Dylan's 13th Birthday!!!!

My little guy is getting to look like a little Man!

Happy to see MONEY!!!!

Aunt Megan with her Handsome Nephews!!!

Dylan and Zach...cousins!

Christmas......A different perspective!

Zumba....My new addiction!!

This is a new exercise class that I have been doing and I am HOOKED!! I have NEVER had so much fun exercising in my life! You burn 500-700 calories in an hour and have a blast doing it! I sometimes go twice a day when I have the time. Try it you'll love it! CLICK HERE TO FIND A CLASS!

Eric and Tiff's Annual Halloween Party!!!

Zack, Madison and Abby Our (Nephew and Nieces)

Zack and Dylan

Madison and Abby

Whitney's Homecoming 08'

Whitney and Alex

Beautiful day in the park

My little girl....grown up!

Our Reality...

I was just thinking how nice it will be when I have more to share than just the latest on our construction. I would love to tell you that Dana and I just returned from a long romantic week in Mexico or how we had a wild weekend in Vegas but the reality is that we had a grueling weekend siding our house! We had my family over for what we are calling a siding party! Which means I lured the guys and gals over to our house promising food and beer in exchange for hammers and hard work. We did manage to get the entire front sided we still have shutters and painting to do but it's done! What a relief. Now we have both dormers and about 1/2 of the back of the house to do. My poor Dad who just retired is probably wishing he was still working. We have kept him busy! We sure couldn't have done it without family!

Now we're Cookin'

Wow...it's been awhile! I couldn't believe when I saw it was September 11 when I last posted! Well I have a pretty good excuse we have been so BUSY!!!!! It as been a juggling act lately with work, school functions, kids, remodeling and party planning! In fact looking back September is a complete blurr. We are now 100% done with our kitchen as of yesterday! We have moved on to siding our house. We are stripping the old shakes off...wrapping the house....and putting up new siding and windows. Our goal is to have the house 90% done by next weekend... we'll see how it goes. After that is done we have a contractor coming back and replacing our living room ceiling and some drywall (damaged from the flood as well) and have the new carpet installed. We are hoping to be done with everything by Thanksgiving. It was funny...yesterday morning our neighbor from across the street came over and said to Dana "geez you guys could have built a whole new house with all the remodeling you have done over the last 8 years!" It is so true! This will be our last 'fixer-upper'.

Remembering....we will never forget!

We're Almost Done!

Well, after almost 3 months of home construction we can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel! Here is a picture diary of where we've been and where we are now!

Ahhhhhh.....Peace finally!

The kids are back to School....no more "I'm bored" or "What are we going to do today?" or my favorite " Can I have 10 dollars for....". All I hear is .....SILENCE!!!!! I can even hear Baxter snoring all the way in the other room! Don't get me wrong I love my kids and actually by the end of the school year I am excited for the extra time with them. This past summer was not so fun for anyone in the Jones household... all the stress of the kitchen being under construction kind of zapped the fun right out of it. So today as I dropped Dylan off at school, it felt like a new beginning...a fresh start for everyone!

Quote of the Day

"Love is everything it's cracked up to be. That's why people are so cynical about it...It really is worth fighting for, risking everything for. And the trouble is, if you don't risk everything, you risk even more."

We're Out of Here!

We are getting packed for a much needed break from our home construction this weekend! We are heading up north to the cottage to spend the weekend with my parents and sister. It's going to be a nice break from the non-stop sound of drills, saws and nail guns! Also this weekend, we are going to be a part of my Aunt and Uncles 50th Wedding anniversary party! So it will be great to see all of our family together again! Have a great Weekend!

Home Construction Update

Our house is getting there slowly but surely. It seems when everything gets going, there is always something right around the corner waiting there to slow us down. The latest being our hardwood floors! When we ordered our flooring we were assured it would be here today or tomorrow...allowing us time to get it installed before our kitchen cabinets are delivered on Friday. I recieved a phone call today saying that the flooring will not be delivered until Friday at the earliest!! So we are going to have to rethink our schedule to accommodate the latest turn of events. We have a drywall finisher starting Tuesday and he should be done by Wednesday or Thursday with the drywall ...and then we are ready to paint. Whitney and I were out all day looking for colors and we think we have them picked out! We are doing away with our Sage green walls and doing something completely different so we are excited to see what it will look like. The floors and cabinets will be installed sometime next week and after the cabinets are in the Corian countertops get measured templated .... 2 weeks later they are installed. I have to remind myself that we do have lots to be thankful for ...we have had a lot of people here to help out, send over meals, and many other generous acts. We are hoping the kitchen will be completely finished by the second week in September! It will be so great to finally post the finished product!

Momma Mia! Movie Review

So last weekend my mom, sister, and I went for a girls afternoon out to the movies! After looking through the reviews we chose Momma Mia. I hadn't heard much about it so I was cautiously optimistic. I have to tell you, it was ABBA-solutely fabulous! It had all the key elements of a great movie...hot guys...love story...great music...and hilarious! The movie is based off the broadway play and is set to Abba music! By the end we could hardly contain ourselves as they sang Dancing Queen. My mom said it was the best movie she had seen in a decade! That is saying alot since she is not a lover of movies in general! In fact the very next day she took my Dad and he loved it as well. I had to do some fancy talking but I got Dana to go with me tonight and he said he gave it a 9 out of 10. It is a feel good movie!

(As a tribute my blog music player has some Abba hits!)

Tuesday Tell All

Cascades Park, Jackson, MI

Tell me about your favorite places close to home.

Favorite Place To:

~Grab lunch~Qdobe, Taco Bell or Jimmy Johns.

~Go for Date Night~ Daryl's Downtown or Mongolian Barbeque

~Pick up some creative goodies~Joann's Superstore, and Micheals

~Get wet~Michigan Adventure or Cedar Point

~Buy a treat~Uncle Johns Cider Mill for a warm Donut and the BEST Apple Cider you've ever tasted!

~Shop for fun~Macy's, Target, Gap

~Get some fresh air~Walk through Cascade park at sunrise

~Splurge~ Department store Makeup...I am all about the makeup counter!

~Drive for a weekend away~My parents cottage on a lake in Northern Michigan

Peel a banana from the bottom and you won't have to pick the little 'stringy things' off of it. That's how the primates do it. Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store. If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster.

Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil. It will stay fresh much longer and not mold!

Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating. Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.

Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef. It will help pull the grease away from the meat while cooking.

To really make scrambled eggs or omelets rich add a couple of spoonfuls of sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy cream in and then beat them up.

For a cool brownie treat, make brownies as directed. Melt Andes mints in double broiler and pour over warm brownies. Let set for a wonderful minty frosting.

Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste of garlic and at the end of the recipe if your want a stronger taste of garlic.

Leftover snickers bars from Halloween make a delicious dessert. Simply chop them up with the food chopper. Peel, core and slice a few apples. Place them in a baking dish and sprinkle the chopped candy bars over the apples. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes!!! Serve alone or with vanilla ice cream. Yummm!

Reheat Pizza Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-l ow and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza. I saw this on the cooking channel and it really works.

Easy Deviled Eggs Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg. Just throw bag away when done easy clean up.

Expanding Frosting When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost more cake/cup cakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar and calories per serving.

Reheating refrigerated bread To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food moist and help it reheat faster.

Newspaper weeds away: Start putting in your plants, work the nutrients in your soil. Wet newspapers, put layers around the plants overlapping as you go cover with mulch and forget about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening plastic they will not get through wet newspapers.

Broken Glass Use a wet cotton ball or Q-tip to pick up the small shards of glass you can't see easily.

No More Mosquitoes Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes away.

Squirrel Away!To keep squirrels from eating your plants, sprinkle your plants with cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant and the squirrels won't come near it.

Flexible vacuum: To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can be bent or flattened to get in nar- row openings.

Reducing Static Cling: Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when wearing pan ty hose. Place pin in seam of slacks and ... ta da! ... static is gone.

Measuring Cups: Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot water. Dump o ut the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out.

Foggy Windshield? Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of your car . When the windows fog, rub with the eraser! Works better than a cloth!

Reopening envelope: If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something inside, just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. Viola! It unseals easily.

ConditionerUse: your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's cheaper than shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a great way to use up the conditioner you bought but didn't like when you tried it in your hair.

Goodbye Fruit Flies! To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass, fill it 1/2' with Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dish washing liquid; mix well. You will find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever!

Get Rid of Ants: Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it 'home,' can't digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so, especially if it rains, but it works and you don't have the worry about pets or small children being harmed!

Week in Review

Well it's been quite a week! We have been busy... busy.... busy!!! Here's whats been going on in the Jones' home. We have been working on the kitchen...I know boring! On Wednesday, I turned 35 and had a great day with my family and my mom even made me my favorite peanut butter cake! Check out my recipe blog @ www.ourjonesfamilyrecipes.blogspot.com for the recipe...shameless plug I know :-) We had a fun night out with my parents and siblings on Friday... it got crazy! (It involved a car full of adults and the YMCA dance... I wish I had a video!) Saturday started out great! We were getting a lot done in the kitchen and Dana had just started cutting the stringers for new stairs when the unthinkable happened! He caught his right hand in the table saw! We rushed to the hospital and he ended up having surgery to reattach 2 fingers and reconstruction on 2 others. The good news is that he will have no permanent damage to his hand function!!!! Praise the Lord! The not so good news is that our kitchen project will take a little longer than we had hoped or planned for. That part is driving him crazy! I have been giving him the same advice he always gives me when I am frustrated or worried about something...he always says "Can you change it? No...then don't worry about it." We have a lot to be thankful for on this Monday! The contractors began today and made a lot of progress which lifted our spirits once again. God is so good that way! He knows just what you need when you need it!

Your Not Alone

While I was surfing blogs today on the internet I came across this Christian song by Meredith Andrews, and it connected with me! It's something we all need to remember that no matter what we are feeling or going through, we are NEVER alone. God is always right there just waiting for us to lean on Him.

Vacation Remix

Just something fun!

There's No Place Like Home

Well...we are back home from trip to Minnesota and getting back into our daily routines. We had a fantastic time in Minnesota... it was fun catching up with family we hadn't seen in a while, and the weather was perfect! We got to meet the newest addition to the Jones family...Miles Lewis! He is going to be another heart breaker! Dylan and Isaiah became great buddies and Lindsay kept us entertained with her witty personality...the guys and Melissa got to show their skills on the golf course while Becky and I held down the home front with the little ones.... late night chats between brothers.... roasting marshmallows in the back yard fire pit...watching the kids faces glowing from the light of their sparklers.... evening chats on the backyard swing...Isaiah amazing us with his golfing skills... Horse Balls.... water fights... too much chocolate ...an evening out to Famous Dave's... fireworks in the front yard... Daisy and Baxter. So many memories were made and it was sad when it was time for all of us to go our separate ways. It all went by so fast! Until the next time.....

Tuesday's Tell All: My Love List

• pizza
• autumn
  
• pumpkins
• decorating
  
• watching my kids play Rockband
• juicy tubes (Lancome)
  
• my hubby and kids
• walks through the park at sunrise
  
• road trips
• tivo
• exercise
  
• cooking
• The Medium
• cinnamon potpourri
  
• my puppies
• brownies
• the first snowfall
  
• a clean house
• Halloween
  
• chocolate
• coconut smell
  
• scrap booking
  
• watching movies
• roller coasters
  
• lying in the hot sun
• laughing
• eating out at nice restaurants
  
• sleeping in
• peanut butter
  
• shoes
• my house
• flip flops
• family vacations
• planning for a next vacation
• feeling happiness inside
• shopping
• naps
• decorating
  
• Christmas lights
• good friends
• Thanksgiving
• waterparks
• humor
• candlelight
• TCBY
  
• Taco Bell
• American Idol
• Dana's chips and salsa
• steak
• going somewhere new
  

Family Fun in Minnesota!

Friday's Freak Out

I just finished packing for Minneapolis and I spent most of the day spinning my wheels. So many minute tasks that should have taken minutes but ended up taking me forever ....and why is it that the dryer takes SO much longer than the washer! Ughhhhh! We will be leaving first thing in the morning and will be gone for a week. I have to say I am looking forward to escaping the mess from the construction going on in our house. Images of the Mall of America are swirling in my head! I think a little retail therapy is just what the doctor ordered! Have a great Weekend!

Summer Fun

This past week we took Dylan and friends (Spencer and Olivia)to the local water park for some sun and swimming. They were so excited for their first trip to the pool! It was a beautiful sunny hot day...perfect! I love taking them there it is so relaxing to lay out...read a book and just do nothing for a couple of hours! Ahhhh....to be a kid again.

Before and After

Patience

It's been a week now since the water disaster in our home. We have made some progress but it's sure turning out to be a slower process than we would like. A water restoration company came in and dried everything out...they had their dehumidifiers and fans running for a week straight. They completely gutted the kitchen. All our appliances need to be replaced, along with our kitchen cabinets, counter tops, flooring, tiling, new carpeting throughout the house, new bathroom...etc.... The insurance adjuster came out yesterday and was here for 3 hours surveying the damage. We have picked our contractor and as soon as the Insurance company has their quote and approves everything we can get going on getting our home back to normal. The contractor said he would start after the 4th of July and it would be about a month of daily construction work. Let me also say that eating out every night is not helping my diet out at all!!! Keep praying!

When it rains it pours....literally

If you hadn't already heard Dana and I came home from a long weekend at the cottage to quite a big surprise! It was late Sunday (Fathers Day) we had a fantastic day and stopped for a Fathers Day dinner with my family. It was pretty late when we finally drove into the driveway. We all piled out and each grabbed a piece of luggage from the trunk and headed for the front door. As Dana unlocked the door Dylan rushed in and before we stepped in we heard "Dad...did someone leave the water running?...I hear water running" My first thought was he was hearing the sound of the toilet running or something....nope....no such luck! We headed towards the sound of rushing water....*hearts pounding...praying that it wasn't what we were imagining* ....it was worse. Our entire ceiling in our kitchen was laying on the kitchen floor. We stood there for a second trying to soak in (pardon the pun) what we were seeing. We snapped to reality and realized water is still gushing so upstairs Dana ran to find where this was coming from. A tubing that connects from the water pipe to the toilet had sprung loose and was spraying water everywhere, like an out of control water hose. After, we surveyed the damage and noticed that water had saturated the upstairs...down the stairway....onto the living room ceiling...the dining room.... basement...and the worst of all the kitchen! So here I am tonight sitting here with the sounds of industrial strength dehumidifiers roaring and about 8 turbo charged fans... I feel like I am in a wind tunnel! We have been told nothing in the kitchen is salvageable and we are waiting to see if the wood floors will be able to be saved. The bathroom Dana has been working on for months is totaled. While we are glad to get a new kitchen the prospect of the upcoming months of restoration is daunting. Keep us in your prayers!

Family

I just got home from the gym and I am so glad I decided to go this morning. You know half the battle for me is just getting up and lacing up my tennis shoes after that I'm good to go. Your mind can make so many justifications when your all warm and cozy in your bed. Like... "Oh I'll work out later" or "I'll just skip it today" . It is so nice to have it over with and get on with my day...I wish I could remember this feeling every day at 7am. Well...we are all packed and ready for our trip to the cottage. Dana actually took a day off and we will have a nice 3 day weekend! We are helping my parents shingle the roof of their new pole barn so it will go by pretty fast I'm sure. We have had several parties the past few weekends. We went to my brothers for a "Roofing Party" and before that we had a "pole barn building" party! You know to most that doesn't sound too fun but anytime you can have all your family around and work together to help one another it's a great thing! The best part is that come September WE are having a "house siding" party and my family will be right there to lend us a hand! I love my family!

Have a Great Weekend!

Stacey

Our Memories

Together....

Wow...I can't believe it's been 17 years since we started our journey together! It was so scary, we had struggles and trials to overcome but we did it! We were so young and naive when we first were married (yet we thought we had life figured out). We were 18 married with a baby on the way...not the best way to start off. We made our share of wrong turns....mistakes were made....lessons were learned..... and we grew together through all of it. We had times where we looked at each other and thought WHOA... who are you? We kept on changing and found that our love was the glue that held us together even when we were not at our best! I love you!

Getting Older...

I can't believe how fast time flies by! Where do the years go? I still feel like I should be in my early twenties... however I will be 35 in July! Looking at pictures of the kids today and I can't believe how fast they have grown! We are about to have not one but 2 teenagers...how is that possible? When your young your parents are always telling you to stop and enjoy your childhood..."don't rush to grow up..." they would say. We of course thought they knew nothing and kept rushing to the next birthday. We all need to stop and enjoy all the little moments in life and stop rushing to the next.