Great Weekend with Great Friends......

Last weekend we were SO EXCITED to have the opportunity to spend some time at Lake Martin with the very best friends you could ever ask for! Some of our friends are lucky enough to have family members with a lake house that is not too shabby....as in unbelievable, to-die-for, beautiful, I-could-stay-forever, featured in "Better Homes and Gardens" gorgeous! See for your self....



 

 

Of course the house was FABULOUS...but it didn't compare to spending the weekend with the great company of our closest friends, Keith, Amy, Jamey and Melanie (along with a whole slew of kids). We arrived late Friday night and quickly settled in for a comfy night in our PJ's while the kids played and we grilled steaks and relaxed after a long, hard work week. (Kayli, unfortunately, did not make this trip as she had a Color Guard mini-event in Nashville. Also, our other good friends Steve and Tonya couldn't be there due to other engagements...we sure did miss them all! )

 

 

 

 

The next morning started with a friendly game of kids vs. Dads basketball game....

 

 

 

That game ended with a friendly Father-Son wager with the loser being tasked with presenting the winner with a bowl full of ice cream - king/servant style. The kids lost and paid their dues.....

Later that afternoon, we all got dressed up in our Orange/Blue gear to attend the Auburn vs. Ole Miss basketball game (well, everyone except Amy who is as big of an AU fan as you will find....until they play Ole Miss!) We drove into Auburn and ate at Mellow Mushroom before heading to the game. I personally had never been to a College basketball game and have never been a big fan of basketball so I had no idea what to expect. However, it was SO MUCH FUN! The atmosphere was awesome, there was not a bad seat in the house and it was a great game. Unfortunately, Auburn lost the game by 1 point after a questionable call by the ref to which a fan sitting behind us so eloquently stated...."We #!*;$# lost the %#@!* game by one &;*#@!* point because of that *&;!@# ref!!! Even though it was an emotional loss for some :) we still had a great time and can't wait to head back to the plains as soon as possible to attend another game.



 

 

The next morning we packed up and got ready to head home. But not before we had a little fun on the GIANT swingset built in the front yard.







(That is me way up there....and I have never been so scared IN MY LIFE!!! And this first video is proof....)

We even got a few videos of Mark and Jamey being their usual crazy selves...

 

 

 

 

Although it was nowhere near long enough, we had such a great weekend. We always enjoy spending time as a group and feel so fortunate that these people were put into our lives. We love you all and look forward to many, many more unforgettable memories!! :)

 

Let's Try This Again....

I didn't do so well with this blog in 2012. Two posts for the entire year - wow. The subject of the blog came up at work today and I explained to my friend how great it was that I could look back and recall everything that our family did in 2010 thanks to my blog. 2011 and 2012 - not so much. Of course I have fond memories of those years stored away in my head, but that doesn't compare to having the snapshots in time that this blog provides. SO - here I go again.

Mark and I have stayed pretty busy now that the kids have developed their own social lives (more about them shortly). Mark has been with Decatur Utilities for 6 years now and was promoted to Foreman roughly a year ago. He likes his job and has worked hard to get there but is having to adjust to being "the boss". Discipline is not his thing (hmmm...maybe that's why he was so BAD as a teenager?) I know I have said it before but I am so proud of him and all he has accomplished. He works incredibly hard at work and comes straight home to shuffle kids to and from practice/dentist appts/doctors appts/ballgames/etc. all while getting homework done, dinner started, etc.etc.etc. Basically- Mr. Mom. I thought kids were supposed to get easier as they aged???

I have been with PeopleTec, a Defense Contractor in Huntsville, for 2 1/2 years now and work in Human Resources. I really enjoy my job and love the people that I work with. I am very blessed to work for such a great company. I also FINALLY completed my Bachelor's Degree in August of last year and find it hard to believe that I was able to juggle kids, work and school. Even with no schoolwork to deal with, there are still not enough hours in the day to get everything done. Since I work in Huntsville, I do not get home until around 6pm which is why Mark, unfortunately, has to pick up a lot of my slack.

These days, Kayli is the source for much of our chaos. She started high school this year and is heavily involved in Color Guard which she loves. We have been to many football games to watch her perform and have now started "Winter" Guard which requires us to travel to watch her competitions. She also has practice 3 times a week for 4 hours a night! I am so proud of her, though, and am impressed at how great of job she has done balancing her school work and extracurricular activities. As hard as it is to keep up with her, I know how fast these next 4 years will go by (sob!) and I remind myself (and Mark) often to take the time to enjoy it.

Chase gave us a bit of a break and did not play basketball this season. Soon we will start the baseball season, though, and the craziness will be in overdrive. We LOVE baseball season and can't wait to watch him play. Chase is in 4th grade this year. Only one more year of elementary school. Although I am excited to see him grow and mature, it hurts my heart to think of him as a teenager. I want to hang on to those child-like qualities as long as possible, like the way he still waves at me when he leaves for school or how carefree he seems sometimes....but I know they are fading fast.

Memories - that will be my motivation to keep up with this blog. I want to be able to look back at the end of the year (and later years) and reminisce on all of the great moments our family has in 2013. This is especially important as age makes it harder to even remember where I put my car keys...much less what we did all year.

Thanks for Keepin' Up With The Jones' !!!

Hello Again....

Since it has been a year since I went into "blog-hibernation" I thought I would take this post to get reacquainted. As I sit here tonight, the kids are away at Maw-Maw's, we still have one more day of Christmas vacation and the house is fairly clean and organized following my swift removal of all things Christmas. Dare I say that I am sort of relaxed? Bored even? Not for long. Soon the hustle and bustle of life (school, work, sports, etc) will begin and again make it hard to keep this blog up to date.



I'll start with Chase. A year hasn't slowed him down. He is still a fiery ball of energy trapped in the body of a 9 year old little boy. He is in third grade and doing great. Loves sports, Auburn football, hunting with Dad and just doing anything outdoors. He is currently playing city league basketball and will start his first season of Minor A baseball in the Spring.

Kayli is officially a teenager now at 13 (almost 14) years old. I can't believe we have a teenager. She is in 8th grade and will go to Decatur High next year - ugghhhh - where does time go??? She is a beautiful, sweet, caring, thoughtful, young lady.....whose body has been taken over by a stubborn, eye-rolling, door-slamming, radio-blasting teenager......but we love her just the same! :) We have recently discovered that she has a beautiful singing voice and are looking into voice lessons which she is very excited about.

Mark is still working as an Equipment Operator at Decatur Utilities is currently in the running for a Foreman position. The decision between he and one other person will be made this March. We are crossing our fingers as this promotion would be huge for our family....and the ol' checkbook! ;) He has worked so hard to get to this point and truly deserves it. He works so hard to take care of our family and I am so proud of him.

As for me, I have been working at a great company called PeopleTec for a little over a year. They are an Aerospace/Defense Contractor in Huntsville. I can honestly say that I love my job and the people that I work with. I have TWO SEMESTERS left until I finish school!!! I will graduate in August with my Bachelor's degree in Acquisition and Contract Management. It is hard to believe that my almost 3 year journey towards completing my degree is ALMOST OVER......Can you tell I am ready to be finished????

That about sums up life as of today. 

We are looking forward to great things and happy times for the next year to come. :)

Here's to a New Year....

I took a trip down memory lane today and realized how important this blog is to me. As I read through all of my posts from 2010, I relived every moment as if it were yesterday. I noticed how much younger my kids looked, how different things were that year, how quickly life can change---good and bad, and most of all how quickly we forget the details of the memories we make. I am so happy now that I took the extra time to trap those moments in writing. Unfortunately, I let life get the best of me in 2011 and I gave up on my blog. It is hard to find the time to make these posts but my "New Year's Resolution" (one of many) is to make the time to write these memories down for my family.

Because I am a year's worth of memories behind in posting, I will not make the effort to relive 2011. It was a unique year for our family. We were dealt lots of cards ranging from untimely death to the miracle of birth. It was a hard year and now that it is officially 2012, I would prefer to move on to what this year has to offer. Bigger and better things? Maybe. Happiness, laughter, love and good health....that will be enough for me.

Music City Bowl 2010....

A couple of weeks before Christmas, Mark got an exciting phone call from Chase's football coach. Because his team had won the Mighty-Mite Championship, they invited our team to attend the game and participate in the pre-game ceremonies. As if this weren't exciting enough, UT was playing in the bowl! Can you imagine how excited Mark and Chase were!

So, on Dec. 30, we suited up in our UT gear and headed to Nashville to cheer on the Vols!

Once we got there, we found our team and Chase prepared to head out on the field....

And there they go.....

Chase was so excited because he got to slap the players hands as they ran out of the tunnel. How exciting for an 8-year-old boy who LOVES football!

We watched from the stands and cheered him on as they took there spots....

After that, we all watched a great game....

However,  UT was denied the win after a controversial call.

Here was Mark's thoughts on that situation....

Poor guy....he loves his team but they just can't seem to catch a break this season!

Aside from the loss, we all had a great time and were so happy to have the opportunity to attend the game!

Christmas 2010 in Pictures.....

Hope you all had a wonderful Holiday Season.....we did!