He's Got the Blues

Yup, it's proven that this is my child...and I couldn't be more proud! I could only hope that one day he'd share my love of macaroni and cheese, and this night he definitely did. Jett was excited to shake the box and then drum on it with the spoon, followed by hugs and adoring mmm's. Haha! I don't know if he really knew what was in the box, but he did end up having two helpings of the cheesy goodness when it was finally dinner time. It's safe to say we sure love our mac n' cheese! And green beans. Must have green beans.

(P.S. You remember Kraft's commercial with the tagline that's my title, right? My age must be showing...)

Sneaky Santa

Several times during December, I had mentioned to Jake that I wanted to take Jett to see Santa. That's just a Christmas given that kids go see Santa...we can't be bad parents and neglect him of such joy! Plus, I enjoy seeing my own childhood Santa pictures and want Jett to have a similar collection to look back on. My only requirement this year was that we not repeat South Towne's Santa that we visited last year so we have a variety...bless his Merry heart. As the month went on, we just seemed to be too busy or too sick (curse you, cold and flu season!) and before I knew it, it was Christmas Eve. No Santa. I was bummed. But as fate would have it, I got my wish afterall on Christmas morning thanks to a thoughtful hubby. My precious present from Jett was a white frame with the cutest picture ever of him on Santa's lap! Jake had been sneaky and was able to take him sometime during the month while I was working and managed to get the priceless picture. Look at that candy-cane red striped chair! Jett looking all dapper in his little sweater and little jeans! His finger in his mouth!! Kill me now, it's THE most precious picture.

This made my Christmas. ♥

Good Tidings We Bring

Merry Christmas from The Jones Family! This year's Christmas card...

Our message on the back:

"Hello friends and family! This is where we're supposed to mention exciting things we did during 2014 like exotic vacations or winning the lottery, but for us, our year was pretty ordinary. Our highlights consist of raising the most adorable 15-month-old bundle of joy (Jett) and 11-year-old boy (Gage), while maintaining full-time employment, good health, and our sanity. Trips to Disneyland were replaced with trips to Costco for diapers, and a treat for us is having both kids in bed by 9 p.m...only for us to fall asleep shortly after. We appreciate and love our friends and family we spent time with this year, and look forward to the new year!"

Popcornopolis

If you haven't tried Popcornopolis' Zebra popcorn, hurry your buns to the nearest grocery store to buy some! And then buy two. It's caramel (or maybe toffee?) popcorn drizzled with milk chocolate and white chocolate. Oh...my...I....can't...even. It's purely addicting...and this coming from someone who does NOT eat popcorn unless it's at a movie theater and I'm starving. So that's saying something! For friend and neighbor Christmas gifts this year, I bought Zebra popcorn cones to give out, perhaps eating 2 cones along the way and having to replenish them because it's that delicious, if you haven't gotten the hint already. To top off my addiction during this time, I was lucky enough to win a 3.5 gallon tub of this yumminess from Popcornopolis themself! They had a giveaway contest on Twitter and liked my quirky submission on which flavor was my favorite (which I've only tried the one kind), and declared me a winner and sent this baby my way...the popcorn tub, adorable baby in fleece footie-jammies was already included. I let Jett open it so that there was a size comparison on how big the container was, while he enjoyed holding the lid and putting it back on only to take it off over and over. Win-win!

Blustery Stroll

We took Jett for a stroll down our chilly street, and he was so cute bundled up like a marshmallow that I took some pics that have turned out to be some of my favorites ever of him. His new raccoon hat and mittens just add to the adorableness. Look at that precious face! My baby. ♥ Despite being so cold, the blue sky with clouds was beautiful. I really love the picture above of our crooked, lonely street sign in the tall grass with such a pretty sky. Representing Cutler Crossing!

 

Cry Baby

Jett's daycare is adorable. They had picture day in November, and even though we did not plan for him to get pictures (knowing that would be an impossible task for the lucky cameraman), they took pictures anyway of all the children and then sent home the photos for us to see to decide if we wanted to pay for them or not. Jett's were priceless! This is the result we got. Poor, traumatized child that even a stuffed rainbow unicorn could not calm. And his crying continues into their group photo where he is wailing away while shoving the well-behaved, darling girl next to him whom the unicorn clearly worked for. Sigh...young love. Needless to say, we gave in and purchased the group photo because it was too cute. It will be a fun memory to look back on and of course, pull out to show his future girlfriends. 

 

Utes vs. Ducks

Someone had a VERY happy birthday, and that person was Jake. For his birthday (November 13th), all he wanted was tickets to the University of Utah football game against the Oregon Ducks. He even banned me from buying any gifts so that all money for presents could go towards tickets since they would be more pricey because of it being a coveted, sold-out game. Well, I'm an antsy person and want to buy things ahead of time, so it was frustrating sitting around waiting for ticket prices to drop on KSL. I don't like last-minute plans! But, I was forced to like last-minute plans because it wasn't until the DAY OF the game that we found the right tickets for the right price. Thank you, rich person in Riverton selling their season tickets! 

And did we luck out! We ended up ROW 4 on about the 10-yard line!! Jake was beaming with glee, and I was feeling the excitement too being so up close with crazed season-ticket-holder fans all around us. The screaming and cheering was unreal! As Jake phrased it, "You can actually hear the action this close!"...referring to helmets slamming together when there's contact. I guess he thinks being able to hear the violence makes for a better experience. Of course, I was focused a lot on the dance team and cheerleaders throughout the night, wishing I was back in my spandex pants alongside them.

 

The game ended up being a real downer for Utes fans by the end, but Jake enjoyed all of it because he was rooting for both teams, being that he's from Oregon. While all of us Utes fans were silent (followed by cursing) as the Ducks scored touchdown after touchdown, Jake couldn't help but hide his smile and chuckles. Oh, that Oregonian of mine!

Oregon won 51-27