Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow!

As long as I remember, Grandma Jones has always had some sort of animal in the fenced in yard behind her house... on our last day in Arizona, we introduced Audrey to the Washburn's livestock!

There were moo-cows

And horses!

These equines were so great at posing for this photo-op!

Then we went to Tick-Tock's to pack up the trailer and everything at her house! Audrey was in fine form--- she was so excited when she figured out she could fit this ball IN her mouth!

Pretty blue eyes!

Here she is again, playing with the only other blue-eyed member of our family

While Daddy was on the roof fixing Grandma's solar panel, Kevin was in charge of getting the trailer all packed and road-ready!

The REAL reason we took said trailer up with us to Arizona is to bring these bad boys home. Dad's weight set dates back to his high school days... He's been wanting to bring them home for years--
Mission accomplished!

We so enjoyed Arizona this Christmas... There were a lot of wonderful memories made, I feel like I made a new friend out of my cousin Kari, Audrey learned how awesome Pine is, Mom learned how convenient a cement turkey pit is, Cam and Kevin added a lot of humor to the trip, Trevor was pleasant the whole time, Daddy got creative and MADE shadow boxes for mom's Christmas gift and decided to become a scrapbooker! Life is so good :)

A Fairytale of Humble Proportions

Once Upon a Time, in a land not so far away called Pine, Arizona, a beautiful maiden named Cheryl and a handsome young man named Kent, decided to build a darling little cabin. It was hard work, and while the cabin was under construction, this is where the young couple lived:

It was a humble little lodge in Strawberry, Arizona where light shone through the logs when the sun was up. It was cold in the winter, and hot in the summer-- so they were ecstatic when at long last, their cabin was finished!



And who wouldn't be thrilled? It was a beautiful cabin that was finished just in time for them to welcome their beautiful bouncing baby girl, Chelsea, into the world!

Here's the 'young maiden' with her granddaughter on her inaugural trip to the family cabin!

Trevor was in such a great mood our whole Arizona trip... He even helped mama do the dishes!

After we had Tacos Sunday night, Mom, Cam, Kevin, Trevor, and I played a rousing game of Scrabble...

Trevor looked so scholarly looking through the dictionary! He was on my team... We did great!

Mom's so good at this game, she was able to be on a team with herself!
Cam and Kevin played together, and they kind of cheated a lot-- We'll have to put them on separate teams next time! ;)

This wood-burning stove is awesome! It radiates so much heat-- just don't open the door when the flames are going at full blast! Trev learned that the hard way!

We had lunch (because we missed breakfast) here Sunday morning, and breakfast (because we missed it the day before) Monday! I think this is one of Daddy's favorite places in the whole world!

It was so nice to spend some time up here with the people I love before I leave for a year and a half... We definitely made some great memories, and I can't wait to bring my own family up here one day!

Pop, Lock, & Drop It...

My baby brother has some hidden talents...


He can 'pop, lock, and drop it' like no other 17-year-old white boy I've ever seen! What a talented brother I have!

Oh, and he also decided to Nair a portion of his leg in Wal-Mart...

Yes, we are all concerned...

"You're Never Lost When You Can See The Temple"

Christmas Lights on the Mesa Temple grounds are quite a sight. In a place with such beautiful lights and scenes depicting Christ and other events from the New Testament, you can't help but feel the spirit.








Saturday morning, Mom, Dad, the grandmas and me went to the Mesa temple. I have grown up admiring Mesa temple's lovely simplicity and beauty, and I finally was able to go in! It's even prettier on the inside!

Mesa's temple is on LeSueur street... How awesome is that!? :)

Group shot sans Daddy-- he was getting the car cuz it was super cold outside!

"You are never lost when you can see the temple. The temple will provide direction for you and your family in a world filled with chaos. It is an eternal guidepost which will help you from getting lost in the “mist of darkness.” It is the house of the Lord. It is a place where covenants are made and eternal ordinances are performed."

-Elder Gary E. Stevenson

Dairy Queen

One of my favorite things about Arizona is their Dairy Queens actually have butterscotch-dipped cones! It's a must whenever I visit Arizona!

The Holy Grail of Dairy Queen Ice creams... The butterscotch cone!

We're triplets-- and we all loved it!

It was so cold outside... Trevor and Audrey loved it though!

Daddy looked was really enjoying his special treat-- Ice cream is generally a no-no.

We {heart} Arizona DQ!

Christmas Day

We spent Christmas morning at Tick-Tock's house, and we were so excited because Tanner also got to be there for our Christmas morning festivities!

This is the 'before' shot of the present room.

Historically, we were never allowed to go into Grandma's 'pretty' room EXCEPT for on Christmas. I still feel rather privileged when I go in her living room... and I still hear my mom's voice from my younger years echoing in my head, "Chelsea, no no touch!"

Cam's favorite thing from her youth was the kitchen set she got one Christmas-- so this year, Santa brought Audrey her very own kitchen!

Cam and Kevin got Rock Band to go with the Wii they got each other for Christmas! We were ALL really excited for this one!

Cami got a beautiful 12'' marble Christus statue from Mom and Dad

Tanner can now cheer on the Suns in his very own #13 Steve Nash jersey! He's a BIG fan of the Suns!

Tick-Tock gave Trevor and me snuggies. They are awesome!

Audrey got not one, but TWO Elmos this year. One that sings and talks when his mouth is opened, and a tickle-me-elmo. She was ecstatic... it was the cutest thing I have ever seen!

Uncle Scott compiled a book of letters my grandpa wrote him the last year of his life while Uncle Scott was up at BYU. This is the gift that topped them all this year. Daddy has loved reading all the things his dad did and thought. It is also proving as a good memory-jogger as he has remembered doing a lot of things with his dad as he reads what grandpa wrote about them!

This is the 'after' picture at Tick-Tock's. What a mess!

After a bit of a clean up, we headed over to Graandma Jones' for her Christmas day party with all the Jones clan!

The tree was decorated beautifully, and all the hard work we did over the summer was spread underneath it!

For the uncles, we put Grandpa's missionary picture next to the poem he wrote entitled Our Sons the Elders. Grandpa was such a great writer, and I think this particular gift meant a lot to his sons!

When mom discovered the teapot Grandma uses to boil water in was rusty, she decided to prevent her mom from ingesting all that extra iron in her daily callie and get her a new rustless teapot! Here she is with her cute red kettle!

This is a Jones grandchild and great-grandchild must. I'm pretty sure if we looked hard enough we could find a picture of every single one of us as babies playing with our reflection in the mirror above Grandma's couch in the living room. Now Audrey has one!

These kiddos were too cute playing with and watching the cows in the field behind Grandma's house! We all LOVE our cousins!

And here we all are Christmas night! The festivities of the day sure did wear us out- but spending such a special holiday with such special people simply can't be beat!

Merry Christmas!