Better Late Than Never!

This year has been very eventful and so blessed!
Paige turned 1 this year and she has grown and changed so much. She's one funny lady! She truly is sugar and spice. That's the best way to put it. We love her independence and her determination! She is talking like crazy, although we can't always understand her. She loves all things GIRL--babies, fingernail polish, hair stuff, ballerinas, and pink!
This year Parker turned 3. He loves all things BOY! He loves Robin Hood, Peter Pan, Tarzan, running, jumping, building things, and getting very dirty! He is a great big teaser too. He loves to tease and loves to be teased! Most of all, though, he loves his family. He is such a loving boy and expresses that love often!
Anna 's been staying busy with all the normal stuff of a mother and wife. Along with those things, she has also has enjoyed many furniture makeovers. And to the shock of her mother, she bought a surger and has been figuring that out.
Parley started this year out with a deployment to Afghanistan. We are grateful for his employment and grateful that he is able to serve his country, but we definitely like it better when he's at home! Since his return home, our life seems to have been a whirlwind! We've visited family, gone to Canada, visited family again, and then visited family and friends again in our huge road trip!

We've been so blessed! We are grateful for our Savior, Jesus Christ. He is the source of peace and happiness! Without Him, we recognize that we are nothing. We are grateful for His love and the love of our Father and their willingness to give us the greatest gift--the Atonement.

We wish you much love, peace, and happiness in your life!

Love,
Parley, Anna, Parker and Paige

We're back!

Over 5000 miles later and we made it! It was such a fun trip and we were so blessed in our travels. At least twice we were worried about awful driving conditions and both times the roads were great the whole way! We are happy to be home and are in full swing of celebrating this special Christmas season.
While in California, we were able to meet up with one of my friends that I worked for when we lived there. It was so great to see her and we ate at this awesome restaurant where they cook the food in front of you. Yamato's--it's a Chinese place and the chef was amazing--doing tricks with his cooking utensils and creating some great flames! We had lots of fun! No pictures though because I always forget to take pictures.

Then we got together with the Sweet family. They took me in when I first moved down there to be with Parley. They live up to their name--Tammy has the most loving heart and she and Bob have raised some great kids! It was so great to see them!
Us with the Sweet family, minus Amy and Bob

Then it was off to Arizona to see my sister! We had so much fun and were able to be there on her birthday (pretty much the most awesome present she's ever received, right Lena?!) ! We went wake-boarding, Lena and I went shopping, the married folks did a Mud Run, and Parley was able to meet up with a family he had worked with on his mission. Overall, we had such a great time! Thanks for a great visit Lena and Ryan!

It was so fun to meet the M family and get to know them!

Then it was off to Texas to see Parley's family. We were there for a week and it was so great to be there with almost all the siblings. We were even surprised by Parley's sister and her family who all came over for the get together! One main event of this reunion was Parley's brother and his wife were sealed in the San Antonio Temple. It was so wonderful to be there with them as they received of the blessings that the temple can offer!
Paige and Parker had so much fun with their cousins and Aunts and Uncles. Paige however was a little reserved when it came to Lita (Grandma Jones)--she's that way with all women. But on the last day I was able to snap this picture! Hopefully next time Paige will be more open!Should I tell you how she did it? It started out with some chocolate....need I say more? :) Paige is a true woman! I'm glad you finally got some snuggles from her, Lita!

Then on our way up to Colorado our camera broke. This is the last picture we were able to get:
In Colorado we were really hoping to see Great Grandma Jones (Parley's Grandma) but she left for Arizona a few days before we got up there. Darn it! I guess we'll have to work out some other arrangement to see her. While there, though, we did get to meet up with some friends of ours--Josh and Emily and then we got to stay with Aunt Louise. She is such a hoot and we had a great time seeing her new house that she had remodeled! I love it! We can't wait to go back and spend a little more time there in CO and see more of our relatives! Sorry to the friends and family we missed this time. But we'll be back!

Next up was Utah where we stayed with my friend April and her husband Dave! It was so fun to see them and we are grateful to them for letting us stay there! Come visit us in WA!

Our final destination was Idaho. The day we left UT, the town where my family lives had canceled school because they got so much snow. Thus, we were a little worried about the roads. However, they were awesome. We felt so blessed! When we got to my parents house, we immediately built a snowman! He was over 10 feet tall! Parker named him Frosty!

(yes, I am wearing capris. yes, it was cold)

That night we stayed up late and joked about having another snow day but we really didn't think it would happen. When I woke up, I was so surprised to not hear anyone stirring--we did get another snow day! That day we went sledding! We didn't get a third snow day, but Parley, the kids and I still got to play in the snow that day! Parker decided Heavenly Father had sent the snow just for him! :) I think he's right. Parker definitely loved it!

This trip was so wonderful. I feel so blessed that we were able to go on it and I feel so blessed in the way that everything worked out! Our family is closer because of it and we were able to build and nurture relationships with our extended family and friends! Thank you to all of you who took time away from your schedules to see us and to add to our experience!

We are so happy to be back and to be celebrating the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. It is my goal this season to do as President Monson suggested: to create a spirit of love that will “fill our homes and our lives and linger there long after the tree is down and the lights are put away for another year.”

“Let it be a time that lights the eyes of children and puts laughter on their lips,” he said. “Let it be a time for lifting the lives of those who live in loneliness. Let it be a time for calling our families together, for feeling a closeness to those who are near to us and a closeness also to those who are absent.

“Let it be a time of prayers for peace, for the preservation of free principles, and for the protection of those who are far from us. Let it be a time of forgetting self and finding time for others. Let it be a time for discarding the meaningless and for stressing the true values. Let it be a time of peace because we have found peace in His teachings.

“Most of all, let it be a time to remember the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, that we may share in the song of the angels, the gladness of the shepherds and the worship of the Wise Men.”

Merry Christmas!

O Happy day!

Here's everybody drying off before lunch after our morning at the beach.

We went and rented a little paddle boat for $15/hour and road up the some of the channel's here.
The kids loved it, plus we got to burn off a few extra calories before we headed off to eat some amazing pizza!

This little girl just couldn't get enough of the camera this afternoon.

She says "cheese" when we take pictures, but she doesn't always look happy.

I love this sweet little guy too!
He smiled once for the camera and then when I was trying to take a picture shortly later, he said, "I already gave my smile."
hmmmm...I think in this picture he'd forgotten that--I see a little half smile.

Day 4--I bet you say

What can make me feel this way??? SUNSHINE!

Today was a beautiful day. We spent hours down on the beach this morning.

It started out fun for Paige, but then she got knocked over by a wave and she was done. She and I spent the remainder of time snuggling. She kept saying over and over "I'm sad." And then she would give this little pouty face pictured below.
She's such a sweet little snuggler, but rarely wants to do it, so I was plenty willing to snuggle this little bundle of love for an hour or two!

This little guy had fun the whole time!

There's just something about watching Parley with the kids that makes me love him even more.
He is such a great father!
Here he and Parker are building an awesome sandcastle!

The final product:

Day 3--A Day of Rest

This morning we started out by attending a local LDS church, then hopped on the road again to head to Oxnard.

It was a pretty relaxed trip, only about 4 1/2 hours today.

We got to our hotel, unloaded the car, and walked the 200 yards to the beach. It was nearly dark but the kids loved listening to the ocean and running through the sand. It was beautiful weather here today. Today's temps got up to 76 degrees. We are hoping for more of the same. But honestly anything above 55 we would think to be heavenly. Plus no rain!

Our walk was short because it was getting so dark and the kids were asleep by 6:30. They are so tired and this was a great day to get them to bed early.



We have our patio door open and can hear the waves. Is that not the most relaxing sound ever?!

Sweet dreams!

Day 2--The Giants

On day 2 we started out by driving through Avenue of the Giants. We got out a few times to look around.

Look at these muscle men!

A huge tree with fire damage inside.

What they call the "Grandfather Tree"

These places were great and were free!

Oakland Temple--Day 2

We stopped by the Oakland Temple and Visitors Center.
The kids loved the statue of Christ. It was great to have a little discussion with the kids about our Savior's love for them!
You could see in their eyes that they understood that love. They felt it.


Then a picture in front of the temple! I think Heavenly Father really wanted us to get this one because everyone is looking in the direction of the camera and smiling. That is a true miracle.


Then we enjoyed the sunset that was happening behind the temple.

We're so glad we took the time to make this stop. It was such a peaceful place! We all loved it!

We Saw Bigfoot! --Day 2

Scary, right?

Then Parleyand the kids had icecream (I had hot cocoa). They liked it, but I think they were surprised at how cold it was. ???Weird.

I hope chocolate icecream doesn't stain.

Then we paid $5 to drive through a tree. It was a dream come true for Parley and I'll pay any amount to help him fulfill his dreams!

Let the ultimate road trip begin!

We may be crazy but we are ready to have some fun!

Our family has begun an approximately 5000 mile road trip! Wahoo!

We have lots of friends and family to visit all over in the west plus Texas (not considered the west is it?)

Here we are at the beginning of our journey.

DAY 1

Food + the knowledge that we will see grandparents and cousins= HAPPY!

Does something smell? Oh that's me!

This sweet little girl threw up in the last leg of our trip. Parley blames my driving. I blame the curvy road. It was probably a little of both.

Fun/Sweet Moment: I was driving. The gas needle was hovering above a quarter of a tank so I figured we had at least 75 miles left in us. However, suddenly I looked down and saw the gas light on. We were a little worried because we were in rural northern California and we weren't sure when the next gas station would happen. We were using our GPS to find one, but it said the nearest one was at least 30 miles away. After driving for about 10 minutes with the gas light on, I asked Parley, "Do you have a prayer in your heart?" And then Parker piped up and said, "I want to say the prayer!" So he did. Then Paigey wanted a turn. Then Parker said it was my turn. Then it was Dad's turn. And then we did it all over again, asking for Heavenly Father's help to get to a gas station. At that moment I was so grateful for Parker's faith. He was so trusting in God and knew that He would answer our prayers. I hope he always has that faith in his Father in Heaven. Then, moments later we came upon some teeny tiny gas station in the middle of nowhere. It is such a simple thing, but to me it is huge. One of our goals on this trip is to create lasting memories. I hope that our family will always remember this experience and know that our Father always hears our prayers.

I loved this old gas pump! I did not love the price we paid, BUT we were willing to pay any price at that point.

Okay, I'm ready to start blogging again.

I'm sure you've all been dying from our lack of updates. I know that the thrill of your life is the moment you realize Loving Life has posted! So we're sorry for any pain, mental anxiety or undue stress we may have caused by taking our little (or BIG) hiatus. But we've thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and are feeling refreshed and ready to be more diligent. You may relax and enjoy life now. We're back!
Beware. Picture and update overload.

Well, I guess first things first. At the end of August we went to Canada for an amazing opportunity to attend a family camp specifically geared toward military families. It was A-MAZ-ING! I can't even begin to describe how much fun we had, plus they had some great spiritual messages that really helped us to refocus our lives on our Savior. It was so nice. And to top it all off, we got to go with some of our best friends! Could it get even better? Parley learned how to wake-board and I re-learned how to wake-board since it had been nearly a decade since my last time getting up. oooh. It was so fun! We went boating, hiking, did a ropes course, had delicious food (too delicious, thank you for those 5 extra pounds Canada), played games, swam, and just thoroughly enjoyed being together!

Enjoy the next few posts as well because I have a lot of updating to do!

Should a child enjoy torturing a parent so much? He also loved dumping "toilet water" (freezing cold ocean water) onto me.

This is the one picture Parley got of me. He says he was just so enthralled with my amazing skuh-zizzles (that's my rapper form of skills) that he forgot to take more pictures.
So I forgive him.

This is one of the million I took of Parley. He was so awesome! He had never wake-boarded and he was going all over the place and jumping and flipping. It's the truth! He would try to jump and then he would just flip, or is it flop, into the water?! :) Seriously, though, I was so impressed! He was way better than me! I can only go one direction--to my right. grrr.

Look at that concentration!

Parker and his great buddy on Pirate Night! So much fuN!

And let's end with this handsome man! Isn't he handsome! I think so.
He makes my heart flutter!

Read on for more love of life!

He is sooo old! But don't get a complex. Okay?

Our tradition is that the birthday person gets to choose their dinner.

Parley loves biscuits and gravy. That's what we have for his birthday.
No questions asked.
This year we also had bacon and some yummy yellow grapefruit (I give you permission to wipe your drool. It was good)!

Parley really liked it!



The kids love grapefruit and they like to get every last bit of it's deliciousness!

Some birthday hugs!

Parker helped Parley blow out his candle. Which means that Parker blew out the candle before we were even done singing. He's such a good helper!

We love Parley so much! He is such a great dad and a great husband. But he should be great....he's had LOTS of years to become so! :) I love you Parley!

Trick or Treat!

Parker was Peter Pan. He wore this costume every day from the moment it was ready. And it was so fun to listen to him quote the movie too. (although slightly disturbing as well, knowing that our 3 year old can quote a movie. yikes!)

Peter Pan helping out Tinkerbell

She loved her costume and would wear hers whenever Peter Pan was around!

And don't you think Parley should grow out his hair, dye it black and not wash it for days? He looks pretty sweet! I kind of like the fro look too! I wish I had that hair in real life. We had lots of fun dressing like hippies. My sign says on one side, "Save the pigs! Eat less sausage!" And on the other, "Stop the Dihydrogen Monoxide!" In hind sight I wish I would have put H2O because so many people had no idea what I was talking about. oh well. I guess next time I make a sign protesting water I will remember that!

on a side note: don't you think Parley should wear that shirt on days besides Halloween? I seriously love it. We might do a hippie themed family picture, so don't be surprised when you get your Christmas cards and we're all dressed like hippie children (that's what Parker would ask us, "are you a hippie child?")