The Jones Archive
This picture is the closest thing I could get of them both looking at the camera. They were wearing matching pajamas and I thought that would make a good picture, but sometimes, it's just not the right time to get two kids smiling and looking at the same time! :)
Cecily was quickly done with that sitting for no reason thing and kept on trying to exit the premises!
So, they happened to end up with matching dresses too so we attempted to photograph these as well. Another day, another time of day and still it's just so hard to do. Cecily is so serious when I pull out the camera!
This one's not too bad. I let them go play after this.
Anyone else hear quick-paced, small footsteps behind them every time they open the fridge? The girls found some grapes on this visit to the fridge. Cecily freely partakes, of course!
Millie is here displaying the lovely tower that she made with... (?), I think...it was William. I like the way she cradles her baby's head. She's very good to her baby.
The other day I sat out on the deck and snapped some pictures while the kids played around me.
By the way, Ben lost his first tooth. He was so excited to be big enough, of course.
It's difficult to get a genuine happy look from Ben, so this is a rare shot.
Couldn't catch baby at all. She's just too fast these days.
Tickling toes.
This is Amelia trying to imitate Benjamin.
She also did a whole lot of twirling around.
She's such a happy girl, always bouncing and dancing from place to place. We think she brings a lot of joy and sweetness.
The feminine influence is welcome. The boys benefit greatly.
William found an inchworm.
Fuzzy inchworm, but I liked the clarity of Will's face.
Just a happy moment at the dinner table, following a meal.
Funny: Will actually did the calculations to figure out exactly how many seconds each person in our family has been alive. He made a slip of paper for each individual, did the math, labeled it with their name and deposited them all into an envelope he made for them.
Then he felt inspired to figure out how many seconds there have been in all of time. He figured out how many were in a year and multiplied it by 2009. We told him he'd have to multiply that by three to get about how many seconds have passed in all of history. That's what you see above. 
We took a walk bright and early to the neighborhood park a few days back.
The air, the light and the kids all looked so fresh. 
I picked this picture of William in the wheat field behind Grandma and Grandpa's house in Mississippi from last Thanksgiving. That wheat field was like a magical world of it's own. It was the greatest discovery of our vacation. 
Cecily was more than happy to explore outside, as you saw in the video.
Then we took turns playing with her on the swing.
Sam and Will collected a large leaf pile in the backyard.
I think they enjoyed themselves in the process.
A rake face.
Millie wandered around from person to person in a bit of a circuit.
Ben cleared some thorny brush from the hillside. A great job for him. 
Peter cleaned out the gutters and then scrubbed some mildew off of them. 
Calvin helped me clear out the garden beds and prepare them for winter. 
This is a pumpkin casserole roasted in it's own shell. I thought it sounded interesting, so we gave it a try. Above, it is part way through the cooking process.
Here it is all done. We weren't terribly impressed. I guess we're just used to pumpkin being sweetened and spiced up. This is a savory dish with onion and cream. It was really fun to try though.
I must have been feeling pumpkin-inspired this year. I put together this fun pumpkin cake for a church dinner a couple of weeks ago. 
It's really two bundt cakes with a cupcake stem. It took quite a lot of time, but it was a 
I got a bone-in pork roast for an incredible price, but had no idea what to do with it! I found this recipe for Autumn Pork Roast. It used everything I had on hand, including some butternut squash and fresh sage from the garden, so good or bad, it was going to be tried. Once I got it all arranged in the pan, I was surprised to see how pretty it looked. It turned out quite well, with lots to feed our large family. 
Last Friday, I got busy trying out some different pizza combinations. The one at the top was a recommendation from a restaurant. I think it had canadian bacon, chopped tomato, feta cheese and pesto dots with some mozzarella and no sauce. The one below is a simple pesto pizza with roma tomatoes and mozz. 
This one we've had before, it has three cheeses, including gorgonzola, with garlic slices and kalamata olives. My kids actually love this one.
We attended the local home school Harvest Ball a few weeks back. They are meant to be historical, sort of a Civil War Ball.
Will and Sam enjoy taking pictures during the dances that they can't participate in. Will took this picture of the pumpkin bars that we brought to add to the refreshments.
Here is some of our group, sitting on the side watching. Watching is mostly what we come to do. We're just trying to learn the dances and participate as we are able so that our kids will all be comfortable and familiar. We'd like to have this type of dancing be a regular part of our church life eventually. We'd like to see our church community, including all ages, dancing together to celebrate the Lord of the Dance!
I thought these two young girls looked so cute walking around together in their historic gowns. 
I think Will took this one too. We don't have historic costumes to wear, so we just dress up a bit.
Cecily played ever so happily back here behind our chairs.
Here's some shots of the dancers. This dance is done in a long line with the partners facing each other.
The partners come together.
This couple in the Chinese costumes is one of our two engaged couples at church. This is Tim Woody and Shaela Carpenter. Peter will be performing their marriage ceremony next month.
Too bad it's from the back, but this couple is the hosting parents of the ball, Mr. and Mrs. Kincell, doing the Salty Dog Rag. I loved seeing them do this lively dance!
One of our dear young men from church saying hello to Amelia in the middle of doing the Salty Dog Rag with Hannah Moss.
There they go. Everyone loves this dance.
Tim and Shaela doing it as well.
And last, doing the Pattycake Polka. This is one that the kids can do so we joined in. 
We did make our final trip to the Good Zoo before the membership ran out. Lucky for you, my camera battery died almost right away and I took hardly any pictures! But here they are entering and dying of anticipation to see the new 18 foot Python! Millie is going through the door saying, "See the big 'nake? See the big 'nake?"
My kids enjoying the Meerkats, on the way to the Python.
There she is. They were thrilled. We visited her a few times throughout the day. Once, she yawned and opened her jaws to full capacity and our jaws fell to the floor.
Golden Lion Tamarinds.
Emerald Green Tree Python.
Feeding Cecily Cheerios.
Not big enough to participate much, but enjoying the whole deal anyhow.
I think this picture was the second raking. We've done three so far.
The little ones don't mind undoing the work.
The younger you are, the more you're delighted to discover the joy of leaves.
(the warm weather sure has been nice)
Cal wanted me to take his picture. As soon as I took this, he asked, "Did I look like an owl?" I kept it because I think he's a hoot!
"Mom, Mom, Mom! Could you please take a picture of this?!?" He's been working on doing this for several months. He can finally do it!