May: Unexpected Weekend #5

Drew and I were super excited to have Kinsley and Konner for the week in St. George. We had some fun things planned but it was a little hard to work around my schedule of work and his too, however we did the best we could!

Monday afternoon we got to St. George just in time to take Drew to work. We dropped him off and spent the afternoon shopping. We got tired SUPER fast because we had just had a big weekend. Luckily the kids were troopers and they even helped me shop for groceries! Later that evening we met up with Jaclyn, Ryan, Harrison, & Brittney for frozen yogurt at Yogurtland. 
The next day I took the kids to my coworker's house for a pool party and BBQ! We played with her kids in their pool for quite a while and then eventually had some yummy hamburgers, watermelon, and roasted veggies. It was a blast! And the kids had fun too! 

My coworker's daughter drew a picture of me, ha ha! so cute.

That evening when Drew got home from work, we went to the temple just for fun. It's always a fun place to go, even if it is just to walk around it!

Well Wednesday morning I woke up early to Kinsley knocking on my door at 6 am telling me that she had been up since 3 am SICK. I thought to myself, "Oh gosh, hopefully it is just food poisoning or something..." Well it turned out that she was sick all day long, poor thing. 

Around lunch time I took Konner to get the World's Best Corndog and that made him happy. However, I just felt so bad that Kins was sick. It kept us from some of our fun plans that day, but it all turned out okay.

The next day was Thursday-- the day to drive back to Richfield. Kinsley was feeling better by now, and we eventually made it back to Richfield that afternoon/evening. 

This was a killer dinner that I made and Konner literally licked his plate clean! That's sayin a lot ;)

However, Konner started to not feel good when we got home. I was just hoping and praying that it wasn't what Kinsley had, but sure enough he ended up getting sick that night... and then SO DID I. I got SO sick.. So Konner and I got what Kinsley had... some type of flu.

How sweet is my mom?! She's the best!

The reason we came back up to Richfield was because my great-aunt Suzie passed away and her funeral was on Friday. It was her time to go and we are glad that she isn't suffering from pain or misery any more. She was diagnosed with brain cancer a few months earlier and so it was a fast process.

I wasn't able to attend her funeral because I was sick.. and that broke my heart. I've always adored her and loved her spunky personality. She was always happy and she was truly an inspiration to all those who knew her or was ever around her.

This is me with Suzie the day of my graduation 4 years ago. Don't know why the pic did that though!

She will definitely be missed. 

The next day however I was luckily feeling a little bit better and so I was able to go with my family to the Manti temple to be with my cousin Shay as he received his endowment. It was such a beautiful day and boy, the temple is by far one of my favorite places to be! Especially when I'm with my family inside the temple-- it is truly a piece of heaven! It is such a joy to be there.. I love it so much. It's such a happy, beautiful, peaceful place. It truly is the House of the Lord.

--gift from Katie & Bri for our 1st year anniversary, we love it! It's the same stone that the Manti Temple is made of--

We ate at El Mexicano after the temple. We said goodbye to Shay that night because he's leaving on his mission soon and we won't see him again before he leaves. It was bitter sweet to say goodbye! We will miss him. Well, Sunday came and we left early that morning so we could spend time with Drew's parents and brother that day.

And that concludes our five weeks of travel. Holy moly!! Our little car has been such a gem! Hope it keeps it up because we are not having very much luck with finding a new car. It's okay though, we'll find one eventually.

Now this week we work and then we play on the weekend again! But this time we'll be down in Vegas for our ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY! Woot!

Love,
Kate

May: Weekend #4 (Kambry's RHS Graduation)

Kambry graduated from high school! Congrats to her!! It seems just like yesterday that I was wearing that gown she has on.. although it was FOUR years ago! Crazy how time flies.

Drew and I got her an arvo watch! She loved it.

The graduation commencement was on Friday so we got up early that day to start decorating for the big luncheon later that afternoon. I decorated a cute old chalkboard and had a blast doing it. The place looked pretty festive! We set up pics of the graduates (Shay and Kambry) on the tables and hung up banners around.

After we got done setting up, we quickly went back home to get ready. I helped Kam with her hair and then I helped her with the gown and cap + all the other fun stuff she got to wear. Unfortunately I put her National Honor's society thing on her backwards (woops) haha but her friends helped her out with it later so that was good.

My cute grandma Micki made her a beautiful money lei and it looked so cute on Kambry! She was definitely glowing with happiness all day long.





The commencement wasn't too long -surprisingly- and it was pretty enjoyable. It was fun to see her walk across the stage as her name was called. Of course she had a big crowd rooting for her!! We're lucky to have a big family that is so supportive ;)



We took lots and lots of pictures after the ceremony and then we headed to her luncheon. We had some yummy pulled pork sandwiches with of course scrumptious desserts. We visited with family and friends and then eventually Shay and Kambry opened up some presents.

Grandma Carol & Kambry

The next day was my mom's birthday!!! She is so amazing and she deserved to have a special day so my siblings and I decided to make her a donut cake and surprise her with her favorite donut ever!!

 Now although Parson's Bakery isn't here anymore, I was able to go to fresh market and request them to slice normal glazed donuts in half and spread the yummy pink frosting in between the two halves. Holy smokes they tasted almost exactly like the old Parson's Bakery Alligators! They were so good. Anyways, we got them home and stacked them up, put candles in the top, and surprised her when she got home! Her face and reaction was priceless!!! She was so happy. It made all of us happy. 

She of course asked for another clock for her birthday (because she is working on a clock wall in our home), and we treated her with some of her favorite candy-- peppermint patties and dots. She was one happy camper that was for sure!



That day the girls went over to Monroe to attend my cousin's baby shower. It was different than any I'd ever been to before, but it was lots of fun! I was asked to do my cousin's hair, while other people were working on giving her a pedicure and manicure. She was also being fed fruit HA HA! She was being pampered and she was so happy about it! As for the other people who were there, they could choose to either work on making tissue paper balls, or a clothespin banner for the baby's room, or they could decorate onesies and headbands for the baby! There was also a fleece blanket being tied for the baby as well. It was so cool to have all these projects going on! It was all for my cousin and the baby and you could tell that she was so excited about it all!

After the baby shower we had the annual Jones family reunion. It was fun to visit with all our family. Kambry didn't get to go to either the baby shower or the reunion because she left for the Church History Tour. We were sad she couldn't be there with us and it was sad to say goodbye to her for two weeks, but I was SO excited for her too because of all the fun things she was going to be experiencing!
Later that evening we had a fire in our backyard and had smores. I absolutely love Richfield nights. They're so starry and clear, and there is just a smell in the air of being home that makes me so happy. Weird maybe, but it's true.

Monday morning was Memorial Day and so we gathered with some family around Keri's grave and had a family prayer like we always do every year. It was really beautiful. We left to head back to St. George soon after.

Well I guess that about wraps it up for that weekend! Oh, and this time as we drove back down to St. George, we had two extra bodies in our little car! Kinsley and Konner came down for the week because we would be coming up in four days for my aunt Suzy's funeral.
Love,
Kate

May: Weekend #3 (Kam's Seminary Graduation)

After what seemed like the hardest week of my life (Drew's surgery and on-going recovery), we made it back up to Richfield again for another fast-paced busy weekend. Drew was still pretty miserable and so the ride up seemed to take forever. Luckily we made it there safely and Drew was able to get some good rest that night.

The next day Drew stayed home to rest some more while I went with my family to our neighbor's funeral. It was definitely a day full of tears and sniffles but the funeral was a beautiful tribute to him. We just need to always remember to tell our loved ones that we LOVE THEM... and hug them more often too because you never know when it is their time to leave this life.

Luckily for us we know that this life isn't the end and that he is in a better place. But still my heart breaks for his family and loved ones.

Sunday was my cousin Shay's farewell. His entire family was asked to speak as well so that was neat to hear from all of them. We had a luncheon for him afterwards and it was fun to visit with all of our extended family.

That evening was Seminary graduation. Kambry was the Seminary President this year and had the opportunity to speak at graduation and so we got to watch her. She did amazing! She is such a bright person and her testimony is so strong. She's such a great example to not only me but absolutely EVERYONE around her. Plus I don't blame all the guys who chase her! She's so beautiful, inside and out!

Well Drew and I ended up staying the night but we left early the next morning because he had a doctor's appointment in St. George to get his stents that were in his nose out.

I loved driving back in the early morning light though, it was so peaceful and bright. It made me happy!

Drew's doctor's appointment went well and he is SO happy to have the stents out. They were much bigger than we thought! They ended up being at least 3 inches long (maybe 4) and 2 inches wide!!! I can't believe they fit in his nostrils!!! It was crazy. 

We are excited for Kambry and Shay's high school graduation this next weekend! It will be another weekend to blog about, that's for sure :)

Kambry opening up our first present to her-- HA HA :)

Love,

Kate

Drew's Nose Surgery

Early Monday morning Drew and I went to the hospital for Drew's nose surgery. He had some work done for his deviated septum and also had a bone growing abnormally so he got that shaved off too.

Lucky for me, my mother-in-law Linda came down to keep me company while he went into surgery... Thank goodness she was there!

Drew finally went into surgery at 11:20 a.m. so during that time Linda and I went on a walk and sat outside where there were many flowers and birds. We went back to the waiting area an hour later and the Doctor came out to tell us that the surgery went well. Around 1 p.m. the nurse came to get us and took us back to see Drew.

 Boy was I in for a treat! When I saw him my stomach sunk but I tried not to think about it. His skin was gray, he was laying down but was elevated by his pillow and the angle of the bed, and he was unresponsive. He looked like he was dead. Maybe a couple minutes passed as I ran my fingers through his hair and told him I loved him before it hit-- my stomach cringed, my skin got hot and clammy, my face turned pale and the room started spinning. I felt so sick. I felt like I was on the edge of throwing up/passing out. 

The nurses helped me over to a bed of my own where they put a wet rag on my forehead and a fan in my face to cool me down. They gave me some soda crackers and then wheeled me into the room where Drew was. I looked over at him and began to bawl. It was crazy! I didn't like seeing him that way and I couldn't believe that I was reacting that way. 

Then I started to laugh. I was laughing through my tears because I was so surprised at my reaction! It was ridiculous. After eating the soda crackers I felt better and I eventually sat up and got color back into my face. What a joke! I guess I have a weaker stomach than I thought!!

Well to make a long day's story short, Drew was in and out of it for the next 3 hours. He was super nauseous and sleepy. 

<found this on his bed first out of recovery, apparently he asked for a cookie... crazy guy.>

He eventually bucked up and got color in his face so finally we were able to take him home at 4:30 p.m.

It was such an emotionally draining day! 

The recovery hasn't been the best... but it has been better than we thought it would be. 

I've had to take some time off of work to stay home and help him but it's okay. 

Otter pops and jello have been nice to have around and we have been so lucky to have friends care about us. Tuesday morning my coworker brought over some movies, muffins, and milk for us! And then later that day our neighbor brought over some juice and other nice treats for Drew.

I have enjoyed taking care of him but boy, it's so exhausting! We keep praying that he'll get better and better every new day.

Oh, and he'll get his stents out on Monday. They look like straws stuffed up his nose, haha, poor guy.

Love,

Kate

May: Weekend #2 (Mother's Day + Family Pics)

Another weekend has flown by. This time Drew and I left St. George a little early to get to Cedar before his mom got home. We surprised her by cleaning her house for her! The gift of service is pretty great I'd say. It leaves you AND the receiver feeling happy!

Saturday was our annual Mother's Day service day at Grandma Carol's house. It was a fantastic day! And it was Drew's first time too. A bunch of our family from my Dad's side of the family showed up and we all worked around the home and in the yard. We planted flowers, washed windows, and pruned trees and much much more. We ate some yummy food topped off with Grandma Carol's famous fudge jumbles and sugar cookies-- so good!

The next day was Sunday, Mother's day. We made my mom a bouquet of all of our hands and got her some plants to put in her pots on her front porch. It made her happy :)

<This is me with my mom when she was about 22!>

We went to Grandma Micki's house for a sandwich before going to church. Drew and I gave her a big box of junior mints and a note that said, "you were 'MINT' to have a wonderful Mother's Day!" haha.. we're so clever.

Later that day we had family pictures. Grandma Micki's entire posterity was here for this great event and the weather just so happened to be crappy. However! It cleared up for us right as we got our pictures taken and the sun came out. You would never be able to tell that just hours earlier it was snowing/raining huh?!

<all the grandkids>

We were so blessed. Prayer really does work.

After pictures we stopped by Grandma Carol's to say goodbye to her and Grandpa June before heading back to St. George. Drew and I gave her some V8 juice with the saying "Happy Mother's Day! We love you 'berry' much!"

<Grandma Carol's bathroom wallpaper is wonderful.>

We stopped in Cedar on the way home to visit Drew's mom to wish her a happy Mother's day. We gave her a spearmint plant with a cute pot because she loves to put mint in her water and stuff!

So that was our second weekend in Richfield for the month of May and it was wonderful to celebrate all the moms and mom figures in our lives. 

Love,

Kate