AT ATTENTION! - A day at the Military Museum

June 27, 2009

Ok.. at ease. This was fun stuff! Garrett and I were on our way to The San Gabriel Mission when we saw a museum filled with military tanks, trucks, cars, and helicopters. Being that I am museum junky (something most people do not actually know about me), I told Garrett to turn the car around! It looked like fun to check out all the military tanks. My husband, of course, did not argue with me and turned the car around in no time.

We saw some really old tanks from world war I and world war II. Also, a Huey helicopter, mortars, 20 mm guns, and anti-aircraft weapons.

The day was really awesome and we had a great time wandering around looking at all the interesting military machinery. I had the honor of being Garrett's tour guide, because they gave us a book filled with information on each item (everything was numbered). I learned alot about tanks, trucks, and being tough! I even wore a Kevlar world war II helmet and bullet belt!

In all seriousness, the helmet alone was really heavy and I felt like a total wimp. The machinery that the military uses is complicated and pretty intimidating by itself. I have a whole new respect for the men and women who fight for my freedom everyday.

Good Luck Keeping Up With Us- The Joneses

Artwork to Live By

I Bought a new piece of art this last week and I absolutely love it. Every time I read it, it's a reminder that everyone should Live Your Life in The Moment!

Good Luck Keepin' Up With Us - The Joneses

Brace FACE!

June 22, 2009

Good Grief.

I did it. I actually got braces put on. I have been holding off on this blog for too long. I think I was hoping that I could somehow get them taken off and pretend it never happened before I would write this. I was wrong. I am stuck with them and I am just going to have to love every painful, embarrassing, and stressful moment with them for the next 23 months. I have already had them for 1 month and the time has actually gone by pretty fast.

I need a total of 2 years or 24 months. Seems like it is going to be forever that I have these darn things. I will have them for two Christmas's, two Birthdays.... ewww two of everything. On top of that, I was told I had to have 3 teeth pulled. One is out and I have an appointment for the other 2 in a couple weeks. I'm not even going to get into how much fun it was to have a tooth pulled. I'm sure everyone knows what a true joy it is to experience that.

So. I'm stuck with the braces. I constantly feel them in my mouth. I think I should have bought some stock in the company that makes the wax I use a boat load of. I really look forward to the end of this, even if it is 23 months away.

P.S. People thought I looked young before the braces. Just when I thought I wouldn't get carded for a drink... HA... carded again! Looks like it might be an interesting, slightly entertaining, tremendously slow and definitely comical two years.

Me, right after I got the braces put on. Wearing no make-up~ oops!

Good Luck Keeping Up With Us- The Joneses

We Have the Best Dads in the World!

Dads,

You guys are amazing! You are always the guys to go to for support, questions, concerns, fears, and tears. You guys have been great for both of us and have always offered a shoulder to cry on and a haven to care for us. You have fed us, burped us, changed our diapers, read to us, played with us, and even spanked us when we needed it. Thanks for all those times! There are not enough words to describe how much we love you both.

Garrett and I know that it is such a cliche to say that we have the best Dads in the world, but it is the truth, believe it or not. Everyone seems to think they have the best Dad in the world. Which is interesting because not EVERYONE can have the best dad in the world? Right? But how to prove that we do?

It's not the material things they buy you, or the countless times they save your butt from ruining your life. Or the cuts they fix, tears they wipe or cash they hand you. It's not the "I told you so," or the "Ask your mother" or even the "Because I said so!" It's the love they give you. Its the look you get when you have made them proud. Really the only way to prove it is simple. You just know it in your heart and believe it.

When you think of it like this, its hard to not mention our God in this blog. Naturally, he is the Father to all of us. So I think its worthy of noting and giving a shout out to our God on Fathers Day. The way we love our Dads and just simply know in our hearts that they are the best dads in the world is the same way that we know in my heart that a loving God exists. There is nothing that can prove it or show it.

Recap on our Father's Day 2009

Good Luck Keepin' Up With Us~ The Joneses

The Huntington Library & Museum

June 20, 2009

It was Saturday at 10:00am when we left for the museum. It was beautiful in Diamond Bar that morning. The sun was shining and it seemed like the perfect day to go out. Pasadena had a different plan, it was cold and sprinkling when we got there. We didn't mind, except that I would have liked my hair to stay dry. I know, your thinking "Typical Girl." You take 30 minutes to dry your hair and then we'll talk. Anywho, we started in The Library Exhibition Hall which housed many old documents and books. We moved on to American Art, European Art, and the History of Science. We also walked through Henry Huntington's home and saw the famous Pinkie and The Blue Boy paintings. They were pretty amazing and much larger than I anticipated.

This is a Gutenberg Bible from 1455. It was one of the fist printed Bibles. This is one of only 48 Gutenberg bibles that exist.This is "The Proficience and Advancement of Learning in 1605" by Francis Bacon.Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, 1410. It was beautiful, with its illuminated illustrations.

Hands down, this was my favorite painting from the day. Thomas Benton 1923. Benton believed that American Artists should represent the life, stories and people they know. The painting represented dignity and looking firmly ahead in life.

Good Luck Keepin' Up With Us~ The Joneses

17 Again

June 19, 2009


No this blog is not about some crazy extravaganza where Garrett & I felt 17 again, although that would be pretty awesome. It was about 6:00pm and we decided that we should go check out a movie theatre that was having it's grand opening in Chino Hills. When we got there the next movie playing was at 7:10 and it was for "17 Again," starring Zac Effron and Matthew Perry. Garrett was not too keen on the idea, but I really wanted to see it. Being the great guy that G is, he agreed to see it. We had some time to kill so we went to subway for dinner. It was cheap and healthier than other local choices available.


We got back to the movie theatre with some time to spare, so we grabbed a soda before entering the movie. The theatre is a Cinema Saver, so the movies are only 3.00 dollars, which is super cheap for a movie! The choices are a few weeks old, but if you missed them the first time around, you have the option to still get to see them on the big screen. The movie turned out to be really good, Garrett even said it was good and better than he thought it was going to be.

Afterwards we stopped off at the Chino Shoppes, a new downtown district in Chino Hills. I got to go to Victoria Secret and Barnes and Noble! What a combination! It was such a fun night!

Thanks Honey!

Good Luck Keepin' Up With Us - The Joneses

BBQ @ Danny's!

June 16, 2009

It's been awhile since we've had dinner with our high school friends. So Danny invited everyone over to his place to have a BBQ. He lives in an apartment that has a great pool & Spa area with a nice big BBQ. It was great to catch up with everyone. We had tacos and they were really good! I offered to bring my Spanish rice and surprised Sheena with cupcakes. Her birthday was the day after the BBQ and I thought it would be nice to sing to her. I spent 3 hours making rice and baking those cupcakes. Next time I won't be making mini cupcakes, one box make 72 cupcakes and yes I iced every darn one of them. Here are a couple pictures to remember the night.

Garrett & I with Sheena & Jer making faces in the background

Sheena & Jeremy (Above)
Danny & Heidi (Below)

This is Sheena blowing out the candle on her mini cupcake.

Good Luck Keepin' Up With Us~ The Joneses

A Loooong Beach Day

Friday June 12, 2009.

Garrett finished work really early that day and we had time to spend together. We decided to revisit a hat store in Shoreline Village, Long Beach. We were there back in 2000, when we were Juniors in high school. Somewhere I should be able to fish up some pictures from that day. I will look into it. For now, these are the pictures we took.

Recently our pastor told us that the root of all evil was boredom. However, boredom is what gave us this great idea to go. In this case, boredom was the root of all good, not evil. We had one of the funnest days we've shared since... well, maybe last week when we went to Disneyland.

Good Luck Keepin' Up With Us. ~We can't keep up with ourselves. ~ The Joneses

"I'm Not a Crook!"

June 12, 2009

After a long time waiting, I finally got to go to the Richard Nixon Library and Museum. I learned a lot that day. Mostly about the years that he ran for Vice President and President. I'm embarrassed to say, but I never knew he was Vice President during the Eisenhower administration. (Keep in mind this was 1953-1960 and I was not even born until 1983). Also, keep in mind that when they taught this in school, they taught you who the presidents were and not usually who the vice presidents were.

Although Nixon did not have a good reputation with his finances for money laundering, tax audits, and secret campaign funds, he was one of the first vice presidents to lead a lot of international goodwill/foreign trips to support American policies.



The Watergate scandal was AWESOME, ok maybe not awesome, but definitely something to know about. For those who don't know, it is the indictment and conviction of several of Nixon's closest advisers and resignation as President. That's right, the only resignation of a Unites States President ever. BUSTED! The scandal was the arrest of five men for breaking into the Democratic National headquarters at the Watergate Office building in D.C. Nixon and his staff tried to cover up the break-in, and especially its connection with the White House right after it occurred. After a couple of years of evidence against the president built up, it was found that their had been tape recordings of the conversations. The tapes revealed that he had obstructed justice and attempted to cover up the break-in. AWESOME! I almost couldn't believe that all this happened. It is crazy! It really makes you wonder what is going on right now in our administration. If this is how crazy it was in the early 1970's before blackberry's and iPhone's, it really makes you wonder what on earth is happening right now.



Don't get me wrong, Nixon was actually a great president who did make good change in the U.S. But what fun would it be to write about the good stuff, the juicy stuff is way better. Here are some pictures from our day at the museum.

This was impressive, we were able to walk through his Marine One helicopter. This was the actual helicopter he used when he resigned from the White House in 1974. No photos could be taken inside the helicopter because it "could" pose a threat to our national security.

Good Luck Keepin' Up With Us~ The Joneses

A Dog That Wears Make-up?

June 10, 2009

I recently replaced my make-up for some new colors. I decided that I hated the make-up I had and that I needed everything new. Funny how one day your make-up feels fine, you like how it looks and then out of no where you are ready for something new. Since, I was not lovin' my old make-up, I didn't wear any to the store when I went to get the new stuff. When I got home, I laid them on my bed and walked out of my bedroom to go get my clean laundry. ( I heard the beep on the dryer and I hate letting my clothes get cold in the dryer.) When I came back with my fresh laundry, my cute little dog apparently thought that she needed some make-up.
This was cute because she has never tried to chew on anything or pick up anything that wasn't hers. She loves all of her squeak toys and chew sticks, but she never wants anything in a cardboard package that doesn't smell like chicken or beef. I figure, she is either a very girly dog or she was trying to tell me that I needed to put my make-up on. Dogs really are man's best friend, they even tell you when you look bad.

She was very proud of herself for picking the mascara up and walking around with it. She had the extra little kick in her step that told you she knew she was not supposed to have been chewing on my new make-up. Maybe she just wanted to look good for the boys. We'll never know.

Minnie

Good Luck Keepin' Up With Us~ The Joneses

Blondes Vs. Brunettes

The age old question of who has more fun?

I recently decided that my hair was getting too blonde. I have always gotten highlights just to lighten it up a little, but over time my hair was starting to look seriously white. I decided I wanted a more natural look, something to match my eyebrows. I took the plunge got lowlights and went back to my natural color. It was shocking at first, but I did love it right away.

As for the age old question.... I can easily say that I had a lot of fun as a blonde. However, I have had just as much fun as a brunette. Garrett said it looked hot and that it was like being married to someone else. Which I was not sure how to take. HAHA. I told him "Thanks a lot, so I wasn't fun to be married too before?" He laughed and said "No, you know what I mean!" I'm not sure that I did really know what he meant, maybe the blonde is still stuck with me, even though a little more brunette is showing.

Here are some before and after pics
June 9, 2009

I have the feeling that even though I like the new look, I will be going back to blonde sooner rather than later. It seems to fit alittle better with my personality. Go figure.

Good Luck Keepin' Up With Us~ The Joneses

What do You do With a New Camera?

That's right. When you buy a new camera and have annual passes to Disneyland, you clearly bring your new camera to Disneyland to try it out! We walked around aimlessly for quite awhile, just taking pictures. We walked over to the "It's a small world" ride, but the line was really long. Garrett bought me a new pin for my lanyard, it had Mickey Mouse as an American flag. We ate at my favorite food place called Buzz Lightyear's kitchen and sadly it was not that great this time. Bummer. We decided that Disneyland was too crowded so we went over to Disney's California Adventure to buy some bread! They have the best San Fransisco Boudin bread. It is baked fresh everyday and is shaped like Mickey Mouse! I absolutely love it! We found out they have a tour of the bakery, so we jumped right in and it was breathtaking. The scent of the fresh baking bread was by far the pinnacle of the day! Here are the pictures taken with our new Camera!

June 8, 2009

There is a God and he makes this bread everyday!

Good Luck Keepin' Up With Us!- The Joneses