Saturday, October 29, 2011

Our New Friends

In early August, there was a tragic accident on I-90 in which a family of a mother and her 6 children rolled their vehicle.  One of the children passed away immediately.  The other 6 passengers were taken to 2 hospitals in town.  We had the privilege of having some of the family members stay with us while everyone recovered.  Following are a few of the pictures of those family members.

L to R: Justin, Sue (Pam's mother), Becky (Justin's wife), Seth (age 7), Pam, Alisha 

Joseph and Caden 

Joseph and Caden 

Imani and Chase 

The family gathers for a story, Joseph can't resist.

Friday, October 21, 2011

Caden's 5th

***ALERT*** LOTS OF PICTURES AHEAD!!

Caden had his 5th birthday.  The kid has so many facial expressions that we just had to take loads of pictures for you to try to capture the moment with us.  Some of his siblings also added a few facial expressions for your enjoyment, as well.


Both grandparents gave us a chance to tease Caden and tell him that the packages and letters we were getting were not for him.  He didn't buy it, though.  He has a boy in his class whose name is spelled "Kaden," so we tried to convince him that the packages were for the boy in his class.  We also tried to convince him that since his last name is not "Jones," the card was not for him.  He informed us that since his middle name is Jones, it was still for him.


The face says it all.


LOVE the expression!  Needs no explanation.



Pure joy



Chase helped wrap the present (the one Caden just opened up above) and decided it was, therefore, his.  He couldn't understand when we passed it over to Caden.

Can't help but love the irony of the shirt.


Jordan was excited to give her present to Caden


Caden was excited, too!


Jordan explaining what it is and how it works.


The obligatory hug.  So heartfelt, as you can tell.


Had to include this pic, showing how Chase ended up getting the car after all.


A light saber.


Demonstrating the power of the light saber.


The tongue helps open the package.


The funny part that we could not catch on the camera was how he was lifting the box by the wrapping paper as he tried to pull off the paper.


To get maximal pulling force, Caden put his whole body into the unwrapping.



They're both pretty excited.  Chase still has the other car.


Towards the end, Caden just grabbed, pulled, and threw things over his shoulder, like the tape . . .


The parachute man . . .


The new shirt . . .


Still throwing the new shirt.  We love the clothes from grandparents--it's the only way our kids get new clothes.  The clothes we get them have all been through a few other children (ours or someone elses).


Ava wanted to show off her moves . . .


The lean . . .


Almost high-centered . . .


Just about over . . .


Got it.  This is the shirt I was trying to get!



Caden is not a huge fan of cake, so he was excited to have just ice cream with some toppings.


Everyone helping lick the ice cream off of the candles.  This is why Shelly doesn't reuse the candles.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Shelly Gets Older

So, we had some guests over at our place on Shelly's birthday, so the celebration was in stages.  On her actual birthday, we were able to get a few things for her, which she pretended to like.  As you will see in the next few pictures, she is pretty good at pretending.  Of note, these are all things she mentioned she would like to have.

 Oh, yay, I get to make more cookies for the family!!

Measuring cups--hooray!  I needed 2 new sets! 

And a can opener! (OK, this was a surprise for Shelly and was really a Ken request) 

 Now she's starting to get sick of this game of pretending.  Not nearly as excited about the silicone spatulas (maybe because I got the wrong ones) . . . but . . .

. . . there's always dessert to look forward to! 



Ava, Ava, Where Have You Been?

Here are some pictures of Ava as she continues to grow!

 A pianist so young . . .

  . . . stopping to strike a pose . . .

 followed by a sampling of the keys . . . delicious!

 Time to sleep.  This is our new friend Becky.

 Eating just wears you out!



 Deer in the headlight look--almost looks like a doll more than a baby.

Umm, Jordan, I think she's bigger than you!  And she'll never learn to walk if you keep carrying her!