On October 2nd, Malori turned 7 years old. She knew that her birthday was coming soon, but she wasn't like most kids who start counting 2 months before the day. It was just a few days before that she started the big count down. 4, 3, 2... It came so fast for her!

The night before her birthday she fell asleep in my bed watching t.v. She thought we were just being nice, but really it had to be. Naaman, Caleb, myself and sometimes Aspen were busy downstairs putting together a new buck bed. Aspen was in charge of keeping her upstairs. I don't think we finished till 2 in the morning. When all the bolts and screws were tight Naaman carried Malori down so that she could wake up in her new bed. I think we were so tired even in the morning that we never took a picture of the bed. She was very excited when she came up the stairs that morning. Ella was too!
Malori was not asking for much for her birthday. She wanted 2 barbies, art supplies, and silly bands, and she wanted a birthday party this year too.

2 great things happened on her birthday.

The first great thing: It just happened to be General Conference weekend.
I watched some friends of ours so that their parents and family
could go downtown the the Conference Center.
In the morning we watched Malori's friend Lizzy(not shown) and in the afternoon we watched Sunny. Having someone to play with all day long was so great for Malori.

The 2nd great thing: MY new kitchen table was delivered early that morning.
No this was not Malori's present, but it was the best part of the day...so I thought.
Finally a new kitchen table!
It was so nice to be able to fit so many at the table.
I LOVE IT!

I love Malori too!

Malori is so happy to be 7!

She is very fun and energetic. She is always giggling and full of life.
She has been learning Chinese in 1st grade.
She spends 1/2 the day with her English teacher and the 2nd half of the day
with her Chinese teacher. She is doing so well.
Malori's favorite thing to do is play with her friends. They like to play school together.
She loves peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. She would survive if that was all there was to eat. Her favorite restaurant is Noodles, though we don't go there very often.
She is taking Gymnastics and has loves it.

We have been celebrating Malori's birthday all month long. On Sunday October 10th, we had all the Jones' over for dinner and a party. It is always a big crowd, but we love having them over.

On Monday the 13th, Malori had a combined birthday party with one of her very best friend Sunny. Sunny is just 7 days younger than Malori. It is so fun that they are so close in age.
(This birthday party is going to be its own post.)
With all the parties that she had she was so excited to get so many silly bands.
She had so many on, they were starting to cut the circulation off of her hand.
Big smiles!

Last, but not least, we had a nice little party this weekend when we went to visit family in Bear Lake. Not all the family was there, but we decided to celebrate with cake and candles anyway!

Happy Birthday Malori! I love you!

Love Mom

Gil the Man!

It seems lately that I don't get all the things accomplished that I would like to.

Each day I try to tackle my huge list of things to do,
but each day it seems that I just get farther and farther behind.
I cannot stress over it, and I will not stress over it.
I just take each day as it is.
I know that this time is short, that I must love each moment that I have.
There may be dishes all over the counter, but Gil has a clean diaper.
There may be baskets of clean laundry waiting to be folded, but I am watching Gil jumping in his johnny jumper. Laughing!
My 'mail pile' is piled high, but I've got my camera out and I'm taking pictures of the little Man.
I may only make my bed 3 times a week, but I am playing peek-a-boo with Gil in the sheets.
My bathrooms should be sparkling, the bills paid, the car vacuumed, my basement organized, and the garage cleaned out...but who would teach Gil to wave "HI"? He has the cutest little wave, elbow and all.
I should have dinner on the table @ 6pm, but who would feed Gil?
I have weeds out in my (weed)garden that are 3 feet tall,
but Gil is growing big too!
Gil seems to be my main focal point...which I love.
He is at the top of my "list" everyday...which I love.
I love each moment that I have!

Gil is 9 months old today!

• He has almost mastered sitting up. I still put a pillow 6" behind him because after a few minutes he most likely will fall.(Yep...he is taking it slow.)
  
• He sleeps through the night til about 6:30 a.m.
• Gil has the cutest little wave ever. He gets his whole hand and elbow moving.
• He tries to say "hi" when he waves. Sometimes no noise comes out, but his mouth opens big.
• He loves his baths. Loves to kick and splash.
• ADORABLE!
  
• Ella calls him Dilbie because she can't say Gilbie, like Dad calls him.
  
• He got his first (much needed) hair cut just 1 1/2 weeks ago.
• He has the cutest blue eyes.
• Gil is a sweetheart. He has the cutest personality.
  
• Gil gets so excited when his Dad comes home from work.
• Tears! Gil is having his little "boy" surgery next week. Mom's a little nervous.

I love my little Gil!

Let's Celebrate!!

Today is Aspen's 10th Birthday.

I can't believe that it has been a decade since she was born. We had a lot of fun today. It was a great day for a birthday even though it was Sunday. The night before my kids have a birthday, I clean off the kitchen table and set out their presents for them to see when they wake up. I hang streamers in their doorway, blow up balloons and get ready for the big day. The kids love to wake up in the morning to see their birthday surprise! Aspen said that she (for 1 minute) forgot about her birthday, until she saw the streamers in her doorway. Usually I do crepe paper streamers, but ironically, one of her presents were ribbons streams that I had bought so she could decorate her new bedroom. I decided to hang them up instead. She really likes them. They remind me of the 70's.


She was so excited to open up her presents, but we made her wait til 9 am. Torture! Her big present was a new camera. I think she will love it and get a lot of use out of it. I can't wait to see all the fabulous pictures that she will take. Today we went to church and relaxed the rest of the day. It was her request to have steak for lunch and chocolate cake for dessert. We usually take the family out to dinner on their birthday, but since it is a Sunday, she choose to go out on Friday. Panda Express was where she wanted to go. Orange chicken.

Aspen has been a lot of fun to have around for the last 10 years. She has kept me on my toes. She loves to eat spaghetti and Chinese food. She likes school but doesn't like math. She loves to go shopping. Michaels, Justice, Claire's and Dollar Tree are her favorite places to shop. Right now she is having a "Cherry" fetish. She likes anything that has cherries on it...even real cherries. Her favorite color is orange. She wants to decorate her new bedroom in Orange. Orange it will be! She is taking piano lessons right now, but the question is...does she enjoy it? She is learning to sew. She is making her school teacher, who is expecting, a pink rag quilt.

We also celebrated Gil's big day today! Gil is 5 month old today.
Aspen helped me take pictures of him with her new camera.

• Gil is turning over from his tummy to his back. We had to stay so close when we were taking this picture so he didn't roll off.
• His neck and legs are getting stronger.
• I get soaked when he takes a bath because he splashes so much.
  
• He loves it when people talk to him.
• He is starting to reach for objects.
  
• Still sleeping through the night!!!!

4 months old

Gil is already four months old (and 6 days). I wish I could just freeze time. He is getting so big...Please stop! I soooo love the baby stage.

• Gil found his fingers!
• He loves it when people get close to him and talk in his face. He becomes ALL SMILES.
• Gil is still sleeping through the night. I am so thankful for this. I am a much nicer mom when I get my sleep.
• He has found his voice. He likes to talk(coo) to us. He coos just seconds before he falls asleep, as if he is trying to resist it.
• It is so much fun to listen to Gil giggle when we tickle under his chin. It is one of the highlights of my day.
• His neck is getting stronger, but not strong enough for his bumbo chair yet.
• Gil knows when I am fixing dinner. This seems to always be his fussy time.
• His hair is getting even longer. I get so many coments about how much hair he has. So cute!

I love my Li'l Gil

Credits to Malori. She is my photographer.

Braces!

Caleb got braces this last Monday (April 19th).
I think he was so excited.
I think he was excited to be checked out of school.
I think he couldn't wait.
I think he was in some pain after the Orthodontist put them on.
I think he was sore for a few days.
I think he lost a pound or 2 this week.
I think...actually, I know...that he likes them.
I know that he thinks he is cool!

He was sure a tease this week. When the subject of 'braces' came up he kept cool. He didn't want everyone to know that he got braces. I kept asking him if he needed any Tylenol, but he wouldn't admit to much discomfort. When he didn't eat much...I knew though. Feel special if you were one of those lucky ones that got to see his braces. He didn't smile to just anyone. He intentionally kept his smile closed. I think it was Thursday night before Aspen got to see them. We were all very surprised to see that he chose BLUE rubber bands. I would have bet money that we would have chose RED because he is a dedicated University of Utah fan. I think he looks handsome in blue braces! Caleb is growing up right before my eyes.

Blonde hair

Seriously?? I think every mother has to experience this at least once. Last night just before bed Malori came running into my room with a lock of blonde hair. "Mom, look what I found on the ground." The lock of beautiful blonde hair could only be little Ella's. When I confronted Ella she said, "But...but...but...but...I wanted to get my ponytail out." Thank goodness that it was only cut by her neck and chin, giving her a section of longer bangs. (It is really not that noticable.) A good learning experience for her though. It was just yesterday that I said out loud, "Ella's hair is getting long, she needs to get a hair cut." I wasn't meaning for her to do it though.

3 Months Old

Gil is now 3 months old. Seriously? It makes me sad to think that he is not a newborn anymore. He has been so much fun to have in our family. I don't get much done around the house anymore, but that is okay. I love the baby stage. I enjoy just holding him. I love this picture that I took today. I mimicked the picture that was taken of him when he was 12 days old. It is amazing what a baby learns in just a short time. He is getting some strength, he would not even hold still for a second. He is now 12.7 lbs and 23 inches long. After having 5 children I have realized that they don't stay little for very long.

Gil- 12 days old

• Last week he started sleeping through the night. 8 p.m.-7 a.m. I hope I don't jinx it. It feels wonderful to finally get some sleep again...notice that I am blogging this at 12:30 am. I should be sleeping too.
• He has been smiling when we talk to him for about a month now. So cute!
• I got him to laugh 1 time the other day when I was tickling under his chin.
  
• He knows who his mom is. Naaman says he calls me "FOOD."
• He is starting to hold up his wobbly head.
• He follows objects with his eyes and keeps eye contact with us if we are talking to him.
• His dad calls him "Gilbie." (What is wrong with Dad?) I definitely prefer "Lil' Gil."
  

HAIR! Gil definitely has some hair. Where ever we go people always say, "Look at his hair." I even hear bystanders whispering, "Look at that babies hair." Gil had a lot of hair when he was born and he never lost any, it is just getting longer. It is actually out of control. It just stands straight up or which ever way it wants to go. I tried putting gel in it the other day, but it just made it curly and then he looked like a girl. I didn't like that so I guess we will just stay with the out of control look. That is the style these days...right? We love our lil' Gil.

Gil's Blessing

Today was such a beautiful day! It was a great day for a baby blessing. The weather was nice; it was warmer than 40 degrees. The sun was gorgeous and the birds were singing. My heart was full and I felt very close to my Heavenly Father today. Lil' Gil was blessed by his father. The words in the blessing were beautiful. He was given the name Gilbert Ledger Jones. As we all know, I struggled a little with his name in the beginning, but I have had 2 experiences (today being one of them) since his birth confirming to me that Gilbert should be his name. I love his name and I hope he does too. I can't believe that Gil, my Lil' guy is almost 3 months old. He is so sweet and special. I am so thankful that Heavenly Father has trusted me enough to let me teach and raise another one of his precious spirits.

Myself and My Lil' Gil

Grandma Kearl and Gil

Gil received 2 blankets: Grandma Kearl gave him a soft white crocheted blanket and Grandma Jones gave him cute doggie blanket. Oh, he is going to love them.

After the blessing today we all crowded into our home and had a wonderful lunch; sandwich foods, salads, veggies, beans and the cutest ever desserts! It was so wonderful to spend time with our families. I am grateful that we could all be together. I doesn't happen often that I get to be surrounded by all the people I love. Some of our family traveled here to be able to share this exciting day with us, I am so grateful for them. My heart was definitely full today!

Sisters by Chance, Friends by Choice!!

I don't think Aspen has noticed, but I have been watching her closely these last few weeks. She has a big heart, especially when it comes to her little sisters. She is very good to them and makes sure that they are safe and happy. I can count on her to help her sisters. One day Aspen helped Malori do her chores. She helped her clean her room, clean the toy room and unload the dish washer, just so that Malori could go outside to play. Aspen helps Malori with her homework. Malori gets kindergarten homework that she is suppose to do a few things each week. One day the 2 of them sat down and did almost the whole month of homework because they were having too much fun. Tonight they worked on Mal's farm animal report that was due 2 days ago. (bad mom!) Aspen is 'talking up' the day that we move her and Malori back in together to share a room. (That could be because she wants a bunk bed.) Aspen has been a great friend to her sister.

One morning before school, Aspen and Malori got together and decided that they wanted to look like each other. They both had curls in their hair so they both put one clip in on the side. They then looked in their closets for outfits that matched. It had only been a few minutes when the both came out looking exactly like sisters. They were so excited to go to school like that. They were both giggling. I couldn't resist taking a picture.

This morning for St. Patricks Day they were so excited to dress in green. Aspen and Malori both had their outfits picked out the night before. They talked about how they should both wear their hair. Aspen was there to help both Malori and Ella get ready for the BIG GREEN day!

Aspen- Thanks for all your help. I couldn't do it without you. You are a wonderful friend to me too. I love you! Mom

Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew

Caleb has been working very hard these last couple of weeks memorizing lines for a school play; Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew. They put the play on for parents and students this week on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Caleb was one of the main characters. He was Petruchio. I think this was such a great opportunity for him and for all the kids in his class. They all did such a great job. They had to work together and help each other. They entertained the audience for almost a whole hour. I am so proud of Caleb. He had most of his parts already memorized before I even knew that he was doing this. He did it mostly on his own. It wasn't until these last few weeks that I got involved and started reading the other parts to help him practice. Memorizing his parts just came naturally to him. One day he counted 126 parts that he had to memorize. One of my favorite lines was:

"Why? I find you very gentle. Twas told me you were rough and coy and sullen, and now I find that to be a lie. For you are pleasant, courteous, a bit slow in speech, but sweet as spring time flowers. You don't frown or bite the lip as angry girls do. You entertain me with gentle conduct. Why does the world report that Kate has a limp? O slanderous world, Kate like a hazel twig is straight and slender, and as brown in hue as hazel nuts, and sweeter than the kernels. O, let me see you walk. Why you don't limp. Why you walk like a queen."

Petruchio(Caleb) and Katherine(Desirae)

Petruchio is a fortune seeker who enters into a marriage with a strong-willed young woman named Kate and then proceeds to "tame" her temperamental spirit.
In the play, Petruchio comes to the town of Padua in the hopes of marrying a wealthy woman. Hortensio suggests that he marry Kate Minola, as she is very rich and her marriage will allow her sister to marry as well. Petruchio takes an interest in Kate, owing to the dowry he could potentially receive, and agrees. During his first encounter with Kate, he matches her fierce temper and manages to convince her father that she passionately loves him but only pretends to hate him in public. The two are married, with Petruchio arriving at the wedding late and forcing Kate to leave the ceremony feast early.
Petruchio then starts to try to "tame" his wife in a variety of ways. He frightens Kate by yelling at the servants and prevents her from eating by insisting that the dishes are not good enough for her. He then offers Kate presents of dresses and jewelry, only to return them saying that they too weren't good enough. When Bianca and Lucentio are married, he refuses to let Kate go to the wedding unless she agrees with everything he says (no matter how false it may seem). He later puts her to the test by telling her that a man is a woman and that the moon is the sun - she agrees with both statements.
At the wedding, Petruchio is taunted by Hortensio and Lucentio for having married a "shrew". He proposes a contest to see which man has the most obedient wife: All three will call for their wives and see which ones respond. Of the three women, only Kate comes and a triumphant Petruchio is the winner. Petruchio then orders Kate to bring the other wives and give a speech telling them to honor their husbands.

In the play there was a kissing scene. (Of course they don't really kiss...thank goodness.) He told me that he blushed everytime that he had to practice this at school. His classmates gave him a good tease. Was this Caleb's favorite part?

I hope that Caleb is proud of himself and that he will have the desire to participate in more school plays especially when he is in High School. Good job Caleb. I love you! Mom

Paradox? or Paradise?

We were very sad to hear that Naaman's Grandmother, Dot Wilden Eades passed away on Saturday, February 20, 2010 at the age of 86. Grandma Eades was an incredible woman. We was always doing service and thinking of others. She was very talented. She was a great cook. She loved to can all her fruits and vegetables. I will forever miss her apple butter. For as long as she could, she always had a project in hand. She loved to crochet, knit and sew quilts. She made a quilt for each of her great grandchildren until 7 years ago when she was diagnosed with alzheimers. Caleb and Aspen will always cherish these quilts. Grandma Eades lived in a small town called Paradox, Colorado. It is also known as Paradise (so they called it). Paradox is a town that is like no other. It is an hour outside of Moab, Utah. I will do my best to describe Paradox. Paradox is a valley that is surrounded on all sides by steep cliff red mountains, much like the ones in Moab. The valley is almost the same size as the Salt Lake Valley, yet there is maybe a total of 30 homes. There is a post office, a small elementary school, a very small LDS church, a cemetery and many cows. Grandma was born and raised here and lived here the rest of her life. Grandma loved it in Paradox, but I am sure that she will now enjoy the real Paradise. We love Grandma and will miss her so much.

This last Monday I spent the day packing so that we could go to Paradox. We left early Tuesday morning and arrived at Grandpa's house close to noon. We spent the afternoon with Grandpa Eades and Naaman's parents. This was the first time that my Lil' Gilbert got to meet his Grandfather who he was named after. Gilbert Leeander Eades, who is now 95 years old. Grandpa gave little Gilbert a little porcelain shoe with his birth information written on it. Grandpa was so excited to give this to me and Gilbert. I think that Grandpa was ticked to have his grandson named after him. It was so great to spend this time with him. By the end day the house was full of all of Naaman's extended family. It was great to see everyone. That night we drove to another very small town 30 minutes away called Naturita, to stay in a motel. I laughed because Caleb kept calling it a 1/2 star hotel. What do you expect for such a small town?

Grandma's funeral was on Wednesday February 24, 2010. It was short, but very sweet. Many great memories and words were said. After the funeral we didn't want to bombard Grandpa so we went back to the motel and spent the rest of the day with cousins. We all enjoyed it. Thursday morning we packed up our things and went to Grandpa's house to eat breakfast. We took pictures and said our goodbye's as we left for home. Our hearts and prayers still remain with Grandpa. I am sure that things will be quiet and lonesome for him now. Oh, how I wish we didn't live so far away.

3 new babies!

3 new babies from heaven were reunited again...for the first time.

Grandma Kearl must be so excited to have her 3 newest grandchildren finally here. She got to see all 3 of them at the same time just last weekend (February 12th-15th). We were in Bear Lake for Rodney's blessing. I am quite sure that Makinlee, Gilbert and Rodney were up in heaven waiting together for their big day! They each have their own story. We are so grateful that they are here and healthy.

Little Makinlee was born unexpectedly 3 weeks early in Nephi when Marci went to her in-laws for Thanksgiving. We are glad that she listened to her instincts and went to the emergency on Thanksgiving night since she had not felt the baby move. After Marci had a c-section, CPR was performed on baby Makinlee so that she could be with us today. She was born November 27, 2009 weighing only 5 lbs.

I had a wonderful pregnancy. My complaints didn't start until I was neared the end. I was induced 4 days before my due date in fear that I was going to have a big baby. Gilbert was born on December 30, 2009. What a surprise when the nurse said that Gilbert was only 6 lbs 8 oz. I thought I could only have big babies. Gil was healthy other than he struggled with jaundice for 2 weeks. Putting him under the bili lights made me cry.

Rodney was the last of these 3 babies to come into this world. He was born just 4 days after Gil on January 3, 2010. This was Gil's due date. Amy, his mother was anxiously waiting for him to get here. She was sooo done being pregnant. Rodney is named after his 2 great grandfathers...and GREAT they were! Great grandfather John Rodney Moore and Great grandfather Alten M. Kearl. I am sure that little Rodney wont have a problem living up to his great name. Litl' Rodney also struggled the first few days of his life. He had to stay in the hospital a few day longer until he was able to keep his blood sugar level up. Despite what Amy may say, I think he is a good sleeper. He was asleep every time I saw him.

We are so grateful that our precious little ones are doing so well! We love them dear.

In this picture:

(right to left)

Gil 6 1/2 weeks

Makinlee 11 1/2 weeks

Rodney 6 weeks

We found some snow!

It has been a LONG winter.

Since the snow pays a big part in our life, I am always paying attention to the weather man to see what the weather is going to do. The Jones family likes it when it snows. In December is snowed quite a few times, 8 to be exact. There was not a lot of accumulation though. I think it only snowed an inch or two for each snow storm, not leaving much for great sledding. January was a month of just cold and haze. Snow in February? Since the month is half way over it doesn't look to promising. The kids and I have just been craving some good snow to play in.

We came to Bear Lake this weekend to be with family. Rich and Amy are blessing baby Rodney tomorrow. It will be a special day. We were so excited to know that Bear Lake had some great snow. We made sure that we packed the boots and gloves. Today the kids and all their cousins got on their snow clothes and went sledding down the hills by Rich and Amy's house. They all seemed to have a fun time. They didn't freeze too much. Uncle Rich pulled them around the block on a sled behind the 3 wheeler. That was the highlight for all of them.

Malori-playing in the snow...and showing off her missing two front teeth.

Shaylee, Noelle and Aspen...laughing and giggling!

Caleb sliding down the hill.

Noell and Aspen approaching the drop off! Ahh!!

Memories were definitely made today in the snow!

Date Night

You may think that we are crazy, but I'm telling you that we are not...Date Night is fun. We and 3 other families in our neighborhood have gotten together and formed a Date Night group. One weekend each month Naaman and I watch all the kids while the other 3 couples have a night out. We don't mind it because we know that the other 3 weekends of the month we get a night out without kids. I can't believe we have been doing this for a year and a half. The kids have gotta love it. They get to have a party every weekend.

There is nothing wrong with that.

Tonight at our house they started out playing basketball. 5 basketballs...

watch out, don't let one hit your head.

Adam made sure no time was wasted!
The tinker toys and the magnetic gears were the toys that the kids went for first. I think that the gears were constantly turning during the whole night.

Gil, the youngest of them all, slept during some of the excitement.

Little Benjamin just walked around and waved to me all night. So cute!

Ella and Gabrielle played babies.

The kids loved to play the piano. We have some 'little' composers in the group.

Thanks for the great music Nathan.

...and of course. We can't forget to play wii and playstation!!!

Aspen was so cute with the younger girls tonight. They all went into her room and she put beads in their hair. The girls were so excited...until they fell out later in the night.

Pizza again!
I do have to admit, it does get a little crazy when it is dinner time. Since our table is small we wanted to let the kids eat in shifts, but they were all to hungry. Someone said the word "DINNER" and they all came running. Before I knew it they were all making themselves at home on the floor. They thought it was great. It is a good thing I swept today.

Oh no - little Aaron didn't want to have his picture taken!

Nathan gave into the girls. He let them do his hair. They said

they were getting him ready to be their butler. I don't think Nathan

would admit it, but I believe he was having fun.

See what they did! Nathan...their masterpiece.

Caleb, Jacob and Caleb tried to watch Harry Potter.
Could they even hear with everything going on?

I counted the kids tonight.

5+5+5+3+1=19

We invited my little nephew Kasen too.

What is one more when you already have 18?

Hey kids, thanks for an entertaining night!