The Jones Family

Halloween 2010

2010-11-02T11:33:00.000-07:00

Another Halloween has come and gone. This year we had a Wizard of Oz theme. Here are Glinda and the Wicked Witch...

This is the cutest Dorothy I've ever seen...

Brad was a BYU football player - surprise!

And here are some cute pictures from our annual visit to the Pumpkin Patch.

The Pumpkin Patch is always more fun with friends

School Days!

2010-08-17T12:42:00.000-07:00

Today Brad and Kaya started school. Third and first grades. They were up early and very excited. I was sad to see them go. We had a great summer and I will miss them.

We were all up to wish them well on their first day.

Summer 2010

2010-08-10T09:07:00.000-07:00

We have had such a great summer! I love having the kids home with me. It's been especially nice to relax and enjoy Brielle. We have done a lot of fun things too! Here are some of the highlights...

In June we celebrated Kaya's 6th birthday. She celbrated with a cooking birthday party. AND she got her ears pierced.

She is really growing up and becoming a beautiful little lady. We love her to pieces!

Brad and Kaya participated in the Morgan Hill Triathlon. It was Kaya's first time and we were surprised that she liked it so much. They both did a super job.

We spent a week in Utah with our families. Brenden's family was celebrating Grandma Fern's 80th birthday. It was wonderful to see her and Grandpa.

Brenden was also able to see all of his siblings, except for Joe. We had a great time all together and wish we could see them all more often.

We spent the rest of our trip in Highland at my parents' home. We hiked to Timpanogos caves -

Brad's favorite part of the trip was our visit to BYU where he got to see Cougar Stadium and even throw a few passes on the field.

Our summer also included lots of swimming, playing and sleeping. We've had fun, but we're looking forward to starting school again soon.

Introducing Brielle Makenzie Jones

2010-05-20T15:26:00.000-07:00

I have gotten a little behind on our blog - Surprise! We have a new baby! On April 30, our sweet baby girl, Brielle Makenzie arrived. She was 6 lbs 6 oz and 20 inches long.

Still in the OR right after delivery...

Here's mommy in recovery, so happy to finally meet her little girl...

She is SO loved by everyone in our family. I have lots of great helpers!

Meeting Brad and Kaya for the first time...

And meeting Ashlyn...watch out Brielle!

Life is busy, but I am trying to relax and enjoy this sweet baby.

Brad turns 8!

2010-05-20T15:21:00.000-07:00

In February, Brad celebrated his 8th birthday! His big present this year was going to watch BYU play in the MAACO bowl in Las Vegas a few weeks earlier.

He celebrated his actual birthday weekend with his buddy Kevin and had his first sleepover.

This was a special birthday for Brad because he was baptised the following month.

We were lucky to have lots of friends and family come to support him. It was a very special day for us and the spirit was very strong at his baptism. I hope that Brad will remember it always.

Halloween 2009!

2009-11-23T09:36:00.001-08:00

I can't believe that Halloween has come and gone already! It seems like we were just enjoying summer! Now school is in full swing and the kids are both doing great in their classes.

A few days before Halloween, we made our traditional trip to the pumpkin patch.

Ashlyn really wanted to pet the chickens and Kaya liked the bunnies.

Kaya was Ariel this year. She was a beautiful mermaid.

Ashlyn was JoJo the Clown and was a hit with everyone.

And Brad would settle for nothing less than a BYU football player. Complete with authentic helmet and jersey. He looked great!

Grandma Kathie and Aunt Tiffany were with us the weekend of Halloween because Brenden and I were leaving for Maui on Monday morning. It was fun to have visitors with us for our Halloween festivities. We made a trip to Monterey in the morning and it was a beautiful day!

That evening, Matt and Corynne joined us for Trick or Treating. The kids got tons of candy as usual and had a great time.

Ashlyn was especially fun to watch since she was really excited about the idea of getting candy. She was very polite at each door and remembered to say Thank You and Happy Halloween. What a cute girl she is!

1st Day of School 2009!

2009-08-18T13:16:00.001-07:00

Today was Brad's first day of 2nd grade and Kaya's first day of Kindergarten. Here they are!

And this is Ashlyn after we dropped Kaya off at school. Although, she was consoled by the fact that she can now trash her siblings' rooms while they are gone every day...

We Camped...

2009-08-11T21:19:00.001-07:00

So, the Jones family has now been camping. We decided to end the summer with a bang and take the kids on a good old fashioned camping trip. I'll be the first to admit, I'm not much of a camper. I don't like being cold, and I don't like sleeping outside. But we were all good sports and we had a good time. We went with the Harman family which made the trip lots of fun - especially for the kids who loved being with their friends. Here are some of the highlights from our adventure.

Brenden borrowed a tent from a co-worker. I was impressed that he put it up quickly, with no instructions, and it stayed up all night! There were only 2 problems...the tent was on a bit of an incline, and we may have forgotten to clear the rocks underneath. An air mattress would have helped, but we didn't have a pump so it wasn't the most comfortable sleeping arrangement, but we survived.

Ta Da!

A camping trip would be incomplete without roasting hotdogs and marshmellows around the campfire.

After a terrible night sleep, the kids had fun making "deer bobbles" to wear on our hike...

...and then we spent the morning hiking (my favorite activity of the trip). The Harmans took us to the "ruins" of an old estate that was built over a century ago. The kids had a great time climbing around on the rocks and playing with sticks.

And here is a banana slug. We had never seen one before and the kids thought it was cool.

All in all, it was a good time. We might even try it again next summer...

So Sad!

2009-08-05T09:13:00.001-07:00

Yesterday Kaylee and Kyle left. They stayed with us for about 6 weeks this summer and we had such a good time with them. Ashlyn packed a backpack with blocks, some pennies, her blankie and a sippy cup and she told me that she was going on the hairplane with Kaylee. She was sad when I told her that she had to stay and be my girl. Today the house is so empty! --I guess it's time to think about going back to school and get back to real life. It was a special summer that we will always remember.

Santa Cruz

2009-07-30T11:34:00.001-07:00

We went to Santa Cruz while our company was here. It was a perfect day with beautiful weather and the kids got to go on some rides at the Boardwalk. I was greatful that Kaylee and Mark took the kids on rides and I got to watch...

Can you feel the excitement?

All in all, we had a really fun week. It was busy, but we had such a great time seeing our family.

Muir Woods

2009-07-23T19:59:00.000-07:00

Last week Mom and Mark were visiting, so we decided to make a trip up to San Francisco and across the bridge to Muir Woods for some hiking. With a little help from Kaylee's navigation device we were able to successfully travel though the city with no problem - a huge accomplishment for us Simpson ladies who have no sense of direction.

The kids were excited to see the Golden Gate Bridge. This was the first time that Brad and Kaya remember seeing it. Of course it was cold and windy, but we had to get out and take pictures.

Finally we made it to Muir Woods, which was beautiful and peaceful. We spent the afternoon walking around the nice trails and we even saw some deer. It was a great day.

4th of July 2009

2009-07-14T19:38:00.001-07:00

We had a great 4th of July this summer. We got to celebrate 2 days in a row because Brenden had Friday off of work and then the 4th was on Saturday. On Friday we went on a day-trip to Monterey. We had a picnic at the park, went on a great bike ride, and played on the beach. Kyle, Kaylee, and Kyle's brother, Tres came with us and it was a lot of fun to have everyone along.

On Saturday we went for an early swim at the Aquatics Center and then we had a nice BBQ in the evening. Matt and Corynne came down that day and I loved having a house full of people. That evening we all went to see fireworks. Ashlyn still asks when we are going to see fireworks again. It was such a fun time to be all together as a family and relax. Ahhh, I love summer!

Home Improvement

2009-07-14T14:40:00.000-07:00

Since finishing the CFA exam, Brenden has been busy with home improvement projects again. I am especially proud of his recent accomplishment...installing ceiling lights in our bedrooms. There were no lights at all in the ceilings and we had been using lamps. He was able to figure out the electrical wiring and here are the results. Now if our house burns down, you will all know why...just kidding honey.

Next it was on to the master bathroom. It was exciting to tear out that ugly green countertop.

There is still a lot of work to do...but this is a step in the right direction...

Happy Birthday Kaya!

2009-06-26T10:02:00.001-07:00

Kaya turned 5 yesterday, June 25th. It was such a fun and busy day. When she woke up there was a special birthday balloon on her bed, and it didn't leave her side all day.

Then we started the morning off with a trip to the mall with Aunt Kaylee and Aunt Corynne. Kaya had asked for a Build-A-Bear so that was our first stop. She made a cute ballerina bunny, named Brown Bunny.

Next the 4 of us made a stop at the Disney Store where Kaya spent some of her birthday money on a Prince Eric doll. Now Ariel will not be lonely at our house. Kaya was so cute with her purse and balloon and shopping bags. She was so thrilled to be on a big girl shopping trip.

We had lunch at Cheesecake Factory, although, Kaya requested a Happy Meal and so we smuggled one in for her. At the end of our lunch, the waitress surprised her with a darling birthday sunday and they sang to her. It was very cute.

That afternoon, Kaya had her 3 best friends over for a tea party. The girls decorated flip flops and cakes. It was so cute to listen to their little conversations as they played together...it was SO different from the last party I threw for Brad and his friends :).

Finally, we ended the day with a family barbeque. Matt and Corynne, Kaylee and Kyle, and the 5 of us were all together. It was so fun to be together as a family and make the day special for her.

Kaya opened presents and we had cake and ice cream. It was such a full day but was so much fun for all of us!

We are so happy that Kaya is in our family!

Kaya's Ballet Recital

2009-06-21T22:20:00.000-07:00

On Saturday Kaya had her ballet recital. It was a long day for her because she had 2 performances. She did a wonderful job dancing and she looked so cute with her ringlets and fairy wings. She was also thrilled with her flowers that we gave her at the end of the show. We love our sweet Kaya so much.

The ringlets...

Kaya with Zoe and Bailey

Waiting backstage

Precious

Bravo!

Our Triathlete

2009-06-21T22:18:00.000-07:00

Also on Saturday, Brad participated in the Morgan Hill Triathlon for kids. He did it last year and was excited to try it again. He swam 50 meters, biked 2.5 miles, and ran 1/2 mile. He fell on his bike the night before and had to race with a nasty scrape on his knee. We're so proud of him for jumping in that pool on such a cold morning and finishing the race! He finished in 25 minutes, 22 seconds. Go Brad!

Registered

Excited to jump in!

Swimming hard

Biking

Crossing the finish line!

Wearing his hard-earned medal

Berry Picking

2009-06-21T18:14:00.000-07:00

The summer is flying by. In fact, it's going by so quickly that I'm a little sad already. School will be here again before we know it. I am enjoying having Brad home. He is an awesome helper with his little sisters.

Our weekend started on Friday morning when we drove down to Watsonville with a few of our friends to pick berries. The kids had a great time and picked 8 pounds of strawberries! I have some pies and jam to make... Ashlyn was so funny. She diligently filled her bucket with greenish strawberries and when she found a juicy red one she would sit down right there in the dirt and eat it.

Ashlyn grazing...

Brad and Sarah

Our own little Strawberry Shortcake

Kaya's Kinderclass Graduation

2009-06-15T08:24:00.001-07:00

Kaya recently graduated from Kinderclass. She is excited for Kindergarten, but will miss Miss Nancy who is the best preschool teacher ever!

Kaya and Zoe

Kaya and Miss Nancy

Ashlyn will be starting Kinderclass soon...

Hawaii 2009!

2009-06-14T15:37:00.000-07:00

We kicked the summer off with a family vacation to the Big Island of Hawaii! We stayed at a really fun resort where we were able to swim, waterslide, and play in an ocean lagoon with fish and sea turtles. There were even dolphins at the hotel. It was wonderful...we hope that we can go back again someday...

This is where we stayed.

Brad quickly made friends with the sea turtles. Every morning we would find them swimming in the lagoon and we would feed them leaves and flowers for breakfast. In the afternoons the turtles would hang out under the waterfall and so we'd kayak out to see them. Brad and Kaya named lots of the turtles and became especially attached to one named George.

Kaya was our super slider of the trip. She was so excited to be tall enough to do all of the waterslides. We couldn't get her off of them. She collected her wristbands from each day and had quite a collection at the end of the trip.

By the last day, Ashlyn got brave enough to join us on the slides. Although, her favorite was the "sandy beach" pool.

The report on our trip would not be complete without mentioning the "Mo Mo". This is really a crane of some kind, but Ashlyn immediately named it the "Mo Mo" and the name stuck. She insisted on seeing it several times a day...

Every morning we would eat breakfast overlooking the ocean.

And we'd eat lunch near the dolphin's pool and watch them swim.

Starting Over...

2009-06-14T04:52:00.001-07:00

Okay, it's been awhile. I'm not turning out to be a very good blogger. But I am ready to try this again. I'll be back soon.

Kaya and Ashlyn

2008-09-28T16:28:00.000-07:00

Kaya and Ashlyn are my little buddies. We enjoy our busy days together. They are both great little shopping helpers and Kaya is a huge helper with cleaning and cooking. She especially likes to help me wipe the doornobs and light switches and is good at folding rags and matching socks when I'm doing laundry. Ashlyn pretty much undoes whatever we are doing. Ashlyn spends her days finding Kaya ("Daya"), and destroying whatever poor Kaya is playing. Lately, Kaya and her friends have to lock her bedroom door so that they can play in peace. Poor little Ashlyn.

Here they are helping me in the kitchen (my favorite :) )

Playing Dress-ups (Ashlyn's favorite)

Taking a bath

Being cute in their matching apple dresses

Getting ready for ballet

Toothless!

2008-09-28T16:04:00.000-07:00

The day after the triathlon, Brad lost his front tooth. The other one is ready to fall out any day. Just in time for school picture day!

Our Triathlete

2008-09-28T15:33:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, Brad participated in the Morgan Hill Splash 2 Dash, a triathlon for kids. He was one of the youngest participants and we were so proud of him. Good job Brad!

he swam...

he biked...

and after running, he triumphantly crossed the finish line

Here he is with his medal!

And here is his cheering section:

We will all be training for next year!

Sad That Summer is Over

2008-08-28T22:36:00.001-07:00

We had a really great summer and are having a hard time adjusting to school starting again. The most exciting thing that happened last summer is we moved into our new house. We are so excited to have the extra space and now we feel like we have finally "settled down" in Morgan Hill. Moving was a lot of work, and we are still keeping very busy getting settled in, but we are so grateful to have our new house to grow into.

Some of the other highlights of our summer were Kaya's 4th birthday...

Lots and lots of swimming...

the beach...

and Gilroy Gardens.

Finally, it was time for Brad to start 1st grade. Kaya, Ashlyn and I miss him and are always excited to pick him up at the end of the day. Luckily, Brad got a really nice teacher and his best buddy is in his class so he has a fun year ahead of him.... oh, and he has a Star Wars shirt for every day of the week.

Time to start blogging...

2008-08-28T22:15:00.000-07:00

I've decided that we need a family blog. I am getting behind on our family journal and photo albums, so I figure this is a great way to keep up with those things and allow our family and friends to see what we're up to.