Odds and Ends

Here's a smattering of pictures to catch y'all up with what the Jones family has been up to...

Doing something with Delaney's hair.  Seriously it's a mullet that would make the reddest of rednecks proud.  But throw some pink bows in her hair and you have adorable pigtails.  Now the challenge is just keeping her from pulling them out!

At the beginning of the summer, I convinced myself that somehow I could join the Summer of Seals competition about 40 people from my church were doing.  I don't know if I was momentarily delusional or just a glutton for punishment, but here's the proof that I did it!  The competition consisted of working out four times every week, a 500 meter swim in under 15 minutes, as many situps, pull ups, and push ups (not the girl ones I prefer) you could do, and a 1.5 mile run in under 15 minutes.  When I started training, I could barely do the doggie paddle much less actually pull myself up on a bar.  Seriously questioning my sanity but I'm proud to say I survived.  Completing the thing was an accomplishment in and of itself, though I was the farthest thing in the world from an actual Navy Seal. 

This guy however won the whole thing.  He rocked it and would be waaaaay too shy to actually admit it so we'll leave that up to me.  He was so embarrassed he could barely take this picture and actually looking at the camera was just out of the question.  A huge thank you to Evan's sisters, CJ and Denise, who came into town for a visit and ended up watching our children for half of the day so we could compete.

One night our water heater decided to break and leak all over the floors, seeping underneath our laminate flooring, warping the floors with the full assurance of a mold outbreak if we didn't rip everything up.  After a few weeks of a construction zone in half of my downstairs, dipping into our savings, and finally convincing Evan that the scope of this job warranted hiring a handy man, we have new tile floors.

This summer I discovered the book, Divergent, and fell headfirst in love.  I found some of my friends who were fellow Divergent lovers and we headed to the local bookstore to get our copies signed.  As luck would have it, the bookstore had a rule that we had to buy the book from them to actually meet the author.  So we settled for a group photo and taking the handy dandy quiz we discovered at the back of my book.  Score!

My parents flew into town in October so that we could head down to South Bend for the BYU vs Notre Dame game.  We checked out the beautiful campus and watched BYU lose.  But we had a great time with my parents and loved having them here.

Evan and I in the Notre Dame stadium.  Rudy anyone??

 

Ushering in fall with the leaf blower.  And really, how could I leave this picture out?  I laugh every single time I see it.  

Our day of no labor

Over Labor Day weekend we did everything but labor.  It was seriously the weekend from heaven, a perfect way to close out our summer.  We were invited (thanks Katie!) to Lake Michigan for a day of playing in the sand, jet skiing, swimming in the lake, and soaking up the sun.  When we first pulled up to the beach, there was not a cloud in the sky, sailboats dotting the sparkling blue water, seagulls circling the sky and a beautiful lighthouse.  A lighthouse!  Can we say picture perfect!?!  It was amazing and in that moment I thought, I will live in Chicago for the rest of my life.  And then I remembered January in all of its icy tundra horror and scratched that thought forever from my mind.  But back to the best Labor Day ever.  The kids had an absolute blast.  They had lots of friends to play with and sand to bury themselves in.

My kiddos have always had the hardest time keeping pants up over their tiny bottoms.  Call it the Bohannon bottom curse (which hails from my sweet grandma).  Seriously Cade's swimsuit had 2 safety pins holding it tight around his waist and still no dice.  Thanks to Stacy for capturing this moment that was too cute for words.  After a full day of playing we had some tuckered out kids. 

 

So wiped out that my boys couldn't even eat their sandwiches sitting up.  They had to loll about in the sand to get the job done.  And in typical boy fashion, with a few calories in their system, they had the energy to run around like crazy again.

As for Evan and I, we did the jet skiing thing.  If you put my paranoid self with high speeds and a large body of water beneath my feet, I tend to get a wee bit nervous.  Luckily for all those I rode the jet skis with, I warmed up and was reminded just how fun that kind of stuff is.  Add in some good food and great friends to chat with and you have everything you need to bid summer farewell. 

School is Back

This boy was ready for first grade.  A little nervous too, but mostly ready.  Let's keep things real and say we both were.  Colt absolutely loved having eight hours of his day during kindergarten planned out.  He was on the go all the time and reveled in it.  Fast forward to summertime when Mama doesn't plan out every second of your day and I think it's safe to say we were both frustrated.  So come the first day of school, this boy was ready to take on the world.  Or at least the first grade part of it.

In true mom fashion, when it came time to actually say goodbye to him, I wasn't ready.  It must be in the mom part of my DNA.  When all is said and done, it's hard to let go.  Not kindergarten hard, but still.  You know what I am ready for?  The open mouthed crazy smile to go.  Guess he loved seeing his crazy T-ball picture so much, it's sparked a new fad.

As soon as I was on my way out the door though this boy was focused and ready to get down to business.

The traditional after school cookies.  Since I didn't have a two-week old this year, I baked the requested M&M cookies.  And of course, Delaney was there to beg for her share.

A week later, it was Cade's turn for his first day.  He's going to a Pre-K program at our local presbyterian church which he absolutely loves.  He comes home singing, "He's got the whole world in his hands...." and "This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine..." to name a few.  I'm also doing a joy school with five other moms from church twice a week.  I think it's safe to say we have preschool covered this year.

Here he is after his first day.  For the life of me, I could not get him to stop squinting for this pic.  Guess having lived in Chicago for most of his life, he's not all that used to the sun.  Can't believe this boy is going to be in kindergarten next year!  Good thing I have my Delaney girl to keep me company.

Happy birthday to little miss!

While Evan was on his trip, we celebrated our sweet girl's first birthday.  We definitely missed having her daddy around to celebrate, but were lucky enough to have the rest of my fam there ready to party. 

Delaney's first birthday gift was from my dad when he walked in the door from work at 5 pm, which I think is the first time I've ever seen that happen.  Delaney was pretty thrilled about it.

After dinner we broke out the pink cupcakes and seriously, Delaney didn't really know what to do with herself much less the cupcake.  With some serious prodding, she decided to take a test bite. 

And realized that cupcakes were definitely one of the better things in life.  We considered it a success.  Some pizza, cupcakes, presents and Papa home by 5?  Not a bad way to celebrate your first year.

We love our sweet Delaney something fierce.  She is such a happy, content girl who pretty much never complains, unless she's hungry.  I, of course, have no idea where she gets that from.  Her favorite foods are peas, beans, and oranges.  Weird, I know, but true.  And of course anything even remotely in the cupcake family.  She's adored by her brothers, spoiled by her dad, and my little sidekick.  She's been such an easygoing girl I know I've been forever spoiled.  We consider it a true blessing when she joined our family a year ago.  Happy birthday to my girl!

Roadtripping, Part II

After our week of fun in San Antone, the kids and I stayed in Austin to hang out while Evan headed to Utah to do a little of this...

Every couple of years, Evan meets up with some of his longtime best buddies to have a "mancation" as he calls it.  They do all sorts of manly things that, though I'm sure Evan would have a blast doing with his ultra daring, thrill seeking wife, are a little more enjoyable with his buddies.  This year included: cliff jumping, jet skiing, rock climbing, water skiing, four wheeling, getting dirty, and since they're all from Cali, saying the word "dude" about a million times (trust me, I've seen the video footage).  So while he was off getting his much needed, well deserved man time on, I stayed in TX with my girls and let the cousins run wild.

This included baths in Nana's tub.  Look at all those cute, white bottoms!

Poor Delaney.  Girlfriend can't take a real bath yet because of her kidney issues, but she had fun watching.

Some serious cousin bonding.  We live so far away that I loved watching my boys get to know and become friends with their awesome cousin, Gavin.

Blue Bell Ice Cream factory tour.  At the end of the tour is free ice cream so needless to say, an enjoyable time had by all.

Since we were in TX, most of the boys' days were spent here.  Nothing says summer like popsicles in the pool and I loved soaking up every bit of it.  After the kiddos were in bed, I spent some quality time hanging with the fam, eating my Tex/Mex, cheering on Team USA.  We left for home the week before school started, with some wonderful summer memories made.  I think I'll go ahead and toss the memories of the drive back.  Thanks to all my family for a great vacation!

Roadtripping, Part I

This summer we planned our main vacation down to Texas.  Or as I liked to call it, my sabbatical, since I was gone for over three weeks.  It just made sense to leave the Chicago heat for the more stifling, scorching Texas temps.  Here the kiddos are right before we got on the road for the two day drive down.

Everyone's happy, rested, ready for the much anticipated vacay.  As my mom will attest this was the antithesis of our drive home.  Oh, heaven help me the road trip back was the worst ever in the history of road trips.  Ever.  But back to our happy drive down.  We stopped in nowhere Missouri where Delaney proceeded to eat an entire cheeseburger by herself.

And her mama was proud.  She was pretty proud of herself too, apparently.  We made it to Austin safe and sound just to give hugs all around and drop the kids off, then Evan and I headed for a little getaway of our own in San Antonio.  We considered it a "Happy 8 years" to us a few weeks ahead of schedule.  We stayed in a cute bed & breakfast, ate amazing food (if y'all are ever in San Antonio please do yourselves a favor and eat at La Fonda on Main), slept in, went shopping, watched late night movies and just hung out.

Here we are on the Riverwalk, happy, relaxed, and what's more, rested!  Two thumbs up for a little time just the two of us.  I highly recommend it.  After a couple of days alone, Ash and Logan made the trip out and we met at Adam and Valerie's house for some delish grilling out.

It was so great to hang out, play games and eat some amazing steaks.  Thanks for hosting us all Adam and Valerie!  The next day before we headed back to the kiddos, we stopped for brunch at this amazing old house that has been renovated. 

So pretty!  And we did what we Carletons do best and ate ourselves silly.

A huge, huge thank you goes out to my mom and sister, Heather (who flew down from Utah) for watching all of our kids, which is not for the faint of heart.  Like, the time when Cade woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't find the bathroom and ended up...ahem...peeing all over my mom.  Not for the faint of heart.  By the way, Mom, I think I owe you a cookie.  Probably two.

A Summer Update

I was really looking forward to this summer.  What with me not being pregnant with ankles the size of my thighs and Evan taking a nice, long break from school, I was giddy with thoughts of summer bliss. Now for the reality check.  Since Colton went to all day kindergarten pretty much as soon as I had Delaney, this summer was the first time I'd had both boys home all the live long day.  Let it be written that we've seen our fair share of havoc and some serious, costly destruction.  Factor in Evan being the busiest he's ever been in his career and there went my scrapbook moments.  Of course, there have been good times this summer, even great ones, so here's a little recap of some of them.

 

I was expecting my birthday to be a pretty normal day.  Changing diapers, making lunches, gorging on cake and ice cream.  Evan pulled through though and planned a great date to the city.  I've been telling him for a couple of years that I want to take an architectural tour of the city.  Here we are on the boat ride getting an awesome view of the Sears Tower (I know it's the Willis now but it will forever live on as the Sears Tower in my heart).  The tour was just as good as I thought it'd be and double bonus points for Evan proving once again that he really does listen when I talk.  We capped the day off with dinner on Michigan Avenue and a cookie cake all for me. 

Well...a cookie cake all for me and these three hooligans.  A successful 31st birthday that I got to share with my favorite people.

We celebrated the 4th with some steak and ribs.  How's that for ringing in Independence Day Texas style, not to mention my patriotic cake.

Going to the pool with this girl.  Oh melt my heart, I can't handle it.  I think I might have kissed Delaney 5,349 times this night.  Her chunky thighs in her pink swimsuit with that hat is something I always want to remember.  I love her too stinking much.

T-ball with Colton.  This picture pretty much sums up the season.  He was beyond excited every time he had a game and loves that trophy something fierce.  Also, take a moment if you will and compare this grass to the stuff in Cade's bday pics.  Hello, drought!  And hello, awesome mom and siblings sitting in the 100 degree weather watching Colt play!

Finally, a picture of this sweet little lady because that bottom is just too darn much and this blog can't have too many pictures of her.

13.1

Back in February, I got talked into doing a half marathon.  This from the girl who had to train for a 5k (remember that??) so based on my past experience, I don't know what kind of crazy mental state I was in to think I could add ten miles onto that.  I was told I'd get into shape (baby weight to lose? check), feel an amazing runner's high, and by paying some serious cash to run this thing I figured I'd be all sorts of motivated.  So with visions of me crossing the finish line (heck, winning the whole thing!), smiling as I waved to the adoring crowds, I started training.  By the time I was running four miles without passing out, I altered my dreams and aspirations to merely crossing the finish line, preferably not in the ambulance.  Along the way, I talked Evan into running with me so that he could tell me all sorts of encouraging, motivational words of wisdom and truth be told get me an extra gatorade if needed.

Here we are before the race starts.  I feel happy and fully confident in the fact that if I fall, Evan can just give me a piggy back ride home. 

Here's proof that I really ran the thing!  See Ocean Michigan?  The Chicago skyline?  All picturesque right???  Sure.  If I'd had Evan holding a beach umbrella over my head like I was the Queen of Sheba or something.  It was so stinking hot by this point.  I'm thinking about 90 degrees and I was absolutely dying.  Shriveling up, stick me in an ice bath stat, dying. 

After pouring probably a gallon of gatorade over my head, I made it to the finish line.  Here's the picture to prove it (see that medal?) though the proof really lies in the fact that I look like death warmed over.  And that's putting it in a nice way.  Also, for the record there is no such thing as a runner's high, at least not for this girl.

One year older

Cade at his preschool graduation this spring

So this cute guy turned four.  And now that we've opened up that big, wide door to birthday parties (apparently once you have one, you never stop having them), Cade ordered up a space birthday for him and some of his buddies.  Let's be honest for a moment and talk about my utter and complete lack of creativity.  Seriously, I'm missing out big time on that gene.  So I told my money saving hubby that if he would be in charge of all things space game related, I would make the cake.  Yes folks, make the cake.  It has been well documented in blog posts of birthdays past, I order the cake and order it well. 

Evan came through on his end of the bargain, including alien pinatas, a rocket launch off, black hole balloon games, and a planet and star scavenger hunt to name a few.

The kids seemed pretty happy with it all.  Well in all reality, Cade doesn't look so happy here.  But it's the best we got so take my word for it he was happy.  It was only fair after all of Evan's hard work, that I come through on my end of our deal.

Bottom line, is it's harder than it looks and this was probably the easiest recipe known to man.  So I know that I'm supposed to love making the cake.  That it should fulfill me.  That I should love tapping into my inherently born mother duty to make my child his birthday cake.  But, when all is said and done I like ordering the cake.  I'm really good at it and I'm not sure I want to mess with a good thing.  But for this guy on his fourth birthday, it was well worth it.  Happy birthday to our wonderfully feisty, funny, sweet Cade!