My bracelet

My charm bracelet is one of my favorite things in this world! So, knowing this, my wonderful family got me a couple of charms to have with me when I'm away from them!

It's getting full... I love it!

Lance gave me this puzzle piece charm for two reasons.
1) I "complete him" haha
2) I'm worried I'm going to get Alzheimers when I'm older because I hate puzzles, sudoku, crosswords, etc. which are all the things you're supposed to do to keep your mind fresh-- so, he said he would help me out with them and get me to love them!

Cam, Kevin, and Audrey gave me the Dutch snowflake charm. It's to help me remember that underneath the snow, are the flowers that will eventually come up, because winter always gives way to spring :)

And Mom, Dad, and Trevor gave me this Texas charm, because my heart does, and always will belong to Texas!

I just LOVE these charms, and I'm so thankful to have such thoughtful people who love me!

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!

"...Now Bring Us Some Figgy Pudding"

A long-standing Jones tradition is caroling with the whole family a week or two before Christmas. My mom and her brothers have been doing this since. As a young'n it was always my favorite part of Christmas in Arizona because it was usually the first time in several months I got to see all my uncles, aunts, and cousins all together! This year was no different-- and it was even more special because they postponed it just so 'the Texas cousins' could lend our voices to the Jones Family Singers! After arriving in Arizona Monday afternoon, we all took a much needed shower and a quick (or not so quick) nap then headed over to Grandma Jones' to get the plates of Christmas goodies ready for the singing endeavor.

Once people got to grandma's house, we set out by foot to visit all those people my mom grew up knowing and loving. Most of the people we visited have received carolers from the Jones family each year for the last 25+ years! When Kevin caught wind of this fact, he asked,

"What does someone have to do to get off this list? Die?!"

How eloquent...no? But pretty much its true!

"Oh Christmas tree... Oh Christmas tree"

Audrey was such a good girl the whole night-- She kept conducting the singers with her little waving hand. And I thought her little red nose was simply irresistible!

Here are [some of us] with the Bevels. Pretty much they were my momma's 'second parents' when she was growing up. I always enjoy seeing these two- they're some of the most wonderful people in existence!

Grapes of Wrath

This year, our family was blessed enough to be able to spend the holidays together. We certainly have missed each other these last two years-- Christmas 2007 Cam and Kevin spent with his family in Florida while the rest of us were soccer tournamenting it up at Trevor's Disney tournament & Christmas 2008 we were all completely split up with Cam and Kevin in Plano, Dad and Trevor tournamenting it up in Florida, and Mom and me spending time with family together in Arizona.

Our Christmas Vacation began Sunday evening with all SEVEN of us piling into our beautiful new suburban. This is what we looked like:

We left Plano around 8:00 at night, and in order to keep three boys happy, we stopped at Taco Bell for some dinner before we actually hit the road...

Group Shot

Audrey's new thing is signaling 'touchdown!'... just in time for college bowl season!

After driving through the night, here's a morning shot of the Jensens in the back seat of the suburban. This is right before we grabbed breakfast at the McDonalds in Wilcox, Arizona. Audrey was a champ and slept through the whole night!

Here we are, after breakfast... looking like the grapes of wrath. Oh dear- good thing no one reads this!

We arrived in Mesa around 2:00 Monday afternoon after driving straight through. It was nice to get out of the car and s-t-r-e-t-c-h--o-u-t!

Trevor was in such a pleasant mood the whole trip... He even helped unload the car at tick-tock's house!

Tuesday, we were thrilled to meet up with Richard and Letitia along with two of their kiddos, Matthew and Elizabeth. We hardly ever get to see them, so playing catch-up was nice! They're such a darling little family!

group shot!

J'adore Octobre!

This is why I love October...

It is the perfect weather to be outside in, so momma, Cam, Audrey, and me went to Canton where we people can go to buy the things they never knew they wanted...
This picture pretty much says it all... It's kindoa like one big garage sale on the one side, and on the other side, people sell the things they've made-- like a big craft fair! While I loved both sides, Mom and Cam only liked the craft side!

After walking and walking and walking, we sat down to take a quick rest... Audrey was completely worn out by this point!

This is the before picture of the stroller. It has a baby in it... and that's normal.

Here's the after picture of the stroller... No baby... Lots of stuff!

Ahh, there she is-- looking cute as can be! Sassy little thing in the Sassy baby 'store'

Group shot!

Orange Pumpkins are one of my favorite things of all time. I love orange, and pumpkins wear the color so well! We went to the farmer's market Saturday and we each picked out a pumpkin!
There were lots to choose from...

Jensen family picture!

Audrey was the cutest little witchey-poo, and loved the pumpkins!

Lance was even with us :) :) :)

Family picture! It was early in the morning so the sun was in a bad spot... but I love this photo!

Look at that bird... he was just perched on the wheel!

General Conference is the first weekend of October, and i love general conference! I love conference because it's a time to listen to the Lord's prophet and apostles' counsel for us. I love conference because it is a time to spend a good solid weekend with family. I love conference because it is the most uplifting weekend of the year!

Audrey playing with Grandpa's hat... So cute!

Rock-a-bying with Uncle Trev.

...And holding on for dear life with mama.

I love October!

One year older and wiser too...

My mother had a landmark birthday this last weekend, she turned 29! It was a wonderful weekend... It all began Thursday when our dear family friends, Richard and Jessie flew down for the weekend to cheer on the mighty BYU cougars. We welcomed them to Dallas by treating them to some yummy Mexican food at Chuy's. Friday morning, David and his wife Cara drove down from Oklahoma to cheer on their OU Sooners. We had some delicious Texas BBQ from Rudy's for lunch! Saturday morning, we had a big breakfast to prepare everyone for the day of hardcore cheering they had in store-- it was during this meal I discovered one of my new favorite recipes: Maple Pecan Bacon... Thanks Southern Living! While the bacon (and just about everything else) was a success, the peachy rice pudding wasn't quite hacking it. I've tried making rice pudding twice, and I've failed twice. Lame.

Richard, Daddy, and David have been friends for 30+ (ish) years. How great is that?!

This is a better shot-- one that shows better how the weekend was. It was filled with jokes and reminiscences, we all had a lot of fun!

Sunday, everyone left. and that's when we had cake and presents to mark mom's 29th (ish) year on this planet!
"Happy Birthday to you..."

There were presents... Lots of great presents! The following pictures sum up the night!

(oh, and that's a laugh... not a sneeze.)

Happy Birthday Momma! Thanks for all you do- you are truly an example of truth and righteousness, and I am really glad you are my mom!

Over the River, and Through the Woods...

To Grandmother's house we go!

Little Miss Audrey Kate and her big sister/compadre/bestie Molly Mutt spent the last week at Grandma LeSueur's house while her momma and daddy were celebrating their anniversary in The Big Apple... Even though I was gone most of the week at work and such, we still managed to have a good time, and I even snapped a picture or two! I can't believe how grown up she is getting!


"I'm ready for my closeup..." She's such a ham for the camera!

This was on the last night she was with us...By now she had a handle on the whole bottle thing, and she was holding it all by herself!

"Safe in my grandma's arms."

We read books at night. This one was Good Night, Moon. Grandma even bought a few new books for the collection including, Moo, Baa, LaLaLa! as well as I Love You, Good Night. Audrey really enjoys story time!

We took tubbies, and she especially loved it when we gave her a shampoo Mohawk! Her hair isn't quite long enough for it to be as dramatic as I would have liked... Rest assured, we'll give it a week or two and try it again! :)

As her favorite aunt, this is what I taught her :)

Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Trevor and Auntie Chels had so much fun with this baby... We all love her so much!

Thanks for going out of town, Cam and Kevin, and sharing your baby with us!

In Other Audrey news... Audrey is growing tons and tons of hair, and it sticks straight up! She looks just like her dad!

Too cute! :)