So far in April

Okay, so I have been amiss lately in keeping up with my blog, but the past few weeks have been crazy. Two weekends ago I was able to attend Young Women's Conference with Mackenzie. We took a bus with the rest of our stake and fought the crowds in downtown Salt Lake, but it was well worth it. The speakers were wonderful, and they addressed some of the issues Mackenzie and I had been having.(such as why she can't were a two piece bathing suit) The following week my brother and his son moved in with us, so we had to rearrange bedrooms and move furniture. The house still hasn't recovered completely, but I hope to have it finished tomorrow. He is living with us while he is finishing school, and then until he can make enough to support himself and Ramos. So I now have two two year old boys to watch during the day, and they seem to enjoy getting into everything. Soccer season started on Saturday and Savannah's team did okay. We have about three girls who have never played before, so it took a little while for everyone to get into the swing of things. Dallas made it through coaching his first game and felt pretty good about it afterward. Savannah has a choir concert tomorrow night and is singing a solo during one of the songs. She is also testing for gifted and talented on Thursday and Friday. Mackenzie is going to the temple to do baptisms before school on Wednesday and Dallas just called and told me he has to fly to Washington tomorrow and will be gone for two days. So if you all don't hear from me, know that it is probably because I have gone crazy and they have put me in a padded room somewhere.

The kids' Easter egg hunt

Easter

DJ has an ear infection, so we only went to sacrament today, but it was still nice to go and remember what today is really all about. when we got home we gave the kids their baskets and then did the egg hunt. Even though DJ isn't feeling well he still got into finding the eggs. We are going to have a nice quiet dinner tonight with Martha and Dennis, and then hopefully DJ will sleep tonight and we can get some rest after our busy week. Tomorrow will be a visit to the doctor and cleaning the house up after all of the partying going on this weekend. I hope everyone is having as nice of an Easter as we are.

The birthday card the kids got me!

I laughed so hard when I opened this card!!

We have had alot of fun this week. Dallas and the girls were both off for spring break so we were able to spend some quality time together. We made a trip to the local aquarium, went fishing, did some shopping, and hung out at home. Friday was my birthday, but we didn't have my party until yesterday. Dallas did all of the decorations and cooking, and my family and Martha and Dennis came over. It was so much fun to have everyone together just having a good time.

Autumn stayed a little later than everyone else so that she could put highlights in Kenzie's hair. It is so nice to have someone close by that can do those types of things. Otherwise I would hardly ever get my hair done. Well, now it is back to school and work for everyone,but it was a great week, so we will be thankful for that.

Not much here

I absolutely love having a two year old. He is always making me see things in a different light, and he keeps me active. The down side is that he has taken a liking to my camera and now I don't know where he has put it. Not cool! In other news, this week is spring break. We have lots of things planned like fishing, possibly camping, visiting the zoo and children's museum, and of course celebrating the birth of ME! I will be turning 30 this week, if you can believe it. I told Dallas that I was going to tell everyone that I was 25, but he said no because then he would look like a dirty old man. He can be sooo picky!Anyway, I will try to find my camera so that I can get some pics of our eventful week and post them next weekend. These pictures are from our trip to the zoo in February. Kenzie took them on her camera.

The weekend

We had a very nice weekend. Dallas had to work on Saturday, but that gave the girls and I a chance to get the den cleaned and ready for my brother to come and stay for a while. When he did get home we went out to the garden and started getting the soil ready for plants. The weather has been beautiful for the past few days, and I am definitely feeling a bit of spring fever.Mackenzie wants to take on the flower beds herself, and I have half a mind to let her. Savannah doesn't mind the gardening so much but would much rather be skateboarding or playing some sort of sport.Both girls have been taking tennis lessons and are really enjoying them. It will give them something else to do this summer when there is no school and they start to drive me nutty. Mackenzie gave her first talk in sacrament yesterday. She was soooo nervous, but she did a phenomenal job!(not that I am biased or anything) Martha and Dennis came to church with us to see her speak and then we all had lunch together after my choir practice. The rest of Sunday was spent just hanging out together as a family. Dallas has been working such crazy hours that it was a nice change. He will be out of town this weekend for training, but then he has a week of leave which coincides with the girls' Spring Break. I also got to talk to Irene and Erika on Sunday. I do miss our little get togethers and hanging out with them, but we are all going to try to get together sometime in the next few months. Erika refuses to come up while there is any chance of there being snow. I really can't blame her after our accident last year. Well, DJ wants me to do laundry, which means he wants me to go downstairs with him, so this is all for now.

Riley Ann

Riley's birthday was this past Thursday, so I thought I would put a couple of pictures up in remembrance of her. These are pictures that the hospital took of her.The little bear fits right into the palm of my hand, so you can imagine how little she was, only four pounds. We visited her grave sight on Thursday, but it wasn't really a sad day. We miss her terribly, but are reminded that we are sealed for time and all eternity and that she will always be our daughter. Dallas and I finally went and ordered the headstone for the grave. That took more out of me than going and visiting her, which I think is a little odd. I guess to each their own. The kids are doing well. Spring Break is in two weeks and then the countdown to summer vacation begins! Part of me can't wait for school to be over, but the other part of me wants time to go by as slowly as possible because these girls are just growing up so quickly! Mackenzie and I will be going to the Young Women's General conference at the end of this month, and then hopefully we will be able to get tickets for the whole family for one session of general conference in April. The girls are finally old enough to attend, and I think seeing the prophet in person will be a neat experience for them. Anyway, I am off to clean house and run errands! TTFN!

This past weekend we traveled to Rupert, ID for my Grandpa Hernandez's funeral. While we will all miss him very much, it was a wonderful chance to celebrate his life and his family. Everyone was there, and I loved seeing them all. The girls got to know some of their cousins and aunts and uncles a little better, and my grandmother was able to see D.J. for the first time. Mackenzie and Savannah were amazed at all of their relatives and can't wait to visit with them all again!

Dinosaurs!!!

On President's Day we took the kids to the local dinosaur park and museum. It was still too cold to go outside, but the kids had alot of fun looking at all of the bones and dino's that were inside. D.J. kept walking around saying,"That's amazing!!" It is definitly a place we will go to again.

This is Savannah in her cowgirl outfit. She is hoping to do the mutton bust at the rodeo this weekend, and had to have an outfit for it. We will find out later tonight or tomorrow if she will be able to participate.

The Jones' have been busy lately! The girls had their dance recital last week and were fabulous! I will hopefully have video of their dances up a little later. We have also been shoveling snow all week. Sunday morning we woke up to about a foot of snow, and it snowed like crazy all day! Dallas dug us out so we could get to church and then put the shovel in the trunk so that we could dig our way back into the house! I love it though. Yesterday the kids and I went to the neighbors and dug tunnels into the mounds of snow. I threw DJ in and it about covered him completely! We played for about an hour and a half before we were just too cold to stay out any longer. Dj would only come in if I promised him a bath, and Savannah also had to be bribed to come in. Kenzie didn't last quite as long as the rest of us and was already inside in her warmest jammies. The first two pictures are of the girls in their dance gear and the rest are of our yard and neighborhood Sunday morning.

It has been a crazy month! We have had my nephew staying with us for about a week and a half, so I have had two two year old children in the house wreaking havoc! Savannah has a choir performance this week, and both of the girls have their dance recital on Tuesday. I will try to get some decent pics to put up, but my camera has been very particular lately. Last night we went to the rodeo here in Ogden. Dallas had to work it and he got us some tickets. His mom and her husband came with us, and we had a blast. DJ and Ramos were just giddy at the sight of all of the animals, and the girls have always been rodeo fans. Savannah is actually going to take a class on bull riding next month, only they will be riding sheep. Dallas is working like crazy, but he is accomplishing alot, so it is not so bad. I am just trying to keep up with everyone. I still haven't really gotten into the swing of things here, but I keep hoping that I will someday. Soccer season is getting ready to start, so Savannah is getting more and more excited about playing on a team again. She really missed not playing last season. Mackenzie is going back and forth about what she wants to do, but I am sure she will decide one day. She is getting to be such a Young Woman!! She was able to go and attend the temple yesterday with her youth group. She really enjoys going and is always so much more lovable when she comes home. It does make me feel a bit old though.Well, enough of my babbling for now. I hope everyone is having a wonderful year so far and we can't wait to see you all again soon.

Hello everyone!! Well today is a very wintery day in Utah. We woke up to about four inches of new snow and it is still snowing! I plan on staying indoors as much as possible and snuggling with DJ. Savannah is going sledding this afternoon with her class. She is so excited about showing off to her friends. Mackenzie will be trying out for the volleyball team in the next week or so.I would have never thought that she would want to play, but she is really looking forward to it. Dallas is working as hard as ever. He has met his goal for the month and is now looking forward to next month. We loved hearing from everyone during the holidays. I hope everyone is doing well, and we all hope to hear from you again soon!

Kenzie and DJ rockin' out

New Year's Eve

The kids stayed up with us to welcome in the new year. They danced and drank sparkling grape juice and popped their confetti poppers. Happy New Year to you all!!

Christmas

Well, Christmas was crazy, but lots of fun. All of the family came over on Christmas Eve for a big dinner and to open presents. After everyone went home, we got the kids into their Christmas jammies and sent them off to bed so that Santa could visit.It snowed all night , so we had a wonderful white Christmas! Christmas morning was nice and relaxed. Dallas ended up waking the kids up because he couldn't wait any more. After presents and lunch, we went up to Savannah's school and went sledding for the first time this season. DJ loved it and now asks to go snow boarding all the time. He is such a winter kid! After sledding we drove up to Temple Square and saw all of the lights. It was cold, but absolutely beautiful. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, and we will hopefully see you in the New Year!

Merry Christmas!!

Well, it is the week before Christmas and chaos is ensuing. Dallas is working like crazy, and the kids are getting more and more hyper. I will be doing the holiday baking this week, along with any last minute shopping. I hope we are able to make it down to Temple Square to see the lights before Christmas. Every time we make plans to go we get a snow storm and end up staying at home. The girls and I just can't drive on slick roads after our accident in January. Today is the last day of school for the girls, so tomorrow I will have all the kids home. I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

Kenzie's Birthday Party

Mackenzie had her 12th birthday party last night. It was of course a sleepover. They did makeovers and manicures, along with alot of movie watching and girl talk. The cake was Hannah Montana, and dinner was tons of pizza. She got a new winter coat and a Jonas Brothers cd, along with lots of other stuff. It snowed over night, so the girls spent the morning having snowball fights and building snowmen.They all had fun, and Kenzie was a gracious hostess as always. I can't believe my baby girl will be twelve on Tuesday!

First Snow

We had our first snow last weekend, and the kids couldn't wait to go out and play. They made snow angels and built a snowman. DJ helped Dallas shovel the walk and the driveway, and Savannah threw snow at them while they worked. Mackenzie had fun with the snow angels, but then called it a day and went inside. DJ and Savannah would have stayed out all day if they could. This is my favorite time of year, and I hope we get more snow soon so that we can take the kids sledding.