2011 Update

It is definitely time to update my blog. I am missing over 4 months of info and my blog book will be very lacking for 2011 if I don't remedy my slacking.

Last time I wrote we were preparing for the return of our missionary. Alex returned without any problems to a small group at the airport. We enjoyed a few days with him and then everyone arrived for his homecoming and family pictures. We enjoyed hearing him speak about the wonderful things he learned while in Texas, and we could see that he had grown into a man while he was gone. I love, love, love, having my missionary home. Sadly he was only home for about 10 days and then headed off to BYU for Fall semester. Fall semester brought highs and lows for him. He found he was no longer sure about majoring in Chemistry and is still seeking to find the right career for his future.

I'm sure his high was finding that he still enjoyed spending time with his best friend Katie and decided they should make it a permanent union sooner than later. By October he was engaged and the date was set for December 22nd in the Bountiful Temple. It was nice to be the mother of the groom for a change, and I didn't feel a lot of pressure until just before Thanksgiving when I realized I still needed to decorate and get all the stuff ready for the reception in Ely as Katie was not going to do that for me.

We pressed forward through the holidays and looking forward to meeting in Bountiful for the wedding just before Christmas. Everyone but Zac was able to attend. (We missed him.) The wedding ended up on a beautiful, sunny winter day. The skies were blue and the temperature was not too bad. This was all after days of inversion in Utah, so we were really blessed to have such great weather. Katie and Alex were sealed by her great Uncle Keith McMullin who is currently a member of the Presiding Bishopric. He did a wonderful job and we all enjoyed the ceremony.

Later we adjourned to the chapel for a Cafe Rio Catered Lunch (which was scrumptious) and then a reception later that evening that was wonderful. The day couldn't have been better. Everything was fabulous.

Then off to Ely on Friday as Christmas was only two days away. We were lucky to have everyone with us for Christmas except the Barrus' (sometimes we have to share) and we really enjoyed having the grandchildren for Christmas. Children always make the day more special. I felt guilty taking a day off from making pom pom's for the wedding, but thank goodness for everyone Christmas was on Sunday and I felt compelled to let everyone relax a little. It was a beautiful Christmas, made all the better by being with family.

This is what it looks like when the Jones' get together - games, games, games!

Monday we began the arduous task of decorating for the reception (at least we began the ceiling). I think I forgot how difficult ceilings are in these big buildings. With lots of wonderful help we survived and after two days of continuous work we were all ready on time.

The reception was small but enjoyed by family and those that attended. The new couple is now back and school and enjoying their new life together. We are grateful to have Katie as part of our family and know she will do a great job of keeping Alex in line and helping him figure out what to do with his life. Katie is currently doing her student teaching and we look forward to her graduation in April.

Summer Almost Gone

The past few weeks have been packed with activities and mostly traveling.
Beginning July 20th we headed to Provo to have Trevor's wisdom teeth removed.  It was a quick trip and quite enlightening.  Trevor needed two regular teeth removed, plus his wisdom teeth.  After the xrays they found he only had 1 wisdom tooth that was even in his mouth.  so that meant 3 teeth removed instead of 6 :).  After the surgery which took all of 15 minutes; the real fun began.  Trevor was very out of it and we had to head to Walmart to get some groceries and pick up his perscriptions.  He was very unstable so we had him drive one of their electric carts.  The first thing he did was try to help drive and ran into some shelves.  As he became more alert he found he loved the cart and enjoyed backing up with the beeps and going in circles, often blocking the isles.  He was also very helpful by adding things to the cart as we went; especially any BYU paraphanelia?? he found.   We were glad to get in the car and head home.  He did well on the trip home, but had a very rough night and alot of pain over the next week.  So you know he was really out of it, we stopped in Delta at Hogi Yogi and he lamented he hadn't had their ice cream in a long time.  Spencer said you had it on the way home from the dentist - he was so made he couldn't remember it at all.

Driving his cart through Walmart

On Monday evening I headed to Arizona for my good friend Pam Williamson's funeral. I drove as far as Vegas and then on the next morning. It was also Richie's bday so I picked him and Kamry up from the babysitter and we went to lunch. Then I tired him out so much shopping that he didn't even want to go get ice cream. The heat really takes it out of you.

Happy 5th Birthday Richie!

Pam was the Relief Society President in Florence, AZ that I worked under and we became good friends. She has had a lot of health problems in her life, but has always been a fighter. She taught me many things about serving in the church and about how much she loved her family. She was amazing and we will all miss her.

Here she is with some of her granchidlren

The next day I drove straight home to prepare for a planned road trip with Cammie. We took off early thursday and drove to Colorado where we spent the night with Chelsea (and Gavin). Then drove the next day to Danette's house in Gallatin, Missouri. She and her family moved there the beginning of the summer. Her daughter Emma was getting baptized and Danette also was getting rebaptized. It was quite an experience. The baptism was wonderful, they had a few issues with the font and the plug wasn't holding so when they went to check before most of the water had leaked out, so they put the plug in and turned the water back on - problem water comes out very hot and has only one valve. They finally got enough water to make it work. Emma was to get baptized first, but she was really nervous - she doesn't like going under water and the water was hot. So they had Danette go first. Then it was Emma's turn I knew she was so nervous, I was afraid her feet would come up and they did - after tears they went for round 2 this time Lyndsey tried to step on her feet, but he didn't quite get the top of her head under - then round 3 feet up again - by this time she is very upset. She takes a bathroom break and comes back Round 4 a no go again and finally Round 5 with her mom holding her feet down and Lyndsey the front she is officially baptized. for one scared little girl it was quite an ordeal, while waiting for the 2nd one Danette began singing I am a Child of God and others joined in and you could feel the spirit calming her down. It was wonderful to see them all working together for the good of their little family (even a blended family).

We enjoyed two days with Danette's family and then headed off to Nauvoo on Monday. We arrived about 2 in the aftenoon and it was only open until 4. I really wanted to see the inside of the Nauvoo temple but we didn't have much time and Keva was with us so we didn't want to abandon her too long. I had two female names that needed iniatory so Cammie and I went in and each did one name for iniatory. It was a sweet experience and the spirit is very strong in this temple. I can't wait to go back and have an opportunity to do a session - next time. Afterwards we visited a couple of sites and then headed over to the Joseph Smith sites run by the Community of Christ (formerly the Reorganized LDS). We were priviliged to have a wonderful guide for the last tour of the day (She was an LDS returned missionary) - I know strange huh? She was very knowledgeable and really added a great spirit to the tour. Being the last tour of the day she let us into areas that you didn't usually get to see, like hidden hiding places in the house where Joseph would hide when others came looking for him for assorted reasons. After that we headed over to the outdoor theatre and saw a variety show put on by young and older missionaries who had just finished up the pageant in July. It was a great show with lots of fun. There was one guy that looked an awful lot like Geordan so I took his picture. We think Geordan should do this next summer it looked like alot of fun. Then we heard a Jazz concert by the BYU Jazz band. All good and a wonderful little stop on our road trip.

On Tuesday we headed to visit Cammie's sister for a few hours and then Kyle and Tami for the evening. Unfortunately Uncle Kyle was in Hong Kong, but we had a great visit with Tami and the kids. Tami took us to downtown Naperville for some traditional Chicago Pizza - soooo good. And their house, well what can we say Kevin's Lexus looked right at home there.

Wednesday we began the long journey home which took us two long days - we made a quick stop in Omaha to see Winter Quarters, but otherwise drove all day and alot of the nights. We had a great trip and wish we had had time to sight see a little more - maybe next time.

Home one day and then turned around and went to the Manti temple for our wards "Day in Heaven". There were quite a few there doing baptisms, sealings, and endowments. It is a beautiful temple and we had a wonderful time with our ward family.

                      A beautiful home in Naperville, Illinois.  Thanks for letting us drop by.

Geordan's Look-Alike

The bugs attracted to the lights during the Jazz Band Concert

Pizza at Lou Malnati's a famous Chicago Deep Dish Pizza Place

Looking over the Mississippi River from the steps of the Nauvoo Temple

And here we are the summer is almost over - and only 3 more days until Alex gets home - that will be the next post. Also we hope to move next week. We are just moving next door and will have a year lease, so no more showing the house. Life is great, all my family will be here this weekend, how could it be any better

Crafting Open House

I am having an Open House Crafting Day on Friday July 22 from 10:00 am till ?  Just trying to get rid of my extra stock and see if anyone is interested.  Let me know what you would like to do as items are limited.  I can also do special order if I have it on hand. 

Give me a call if you have any questions  296-1521 or email at klvrjones@yahoo.com.

Be Blocks $12.00 bring your own scrapbooking paper (2 sheets coordinating) - paper cutter

Believe Blocks & candle - $15

                                                             
                                                           Family Blocks $8

  

Puzzle Blocks $5 (Bring 6 4x6 photos - if you are printing them on your computer black and white is best - colored should be printed from a professional service)

 Temple Block $4.00 (Let me know which temple you want)

Priorities and the Temple

[print_link]  I have been contemplating priorities over the last few days.  It is difficult for me to understand how active members of the church see things so differently.  One of these is temple attendance.  It seems there is a wide degree of difference among members as to what is expected of us concerning temple attendance.  On the one hand you have my mother who works at the temple one day a week and attends the temple another day a week.  She has failing eyesight and the drive is generally 45 minutes away.  To me she has her priorities straight; she has plenty of time, but failing health makes it difficult for her but not impossible for her to attend the temple regularly.  There are many challenges that keep us from the temple; children, distance, cost, time, etc.  No matter what stage of life we are in Satan tries his best to keep us from attending the temple.  Everyone faces this challenge in one way or another.  How do we overcome it?  What is expected of us?  Is it okay to attend the temple once or twice a year?  What does attend the temple regularly mean?  I often run into those who say that the cost and distance to attend the temple makes it almost impossible (we live 4 hours from the temple), my concern is that often I see these same people with cell phones with data plans or eating out or other accessories that are nice but not necessary (at least in my opinion).  Granted it is costly to attend the temple - gas, food, etc.  I remember when we were a young married couple living in Provo, UT.  We had a desire to go to the temple regularly (at least monthly) - but our funds were very limited.  Distance wasn't a problem but paying for babysitting, renting our clothing, often kept us from going as often as we felt we should. 
  I guess the point of all this is what do you think the Lord expects of us concerning temple attendance.  I understand that the answer will be different for each of us.  Our stage of life, economic circumstances, distance from the temple, etc. all come in to play.  Do you feel that we will be judged according to how we have made the temple a priority in our lives?  Are there other ways to make it a priority without attending?
  Personally I feel its a matter of priority.  If we make it a priority we will find a way to attend as often as we can and we will be blessed in other ways for that attendance.

Month of May

  So May was an extremely busy, crazy, fabulous month.  It doesn't get much better than having all my girls visit and Trevor doing fabulous at state and even getting to watch Spencer in a play!  I am so behind on posting so here it goes.

May was Track every weekend out of town. After the first weekend in Alamo, I picked up Chelsea and Gavin to spend a week in Ely with us.  Selina and Bobby drove up that day as well for Beau Bennett's mission farewell.  After that Bobby went back to Arizona to work and Selina and kids came to stay and play with us as well.  The weather wasn't great, but we enjoyed playing games and hanging out, it also included a quick trip to the duck pond.

 Thursday we headed to Vegas to see my sister Nancy - I decided to pickup Jayden and take him as well, so he could have a little time with cousins - especially Richie.  Chelsea, Selina, and kids all stayed at Grandma Reid's for a couple of days, having tea parties with Aunt Nancy and even a fun trip to the park - Oh Trevor was with us too.

 We dropped Trevor off at Divisions in Boulder City, and parted ways with Nancy, Grandma and Chelsea.   I was only able to see the first event - which Trevor's relay team won!!!  After that Selina, Richie, Kamry, and I headed to Flagstaff for her graduation with her Masters in Elementary Education from Arizona State University.  Trevor received a 1st in the 300 hurdles and 2nd in the 400 as well as his relay - qualifying him for State.

It was a quick trip to Flagstaff and then Jayden and I headed back to Ely by way of Caliente.  By the time I got home at 11:00 pm Saturday night I was pooped - it didn't help that I ran over a dead ELK in the middle of the road - luckily the Suburban was not majorally harmed and I was able to drive home.

The following Friday Ken and I headed to Las Vegas for State Track.  Spencer headed North to Elko for a seminary 2-day activity.  When we arrived in Vegas we were surprised to find James, April, and Everett hanging out a Grandma Reid's house (not really we knew they had flown in from China earlier in the week).  The five of us headed off to the track meet where Trevor had two events on Friday.  He participated in the 4x800 relay receiving 6th place out of 8 for a best team time (not too bad) and then he ran the 400 meter which he received 5th place with a personal best time.  He had hoped for better but felt good about what he accomplished.
On Saturday we headed back and were able to see my niece, Mallory race at the beginning of the day, followed by Trevor racing in the 300 hurdles a little later.  Trevor went in to this race with the top time in the State for his division, but only be a foot or so.  So it was expected to be very close.  Enjoy the video - he starts out in lane 4 and soon takes the lead.


As you can see he won the race and received his best time ever - almost beating the school record (a goal for next year).

1st place on the podium

Here you can see a few of Trevor's fans - Melanie and Nick joined us for the day as well!

After that Trevor was in the 4x400 Relay and his team received 3rd place - though they were slated in 8th place.  Trevor almost caught the 2nd place team, just needed a few more yards.  All in all it was a good season, but he found he had to work harder than he had in the past to get in shape.  Now he knows what it takes and will be ready to have a fabulous Senior year {I can't believe he only has one more year at home :(}

Gold Medal Winner

After that we headed back to Ely to enjoy having April and family with us for a little while before they head to Maine to see James' family.

Last full week of school and lots of things to do including attending Spencers play which was the final for his Humanities class at Lund High School.  The play was "Jungle Drums" and he was one of the leads.  He did a great job and I'm sorry to say we didn't get any video.  Here are a few pictures to give you an idea.  He did well at projecting his voice and his diction was excellent.  I was really proud of him.

The Love Triangle

Guess Who Won

And yet we are not done yet, the last weekend of the month was Memorial Day and we decided to head down to Caliente for a picnic.  Nick and Melanie said there was a great spot just a few miles from there home and it literally was an oasis in the desert.  It was green with grass, a cemented wading pool, a playground, volleyball pit, and some beautiful hiking.  We ate dutch oven chicken and potatoes, had a fabulous volleyball game which my team lost 19-21, and Grandpa even had fun teaching Jayden to play horseshoes.  It was the end to a fabulous, amazing month.

My sweet grandbabies only a month apart - can you tell which is the oldest?

Well if you made it through this, you are probably as tired as I am making it through the month.  June will be filled with catching up on my classes and getting the boys summer jobs.  Life is good and family makes it the best!!!!