This one goes out to my girls in California.

With the help of Niki's best friend Chris's girlfriend Wendy, I was able to make it down to California for a short, fun-filled 47 hours and 39 minutes over the weekend.

Here are some of the pictures from my visit.

One word: Obsessed.

Game time with the kiddos.

Squirrel?!?!




Don't let this picture trick you. ;-)





Like Niki would say... "I spy Josh".

She was SO happy I was there!

This is me after 5 cups of coffee. Just kidding.

What a cutie.

Yes, the kids and I were able to sweet talk Niki into taking us to In-N-Out.

It was AWESOME and reminded me of Dick's from Seattle.

Happy Un-Birthday to all of us!

Carley was such a good little baker. She's going to be just like her Aunt Shelly-Crocker.

This was a close-up of the note that Niki and I found on the front door when we got home late on Saturday night. CUTE!!

I don't really know where to start with this one. It's such a long story!

Niki's best friends = Wendy and Chris!!

Ahh.. just like when we went wine tasting. Oh the memories.

This was the look that I got from Chester when I got home!

He missed me but enjoyed the time with Nick.

Well there you have it. I had SUCH a good time and laughed a ton.

Thanks to my girls in Cali. I kept this post on the short side.

=)

Merry Christmas in January!

Okay, I know it's been about 3 weeks (who's counting..?) since I've posted an update.

Here are some pictures from Christmas Eve.

The Jones family has a tradition and it is:

We all get together for breakfast at a restaurant around 8:30. After breakfast we head downtown to Westlake to meet up with Santa at Macy's for a photo opp.

Last year we were able to make reservations but this year we had to wait in line for a little over an hour. During the wait for Santa, Mike and Sue have taken Ethan to the Merry-Go-Round but this year Ethan and his sisters got to enjoy the ride!

After the pictures are taken with Santa we all get about an hour or so to do some shopping.

After all of the hanging out downtown we head back up to either Mike and Sue's house or Tim and Renee's for the ol' traditional cheese and chocolate fondue (dark chocolate.. yuk!).

Presents are next and that usually lasts a few hours.

Whoa. What a day! It's a long day but it's fun.

I got this hat at a Fred Meyer's about 7 years ago! I get SO many compliments on it.

I'm sure we have a picture with Ethan smiling but I thought this one was cute!

Sue and Willa.

Mike and Esmee.

After breakfast and before heading downtown, we stopped off at a toy store in Wallingford called Archie McPhee's. The girls left with these wigs.

Grandpa Mike gave EACH of the kids their own set of "moon shoes". They are meant to be worn with shoes and we learned pretty fast that they are also meant to be worn outside.

Each of the kids also got a cool backpack with their name on it and it was funny to watch Willa put each gift that she opened in hers after she opened it. This was taken when we were done opening all the gifts and we had finished our chocolate fondue.

What a cutie-pie.

Nick's other brother and wife (Mitch and Kim) live in Virginia.

This was a love note to them.

HAHA!!!

This was Nick's coffee that I made for him on Christmas morning. I didn't try to do this or even know how I did it but took a moment to snap a picture.

I told him it's because I make his coffee with love every morning. =) ahhh!

Chester and MoMo are doing well. They LOVE messing with eachother. They've been hiding from eachother around corners and trying to scare the other. It's so fun to watch them race to the top of this cat tree and play king of the castle.

While I am putting this blog together - Chester is cuddling with Nick and the blanket that he has on his lap. Cute, huh?