Travel & Baby Shower Update

I can't remember who I've told already (apparently pregnancy brain IS a reality!).... so I figured I would post our plans on our blog :-)

Jason and I will be making a quick trip home in September ... we'll fly in on Tuesday Sept 15th (also Jason's 33rd birthday) and head out on Monday Sept 21st. Martha is hosting a baby shower for us at her house on Saturday Sept 19th for all of my friends to attend. My aunts Bettie & Lois will host a family baby shower at my Mom's house on Sunday Sept 20th. It's going to be an eventful and BUSY weekend, but we had to squeeze it all in since my doctor doesn't want me to fly or be far away from Michigan in my 3rd trimester. Hope to see you all while we're in town!

Jason's Family Reunion in Canton, Ohio

Jason & I attended his family reunion in Canton, OH on Saturday July 25th. We got up early on Saturday morning and made the 5 hour drive down to Ohio. We arrived at the reunion around 4pm .... we were able to catch up with several of Jason's family members from the Jones side of his family. They included his second cousins Gail, Midge Carol and Eilene, Gail's husband Klaus and their sons Jack & Ted, & a number of other folks. Gail & Klaus hosted a great cookout with hotdogs, hamburgers and all of the fixin's. We watched the kids play, looked at old family pictures and played several games, including corn hole.

We were exhausted after our long drive down, so we went back to the hotel around 9pm and relaxed in our room. The next morning we headed back over to the Kuttrus's house for a yummy breakfast of eggs, bacon, pancakes and fruit. After a couple more hours of visiting, we started the drive back to Michigan. It was great to have a chance to spend time with everyone and meet some new people.

Here are a few pictures from the reunion....

Jason's second cousins: Midge, Carol, Eilene and Gail

Jason and Keely (14 weeks preggers)

From left to right: Peyton, Ted, Midge, Gail, Klaus, Chasity, Katie, Jack, Keely and Jason..... and two babies on board for Chasity (5 1/2 months) and Keely (3 1/2 months).

There is a "BABY JONES" on the way!!! :-)

We have some exciting news - we are EXPECTING! "Baby Jones" is scheduled to arrive on January 25, 2010!!!! Currently, I am 13 weeks pregnant & the first trimester is officially over. I've experienced some nausea and been really tired, but I am hoping the stories are true & that the 2nd trimester is going to be a pleasant one. We shall see! :-)

I'll be sure to keep our blog updated with baby progress, so check back soon!

Hope everyone had a Happy 4th!

I realized I haven't made an update since we got back from our VA/NC trip - however, there really hasn't been anything going on. Since returning to Michigan we've mostly been in our usual routine of working and doing things around the house. Jason did get some time off this weekend for the Fourth of July, which was nice (and much needed, he has been working A LOT)! We did some shopping, ate out a few times and went to Jason's co-worker's daughter's 1st birthday party.

We were planning to see the fireworks on Saturday, but apparently Port Huron felt it was necessary to coincide their firework display with Canada's, so it was done the week before! Canada celebrates Independence Day on July 1st, so I am not sure why the fireworks were shot on June 27th..... Regardless, what in the world was that all about, now we celebrate the Canadian Independence Day!?!? I refuse :-)

We do have some exciting events coming up - next Saturday we are attending (yet another) Tigers baseball game & the following weekend our friends Lesley & Edward are coming up for a visit. We are going to the Kid Rock concert while they are in town, which should be a fun experience since it's at Comerica Park AND Kid Rock is originally from Detroit. I'll be sure to "report" on these activities soon, until then it's life as usual in Marysville for the Joneses :-)

Our trip home June 15-24

Jason & I returned from our trip home late Wednesday night .... as usual, we had a fun but BUSY time! We arrived at RDU on Monday afternoon and had lunch with Prul & Bryce at one of my local favorites, Firehouse Subs. We had a few hours to kill before meeting friends for dinner, so we went to see "The Hangover" at the theater. After the movie we met Jacob, Ashley & Carrie at Long Horn where Bryce took care of us. After a tasty meal we headed to Danville.

Our time in Danville was a bit of a blur. We spent a lot of time working at Jason's place in Cascade, and even recruited some friends and family members to help as well. We had to clean the house & sell furniture to get the place ready to rent. There was also a lot of outdoor work to be done, including bush-hogging, trimming and laying gravel on the driveway.

When we weren't working, we did A LOT of eating. Tuesday night we went to Ham's with my parents for the burger special. Friday night we met Martha, Roger, Jamie & Greg for dinner at Lone Star. Saturday afternoon my aunts Bettie & Lois hosted a cookout to celebrate my recent MBA graduation. And Saturday evening we met Martha, Amber, Miranda and her daughter for some delicious Mexican food at San Marcos.

Sunday was Father's Day, so we all piled up in the car and picked up my Popey and headed to the Homestead Restaurant in Roxboro. Sunday evening Jason's mom Kathy had a cookout at her place. Monday I spent the day with Martha & Anne Rylee, and that evening we met Stacy, Steph & Jessica for dinner at my old stomping grounds, the RED LOB :-) Tuesday was our last day in town and was spent taking care of some last minute tasks in Cascade, spent time with family and my Mom and I did a little shopping (or should I say browsing since I didn't buy anything) :-)

Wednesday morning we left Danville and headed back to the airport wondering how 9 days passed by so quickly!?!? Our flight was delayed by an hour and once we arrived back in Detroit we had to hang around the city because we had tickets to the Tigers game. I know, only Jason and I would try to cram in a baseball game after a day of traveling! :-)

We had a great trip and as usual are looking forward to the next time we can see our family & friends. We stayed so busy that I was slacking in the photo-taking department, but here are a few pics:

Check out the "Graduation Cupcakes" that my aunt Bettie made, how cute!

Jason & I at my graduation cookout

Jason (aka "Farmer Jones") spent A LOT of time on this tractor while we were home!

My Grandma Francis & Aunt Bettie

My Aunt Lois

My Dad & his Dad, (Popey) on Father's Day

Pics from graduation & party....

I am officially a MBA graduate!!!

My Mom, Dad, brother Jacob and sister-in-law Ashley traveled up to Michigan to be present for my MBA graduation and luau party. They arrived on Thursday - we hung out at the house most of the day and played a lot of Wii Bowling & Rockband 2. We also had a great dinner of king crab legs, steamed shrimp and rice.

Friday started with a quick trip to Lexington, Michigan to have lunch and check out the sites and shops. We then went home to get ready to head out to my graduation, which was in Flint, MI. (we did A LOT of driving on Friday!!!) The graduation ceremony was Friday night at 7pm - after a nice event we stopped at Lucky's Steakhouse on the way home for a tasty celebration dinner.

Saturday Ashley, Mama and I did a little shopping for Michigan souvenirs, then we headed home to set up for my graduation luau party. The weather was a bit cold, but we still had a great time eating the Hawaiian food (provided by Chef Chell's Catering, it was delicious!), catching up with friends and of course playing some more Wii bowling. Even my Mom gave it a try - she was actually quite good!

Sunday we relaxed and packed up everyone's belongings - we stopped in Greektown on the way to the airport. We had a great dinner at Pegasus, then checked out the Greektown Casino and some other downtown Detroit sites. It was a fun and busy weekend and I am so happy my Mom, Dad, Jake and Ashley were here to share this special time with me. I will post some pictures soon!!!