Bode James at 2 1/2 years old.

• Loves the fridge; so much he broke off the lock so he can get inside.
• He knows so many words; but prefers to talk in gibberish.
• Won't go outside with out a hat in the middle of the day.
• Loves to watch "wabbits" aka Max and Ruby in nick.
• Hates to be naked, and must always have a shirt on. He is asking for one in this picture.
• Sleeps in a big boy bed and loves it!
• Would eat a banana for every meal.
• Loves trains, big or small.
• His favorite pass time is reading books.
• Tells me every time he is "pee pee" or "poopy" but refuses so sit on the potty.
• Loves to clean up, and sings the song that goes with it.
• Is a nursery pro, he never even looks back at me when we drop him off.

Just a few fact to remind me of my little boy. He is such a joy to us and we love his to death.

On my mind..

So after reading Breaking Dawn and the rest of the books in the series I have not been able to get over how to describe how I feel about them. I came across this article on another blog (I forgot exactly what site, sorry) and I think is sums up how I feel about them in general. I do not like the way these books were marketed toward young girls as a fun, teen drama. I know that they are just books, but sometimes it is just a movie, TV show or song. But these ideas and thoughts get put in young and impressionable minds. I have always loved going to the movies, but lately it seems that every one I go to is getting closer and closer to the line. Jokes and innuendo are droped in all the time. Curse words are slipped into every conversation. I find myself saying, "This movie was great, except for that one spot." Just becasue things are not blatantly right in front of your face, doesn't mean that we don't know what they are really talking about.

Thoughts on the Twilight series:

"* Dangerous people are sexy.

* Love should be enduring no matter how unhealthy or dangerous it is for you.

* Some people think it's not a good idea to have sex before marriage, but it's fun to see how far you can go before you cross the line.

* If you use self-control, you can go really far before actually having intercourse.

* Even if you think premarital sex is wrong, sleeping together and sneaking around behind a parent's back is okay.

* Parents don't know what's good for you in terms of love.

* Marriage is something to be feared and may ruin your enjoyment of sex.

* Sexual intercourse is the best part of love, marriage, and human life.

* If sex is violent it will not permanently hurt you as long as you are really into it.

* The more violent and out of control the sex is, the better it is. If you really desire your partner, you might tear each other's clothes off, destroying them in the process. You might destroy furniture, too, and hurt each other, but that just means it was great. (In Breaking Dawn Edward tears clothes, rips apart pillows with his teeth and destroys furniture during sex. Bella wakes up with bruises all over her body.)

* In a perfect world, we would desire and be able to have intercourse all night long, and wish it would go on longer. The best possible scenario would be for our bodies to never wear out and for our desire to be constant.

* Sex is more enjoyable if our partner's body is perfect. (Edward has a perfect body.)

* If you really love your partner, you won't mind if they are in love with someone else too, or that they want them around all the time. In fact, if you really love them, you won't mind if they have sexual intercourse with someone else. (Edward, the vampire husband, suggests that Bella, his wife, have relations with Jacob, the werewolf.)

* Sometimes people might desire an infant to be their mate. It's innocent as long as they don't act on it until they are older. (The werewolf “imprints” himself on Bella’s baby, meaning the baby is his eternal mate.)

* When you love someone, you desire them physically every moment of your life. You will have to distract yourself with daily life in order to keep your mind off of sex, but it’s always there, in

* As long as the actual motions of sexual intercourse are not described in detail, it is okay to write and read about a physical relationship between a married man and woman--including where they are, what they are wearing, how long it went on, and how they felt during the process.

* You have absolutely no control over who you love and how long you love them. Once you find that person, it is easy to love them and you will do anything for them. If you really love each other, you won't have any real problems.

* The pain of losing someone you love is so painful that death is better in comparison. If you really love them, you'll never ever get over losing them.

* Sexual intercourse is the most important part of marriage."

I know there are days I feel over whelmed with all the bad in the world. It makes me doubt the actual possibility of keeping bad things out of my home and only having a good spirit here. I feel this way, but I am always reminded of the teachings of the church and they give me strength to feel like I can succeed. I always felt growing up that my parents home was a safe place. I want that to be the safe for my children. L. Tom Perry said " The most important instruction our children will ever receive will be that which parents give to them in their own home."

So what are things you guys to in your homes? (Besides, scripture study, prayers, and FHE.)

Anyways, none of this may actually make sense. I just had a bunch going through my head, and this is a way to get it all out.

The best kept secret in Arizona...

is not Alamo Lake. Jeremiah and Nathan have been wanting to check out this lake for quite awhile. It is supposed to be great for fishing, but sadly not catching fish was the least of our problems. Since it only took like "an hour" to get there we thought why not. We headed for Sunday night and 2 1/2 hours later we were there. This could really be a long story so I will just hit the highlights;

It was 107 degrees

We had "yummy" hobo dinners

It was incredibly windy

Then the wind stopped, and the bugs came, by the millions

It was 107 degrees

We tried to sleep in a tent and it was even hotter.

At 3 am it cooled down to 95 degrees.

We didn't catch any fish, but they did taunt us by just all around us.

Being out on the boat was actually really fun. Because there was a breeze.

On the way home we got pulled over by DPS.

It was 107 degrees.

There we some crappy times. But over all we did have a fun time. Every time we go out with Kim and Nate we always have some kind of crazy adventure, but end up laughing so hard we cry.

The water was perfect for the boys to wake board. To bad the water was green. Taking down the tent after a "restful" night of sleep.

Not bad for the third time wake boarding

Here is a nasty face plan for Jeremiah. Do we look amused?

Bode got to spend time at Grandma Rena's and Grandpa Steve's house. I know he always has fun. I was wearing a hat when we picked up Bode. On the car ride home he kept telling he wanted a hat and pointing at the ground. So I gave him the soda box and he wore it as a hat.
Bode loves trains! We finally broke down and bought a set for him. We seriously have never just gone to the store with the intent to buy a toy. He was so happy to pick them out and actually have them in the cart the whole time and not have them mysteriously disappeare before we checked out. He thinks they are so great, but they are very loud. especially on the tile. This morning the radio, dish washer and trains were going and he wanted to play but it was too loud for him. I caught him plugging his ears to play. What a kid. I love him to death.

What a weekend

Camping With the Boys:

With this being the first weekend Jeremiah has had in the last 20 weeks, we decided to pack up the Tahoe and head to Pinetop. Jeremiah has been dieing to go fishing all summer. On top of going fishing he decided to take Bode camping also. I was surprised that he wanted to take Bode, but they ended up having a blast. Bode loves his Grandpa and was so happy to spend the whole weekend with him.

Getting ready to go on Friday afternoon., it was very sunny in Pinetop, and I wish I could say the same for the camp site. I guess it rained on them all night long. Jeremiah's only bummer was that they couldn't have a camp fire because of the rain.

Here is Bode roaming around at Big Lake. It is a bit of a hike to get to the fishing spot, maybe a quarter of a mile. Bode did it all by himself. He carried his chair ( which is actually Kolsen's chair, we need to give it back) and a donut around his finger the whole time.

Please notice the chocolate donut and Pepsi. I guess that this is a balanced breakfast when mom isn't around.
What a trooper. Jeremiah caught 7 fish. He sat about ten feet away from my Dad, who sadly didn't catch one. Every time Jer caught a fish Bode would say, "Nemo!". So I guess all fish are Nemo, even brown trout. Here is his video:

Millions of Peaches, peaches for me:

So I did not go camping or fishing with the boys. I had a nice break away from Bode and spent some time with my Mom. Sprouts was selling peaches for 39 cents a pound. So it was a great opportunity to can and make peach jam.

This is one of the four 25 pound boxes. Do the math, that was 100 pound of peaches!! We didn't get them all done but we did do about 60 pounds of them. That made for one long day of blanching, pealing, cleaning jars, and all the other things that go along with canning things.

Here is part of the finished product. Yummy canned peaches and jam.

And I was so lucky. My friend Taytum and her husband welcomed a new baby boy into the world on Friday. I was hoping that he would come to I could go see him. He was obliging and came a few days before his due date. Taytum was a trooper. Her Brody was 9 pound and 21 inches long! He is beautiful, Congratulations guys!

How much is that doggy in the window?

Here is my other child Stat. Who has many good and bad traits. One of his best traits is traveling. He is so good. We have never had an accident or any problems with him in the car. He spends most of his rides curled up on a seat that is laid down on the back. Or he has his head right here. This is the perfect place for him to put his head I guess. it is the passenger seat, right over my right shoulder. I know he is there when I hear his loud breathing literally in my ear.

His other favorite thing to do is a classic dog move. He loves it when we open the window so he can stick his head out. I think he would do this the whole way if he could.

He did it...

Jeremiah Graduated! I have a hole bunch of posts about the whole thing below, I accidentally loaded them backwards. So to get the full effect start at the bottom.

Family BBQ

On Saturday night we had a family BBQ to celebrate Jeremiah's graduation. I think it was a success. It is always fun to gather as friend and family. I didn't get to take any pictures of anyone who was there, but we did manage to get a picture of all the grand kids. Soon they won't all be able to sit on the same couch.

August 2008

July 2006

Thank you to everyone who came.

We are so luck to have the support of all our family and friends!

ALEA

Here are a bunch of pictures from the Academy. I asked Jeremiah to answer a few questions for me about his experiences over the past few weeks. He was a pretty good sport so I will try to paraphrase what he said. It was late to his answers were short.



Question: What made you become a Police officer?



Answer: "It was something I always wanted to do and it seemed like the right time to do it."

The first days in the Academy. They have to wear "penguin suits" White shirts, black tie and black slacks. It was very nerve racking for him make sure everything was in order and ironed just perfectly so he could pass inspections.

Question: What was the hardest part of the Academy?

Answer: "Taking care of my family and feeling like I didn't have enough time for everyone. It

was hard and I felt like there wasn't enough time in the day to do everything"

They do a ton of physical stuff on top of the acedemics. I can't imagine having to go run for hours in the 100 degree weather.

Question: What are you most nervous for in the next year?

Answer: "Definatly being the rookie and making mistakes. I know that they will happen I just

don't want to make too many big ones. I also don't want to get fat."

Graduation Ceremony

Friday night was the graduation ceremony. I was neat to hear the stories and speaker though out the program.

I got pin on his badge. It reminded me of pinning on the cosage for prom.

Bode did a lot better during the graduation than I thought he would. He wanted to get to Jeremiah on stage to bad! He was running up on stage when it was over to see his dad!

This was Bode's special shirt. It says "My daddy is a police officer" He wore it to the graduation, slept in it an wore it most of the next day before I could persuade him to take it off.

This is my brother Tim. He is a DPS officer. He got to present Jeremiah with is badge. I think that was pretty cool.

Jeremiah friend Nathan. Another person who helped influence Jeremiah to become an officer.

He made it!!

Officer Jeremiah Joncas





Jeremiah was nervous to call cadence. He did a good job though. He and Bode practiced all evening marching down the hall saying "left, left, left, right, left"











It was really cool to see them march and stand at attention.





Getting sworn in. There were a ton of people supporting their officers so I didn't get very many good pictures.



Me, Jeremiah, and Alex
Jeremiah and Jackson. He sat by Jer and was one of his good friends made in the academy.





I am so proud of Jeremiah. He worked so hard to graduate. He was one of the top 5 shooters in the class and graduated with an over all grade of 93% And number 17 in the class. (I hope I got those numbers right.) Again I am so proud of him! Love you Jeremiah!

To swiffer or not to swiffer?

So the rental we are in has all tile floors. Every room. The owners did it because she has allergies. But man I there is so much dust collecting on the tile floors I don't know why they would have made a differece. They are good for us because I don't have to worry about Stat or Bode ruining carpet. But can I just say I am missing running my toes through carpet. That is a good feeling I never thought about until I only have tile. Hopefully this weekend we are going to go get a big rug to have carpet in the family room! Hooray!

So I am trying to decide the best way to keep them clean. Only of my least favorite chores is sweeping, go figure. The next would have to be mopping. I can tell right now that these floors are going to have to be done at least twice a week. I have always wondered about the Swiffer. I don't want to go spent the money on all the stuff if it isn't worth it. So is it worth it? I need some advice. Plus what kind should I get?