WORK HARD, PLAY HARD, WIN EASY

 That's the motto for Ryker's football team. He's number 59 on THE THUNDER. They are wearing pink in October in support of Breast Cancer and Breast Cancer Research.

 

He has turned out to be a great little player.

 



 

He is not afraid to get right in the mix.

Great tackle.

 

 

 

I ask Ryker after every game if he had fun and he always says yes. It doesn't hurt that their team is undefeated.

 

GO THUNDER!    GO 59!

Smiling Boy

CUBBY

To call him a dog hardly seems to do him justice, though in as much as he had four legs, a tail, and barked, I admit he was to all outward appearances. But to those who knew him well, he was a perfect gentlemen. 

                                                                                           Hermione Gingold

 

 

He was much more than that.  He grew up with our kids and brought joy to our lives. We discovered early on that he had a special talent - his smile. It was the funniest thing you ever saw.  He would smile at you the minute you walked in the door. He would show those little teeth while wagging his tail. Soon he learned to do it on command - that's how he got the name Smilin' Boy. We will sure miss him and that little smile.

 

Cubby roughing it on the family camping trip.

 Cubby in Camo

 Showing off a new haircut.

Notice the cute smiles on both faces.  He must have had a sense of humor to let Dakota dress him in a tiara.

 

We all know that dogs don't live forever and when they become your friend you better be ready for tremendous joy as well as sadness.

God sure knew what he was doing when he created Man's Best Friend.

 

Rest In Peace Cubby. 

 

 

 

Babies Are Such A Nice Way To Start People

 

This weekend we celebrated little Tanner Michael even though he hasn't arrived yet.

 

Of course it was over the top with blue.  The candy bar was yummmmmy!

 

Rock candy. . .  now that brings back some childhood memories.

 

 

Blue, blue, and even more blue.

 

Cake pop babies.

 

 

My little baby carriage creation.

 

One for the little Bro, and one for the Big Bro.

 

The play dough game of making a baby was pretty clever. Scary looking creatures. It appears some adults were not allowed to create with play dough when they were young. More practice needed for sure.

 

Rhiannon received so many great gifts. This kiddo will not go naked.

 

There was also real cake and diaper cake.

 

We can't wait to meet this cute little guy!

All Because Two People Fell In Love



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are two of the reasons that I am alive and living in Arizona. I would like to introduce Dr. Wilson Walker Jones and his wife Alcaria (Arcadia) Montano Jones.

 

 

  He became a doctor, left the family plantation in Virginia and headed out west. He first settled in California and then made his way to Arizona.

 

 

Interesting to think that this distinguished gentlemen from  a wealthy family had no problem with cultural diversity in 1864.

 

 

I am so fortunate to live in an area that is filled with my families history. I found out recently that one of his homes is the oldest home in Phoenix  and was saved from being torn down. We have a joke around here that everyone is my cousin because they probably are. You can't go this many generations and not be related somehow. 

 

 

It's kinda weird to stop and think of your path and your destiny.  I wouldn't be here if these two hadn't fallen in love and decided to make a life together.

This year we will celebrate over 150 years of Arizona heritage. 

 

 

I can't wait to meet some more cousins. 

GAME TIME!

Do you know what my favorite part of the game is?   The opportunity to play!            (Mike Singletary)

 

 

That's what Ryker and Nathan think every time they play. Yeah the wins are nice, but they are not everything. Each time those boys go out on the field, they take away lessons about life and sports. 

 

One of the positions Ryker plays is kicker.  He loves to send that ball flying.

 

Who would have thought he likes to tackle?

And look out when he gets the ball, he is so fast.

Not bad for a little boy with asthma.

Nathan has added Ahwatukee Little League to his schedule.

Of course he is always the tallest boy out there but that's okay. We can always spot him in a crowd.

He is a good baseball player, especially at pitching.

 

Ryker took this picture because he said we all had to see Nathan's number and name.

 

These boys keep their Nana and Papa very busy and we love every minute of it.

 

                                        

The Family That Plays Together, Stays Together

 

The Family:

 

We are a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing germs and toothpaste, coveting one another’s desserts, hiding things, borrowing money, kissing to heal, loving, laughing, defending, and trying to figure out the common thread that bound us all together. We may not have it all together, but together we have it all.  Erma Bombeck                                                                        

Kendra recently bonded us together for a family game night. She took us to this new place called Main Event. It is filled with all kinds of activities and Monday Madness only cost $10 per person for unlimited fun all night. 

 

The night started out with bowling on brand new state of the art lanes. No more of the score keeping with tiny pencils and paper. News, sports, and shows are playing on the screens at the end of the alley. 

 Seth J. it turns out is a really good bowler.

Anisha gave Seth W.  a little competition.

At the beginning of the game you can put selfie pictures in the score pad and during bowling funny pictures come up called You Tunes - funny cartoons of all of us just randomly played.  Here Kendra is a champion boxer. 

Dakota insisted on wearing a dress that night. Notice the cute dress with the cheesy bowling shoes. Classic!

Then it was on to the tight rope. It is suspended inside up at the roof and you are able to walk all around the top suspended from harnesses. 

There goes Brian and Dakota (I bet she is having second thoughts about the dress now). 

Hailey, Ryker and the rest of the gang take their turn.

Nathan and Ryker. The spaces aren't too far apart for Nathan but Ryker is sure having second thoughts.

Dakota was a good little sport. 

TJ goes next.  When Kendra went across, TJ and Nathan were shaking the ropes the whole time to try to slow her down.

Hang on tight Ryker!

If you notice, the Grandparents were not on the tight rope. People our age do not belong on the ceiling. The pressure is on when we go back.

Have fun and play!

 

No Time Like The Present

It can't be true. No blogging since April 2013.  What happened?  Where has the time gone? The only way to remedy that situation is to start blogging again.

January started out with great news that our family is growing by two more feet. Rob and Rhi announced that Austin will no longer be an only child.  We are so excited.  It’s been a while since we had a baby around.  Of course we sold all of our baby gear in the last garage sale.  Austin says everything will be fine as long as it has a “wiener” and Dakota says we have enough little boys around, it’s time for a girl.

No more "only child" for this kiddo,  He's the "Big Bro" now.

The competitive streak continues in this family with boys sports.

 Nathan's JV Basketball Team

 Nathan's Club Baseball

 TJ's Soccer League

 Austin's Flag Football

Happy Birthday Seth!

We celebrated another birthday with Seth.  This time at a restaurant where dogs are welcome and they eat for free.  Dog lovers unite!  Dogs everywhere at this place. 

Mike was in charge of Ziggy, Anisha's dog. I kept hoping that someone would bring a cat in just to keep it interesting.

Hailey turns 14!

We can't believe our little Hailey is 14.  Her parents seem a little worried. It's kind of fun to watch someone else worry about a teenage daughter, we did our time already. 

Three Generations

 A Few Good Men at Hailey's Party
Austin and Ryker said they weren't men yet but we said they will be someday so they jumped right in.

Toothless Kids!

 We have several toothless kids running around, this includes Dakota. She doesn't have anything in front and insists on eating corn on the cob at every cook-out.


Happy New Year to All of You!