Deck the Halls

My mama began collecting ornaments when Tick-Tock would give her ornaments for us kiddos, beginning when my sister was a baby. The tradition was perpetuated when we went to San Antonio as a family in November of 1993 and she bought ornaments-- one for each of us. This whole thing sort of came full circle when, in San Antonio with Lance, I bought my own ornaments for my future Christmas tree!

There are two of them-- the first one says,
"The stars At Night Are Big and Bright..."

and the second one says,

"Deep in the heart of TEXAS!"

Tradition and Texas pride...
They're beautiful things! :)

5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Happy New Year!

Lance and I got all dressed up and spent our New Years Eve at Main Event. We arcaded it up and bowled a couple of games. There was a barbecue buffet, and free fountain drinks. We had a great time!

Here we are at the entrance

...and again in the roller coaster simulator

We played air-hockey twice, and I beat Lance TWICE!

Then we bowled twice, and he beat me-- TWICE!

Me, with my eight-pounder

...And Lance with his sixteen-pounder!

The actual countdown was rather anti-climactic because Lance and I were playing a gun arcade game when he looked down at his watch and said,

"Oh, it's 12:03... Happy New Year!"

Happy New Year...

When we left Main Event, we went to Cam's house for our midnight waffle breakfast to celebrate 2010!

Our table looked beautiful!

Kevin was proudly flaunting his Spurs win that night-- Cam was doing her best to keep him under control...

Ready for some fresh squeezed Arizona orange juice

"Larry" and "Curly"

Waffles

With fresh strawberries on top

and delicioso turkey bacon on the side!

We all then played rock band... Daddy was quite the singer!

He rocked it!

Trevor drummed like no other...

...And Lance was amazing on the guitar-- as always!

At the end of the night, we were all exhausted!

Molly looked like we all felt...
It was definitely time for bed when we all got home!

Here's to an amazing 2010...
Happy New Year!

"He Stuck in His Thumb, & Pulled Out a Plum..."

The Jensen family, every year on Christmas Eve, participates in a gift exchange called 'Little Jack Horner' in which every family member brings a predetermined number of gifts, each one under five dollars. These gifts are all wrapped, they all have a string attached to them, and they are all placed in a big box with the long string sticking out from underneath the lid. The idea is everyone takes turns pulling a gift out of the box by its string, opening it, and showing it to everyone. These items should all be useful, some are funny, some are things people use every day, and some are nostalgic! When all the gifts are pulled out from the box, the trading 'floor' is 'opened' and the bartering begins. This is where the real fun happens. This year, we had out Jack Corner exchange after our Christmas Eve party at Tick-Tock's and we got both grandmas involved, as well as Beau and Tanner. We had such a wonderful time!

Here Cam and Kevin are, attaching the long strings to their gifts

We had two big bins full of presents-- there were more than 100 of various useful items in them!

Mom got a key chain with the AA slogan on it:
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
Perfect for her! ;)
Kevin got a sword... He looked like a little kid again while he was holding it!

This was the highlight-- slime that looked and felt like water, but stuck together like slime. So awesome!

This loaf of white wonder bread was meant for my dad who is a white-bread-aholic. The irony here is my Grandma Jones pulled it from the bin. She despises white bread and its lack of nutritional value! Needless to say, she was quick to say yes when Daddy traded her for it!

We had a lot of fun with Jack Horner-- Thanks to the Kevin's Grandma Sanders who came up with the fun and festive idea!

Little Jack Horner
Sat in a corner,
Eating his Christmas pie.
He put in his thumb,
And he pulled out a plum,
And said, "What a good boy am I!"

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

...and all through the house we were all stirring and having a Christmas Party!

The girdle-buster was made, my how it looked hardy!
Whipped cream and chocolate-- we must all be careful so we don't get 'lardy'!

And Mama in her red, and Grandma Jones and Trevor in theirs
looked a lot like a gang-- so we tried to convince them to change their wears!

When Aurdey, just about as cute as a button could be, let out such a giggle
we all sprang in to action to see what caused the wiggle!

...There we found not one Audrey, but THREE
two that spell it with a "y", and one with a double "e"!

So, naturally we snapped a photo, and while we were there we found

Double "e"s three boys-- even though they were a bit more round!
{disclaimer: they all look amazing- NOT round. I took poetic liscence here for the sake of the rhyme! :)}

Then, what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a growing family with lots and lots of love in the air!
On Trevor, On Chris the birthday twins

On Beau, on Audrey, the new best friends!

On Chelsea, On Tanner with all your pink and red!

On Cheryl, on Terry looking like a holly berry!

On Glen, On Scott, on Ben and on Chris-- I won't see you for two years, you're sure to be missed!

We had such a good time with our guacamole and tamale feast that was done up right
and now it's time for bed, so before we go to our houses and turn out the lights:

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

"...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!