First Ride of the Summer-June 21, 2011

My parents got some time off from farming and wanted to go riding in the South Hills. They invited me, my Uncle Carl and my cousin, Derek. We had an amazing time, it was just so beautiful. We rode through high desert in the foothills right behind Grandma Jones' house, we rode to a couple of springs where my dad and his brothers grew up camping, we rode through cottonwood groves, Quaking Aspen groves, and pine forests. It was gorgeous every bit of the way. (All these pics, by the way, are from my mom's camera, which I had with me on the quad throughout the ride--thanks for letting me borrow the pictures!)

It's just so amazing to see the variety of scenery we live in. God is so amazing!

Right below these mountains in the distance is where Jake's work is. Couldn't ask for a more beautiful place to work!

Father's Day 2011

God has blessed me with an amazing Dad, who has always provided well, taught us, and loved us. I have also been blessed to acquire a fantastic father-in-law, as well as two wonderful grandpa's, one of which is still living! I also feel so grateful to be married to such a wonderful man who is the best father I could hope for for our kids. And our kids both love him sooooo much!

I looooove how happy they all are in this pic! Happy Father's Day!

100 Years in Hollister--June 18, 2011

Hollister Presbyterian Church (where my Grandma Jones attends, and where my Dad's whole family grew up going) celebrated their 100th Anniversary as a church! It was so much fun! My Grandpa Jones restored a 1918 Packard while he was still alive, and it has been pretty famous in our area for several years. My Uncle Carl and cousin, Derek, got the Packard out and cleaned it up to drive to the 100th year celebration festivities on Saturday. It definitely attracted a lot of attention! Plus, it was Jackson's first ride in it. I'm so proud to have such a wonderful piece of work in our family--my Grandpa was a very talented and amazing man and was well-loved and respected by the entire community.

1918 Packard with Jackson driving

Jackson loved riding in the car--Derek drove them from the church to Grandma Jones' after the celebration.

Emma and Lilly


All the Jones family that was there, other than Grandma Jones, Keith and Trevor (I'm not sure where they were during the pics)

Lilly's First Time Swimming--June 14, 2011

Lilly loves swimming. We are so thankful to live such a short distance from the Nat.Soo.Pah, which is a natural hot springs and fantastic swimming pool! The water's always warm, even when the weather's not, so swimming there is always pleasant!

Jackson's First Swim Lesson--June 10, 2011

Jackson started swim lessons!

How Long Will This Last? June 9, 2011

So how long will this last? Our kiddos playing together without fighting...

New Pet! June 7, 2011

So a tiny little bird flew into our picture window one evening and Jake went out to make sure it was okay. It was lying in a flower bed, so he picked it up and let Jackson hold it, then set it up on our deck railing. It later flew off, so that's good!

(Sorry, I couldn't get the picture rotated.)

Weren't We Just Here?--June 5, 2011

We were just at Shoshone Falls, but my cousins roadtripped up here from Nevada to hang out for a couple of days and so we had a picnic at Shoshone Falls again, this time with more family. This time, we did NOT have to wear our coats near the falls, it was actually nice and hot. And no fishing this time, either...which was o.k. with me ;-). So thanks, Trevor and Bria, for hanging out with your Idaho relatives!

Always so beautiful

Getting a ride from Papa

Trevor, Jackson and Bria

Cutie Pie!

Climbing a tree

Crazy Aunt Kathy!

Summer Break Kick-Off--May 31-June 4, 2011

So far my summer has been awesome! Teachers' last day of work consisted of a golf scramble (tough day, I know) which MY TEAM WON! We couldn't believe it. We were probably THE most UNLIKELY team to win and somehow pulled it off. Who knows, I guess miracles do happen. The next day, our family went to Shoshone Falls, which is just incredible right now. There is so much water, it's just unbelievable. After we saw Shoshone Falls and hiked around a bit, we headed over to Dierke's Lake so Jake and Jackson could fish. It was such a lovely day!

Amazing!


We're all here, Lilly's just hiding in the backpack behind Jake!

Peek-a-boo!

So happy!


Hard to capture Jackson, he's always going so fast!

Too cute!

The boys fishing at Dierke's


Jackson had absolutely no qualms about handling a half-dead flopping fish!


Lilly's version of fishing

On Friday, we went to Hagerman to go fishing, but I didn't take any pictures, so you'll just have to imagine all the fun we had. Then today (Saturday) we took the kiddos to the famous Western Days Parade (which seems to get longer, more spread out and more boring every single year--yet we always feel like we have to go for some reason).

So here's to hoping the rest of our summer is just as fun!

They Love Each Other! May 30, 2011

Jackson is so good to Lilly, it's just amazing, but I hardly ever get pics of the two of them together. For some reason Lilly had an old credit card and seemed very excited about it! Hopefully not a look into her future! ;-)

Almost Crawling--May 25, 2011

Lilly is so close to crawling! She's been scooting backwards, and trying her hardest to move forward! It will be no time at all before we will have two movers in our house!

Messy Eater! May 16, 2011

Precious--May 15, 2011

Too cute not to share!

Jackson's First Time Fishing-May 11, 2011

So Jackson got a new fishing pole for Easter, along with a tackle box and a leatherman, and he had been anxiously awaiting his first fishing trip! Jake made plans to take him and, let me tell you, Jackson was counting down the days! He must've packed and re-packed that silly tackle box a million times! Finally the exciting day came...and Jackson ended up being quite a bit more interested in just running around and getting tangled up in other peoples' lines than doing his own fishing. Jake was in charge of the picture taking, and, well, see for yourself...

A great pic of Jake with the fish HE caught, and...Jackson in the background! Haha!!