a "planner" and right now I am not sure what the plan is. I don't like not knowing what is coming next. For now though, I am just going to take it a day at a time and see what happens!

This ended up being a little longer than expected.I guess I had more to say than I thought. I will try to post something a little more exciting next time but this is as good as it gets for now! Bye!!

Weekend Warriors!!!

Mark and I love to do stuff around our house and I can honestly say that we have dabbled in every possible thing from flooring to painting to a complete bathroom remodel....and now fencing!!

These little guys are the reason for our hard work....

We have wanted to put a fence up since we moved to this house. However, we bought an old house from an old lady so you can imagine how much updating the house needed first. Add that to the fact that we have a REALLY BIG backyard and were quoted $7000 from a fencing company...needless to say, the fence had to be put on the backburner for awhile. But this year we decided to do it.....ourselves!

We are doing the best we can around our baseball/softball schedule. We have been working until dark everyday and all day on the weekends to try to get finished.

Here is our plan of action....

Mark does the heavy lifting....

marks the boards to be cut.....

hands them off to his handy-dandy assistant..hehe =).....

who makes a perfect, precise cut....hehehe=)....

and the whole process starts over again!

We have a long way to go but we've been working hard! Here is half of our handy-work...

(Sammy looks so confused!)

Pretty nice.....if I do say so myself!!!