six flags...again

We headed to six flags again for the last night of fright fest this past weekend. We LOVE this place!

trunk or treat 2012

While Cary and Braeden were in MO at the soccer tournament, Kate, Joshua and I went to our annual ward Trunk or Treat.  Can I just say how cute these kids look in their costumes?

Kate chose to be a gypsy so don't confuse her with a "pirate girl" as she likes to say.  I totally made this costume all by myself minus the shirt I found at Old Navy for 4 bucks.  LOVE the way it turned out!

Joshua was undecided as to what he wanted to be up until about 3 hours before the party.  I kind of bribed him to be a nerd with a new lego minfigure.  Hey, whatever works.  It was cheap and easy.  He is the perfect nerd.

And me, I am always a last minute costumer myself. I just raided Braeden's closet and borrowed his soccer referee gear.

The loot...this is the most fun for the kids.  Emptying the candy bags and organizing it all in to categories.

More Halloween to come soon...MUAHAHAHAHA!!!!

hooligans

Cary and I needed some alone time so we decided to take a leisurely drive without the kids. Cary was giving the kids the rundown of all the rules like we normally do when we leave , when Kate said, "Please don't leave me with these hooligans." (meaning her brothers) Too much TV maybe?

Braeden's first ER visit

Braeden participated in his very first soccer tournament in Springfield, Missouri over the weekend with his HSAA soccer team. It didn't go exactly how he had planned. In the last to 2 minutes of the first game he went up to head the ball and another kid on the opposite team going for the ball at the same time nailed Braeden in the head with his shoulder. Braeden went down and was taken out of the game. He thought he was feeling ok and tried to play in the second game, but at halftime he called it quits. His head was killing him and he was feeling nauseous. Cary took him to the emergency room and he was diagnosed with a slight concussion and told he was not aloud to play in the rest of the tournament. He was totally bummed. Cary and Braeden stayed in MO to cheer on his teammates and he did ultimately end up having a good time, despite not playing. His team took 2nd in their division and 5th overall. Their varsity team won won the championship so they were all super excited about that.

Braeden is home now and recovering. He is suppose to take it easy, but that is so hard for him to do. We will go back to the doctor in the next week or so and see what they have to say. Of course, Braeden is hoping he will be released to play in their first season game on November 3.

PS...Braeden has been playing soccer since he was 4. He has tried various other sports over the years and this was his first visit to the ER and injury ever...lucky boy.

josh's army

As I was going through all the pictures on my camera, I found this one. Joshua lined up all his lego men army-style with a fearless yellow leader.

biological compounds

Braeden recently did another lab for Biology. He was testing different substances to see whether or not they contained starch. It was very cool...and he even looked kind of mad scientist-ish.

fright fest

We took the kids to Six Flags a few days ago and had so much fun. Love that place!

too cute

friday night lights

Kate, Joshua and I went to the Lobos homecoming game on Friday night. It was tons of fun but it was freezing. We are wimps when it comes to cold weather...one of the reasons we LOVE Texas so much. Anyway, the Lobos won 49-12..I think, and we got to see Cole Beasely have his #11 football jersey retired.

sick

This is how Joshua has spent the last 3 days..

He came home from school on Monday feeling terrible. Today he is feeling much better and we are hoping he goes back to school tomorrow.

he really needs to start piano lessons again

After being gone for a couple of hours one day I came in to the house to find this....

NOT EVER

I listened to this talk a few days and ago and it's been on my mind. If you're curious you can listen to it here

success

Cooking for my kids is not fun. They are very picky and it seems that all three never agree on what's good. If I can get 2 out of the 3 of them to like something, then it's a success.

I tried this crock pot recipe about a month ago and Joshua and Braeden loved it. Kate not so much, but it wouldn't be a normal Jones dinner if somebody didn't like it. Anyway, I made it again this past week and the boys gobbled it up. It is super easy and quite yummy.

2 lbs. boneless, chicken breasts
1/2c. Italian dressing
2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
1 pkt ranch dressing mix
1/2 tbsp. chili powder
1/2 tbsp. ground cumin

Place chicken in crock pot. In a small bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients and pour over chicken. Cook on high 5 to 6 hours or on low 8 hours. Remove chicken and shred. Place shredded chicken back in to the crock pot and combine with liquid. Serve in tacos, burritos, salad, quesadillas, etc.

Joshua likes to eat it on flour tortillas. Braeden and I like it on white corn tortillas that have been charred just a bit. We also like to serve with black beans and I love it with homemade guacamole.

lunch break

The virtual school kids on their lunch break..

shrimpin'

Braeden had his frist science lab the other day. It was pretty cool. He had to grow shrimp. He was sent a bag full of shrimp eggs. They looked like dirt. He had to put them in a jar full of water, stir them around every few hours and wait for a few days for them to hatch. So, we waited. And on the 3rd day they still looked like dirt. But, this was also the day Braeden was to do his case study. So he put them under the microcope and it was awesome. Seriously. They had arms and legs or tentacles or whaever. We were all amazed...at least I was.

I think I am going to enjoy Braeden doing his Biology at home as much as he is...