Monday we were back over at Grandpa's house helping with more painting and fixing.

Everyone had something to do...

I helped paint the living room...
(an attractive beige color found on the mis-tint shelf for half off!)


Colleen did trim and filled cracks...


Adam helped repair closet doors...



And Jonesy finished off the closet door project.


Well, that's what happens when you take the pictures!

Maybe it's because of nostalgia-my mom always made it...

Maybe it's because they are good for me...

Maybe it's because my kids love them...

Maybe it's because they are so dang delicious...

but I can eat about a dozen whole wheat waffles with strawberries and whipped cream.



The feeling is mutual.

In all cases.


Hungry yet?

Whole Wheat Blender Waffles
1 Cup whole wheat kernels
1 Cup milk

Put in blender and blend on high until smooth (5-10 minutes). This is a great way to wake up the entire house. I remember many mornings not being able to sleep through the racket made by the blender crunching up the wheat kernels.

If it starts to get too thick add the eggs one at a time.

2 eggs

Once the batter is smooth add:
1/2 tea. salt
1/4 Cup oil
1/2 Cup milk
Blend well

3 tea. Baking Soda-blend briefly (just enough to mix)

Grease waffle iron, bake, and top with whipped cream and fresh strawberries.

"Good enough to make your tongue slap your brains out." -Crazy 'ol Maurice

Out of no-where, arms raised, lungs at full volume, while sitting in her car-seat on the way home from gymnastics;

"I have blue power!!"

Yep, that's our Maura.

Hey dad, come help me with a little project...

That's how it started on the phone yesterday.

First I just wanted to borrow his truck, then he said he would come help Adam and me on Saturday, then we decided we needed to get it done on Friday because rain is forecasted for the rest of the weekend. I told him that Adam was working but he figured we could do it ourselves...

So we began. The project was to remove the big brick slab in the backyard and some branches from off the bushes I trimmed. The previous owners installed the brick patio before they had a back porch. This is where they kept their bbq and table, etc. We have since built on a porch and this area doesn't get much use. It is cracked, collects water and is a roach heaven. We also wanted more grass area for playing so it's got to go!


No, it's not just paving bricks installed with sand...they are cemented together...oh, so fun! First we had to break them apart...

Okay, grandpa broke them apart, Maura and I hauled the small pieces to the truck. Good thing Jonesy is tough!


Jonesy got the bigger pieces. There were quite a few we had to lift together!


Seriously, they were HEAVY! (He is making faces so I could get a good picture!)

We did find a lot of fun "squirmies" for Mookie to play with! She loves worms!


Colleen also came to help. She turned our pomegranate bush into a tree! Much nicer!

We loaded all the bricks, bushes (and other branches) into the trailer,

Then the rest into the truck.



We headed to the dump speculating how much it weighed. We didn't want to take two trips even though it seemed kind of heavy. You can see how low the truck is riding.

It didn't take long to unload at the dump (good thing 'cuz it was stinky) then on the way out they weighed us. YIPES!! 5,760lbs!!! Almost 3 tons on dad's 1 1/2 ton truck!!

So, the little project got a lot out of hand! It took us about 5 hours to do it all. Dad came at noon and after a snack we got to work and by 5pm we were back from the dump.

Adam was thrilled to see it was all finished by the time he got home from work now we will have to go to their house and help them with projects!

Thank you, thank you, thank you! We couldn't have done it without your muscles!!

My lovely Maura is a Princess...

Yup, just like this!

Maura and her friends at playgroup

Brighton, Maura, Rylie,
Elizabeth
Ella, Macy, Delani



(I couldn't help stealing this pic from a friend...hilarious!)

Awwww, he loves me!

What a nice thing to come home to.
As the garage door opened it hung right where I should have parked.



How sweet.

Just an FYI about my really cool friend who is now a famous author!!

She is coming to town to sign books. If you want a fun read and want to have her sign your book, check it out!

Colleen Houck
The Tiger's Curse

Author Event
In this gripping YA fantasy, a sultry Indian prince is cursed to spend eternity as a tiger until he meets a plucky American teenager destined to free him. This is the first volume in an epic saga that will keep readers on the edge of their seats.

Wednesday February 16, 2011 7:00 PM

Desert Ridge Barnes & Noble
Desert Ridge Marketplace

21001 N. Tatum Blvd. Suite 42

Phoenix, AZ 85050

480-538-8520

Smart Phone Vs. Stupid Phone

I have a Stupid Phone.

It makes phone calls.

It sends text messages.

That's it. The end. Finito. That is all this phone does.



I can have access to AIM and email but to figure out how to use it on my phone takes a P.h.D in Electronic Engineering. See, you have to be reallllly Smart to be able to effectively use my Stupid Phone.

Whereas, a Smart Phone user doesn't need much upstairs to be able to do all kinds of things. The Smart Phone is so Smart, that you can be Stupid and still use it easily.

Things were going along fine until....Adam got me a Smart Phone.

It is beautiful. It's black and shiny and brand new. The classic Iphone. From what I hear it's quite the collector's item.

Adam was doing some Craigslist selling to some computer geek and while the guy was here Adam offered to sell his PSP along with other things the guy was buying.

The guy wanted it but didn't have any cash. BUT he did work for Apple and just happened to have a brand new, still in the case original Iphone he was willing to trade. (I swear this guy was Kyle's-my brother in law- long lost twin brother or cousin or something...he was quite the collector of all things Apple.)

So, my sweet hubby got me a Smart Phone! How thoughtful of him! He tried to keep it a secret, but the guy was here for a while and I kept hanging around and overheard him say he was going to trade for the Iphone. I'm so glad my hubby drags me kicking and screaming into the electronic age...

I've only had it a couple of days and I've been able to do anything I wanted to do. I did get a limited data plan (luckily there was a special this month) which allows me to message my scheduler at work.

But now that I have a Smart Phone I'm afraid I don't have to think as much...I'm starting to get a little Stupid...

I'm not sure if I should thank Adam or not! :0)

Really, I love it! I am so lucky to have a gadget guy that thinks I should love gadgets too! Thanks, honey!!

Putting it back together again...

Dad, Colleen, and a nice neighbor worked to get the plywood on the counters and cut the tile. I came a few days later to help do the back splash and grout. I really like working with the glass tiles. They are very simple to cut and put up.

On to grout...

They look really good. Colleen has been working really hard to make everything look good. She painted the kitchen a very pale celery green and the cabinets white. The counters are a coppery color and really look nice.


Then, on to the bathroom in the hall. The walls next to the tub had rotted from so many years of water, same with the baseboards. So Colleen and dad and I ripped out the baseboards, patched the walls, and put up some tile to protect the walls.


It was so rotted, you could mostly just pull out the plaster and old drywall by hand.

Then the patch job. It was tricky because most of the drywall behind the bath tile had rotted and fallen out. The only thing holding the tile together was the glue and grout! Dad had to try and put cement board behind the tile. It was tricky, but he and Colleen figured it out!

Then the easy part, the tile.

The glass tile looks really good! It will be a huge improvement over the warped and moldy wall.


It's coming along, but there's a lot of work still to go. Once the kitchen is finished it will be a lot easier for them to live and do small parts at a time. It's just so hard to wait when you just want to get everything done right now!

This Saturday will be a big Jones clean up of the yard and outside of the house.

Grandpa's house

My Grandpa Jones' house has been shared by many cousins and relatives in the last few years after grandma and grandpa passed away. It has needed a little care for a while and my dad and Colleen decided they could use a winter in Arizona so they came to live in it and do some fixing for a few months.

I was one of those who was blessed by being able to live in my grandparent's house while they were on a mission. It was such a help to be able to live there with few expenses. We were able to save enough money to buy a home of our own. I feel like I need to pay it back some way, so I've been trying to go over as often as possible to help do some fixing. It has been a lot of fun.

One of the exciting projects was tearing out the old kitchen counters in preparation for new ones.

Along with the old tile, there was 2 1/2 inches of concrete we had to pull out.

Dallin used his skills he learned while tearing apart our counters. He was a huge help.

It really was fun to work together.

The hardest part was getting the back splash (and another inch of concrete with chicken wire) off the walls.

Seriously, a huge project!

Let's just say we all needed a shower at the end of the day.

We were left with bare boards, bare walls and holes to patch.


Next step, putting it all back together again!

Dallin came home from school yesterday with his hood on. It's been rather cold here (windy and in the 40's during the day!) and he wore a fleece hoodie to school. As we got out of the car he said "Mom, I'm unleashing my powerful hair"



Yep, very powerful hair!

Last week when it was warmer we hosted playgroup. Well, Adam was the host and I went to work for a while. I caught the last hour and it is so much fun!


We've been doing this for a couple of years now and it has been really good for Maura. She has so many friends she loves to play with.

Now that the kids are older playgroup is a blast. They play together so well. The trampoline was a big hit this time with no casualties...whew!


The girls always play 'babies' together making up stories and being mommies and such. I love it when they play make believe together!

The tree house was also a big hit. I trimmed the trees last week and now kids aren't afraid of going up into it.


We sure are grateful for all our friends and the great neighborhood we live in.