According to Ronan.....

THIS is a doggy...

...and so is THIS...

...and THIS...

...and THIS too...

..and, most recently, THIS...

So don't be confused when Ronan points and says "doggy!"...you'll know just what he means.

My Dream Home

My ideas of what I want my Dream Home to by like have changed recently.  Let me first describe to you what I used to dream about:

Starting at the street looking at the home, the first thing you will notice is the wrap-around porch.  It's wide enough to sit and relax and still be able to let people walk past.  The green grass and the beautiful flower garden (filled with wildflowers that are secretly organized, but look like nature put them where she wanted) are a sight worth calling mama about.  The home is one level with 4 bedrooms, one living room, one family room, one office and a large laundry room.  The kitchen is huge-with cabinet space for everything.  The fridge is state-of-the-art.  It has room for enough food to feed a football team.  The backyard is fully fenced and has green grass and a low-maintenance playground for the kids.  The garden is huge and it has a small white picket fence around it (yes, I had to fit the picket fence in there somewhere).  It has room to grow enough vegetables to feed the entire neighborhood.  The master bedroom has an over-sized jacuzzi tub and two walk-in closets (his and hers).  The house sits in a neighborhood that is flat (no hills) and has well-maintained sidewalks.

Now here is my detailed description of the home I dream about now:

It is a home, apartment, town home or mobile home.  The Jones family lives in it.  Amen.

The Jones Children Updates

**This is a long, boring post with no pictures.  I'm mostly doing it for journaling purposes, but you are welcome to read if you dare!!  

Ruth

Age: 6

*Sometimes I wonder though... COULD she actually be 14?  She's really good at that whole teenager attitude thing.

Grade: 1st

*I know, you just read a post about that so I won't go into this other than saying that she still loves it!

Favorite Subjects: Reading, Math, Recess

*At the end of last school year, Ruth was just figuring out the whole reading thing.  Getting her to read was a chore...it was a fight every day.  During the summer, I had all sorts of good intentions about having her read every day so she wouldn't fall behind (yes, I was concerned..as smart as she is, she just hated reading!).  I didn't do so well at keeping up with summer reading.  It turned out okay though because after the first day of school, Ruth came home and surprised us by reading a book her teacher sent home with her.  It was about 2 grade levels above where she left off at the end of Kindergarten.  

*Ruth's always been great with numbers.  Whenever we're bored she loves to have us give her math problems (addition and subtraction).  She's great at figuring out stuff in her head.

*Recess is an obvious one.  The child is very social and very un-shy.  Don't ask me where she gets it.  Jones and I are both shy and her brothers seem to be leaning that way too.  I will say though, Ruth has really brought me out of my shell.

Favorite Foods: Sushi and Pasta

*Ruth's always loved pasta (I'm sure its because it's my favorite and I make it a lot).  She prefers the sauce meatless.  If Ruth had to choose between pasta and sushi though, sushi would win.  It started at a young age.  Jonesy LOVES sushi.  When she was about 2 (maybe younger) he started sharing with her.  Now she can't get enough.  When Jones and Ruth go out on daddy-daughter dates, there's no debate about where they should go.  It's always sushi.

Favorite Things to Do: Computer Games, Outside Play, Dancing, Singing

*Ruth's great at getting ready for school in the morning. (It helps that she's used to waking up at the butt-crack of dawn (pardon my french).  After she's eaten breakfast, showered, dressed, had her hair done and brushed her teeth she always seems to have plenty of time to play on the computer.  Her most recent favorite website: poptropica.com.  

*Ruth's become a regular pro at riding her bike and her scooter.  She and her friends will ride in circles around the driveway for hours.  They pretend to put on shows and sell tickets to all the adults and other children.  The shows are funny....funny because it's like sitting down to watch a bunch of children playing.

*Ruth's latest dream is to be a dancer and a singer.  She loves to make up songs (but gets painfully shy when she realizes someone is listening).  She'll dance for anybody though.  I love her jerky leg movements. She's really good at kicking her leg up behind and to the side....it almost looks painful.  

Other News: 

*Ruth's asthma seems to be getting better as she gets older.  I might be getting ahead of myself because the cold/flu season hasn't arrived yet but she hasn't had any need for her nebulizer since January.  She's also lost a total of three teeth and has one more loose one.  

*Ruth's had a bit of trouble adjusting to our crazy life.  She knows we'll be moving but since she doesn't know when (neither do we) she is having a hard time looking forward to things.  She's stressing out about it a lot more than she should have to.  This is being expressed by her being extra emotional and easily offended.  Hopefully we'll be able to figure out how to help her get through all this craziness without too much damage.

Gareth

Age: 3

Grade: Pre-Preschool

*I fully intended to get Gareth into preschool this year.  He is so ready.  You can tell that he wants to make friends and learn new things.  He could really use the socialization.  I wasn't able to get him into anything this fall (lack of funds, not knowing how long we'll be where we are, etc.).  I've started trying to do a more formal sit-down with him a couple times a week.  Just to teach him about the Alphabet and to do a craft.  He enjoys it and so do I.  Hopefully I'll be able to stay on top of that.

Favorite Subjects: Storytelling, Building

*Gareth LOVES to tell stories.  He'll make up these awesome adventures and tell them as if he was really there.  He'll talk about his friends (the names change daily) and all the funny things they've said and done.  (this is how I know he needs real friends).  Sometimes they're pretty strange.  Like yesterday he was telling Jones about how he was showing his friend "A" one of the heads from his head collection.  (Sounds morbid, but I'm sure it looks a lot worse in our imaginations than it does in his.)

*Someday, we're going to have to get Gareth some legos.  He could spend hours building stuff.  He loves to play with Skyler's (my brother) legos.  

Favorite Things to Do: Watch Dora, Scooter, Run Around, Play at the Park, Talk

*If Gareth had his way, he'd watch Dora ALL day long.  I admit, there are some days where he watches more than he should, but I try to stay reasonable with the amount of time he spends watching it.  He likes to watch the same episodes over and over.  Stuck Truck, The Lost City, Journey to the Purple Planet, and The Big Potato.

*Gareth doesn't have a scooter but he likes to borrow Uncle Skyler's.  He's pretty good at it too (scootering, that is).  He scooters around the driveway with Ruth and her friends.  He also likes to talk about it a lot too.

*When Gareth has to go potty, it's pretty obvious.  He starts running around the house.  For some reason he doesn't think that maybe he could just run strait to the potty.  He'll run around and around and around until I finally tell him to go potty or go to time-out.  (He always chooses potty.)  

*The best days for Gareth are the ones where we go to the park.  We've been going a lot more now that Ruth is in school.  It's lots of fun for Ronan too.

*Two years ago when Ruth first started preschool, Gareth was about 18 months old.  He didn't start learning words until after she left for school.  It's like before she went to school, he just figured she could do all his talking for him.  When she started leaving all day, he realized he needed to start learning how to talk.  Well, now that Ruth's in school again, Gareth has decided that he needs to fill her role of non-stop-talker.  Gareth can talk and talk and talk.  He can spend hours just talking about nothing.  I feel bad because sometimes I tune him out.  It's hard trying to listen to it all!  Especially when he's talking about his head collection or some other random topic of strangeness.  It's cute though.  

Gareth's Dream: Helicopter Pilot 

*It's funny because we're not endorsing this dream or anything.  We never bring it up either.  Gareth decided about a year ago that he wants to be a helicopter pilot.  I don't think a day has gone by since then that he hasn't mentioned it to us.  Today he saw a man with a white mustache and he said "I'm going to have a white mustache when I'm older and I'll take you for a ride on my helicopter."  It's cute.  Oh, a couple weeks ago he added to his dream.  Now he's going to be a helicopter AND he's going to fly in space.
Other Gareth Stuff:
*I used to think it was funny when people would ask me if Gareth has the redheaded temper.  Gareth is too sweet to have a temper.  I used to say.  Only recently Gareth has been showing signs of a temper.  It's nice to know he's growing into his hair's reputation.  Let's just hope he can learn to control it.

Ronan

Age: 15 months

Major Achievements: Walking, Running, Talking, Signing

*I didn't do an official post when Ronan started walking so I'll announce it here!  Ronan started walking!!! (WAY back in May.)  Ruth walked at 13 months and Gareth at 15 months.  Ronan beat them both by walking at 11 months.  Go Ro!

*Ronan picked up running a few weeks ago.  He's pretty good at it.  He loves to run while making noise so he can hear himself bounce.  It's pretty cute.

*Ronan is picking up a few words here and there.  He can say Mommy, Daddy, Uh-oh, Hi!, Wow, bottle, and owie.  We haven't been as faithful to teaching sign language as we were with Gareth but Ronan has picked up a few signs.  He can sign bottle, hi, bye, food, and light.

Growing: Weight, Teeth

*Ronan is 27 pounds.  Gareth is 35.  We're taking bets on how old Ronan will be when he passes Gareth in the weight department.  He's in size 2T already.  We're just not used to having a big baby.

*Ronan has almost all of his teeth.  He's not such a good teether.  He's fussy and doesn't sleep well.  I'm so excited for when those teeth are all in.

Miscellaneous Ronan Stuff:

*Ronan loves to play basketball.  I have a video on my phone I will post when I can get it on to the computer.  He throws the ball in the net and then claps his hands.

*If Ronan could choose anywhere to be, he would choose outside.  If ever he is grumpy or sad all you have to do is take him outside.  He likes to explore the garden, ride on his bike (a little push bike) and play in the sandbox.  He also LOVES to go bike riding (while riding in the bike trailer).  

*Ronan also loves to figure things out.  He likes to take things apart and try to put them back together.  He also loves to draw.  He can already hold a pencil the right way.  Ruth and Gareth never gave me trouble about coloring on the walls, but I just know that Ronan is going to be that kid who can't resist.  So far the only things that have suffered his coloring wrath are important papers that we left out on the table.

*Another of Ronan's favorite activities is to climb up on the table, stand up and dance around.  I'm hoping he'll get the table dancing out of his system early in life.

So there you go.  Updates on our awesome kids.  We're so happy and blessed to have them in our life.  If you made it through all that, you deserve a pat on the back.  

First Day of First Grade!!!

It's impossible to believe that Ruth is in FIRST GRADE!! After two weeks, I have finally decided to tell the world about it. Ruth has already made a TON of progress in the reading arena. She's conquering words that I couldn't read until I was a 3rd grader.  She loves eating lunch in the cafeteria and riding the bus to and from school.  Ruth's favorite subjects are recess and math.  We're so very proud of our Princess.

Ruth and cousin Ember waiting at the bus stop. (notice the matching outfits)

Here are all the kids waiting for the bus.

End-of-Summer Pseudo Campout!

The weekend before school started we had the opportunity to go to the annual neighborhood camp out at Heber Vally Camp. This campground is WAY cool/awesome. It has nice cabins and clean bathrooms and showers with running water. (This is why I call this a Pseudo Camp out...it's not REAL camping). We had a ton of fun with all our neighbors. Thanks Stonehedgers!

These are the inside of the AWESOME cabins.  They are perfectly designed to keep the warm air in at night.  No need for sleeping bags here!

Gareth's first experience with sleeping on the top-bunk.  It took a while to teach him how to climb down.

Ruth is making a plan for defending the camp from wild animals.

This is the weapon she will use while defending the camp from wild animals.

Becoming frustrated at the unappearance of wild animals.

Gareth getting his first lesson in fire-making.

Ronan learning about rocks....HUGE rocks.

Ruth and Ember thought this rock made a great slide.

Dad and Gareth enjoying the breeze....er...smoke.

Examining the intricate details of...something.

Boggle = FUN

Keli taking a picture of me taking a picture of her taking a picture of me (while in a boat).

The hike back to camp (after boating on the lake).  Gareth took his sweet boppy time.

Proof that I was there.

Making evil plans.

Gareth and his girlfriends.

Cheesy Beaches!

After the reception, we headed out to the Tillamook Cheese Factory and the Beach for a couple days of FUN. The beach in Oregon is always cool--even in the Summer. During our stay, it never got above 68 degrees. We still had a lot of fun playing in the sand and sitting around the campfire. The kids even played in the water!! (crazy cold!!) Pictures are worth more than words so here you go; PICTURE OVERLOAD!

Taking a time-out to call Daddy before going in to the Cheese Factory.  (Jonesy couldn't make it on this trip).

Ruth wanted to tell the cow thank you for the yummy milk and ice cream.

Checking out the cheese-making process.

Amazed by how it all works.

Trying to figure out what everyone is staring at.

Tillamook Ice Cream is AWESOME.

It can't be beat!

The view from our hotel room.  If you take out the car and the power lines it's quite nice!  The best part was being so close to the beach.

Ronan's first beachy experience.  Examining the sand.

Learning how to walk in the sand.  Very frustrating.

Ruth LOVES the beach!

Swimming with Ember in the ICY water.

Enjoying the view.

Eddie taking a picture of me taking a picture of him taking a picture of me.

Ruth and Gareth digging holes for the waves.

What's a beach trip without burying someone under the sand?  Gareth was happy to oblige.

Aric and Sarah Capel

WAY back at the end of July, my favorite older brother Aric (aka Eddie) got married to my favorite sister-in-law-that-lives-in-Oregon Sarah.  We missed the wedding (only because it was in Hawaii). But we were so happy to make it to the reception in Portland!

Ronan and Ari trying to break into the 'adult beverages'.

Gareth fell instantly in love when he met his new Aunt Sarah

Ronan trying his hand at badminton.

The newlyweds.  So cute.

Making up after the cake fight.

Congratulations to you, Aric and Sarah!  We love you!

Gareth Speaks

Gareth: "Where is God?"

Mom: "In Heaven."

Gareth: "No, he's in the sky."

Mom: "Oh....sure."

Gareth: "How did God get in the sky?"

Mom: "I don't know."

Gareth: "He just cut a hole and went through into his house."

Mom: "Oh...."

Gareth: "I want to get a saw so I can go visit God and Jesus."

Rally on Ronan

My little sister Keli (age 12) is a very artistic individual.  She has decided to create comic called "Rally on Ronan" that is all about the funny things Ronan does.  So, for your viewing pleasure, I present to you the first four installments of Rally on Ronan! Click on the pictures to enlarge...