Merry Christmas!

It takes a village...

I thought a gift card for the teachers would be a great gift but Brayden and Jack had their own ideas! They picked out these cute Santa/Snowman lunch boxes and we filled them with candy... each boy paid 25 cents for each teacher. Brayden has 3 school teachers and 1 primary teacher, poor Jack is really poor now, he has 4 school teacher, 3 nursery teachers and 2 bus drivers... poor, poor Jack!!!

Empty lunchboxes waiting to be filled!

Jack and Brayden filling up the lunchboxes with candy... and eating some too!
Giving feels good!

Merry Christmas to the village that helps raise my children... so many thanks!

The Wheels on the Bus

Jack's first day of school... kind of!

Jack started school a couple of weeks ago, but I (yet again) didn't take pictures of him on his "first day of school". So I'm going to pretend that today was Jack's "first day of school"! In reality, today was Jack's first day of the school bus! Jack's preschool offers a bus service (since Jack qualified) but it's taken them a couple of weeks to get it set up. Well this morning I got that magical phone call from his bus driver saying she would be picking him up at our house starting... TODAY! When I told Jack he was ecstatic (and that is under exaggerating)! We dropped Brayden off at his school then came home and waited for 20 minutes for the bus to come. In that 20 minutes Jack waited by the front window just looking for the bus! I decided to take some pictures and then go outside with him so we could see the bus coming down the street. When we could visually see the bus, I thought Jack would die! He was SO EXCITED! His grip on my hand increased and he started jumping up and down saying "my bus, my bus!" It was funny because the bus was on the wrong side of the road, and we were going to have to cross the street to get to the side of the bus where the door was. The bus driver noticed this and decided to continue past us until she got to the round-a-bout where she could turn around and be on the side of the road where we wouldn't have to cross the street... I thought that was nice of her... but as she passed our house, Jack's jubilant expression turned to sheer terror and sadness, his bottom lip was extended about 4 inches out and he looked at me and said "I missed my bus"... and his poor eyes were watering! I quickly explained to Jack that she was coming back, just turning around, and his jubilant expression returned!... in 4 seconds he about gave himself a heart attack! Anyway, here are the end results!!!

Yeah, the BUS!!!!!
"no more pictures mom!"

Oh Jack... please don't grow up. I would freeze you at this age if I could. WE LOVE YOU!

The "Rockin R Ranch"

Today we went on our first field trip to Gilbers own "Rockin' Ranch"! It was organized and put together by Jack's class, so I let Brayden miss his own school to come with us... it was really fun!!! Here's some pics, and sorry there are so many, my parents want me to take pictures of every breath my kids take and blog it all!!!!




Jack trying to rope a kid!






















Brayden doing it!


























Find any gold?

Happy Thanksgiving... and more!

This week was a crazy week, so much happened! First we had Grandma Jill's (Jon's mom's) birthday to celebrate (I won't say how old Jill!!!). Jen, Jill and I went to get massages and then to The Cheesecake Factory to celebrate, the next day Jeff (Jon's brother) and his family got in town and we had Sunday dinner and a cake for Grandma Jill at our house. Then on Monday morning I had a dentist appointment (no cavities!) so Grandma Jill watched the kiddo's and after she about killed the stroller (figuring out how it opened) she took them to the park. Next was my parent's and Sadie's arrival. They got here on Monday night. Tuesday we hung out with the cousins and the grandparents and then Jon and I went out for a nice night out... thanks for babysitting mom, dad and Sadie!!! On Wednesday we went to "The Bee Movie" with Sadie and Grandma Jones (aka Tam the Gram). Sadie was in charge of Anabelle who slept the entire movie, Grandma Jones was in charge of Jack who had to say "hi" to everyone in the entire theater! And I was in charge of Brayden who panicked when we ran out of popcorn and only had to go to the bathroom twice! Wednesday afternoon we went to the Marriott to swim... yes, outside (don't hate!) The kids swam with the dads while the moms barbecued (Milli, I know it's nothing like a Kansas City BBQ but whatever... as I said, we were swimming outside the day before Thanksgiving!!) Thursday was the BIG cooking day. Jon went with Ryan (brother in law) to a "Turkey Bowl" in the morning while Grandpa Jones and Jeff went golfing. Grandpa Lynn arrived during all the chaos of cooking! Once all the dads and grandpa's got back we sent time off with the kids... did you know McDonald's is closed on Thanksgiving!!!??? Anyway, we finished cooking and took all our food to Aunt Jen's where the turkey was waiting for us to dive into! YUMMY! The food was fabulous... I have such a love/hate relationship with food, so it was fabulous but it sucked afterwards... anyone relate!!!??? On Friday we ate leftovers and went to the park where we played soccer and a ferocious game of baseball (Jen about killed her mom with a fast ball... Freudian slip maybe?!?!). After the game the kids went on a train ride and then home to bed. The girls enjoyed a nice night out after the kids were down. On Saturday we said good-bye to Jeff and Angie and their 4 kids and then my mom and I cleaned Jen's carpets (it's the least we could do for her after hosting Thanksgiving) after the carpets were all clean we snuck out for pedicures. Once we were back home we send Jon and my dad back to Jen's to watch the BYU vs. Utah football game (our family is split down the middle with red vs blue blood... damn BYU!!) While the guys were watching the game we cleaned my carpets, (thank you mom for bringing the buffer all the way from Draper, Utah to Gilbert, Arizona!!) did my laundry, cleaned my kitchen, washed the floors, and washed the windows... YIPEE! We were so overworked that we decided we needed massages (that makes 2 in 1 week for me!!!) On Saturday night all the adults went out to dinner at Famous Dave's. We talked and laughed and just relaxed... and of course we were home by our bedtime... 10:00 pm! On Sunday Grandma Jill and Grandpa Lynn went back home. We also had a blessing. Jon blessed Anabelle Jane Jolley (notice the single 'n' people!!!) he did a wonderful job, and Anabelle looked beautiful. After church we ate, put the kids down, woke the kids up, decorated the Christmas tree, and went to the Mesa temple to see the lights, then grudgingly said good-bye to Grandpa and Grandma Jones and Sadie.... whoa... what a busy week!!!

We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoyed friends and family the way we did. A little shout out to all those who weren't able to come to Arizona for Thanksgiving, we missed you. To name a few... Grandpa Kent and Nana, Milli and Travis, Grandpa and Grandma Butler, Angie and Jer and those 6 kids of yours! We love you all. Happy Holidays.

Does this make us BAD parents!?!?

Okay, so here's the story... Brayden is in pre-school, and it's a really great school but it's super expensive. I've been wanting to get Jack into the same school and program but it seemed too early and too expensive. Anyway, someone in my ward said that I could get Jack and Brayden tested and if they were behind in anything such as motor, social or speech skills that the state would pay for the pre-school AND a bus would come to our house every morning and pick them up. Oh, and they would go 5 days a week instead of 3 and did I mention (and I did) that it would be FREE if they qualified???!!!

So Jon and I had pretty mixed feelings about this. On one hand, if they didn't qualify then that meant that they were where they needed to be as far as development but we would need to fork out the money. On the other, if they did qualify the schooling would be free and more convenient with the bus but that would mean that they were behind in something. We didn't know what we wanted more!!!!

So Brayden got tested and he passed with flying colors, to be honest, I found myself a little disappointed (this is so bad) that he didn't qualify and Jon was the same way. I called my mom to tell her the news and she was so happy that Brayden was "up to speed" on everything, I replied with a weak "yah, that's good news, I guess".

We had to wait until Jack was 3 for his testing so we waited and waited and everyday when we would drop Brayden off at school he would cry that he wanted to go too, but finally, it was his TESTING DAY!

The first test he took was the social test, it took the instructor about 2 seconds to announce that he "passed", if you know Jack then you know that he is VERY SOCIAL. As she announced that he passed I faked a proud smile, feeling like "crap, he isn't going to qualify"! Then for the second test, motor skills, the instructor said "can you throw this ball to me?" Okay have you seen my son? He could tackle you if you asked him to! And luckily for me, Jack has inherited my throwing arm... so he almost ripped the instructors head off with his fast ball! "PASS". Crap, only one test left... SPEECH! The speech instructor took Jack over to another part of the room and I couldn't really understand what they were doing but when I heard the instructors repeated word of "what?" I started hoping... and hoping... and hoping! And then... HE FAILED!!!

So we set up another test for an hour with a speech pathologist and after an hour she had me come in the room and delicately explained to me that Jack is a little behind on speech and that he did qualify for the 5 day program. I had to fake my concern (I'm terrible) and act a little sad... but I wasn't!

We jumped in the car and I gave Jack a high five and told him that because he did so good, he gets to go to school... he was thrilled. I called Jon at work and he laughed and celebrated over the phone! So starting next week my little/big boy, gets to go to school!!!! YIPEE!

Again I ask, does this make us bad parents???!!!

Jack, we are so proud of you!!!!!

Happy Birthday Jack!

Last Saturday was Jack's 3rd Birthday! Mom was feeling a little (a lot) under the weather and dad was obsessed with getting the pavers in the yard complete, so our little guy went a little... neglected (well except by Brayden who ran around all day singing "Happy Birthday Jack"... thanks for stepping up to the plate Brayden!!!) So after a little negotiation and a little planning we decided to have his birthday party at (the one and only) Chucky-Cheese! This has to be Jack's numero uno place to be in the entire world!

Here's some pictures and a little re-cap of the night...





"I'm THREE"... it seems like 3 fingers is the hardest!







It made the entire night when Chucky showed up to party!








Cousin Maddie








Cousin Michael enjoying his drink... he drank all night!







Brayden won vampire teeth!








Mommy and Aunt Jen enjoying the company!









Our basketball tourny... this is Jen and Jon playing... but guess who was the champion... ME!!!






Jack's beautiful donut cake... (I put a lot of work into this party... shame on me... but he didn't know the difference!)








So many presents!








What a fun night!








Bob the Builder





And because Jon had the camera... we got a shot of Jack's butt crack!!!... ladies, do they every grow up?!?!





Favorite gifts:

A pirate ship from Grandpa Jolley and Nana



"Jackie Bear" from Grandpa and Grandpa Jones















Diego's "rescue pack" from Uncle Ryan, Aunt Jen, Maddie and Michael!











Leap Frog 'ABC' Magnets from Grandma Jill and Grandpa Lynn


Thanks to everyone who helped make Jack's 3rd birthday memorable. We missed all of you that live far away, but Jack knows you love him. Jack... mom and dad love you... STOP GROWING UP!

Happy Halloween... we aren't dead!

Okay so I've been in a "funk" lately, so sorry about the lack of blogging! I'm working through it and dealing with the ups and downs of life... after all, that's what life is all about right?!?!

Anyway, Halloween was a riot, the kids had so much fun. We had a neighborhood party, a ward "trunk or treat", a pre-school party (and Jack was invited) and then the original Halloween night!!! Halloween is turning into a week holiday, and for my kids, that still isn't enough!

Hope all of you had a great Halloween, and by the looks of it, you did!!!

Na...na...na...na...na...na..na...na...BATMAN!