Power

The kids were watching Prince of Egypt this afternoon while Ian and I continued to unpack. After the Angel of Death visited the Egyptians, Curtis decided to fill me in on the story. He excitedly told me that "the mean people's kids died from Jesus' power".

I love television.

What We've Been Up To

Dear Blog,

I feel I must apologize for my neglect and blatant disregard this past month. You see, something came up. And not just a small something...quite a large one, as a matter of fact. Well, let me back up...

It all started about 36 days ago. It was a typical Friday. The kids were playing, Ian was working around the house, and I was out running errands. Yup, typical. Then...we bought a house. Just like that. We had seen the house online, called our realtor, and drove over to see it (all in a matter of an hour) the night before. It was a pretty good deal so we put in an offer the next morning. To our surprise, we heard back within a few hours. It was ours.

I believe I might have said a not-so-nice word at that moment. Why? Well, because (among several loss-of-comfort-zone-type issues) we still had to sell our current home. (I know, right?)

Long story short (and believe me, you don't want to hear the long version), I frantically scoured my house so we could list it the following Monday. We got a call on Tuesday. A couple came to look at it Wednesday. And we had an offer by Thursday. A good offer.

Sold.

Within a short 4 weeks we bought a house, sold a house, packed up and moved a house, and we are now sitting amidst a huge pile of boxes and lacking the energy to do anything about it.

I hate moving.

Someday, hopefully sooner than later, I look forward to feeling at home. In the meantime I will miss my little house, my amazing friends and neighbors, my ward, and my life as it was. (I might also cry a little...I sure liked my comfort zone. It was comfortable.)

But, and this is the point I'd like to make, my dear blog...I will also try to be better about touching base with you from time to time. (There are a couple grandparents who will appreciate it as well, I'm sure.) So, unless I find myself buried by an avalanche of cardboard (it could happen) I'll be here. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Sincerely,

Amy & Family

Batman

Thanks, Becca. He just loves it.

The Jones Family in 2011

Our Christmas letter this year was a multiple-choice questionnaire...and I promised answers. So, here they are:

1. In 2011, the Jones family has:

a) travel to various countries including Canada, Belize, Honduras, and Mexico.

b) hiked Mt. Kilimanjaro.

c) thought about walking to the park.

d) driven to the mailbox.

Correct answer: a

In addition to our annual pilgrimages to Canada and Idaho, we finally had our "do-over" cruise and chose a 7-day Western Caribbean trip. It was awesome!

2. The children have:

a) been absolute angels; consistently worthy of cuddles, kisses, and kudos.

b) managed a 24 hour period without watching the TV.

c) keep us guessing, fuming, laughing, and crying.

d) had trouble with the law.

Correct answer: c (obviously)

The children, also known as "our opportunity to develop patience, tolerance, and more patience", excelled at making our home as un-boring as humanly possible. As they've gotten older, we've noticed their independence growing...along with their opinions. Tricky.

3. Ian, the Father of the family, has spent the year:

a) achieving true "Unagi", to be prepared for any danger that may befall him.

b) enforcing late-work acceptance (or non-acceptance) policies for UVU Aviation class.

c) lamenting the increasing levels of hormones in a houseful of girls.

d) planning the construction of his Christmas village.

Correct answers: b, c, and d (+ bonus point for recognizing Friends reference)

In addition to his normal job, Ian has spent another year taking care of an online aviation class for UVU. He and I have noticed, on more than one occasion, that there seems to be an inordinate amount of students (aka "slackers") who ask for extensions on due-dates because "they haven't had enough time to do the work". Boy, if I'd known that excuse was even an option...

4. Amy, otherwise known as "mom", has:

a) deemed it necessary to fire her maid

b) remained incapable of learning the "running man".

c) filled up the minivan with gas before the gas-light came on.

d) developed an irrational dislike for Idaho Falls.

Correct answers: b (true story) and d (miss you, Amy)

5. Our oldest child, Lindy, has:

a) nearly forgiven us for getting rid of her dog.

b) regained her love of school. And math.

c) stopped tormenting her mother.

d) earned her baccalaureate in underwater basket-weaving.

Correct answer: b

After a particularly rough 2nd grade year, it has been refreshing to watch Lindy wake up each morning excited to go to school. She LOVES her teacher...and doesn't really care for weekends or holidays. (She actually cried as she left for Christmas break!)

She was baptized in March. It was a wonderful experience for our family. She is such a smart, capable, and loving girl. While we often find ourselves at odds with one another, her sweetness usually shines through. And no, we have not been forgiven for the dog.

6. Ellie, the middle child, was:

a) enjoying being flanked by two non-confrontational siblings.

b) top of her class in cross-country ballroom dancing.

c) finally old enough to go to kindergarten.

d) in a week-long, Barbie-movie-induced coma.

Correct answer: c

Ellie, with her typical nonchalance, finally entered kindergarten. She has loved every second of it (in spite of some "super boring" assemblies). She is generally quite happy and helpful...although has begun to develop a little bit of rivalry with her younger brother.

While she didn't actually reach the point of "coma", she has developed a rather keen fondness of all things Barbie. Her mother and father are perplexed (and often nauseated) but what defense can you wield against this smile? I ask you.

7. Curtis (affectionately known as "The Boy") managed to:

a) complete his first solo flight in an SR-71.

b) earn the rank of Jedi Knight.

c) hit his sisters repeatedly with his Jedi weapon.

d) redecorate multiple rooms in our house with nothing but a vision...and a Sharpie.

Correct answers: c and d

This year Curtis has officially replaced Lindy as our most-blogged-about child. This three-year old lives by his own set of rules. (Few of them mesh with my rules...) 2011 has been the year of weaponry. He has a particular love of guns (aargh) and light sabers but seems quite happy with anything that will resemble a gun. Or a light saber.

He's 3. And...that sums it all up quite nicely.

8. In our spare time we:

a) are active members of the NRA.

b) are training to survive the zombie attack of a post-apocolyptic future.

c) clean the bathroom.

d) sing madrigals and utilize the Satsuma biwa.

Correct answer: c

Why? Well, because Curtis likes to shove things in it. (Refer to above-mentioned age.)

9. The Jones Family Christmas letter does not include a family picture because:

a) the zombie attack has already begun and the photo has fallen victim to their evil plan.

b) our photographer is currently on strike.

c) our recent vampire transformation has rendered us impossible to photograph.

d) Curtis is a three year old.

Correct answer: Yup, you guessed it, d...every shot looks something like this:

10. Our hopes and wishes for the future include:

a) a vacation that doesn't involve children. (did I say that out loud?)

b) a completed Christmas shopping list on or before December 1st.

c) snow for Christmas.

d) your continued friendship.

Correct answer: all of the above.

We hope you all had a very merry Christmas and we wish you the best 2012 has to offer!

Happy New Year!

Love the Jones Family

(If you're keeping score...give yourself one point for each correct answer. Anyone feel like sharing?)

Lights

It's been a few years since we have been to Temple Square during the holidays. Mostly because I'm a wimp. (It's true...I hate the cold.) In addition, the thought of corralling the children through the crowds of people always seemed a little more than I could fathom.

This year, however, I made a goal: we were going to take the kids to see the lights at Temple Square. Lucky for me, we haven't really had any snow yet this year. With daily temperatures hovering around 40˚ I knew we'd been given the go-ahead from mother nature. Yahoo!

I ended up taking more video than photos...but what I got were fairly representative of our evening.

Sticking tongues out at the camera:

Sisters getting along (surprisingly well):

And Junior, less than thrilled with the hoopla:

In spite of what that face tells you, we had a great time. Who knows...we might actually bring them back before another 10 years passes by.