Happy Birthday Trenton

August 28, 2004


March 2005

June 2006

October 2007

April 2008

May 2009

August 2010

August 23, 2011

Happy Birthday Buddy! We Love you so much. I can't believe how fast the past seven years has gone by. Thanks for joining our family on that wonderful August night.

Our summer of "Staycations"

This summer it has been a little harder to go for an extended vacation or camping trip like we usually take. With Jason in school again to get his master's degree he doesn't have much time on his hands for fun stuff. We have had a few mini trips already this summer.
The kids and I spent the day bumming around downtown SLC while our car was getting some work done. They thought it was so much fun to ride trax and just wonder around. We met up with Jason for lunch and then spent the afternoon at the gateway. I got some school shopping done and the kids got to play in the water.






One of our favorite places to go here in Utah is to our families camp spot, Laplatta. My parents, sisters, and even my grandfather in law all have spots there. We love spending time with our family and love that we have such a peaceful area to spend our time.






While at Laplatta we took a cruise over to Bear Lake. The water there is so pretty and the kids love to splash around in the water near the beach.

Here's a quick peek of my cute little ones with the beautiful wildflowers covering the mountain. The wildflowers were as pretty as I have ever seen them, unfortunately I didn't do a very good job at photographing them.

Fun without Dad

Jason recently had to travel for work. This practically NEVER happens but this summer it has already happened two weeks in a row. Hopefully it brings good things to his career but in the meantime it meant that I had to entertain the kids all day everyday without him and to top it off my Mom was gone to NH visiting my Brother during those two weeks. That made for some very long days.

We filled the better part of one day painting bird houses. No bird is small enough to fit in the hole for these houses but I didn't tell kids that. They had a great time being creative with the colors.

Our next adventure was going to feed the ducks at Liberty park. I had errands to run to prepare for girls camp so as a reward for being so well behaved in the stores the kids got to go and play at the park. We had 3 large bags of bread and the ducks were not hungry! We ended up taking the bread and feeding the ducks and seagulls at Stansbury park instead but the kids enjoyed just being outside and running around.

She's a Cowgirl!

She is such a natural on the horse. She loves to ride and of course whenever she does she has to make sure she has all right attire and accessories on so that nobody will question whether she is a cowgirl or not.

I absolutely love this picture of my little girl and her daddy! Too cute. She has him wrapped around her little finger.

This is our new addition "Collie" Bryn Leigh calls her "Collie Austin" as in Austin Collie the football player. The poor little puppy doesn't stand a chance with her as the boss. She knows how to rule the roost. That's just they way I want her to grow up, loving animals, riding horses, and not being afraid to be the boss.

At Last We Have Grass!

Finally! After 18 months in our home I have something to keep the dirt away. At least partly anyway. This was a labor of love. My sweet Jason is such a hard worker and just kept pluggin away even through our horrible spring weather. Thank heavens it's done. We are so lucky to have so many family members that come at the drop of a hat to help us lay the sod down. Thank you all!

You ought to know

Today is the END

ARMAGEDDON

Is coming at 6:00 tonight!

This is all according to some guy in CA. But he's been wrong before, last time the world was supposed to end I was 14. Luckily for me I made it another 14 yrs past the last "End of the World" to see this "End of the World"

But just in case this guy happens to be right this time I've got my Zombie fighting team already formed and on stand-by. If you didn't receive your txt this morning then apparently I didn't think I could out-run you if we were being chased by blood hungry Zombies or you just didn't have what it takes to make

MY TEAM.

I may have one spot open, I'm still waiting on a reply from this guy. If there was one person I'd want on my team he is it. But from the absence of a reply I'm going to assume that either

A: He already has a team. (I knew I should have asked him sooner)

or

2: He isn't too worried about the Apocalypse coming tonight. (maybe I should cancel my bungee jumping appointment at noon)

*Just in case, Zombie fighting practice at 5:00 at my house, if the end will be here at 6 I want "My Team" to have a good hr of practice fighting Zombies under their belt.

Faith

This week we have seen two great miracles in our family. While talking to my kids about the first miracle I explained that the Dr's think Uncle Josh is going to be OK and he has beaten most of the cancer inside his body. The prayers we have said in his behalf have a been answered. I also explained that the Priesthood blessing which he was given at the beginning of his treatment has helped him to overcome this horrible disease and to not be as sick as he might have otherwise. To this explanation my six yr old replied,
"We knew he would get better, we just had to wait awhile"
Talk about tears. I cannot explain how that simple little statement blew me away. Sometimes I think my kids teach me more than I can ever teach them. Simple statements that pack a huge lasting punch.

Our second miracle came in the form of a sweet little baby 10 plus years in the making. Olivia Lauren Warner was born to my Brother Clint and his amazing wife Jessica at 3:33 this morning. They have tried for years to have children without success. They have two adorable kids brought to them through adoption but were never able to carry their own biological child. Somehow through the miracle of modern medicine they were blessed to carry this new baby girl full term. Since we learned of Jessica's pregnancy we have had her in our prayers. This is such an amazing teaching experience for my children to see their prayers answered in such a tangible way.

During one family prayer a few months ago Easton said the most simple and heartfelt prayer;

" Dear Heavenly Father, we thank thee for our blessings, Please bless Uncle Josh, Uncle Jered (recently diagnosed with diabetes), Aunt Jessica and Grandpa Warner (had just undergone hip replacement) . We thank thee for our family and all our blessings and we say these things..."

Oh to be 5 yrs old again and know that the Lord hears and answers our prayers. He had no doubt in his mind that his prayers would be answered. He KNEW for certain that his Heavenly Father would handle all things if he just asked him too. No Fear, Just Faith.

Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ: "As parents, we have been commanded to teach our children “to understand the doctrine of … faith in Christ the Son of the living God” (D&C 68:25). This requires more than merely recognizing faith as a gospel principle. “To have faith is to have confidence in something or someone” (Bible Dictionary, “Faith,” 669). True faith must be centered in Jesus Christ. “Faith is a principle of action and of power” (Bible Dictionary, 670). It requires us to do, not merely to believe. Faith is a spiritual gift from God that comes through the Holy Ghost. It requires a correct understanding and knowledge of Jesus Christ, His divine attributes and perfect character, His teachings, Atonement, Resurrection, and priesthood power. Obedience to these principles develops complete trust in Him and His ordained servants and assurance of His promised blessings."
Elder Kevin W. Pearson, Quorum of the Seventy. You can read more from his article HERE.

The big "C"

I don't think you can ever really be prepared to hear the news that someone you know and love has been diagnosed with the big "C" word.























However this past week Jason and I have come face to face with this fact.

I have also come to realize some of the simple blessings in my life.

I am grateful for my eternal perspective on life,











I am grateful for my husband and the Priesthood that he holds,








I am grateful for my amazing family,

I am grateful for Saturday afternoons in the fall, spent with the


"Jones Boys" watching BYU football.











I am grateful for modern medicine and the hopes that there will be many more "Cougs" games to watch with all the Jones boys in the years to come.



I am so grateful for my husband and the amazing family that he comes from. I married the man and with him came his


3 Brothers/Best friends.




I didn't know at the time but I was also marrying into a family of amazing women who would in turn become my


Best Friends.

As you kneel down tonight, please remember the Jones family in your prayers so they will all have the strength to beat the horrible "C" word.

Christmas 2010

We had an amazing Christmas 2010,

Complete with Paper Jams, Jessie Doll (from toy story), Remote Control Trucks and a Wii. We are so blessed to be able to have such amazing gifts at Christmas. We enjoyed all the parties and an old fashioned Pine Canyon town play. We were able to see the lights at Temple square and spend quality time with our amazing families.

Dear Santa?...I think not.

This was the first of two very traumatizing experiences meeting old St Nick for Bryn Leigh. Santa came to Easton's preschool to visit and my kids got to sit on his lap. Well Bryn Leigh wanted nothing to do with it. I however really wanted a pick so I put her up next to him and he held her there by grabbing her hood. This picture tells it all. She tells everyone who asks her about Santa "he pulled my hood!"

She really doesn't like the jolly old fella. It's bad enough to have to see him once but twice in the same season was more than she could handle. I think we are really worrying her with all the talk of him coming to our house in a few days.
But she did look very cute sitting on his lap all dressed in her Christmas tutu, even with the tears. And when all was said and done she did mention to him that she wants a "Jesse doll from toy story".

Easton was listening very intently, somehow this Santa knew exactly what he had gotten in trouble for in the past few days. Easton was intrigued by his knowledge of every little mishap he had committed. Needless to say, Easton has tried very hard to be a good little boy ever since his little chat from the big guy. If he does happen to make it onto the "nice list" he will be hoping to get a Iron Man mask.

My big boy, it's hard to believe this is his 7th Christmas with us. I can't believe how fast the time flies. This year he is asking for a guitar and a r/c truck. Sure hope he gets the truck, as for the guitar, I think it can wait a few more years.