Happy Birthday, Carlton!

Last night, we celebrated Carlton's 27th birthday.  

 Katie Anne wanted Carlton to have a laptop party - she wanted everyone to bring their laptops and play online games, which is hilarious because that's what Carlton loves to do!  Well, we didn't take the party to that level, but Vicki did get Carlton a very cute laptop cake - and Katie Anne did bring her Barbie laptop just in case!

Earlier in the day, Saunders had gone with his dad, Carlton, and Carlton's father-in-law and future brother-in-law to the shooting range for a little guy's day out.  Then, we all met up at the Joneses' house that evening.  We had a yummy dinner of steaks, hashbrown casserole, meatballs, Agan's rolls, carrots and onions, and several of tasty dips before the meal - lots of Carlton's favorite things!  For dessert, there was cookie cake, ice cream, and Agan's cookies.  Everyone had a fun time talking, eating, and catching up!

 

  

  

  

 

Time for dessert!  Carlton blowing out his candles...

Vicki getting ice cream for everyone

 

Yummy cookie cake and ice cream!

 Black icing makes for a black tongue!

 

Carlton opening his presents - and showing off his card from Katie Anne

Happy Valentine's Day!

Last Sunday, before we headed out for the circus, we gave each other our Valentine's day treats.  Katie Anne was very excited about her bag of Valentines goodies!

 

  

  

  

  

Then, it was Daddy's turn to open his present.  We'd agreed to just get each other something small as a present this year, so KA and I picked out a giant Reese's heart for him.  Katie Anne decorated the bag and drew a picture for him, too.

 

Then, it was my turn to open my present.  It was very heavy!  

I didn't know what it was, but when I opened it, I was so surprised - it was a 5 lb gummy bear!

 

  

Happy Valentines Day!

Happy 55th Birthday, Granddad!

Last Saturday night, we had a birthday party for my dad's 55th birthday.  Katie Anne's party plan had been a "camping" theme, complete with a fire in a fire pit (which was something my parents had asked for at Christmas, and which was what we'd gotten my dad as his present), roasting marshmellows, flashlights, and setting up a big tent in my parents' backyard.  Unfortunately for the little party planner, the big snow (which was in the mid-melt stage Saturday night) threw off her party plans.  So, we went with a Mexican theme instead, and it was just as good!  Don't worry, the idea for the party hasn't been completed shelved - I've heard the camping theme has been moved to my 29th birthday, so we'll get to do all those fun things in June!

We started with dinner at El Nopal, and it was really delicious!  

 

  

  

 

My dad got to wear the birthday sombrero, and they put icing on his face while they were singing!  Katie Anne thought this was all hilarious.

 

  

Granddad wasn't quite so sure it was as funny as we thought it was ...

 

but he was a good sport about it anyway!

After dinner, we headed back to my parents' house for dessert and presents.  Granddad was very surprised to get the firepit from us!

 

  

Happy Birthday to you!!!

Zing Zang Zoom!

Today, we took my parents to the circus.  They had asked for a "family day out" as their Christmas present this year, and tickets to the Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus was our gift to my dad.  So, we headed to Philips Arena this morning to see what happened under the Big Top!

We didn't really know what to expect - it has been a long time since any of us had been to the circus, so we really didn't know what it would be like.  Katie Anne was really excited about the prospect of elephants and clowns, but that was about the extent of our expectations.  Well, it was wonderful - we had such a great time!  There was so much to see, and Katie Anne was amazed by it all.  She literally sat on the edge of her seat the entire time.  For the first half of the circus, she was so stunned by all the lights, tricks, animals, and clowns that she just stared at everything with an open-mouthed expression.  

By the second half, she had gotten very into the storyline of Mr. Gravity vs. the circus "prince and princess" as she called the two main characters.  She loved saying "Zing Zang ZOOM!" with the crowd to make the magic happen.  

Her favorite parts were by far the animals - she loved the tigers and elephants the best, but she really adored any part of the circus that had animals.  She also loved the clowns - so she didn't inherit Mommy's fear of clowns, so that's good!  There was lots of exciting things happening every second, and the show was top-notch.  We'd definitely go back and see the show again - we highly recommend it!

 

  

Gigi took Katie Anne to the toy shop before the circus started, and she picked out the baby white tiger with the pink carrier

 The Joneses take circus watching very seriously

Everyone took a turn trying on the magic hat during intermission

 

The big finale - what a great show!

Making Valentines

This year, Katie Anne and I decided to make handmade Valentine's cards for all our family and friends.  I got inspired by an idea I'd actually seen for Christmas ornaments, but I thought it would make a great Valentine, too.  It took us about four days to make our Valentines (not counting Mommy's prep-work before punching out the hearts and cutting the construction paper and addressing the envelopes), and we had a great time doing it!

Painting her hand

Making prints

Ta-da!

 

 Ewww!

  

Day 1: One side of each heart finished

Day 2: Ready to get started!

 

Ewww round II!

Printing the second side of the hearts

Day 2: All the hearts finished

Then, we had to glue all the hearts to our construction paper.  Both of us definitely looked a little end-of-the-day rough on Day 3, so we didn't make pictures of the gluing.  Finally, I wrote "Happy Valentine's Day!" and "Love, Katie Anne" on each Valentine, and got them all in the envelopes, ready to go!

 

Now, dear hearts, here is where the Valentine's process broke down for our precious Jones family.  Why, you ask?  And, why - you say - did I not receive one of these beautiful Katie Anne Valentines?  

Well, here's the reason - because those precious little Valentines are...

all addressed and ready to go...

and still sitting...

in the passenger seat...

of Saunders's car.

Yes, you read that right.  

I need to say no more, I'm sure.

So, they are supposedly going in the mail Tuesday.  

Period.

:)

Snow Sadness...

Well, the beautiful snow is melting this afternoon.  Where there was 3 or 4 inches of powdery, fluffy snow this morning, there's just mush and mud and melting ice now.  I kind of wish the process of melting snow was instantaneous, because it is so depressing to watch that pretty snow turn into mud!

And, how does so much fun in the snow also create so much laundry?!?

 

  

 I'm currently on load #3 from this morning!

Now, it's nap time, Saunders has gone with my brother and dad to the shooting range for my dad's birthday, and I'm sitting in a quiet house listening to the snowy water drip off the roof onto the deck.  It does make me sad that the snow is melting, but I am glad that we had it.  We were really hoping to get to show Katie Anne some snow this year, and now we have - and she loved it!  We had a great time together playing in the snow, and now I'll just sit here and enjoy my quiet house - and enjoy another Agan's cookie and milk - and watch the last of the snow melt away!

Plus, my snow sadness can't last two long, because our exciting weekend continues.  Tonight, we're celebrating my dad's birthday.  Tomorrow, it's Valentine's Day, and we're headed to the circus with Katie Anne for the first time!  So, we've got lots of fun ahead - and of course, lots of pictures to come!