We've Got Annie!

Here's Annie!

Daddy Warbucks

The end of the Talent show

Maddie's long awaited Talent show at school was last night. She has been talking about the talent show since the day after last years talent show where we discovered her love of being in front of an audience. We took a video of it but I haven't figured out how to get it on here yet so here are a couple of pictures before the show and one after the show when they had everyone go on stage. I didn't take one of her singing because I was so nervous while she was singing, I forgot!

As you can see Maddie dressed up as Annie. She sang "Tomorrow" and even had a stuffed dog on a leash that was "Sandy". I pinned her hair up so it would look short like Annie. She was so excited and she did a great job. We are very proud of her! She is already talking about what she wants to do next year!

Who's Ready for Monster Jam?

A little over a year ago, Carter really got into Monster trucks. Chris took him to the Monster Truck show last January at Angels Stadium and he loved it. Chris thought it was so much fun he wanted all of us to go the next time. Since Moster Jam only comes into town once a year we had to wait until January. So last Saturday we all went and had a great time. Carter was so excited to go, he knows all the names of the different trucks and has started collecting them. Maddie had never been before, she was really excited to find out that Monster Mutt is driven by a girl! Sawyer just loved the sounds of the engines. Everytime they would roar he would jump. He couldn't keep his eyes off the field either. We had so much fun sitting with Wes, Kristy and Brady & my cousin Kimball, his wife Jen and their son Coleman.

We had so much fun watching the Monster Trucks crush cars and do huge jumps! There was a big jump in the center and a few of the trucks flipped over which was pretty exciting. Here are a few pictures of our fun night!

Carter was so happy to be at Monster Jam!!

Sawyer and I had a great time but needed some ear plugs!!

Here is Maddie with Brady, Kristy, Jen and Coleman

Here is the fan favorite "Grave Digger" making a big jump

Palm Desert

Sawyer loves the water, he is playing in a baby pool: 1 foot deep!

Here is the fun water slide the kids loved! That is Maddie coming down!

Carter and his cousin Davis

Maddie and Davis at Mikado

Chris and Sawyer watching our Chef do some tricks!




The little boat ride back to the inside of the Hotel
(notice the chopsticks in Maddie's hair from dinner)

After New Years Day, we went on a mini vacation to Palm Desert. Mom, Dad, and Heather & Cisco and their kids came too. It was so much fun! We all had our own villas at the Shadow Ridge resort. There was a big storm moving through southern California so it was a little colder than normal but it didn't start raining until the day we left. The pools were heated and so we spent lots of time in the pools. They have a big water slide that the kids loved! On the first day we were there, Carter grabbed a cactus with both hands and Grammy had to pull out all of the needles out of his hands. There were probably at least 100! When I asked him why he touched the Cactus he said, "Because it was spikey"

One night we ate dinner at a fun restaurant called Mikado, which is part of the big Marriott Desert Springs hotel and it was very nice. It is a Japanese style restaurant where they cook in front of you so it kept the kids attention very well. After dinner we got to ride the boat back to the inside of the hotel which the kids love. (If you ever watched Saved by the Bell this is the hotel the kids go to when Jessie's Dad gets married in Palm Springs and Screech takes off in the boat with Lisa)

We were especially excited because while we were there, Mom and Dad bought a week with the Marriott Vacation Club! So they will finally be able to travel! They have reserved 2 units in the Newport Coast Villas for our whole family to have a reunion in August! We are all so thrilled to be able to spend a week at the beach!

We got home on Saturday and we are ready for life to get back to normal. Maddie and Carter go back to school today and my life will have some structure to it. This Christmas Break was so busy and we did so much it is hard to believe we crammed it all into 2 weeks! Maddie was so excited to go back to school today, she missed her teacher and her friends. I hope that lasts!

Take time to smell the roses...

One of my favorite traditions in the Jones family has been attending the rose parade every year. Ever since I was six years old (when we moved to California), I have never missed a Rose Parade, with the exception of the only year it rained. Much to Chris' excitement, I have since carried the tradition on to my own family. So the floats are pretty amazing and after seeing them for so many years it could get a little boring but for me the fun part is watching my kids watch the parade and seeing all of my cousins that come to watch as well. Every year we get together after the parade at Aunt Sharon and Uncle Bob's house in Glendora. Sharon always has a wonderful meal for us. Ususally it is the only time I see many of my cousins that come from out of town. So New years day is a big holiday in our family.

On New Years eve, Heather and Cisco came over to play games and their kids spent the night. Kallie and Maddie were up 'til midnight! The next day we were all tired but we got up and got ready and headed down to Pasadena for the parade. We got there right as the parade was starting. We go towards the end of the parade, so it doesn't get there until about 9:30 am and it starts at 8 am. The kids had a great time. Sawyer was entranced the entire time and Maddie and Carter ran around a bit, ate cotton candy and played with silly string. Great times! We went to Bob and Sharon's after and then headed home so Chris could watch the big game. It was a great day!

Sawyer was in Chris' arms the entire time and couldn't get his eyes off the parade!

Carter got a little messy with his cotton candy!

Posing for one last picture
(Dad, Maddie, Carter, Kallie, Brady, Colin and Heather, and Davis)

Maddie on YouTube

While we were at Bob and Sharon's house after the Parade, Maddie started Serenading all of my cousins with her Annie song, Tomorrow. My cousin Troy especially liked her singing so he decided to record her for fun and he even posted it on youtube! So here is Maddie's Youtube performance! She is performing this song for her talent show on January 25. Troy taught her to say, "I am Maddie Nielsen, Super star!" So lookout Hollywood, here comes Maddie!