The countdown is on...

My hubby has been gone since Wednesday morning on a business trip to Orlando. I dread every time he leaves and I look forward to his return. It's amazing how different the feeling is in my home when he is gone. The stress levels are up, the responsibilities seem heavy, the Spirit he brings is missing and the love he demonstrates is gone! The boys have asked me numerous times where daddy is, when is he coming home, why did he leave, etc. The boys miss him and I miss him dearly! It's not the same when he is gone and I am so excited to pick him up in 4 1/2 hours and counting!

I LOVE coupons!

Two Stores + Two cranky kids + One frustated mom + Only $42 spent + $100 SAVED = THIS!!!!

Okay, so I know I am a little slow.... I have known about this whole coupon thing forever but I never really got into it for whatever reason. Not that I really have time for it ight now, but my mother-in-laws neighbor taught us the in's and out's of this whole coupon thing and slowly but surely I think I am getting the hang of it. I will admit, it starts to become addicting to see how much you can save and it's hard to spend money on regular priced items. Tomorrow morning I will hit the Kmart double coupon savings for all my non-food items (without kids)! Yipee!!

Idaho... Idaho!

As I mentioned previously, we just got back from Idaho about a week ago and I hadn't downloaded my pictures... until NOW! Yeah! All of my dad's family lives in Idaho and they have a Smart reunion (my grandma's side) every 2 years in the most beautiful place located about 2 1/2 hours north of Boise, called McCall. It's a beautiful (but cold) lake surrounded by pine trees and gigantic houses. We haven't had the chance to make it for several years (I have been married for almost 7 years and Glen Allen has never been to Idaho to visit my family - that's how long it's been). But fortunately, we were able to make this year and I am so glad we did. It was wonderful to see family, spend time with everyone and get out of the terrible AZ heat and up into beautiful Idaho. The first day there we stayed in Nampa (which is just outside of Boise) because the reunion didn't start until the next day. While in Nampa, we drove around to let the boys experience what real farms are like.

We stopped by a Buffalo Ranch....

We attempted to pick peaches but there were none left on the trees so we only got to move them from the farm bucket into our own bucket to take home....

Went to a park and actually enjoyed the toys because they were not scorching hot like the ones in AZ in the summer!

We visited another farm to get other produce (and ride the wood train)....

We picked corn which was delicious. I think we ate it for just about every meal while we were in Idaho for the week.... ( Jaxon wasn't too happy because he was hungry and tired by this point - can you tell?)

Found a ladybug in the process of picking corn...

See what I mean??? He was so tired for a hard days work of farming, that he crashed in the car the minute we were done picking corn.

We blew bubbles in grandma's back yard...

We attempted to got tubing down the FREEZING Boise river only to find out that they practically wanted your first born child and all that you possessed in order to rent a stupid tube... so we (well some of us did, the smarter of the bunch stayed out of the limb numbing water) just waded in the river instead....

Then it was to Aunt Linda's for dinner! Linda and Ken spend all summer in Alaska fishing and had brought back hundreds of pounds of fish. Glen Allen was in heaven (the boys and I ate pizza)!

The next morning we got ready to head up to McCall and found out it was raining... it poured the ENTIRE drive up... and for the next 2 days. Talk about depressing! I was so excited to get out of the heat to enjoy the normal beautiful 70 degree McCall weather, but instead we experienced 30's and 40's with minimal winter clothes (we didn't plan for cold and rain). Although we still managed to have fun with the crappy weather! The reunion was located at the Ponderosa Campground there in McCall. Some family stayed in condo's while others stayed at the campground. Luckily we went the condo route, thanks to grandma and grandpa Bean. It worked out great. It was only about a mile away from the campground so we spent most of the days with family at the campground and then came back to the condo for naps and bed.

Of course you can't go to McCall (with me) unless you make the three traditional food stops... famous to McCall.... My Father's Place, Ice Cream Alley and The Pancake House!!

The very first day we got there... first stop of the day was a restaurant called My Father's Place. I forgot my camera when we went in to eat because I was so excited, but they are known for their burgers and shakes! YUM!

Then we also made sure to visit Ice Cream Alley two nights in a row at about 10 pm! So good, but not good on caloric intake (but who cares when you are on vacation right???)

Then last but not least was the GIGANTIC cinnamon rolls at the Pancake House. Glen Allen and my brother Shawn picked them up and brought them back to the condo for pure blissful indulgence! They are covered in a thick layer of butter and frosting... to die for!

Enough about the food....

Because of the crappy weather most the time, we didn't really get to do much, which was fine because it was nice to just catch up with family. I hadn't seen some of my cousins (and their kids) for over 10 years or so and if half of them or their children were to have ever passed me on the street, I wouldn't have even known we were related. It was great to get reacquainted.

The last day we were there, grandma and grandpa thought it would be fun to rent jet skis for the day! The boys were not too fond of them at first but Jaxon finally warmed up to them and Glen David was more content just jumping off the dock and swimming around.

Here are the boys walking back to camp in their wet suits that obviously don't fit!

When the weather somewhat cleared up we took a drive up to the look out spot which was beautiful! It overlooks the lake....

On the drive home we stopped by the Snake river for a little lunch break while being completely entertained by the white water rafters making their way down the river.

Sunday night (I know a little sac-religious) we took advantage of the "legal in Idaho" fireworks and then settled into bed to catch an early flight out in the morning to come back home, which back fired on us. My aunt works for the airlines so we flew standby and after getting everyone up at 4:30 to try to make the 7:00 flight home, none of us made it on the flight because it was too full. So we headed back to grandma's for a morning nap and then tried again for the 2:00 flight. Everyone made it except for my dad, who ended up fliying home the next morning! Oh the joys of standby!

I would have loved to take a lot more pictures but my battery was dying and I forgot the charger. :(

Anyway, we had a blast... it was fun to get away, see family and be reminded again about how much I would LOVE to live in Idaho... if I could ever convince my husband!

New Callings!

I forgot to mention the latest news and big changes in terms of callings! Glen Allen was originally the Elders Quorum 1st counselor and I was the Home Family and Personal Enrichment Leader. A few weeks ago there were major changes in the boundaries of our stake so the bishop decided to change just about everything around. Glen Allen (are you ready for this??) is the new Young Mens PRESIDENT! Yup... my crazy husband is now the "leader" for all the young men in the ward. I gave the bishop a hard time when he called him and asked if he really knew what he was getting himself into. But in all seriousness, Glen Allen will do GREAT! He has already grown to love all those he works with and presides over. As for mine... I was afraid it would be nursery (when the counselor over the primary called me to set up a new calling visit) but luckily, I was called to the Activity Day leader (10-11 year old girls). I am really excited about the calling, although I will miss my HFPE calling. Change is never easy but it always makes for some fun and exciting times! Here's to our new callings!

Are you ready for this???

Can you believe it... I am ready to update!! I know it's been forever but here it goes... here is a recap of the events for the summer!

1st: Lake Trip!

The boys are just like their father so they LOVE the lake! Here are a few pictures from our first lake trip of the season.

Surprisingly, they were both very happy even though it was VERY early in the morning!

2nd: Jones 1st Official Family Reunion

For Father's Day weekend, we headed to Woods Canyon Lake for the 1st official Jones Family Reunion. The weather was beautiful except for the one night it poured the entire night! Luckily we stayed relatively dry for tenting it! We did a little relaxing, visiting, game playing, baseball and fishing.

We got there the day before the rest of the family to stake out a spot, which was nice to just spend some quality time together!
The hammocks were a big hit! We had three of them set up and I don't think there was much time the whole weekend when they were vacant!

Aunt Rachel, Jaxon, Kaydance and Price all snuggling together.

My little goofball!

Mommy and Jaxon at the lake while the boys were fishing... gotta love the camping look! :)

Glen was a little hesitant at first but he finally decided the worms weren't that bad...

The boys did a little fishing but unfortunately, they were not successful! There was only one catch of the trip... yeah Clayton!!

Baseball, baseball, baseball! We played a lot of baseball over the weekend. Glen is quite the hitter! Jaxon tried outfielding (with the make shift girly glove) but didn't have much luck... but he had fun trying!

3rd: Mommy and Jaxon

I have the hardest time getting Jaxon to smile for the camera. Usually the only way I can get him to smile is if we pose together or if I catch him off guard. Here is one just playing around....

4th: 4th of July

For the 4th of July this year we headed down to Cochise. Nana and Grandpa Allen have a house in Cochise that they are upgrading and they needed Glen Allen's construction/framing expertise so we decided to make a trip out of it. We enjoyed the infamous Benson donuts, helped Nana and Grandpa with the house, played a much needed game of hand and foot, played at the park, and ended the weekend with enjoying the Benson 4th of July parade. I love the feel of a small town... there was so much community support and seemed like everyone in the town was there at the parade. The boys loved watching the fire trucks, motorcycles and all the people go by. Plus it didn't hurt that they collected a TON of candy from everyone in the parade throwing it at the audience!

The boys all wanted to match daddy by wearing their "Team Jones" shirts we all got at the reunion.

The LDS float was the hit of the parade because they came through with a huge water truck and cooled off the crowd! It actually felt pretty good!

5th: WICKED!

My family (all the adults) went to Wicked at Gammage this year. It was AMAZING! I had seen it on Broadway in NYC but it was much better here in the valley! What a great night!

6th: Learning to Ride a Bike!

For whatever reason, we have procrastinated on teaching Glen to ride a two wheel bike. We finally took the training wheels off his bike and he rode it like a CHAMP! He never fell and rode it like it was old news! He did great! Jaxon wanted to join in on the fun so he tried as well and wasn't as successful! :)

Last but not least: Apache Lake!

Glen Allen hadn't ever been to Apache Lake so we decided to follow a group of our friends up there to spend the day. It was a great day full of wakeboarding, and major tube wars (which I must admit, I am now known as "the best tube driver ever")... and of course some major jammin' and dancin' to the tunes!! Right as we were headed off the lake, this HUGE wall of rain came in. What an experience... it's not easy getting a boat ramped in a down pour with major wind!

Well, there you have it! There is our summer so far in a nut shell! We just got back from a week in Idaho and I will update those pictures soon.