Uh oh. Only one more year...

Wow, Hunter turned 9 yesterday. NINE. As my wife said, he's almost in the double digits. And of course HE reminded me, that there is only ONE more year! He didn't have to say what was going to happen in one more year, I knew very well what he meant. You see when my son was three years old I made a rash promise to him, thinking to myself that the child is just three, he won't possibly care about reptiles in SEVEN YEARS. I promised him that he could have a snake when he was "like 10!" Well, that's next year. And he's been counting down for the last SIX years. Oh boy.

In any case, nothing turned out like we had planned yesterday. First of all we figure out Sunday night that the rash that Hunter developed over the weekend is actually the final stages of fifth disease. Okay, that's not good, especially since we had three sets of grandparents expected to arrive at our house for a HUGE spaghetti dinner in honor of Hunter's b-day. Well, we decided to contact all of the grandparents and just give them the information. Unfortunately that meant that any grandparent that expected to be around our niece Karidee in the next week or two, really should not be hanging around us. Two sets of grandparents dropped out. Hey, you know, it will be fine, Granny and Papa were still coming over to celebrate. Then on the way home I got a call from my sweet wife who had just been hosed down with projectile vomit from little GB. I called Papa and informed them that our house is evidently the Bermuda Triangle of illness lately and advised them against setting foot inside. So, we picked up Prince Caspian from the DVD Play and headed home. The gift that Brandi and I ordered for Hunter still had not arrived. Bummer.

The whole thing was just NOT turning out like we had hoped for our little man. But, the beautiful thing is that Hunter had a GREAT attitude through it all. He was not only still happy about the whole evening, but he was grateful and expressed gratitude for picking up the (plan B) movie and the great spaghetti dinner (with the noodles that over cooked). I am really proud of the way he handled it all.

Grandparents still showed up to the house to drop off presents and Hunter met them at the door to say thanks and open the present so that they could see him.

It's amazing. This same little kid that use to have such a problem controlling his anger and would have poor B in tears with frustration as she would apologize to other parents after our two year old 'beat their kid down' in the McDonald's play area has grown into this sweet and wonderful nine year old. He has his moments like anybody, but I have to say, he rocks!

This year has been a big one for us. God works out his plans in amazing ways. With all of the back issues that B has struggled with for the last year, I really don't know what we would have done without our five foot, super strong, Hunter to pick the baby up and carry him all over the place. How amazing that Hunter is in the upper 90th percentile for all of this measurements, and GB is in the lower 25 percentile for all of his. God knew we needed him.

I have to say that the biggest and best moment of the year was when B and I got to hop into an inflatable pool with our big kid and baptize him. What a moment. What a year. What a great kid! Thank you God for our Hunter! Happy birthday big guy!

Good afternoon yesterday

The weather was perfect. The sun was a little bright, but the fields were in great shape and we were able to find some shade. A bag of sunflower seeds, our camping chairs, some crackers for GB and waters all around. We were ready for some baseball!

Little league anyway.

Hunter and Jacob are on the same team this year (praise God!) which is so nice. Coach Dirk is great! He is very encouraging and positive, and the kids are really learning a lot. Awesome stuff.

The first game was last Saturday. Both of the boys struggled a bit. I think it was just first game jitters. We went down to the park Sunday afternoon and practiced hitting. They were both in the groove last night, Hunter was three for three and Jacob was two for two.

Granny and Papa were able to come out and watch the fun. It is so great to have them both out here now!

Anyway, a good time was had by all. The other team was pretty good. Definitely some good hitters there, but after the pitcher hit one kid and struck out half a dozen others (yes, it is coach pitch :) I think we took home the victory.

I haven't quite worked out the kinks of taking pictures or video with my new phone, but here is Hunter. The very next pitch went into right field.

The best first :)

I am way behind on my family blogging, so I thought I would start with the latest thing that has happened, which also happens to be the best. :)

Last night, my sweet wife and I had the INCREDIBLE privilege of baptizing our son Hunter. He has been asking to be baptized for months now. We've talked with him a lot about it. We went through scriptures. We went to the baptism class.

I really had some concerns because he is so young. But it's really not complicated, even though we always try to make it that way.

It was a great thing. GREAT thing! Praise God!

Today I got to be the storyteller for the K -4th grade classes at the 10:30 and 12 services. We talked about honoring Jesus OUT LOUD.

This is my son, Hunter, honoring Jesus OUT LOUD!

There is something very special about being a parent and having this special moment. I remember my own father baptizing me nearly 20 years ago. Awesome God stuff.

Hunter said when he came out of the water he felt so lite! I picked him up. He was!

God bless you my son. May God guide you throughout your life. I am so proud that you are my son. I love you so much! Thanks for letting mommy and I share this with you.

:)

Our budding artist

Some times when your kids bring stuff home you go, "hey that's pretty cool" and you don't really think about it again.

Well, Brandi and I were both REALLY impressed with this one from Hunter. Obviously it is the Statue of Liberty and one side is supposed to represent what it looks like when the sun goes down and the other side when the sun comes up. Nice.

The last days of school

The boys have ONE more day of school tomorrow. So we had Hunter's last cottage fair on birds, which was VERY cool and we personally learned a ton of information, even though I have to admit, having grown up in a house full of parrots, birds are not my favorite topic. Hunter did a science/research project on eagles, condors and hawks. Awesome stuff.

Jacob had his kindergarten graduation, which was very cute. They sang several of the songs that they had learned this year, including the song about "My Dog!" A little out of focus, but very cute.

We just got the boys some nice short summer hair cuts, so they were all looking good! I tell you what, I may be a little biased but these are some good looking kids! A little goofy, but then again, I am there dad, so they come by that honestly. :)

Jacob also had some pictures taken with some of his peeps... and his teacher.

The last little girl actually flagged us down in the parking lot as we were trying to get into the car. What can I say? He's a Jones!

Star Wars Lego Battle

Good Young Padawan is in a battle with a ti fighter and pulls close to warn the pilot that he is about to be destroyed. In a desperate move, the ti fighter tries to brake free from Good Young Padawan, but is no match for the incredible skills of the young jedi warrior.

Moments later the fighter was destroyed and disintegrated into a cloud of cosmic dust.

Unfortunately, back on planet earth, immediately after this picture was taken the intricately crafted ship of Good Young Padawan was destroyed in a tragic accident when Daddy accidentally bumped the hand of valiant Hunter.

WARNING: Pictures that will one day get me in trouble

The kids think this is cute now, but wait until they start dating and I pull these up! Aha!

Okay, I thought that this one was just kind of a special picture. Almost brings a tear to your eye.

A couple of goofs and a tooth

Don't worry it came out right after this picture. That's a first for Jacob! And yes that is the permanent one right behind it. He's kind of a shark like that.

Hunter Lee Jones

Hard to believe. Our little Bubba is eight years old today. Man, how time flies. We've watched him grow so much in that time. Not just physically, but in so many other TREMENDOUS ways.

I couldn't be more proud of him. He's a great kid.

It seems like every time we turn around Brandi and I are left staring at each other in shock to hear the amazing observations and then conclusions that Hunter draws and articulates. I keep having to tell myself how old he really is. When a kid is as big as a 12 year old and then suddenly pontificates like some second year psychology major you have to remind yourself that he's only in second grade.

Thank you, Lord. Thanks for eight wonderful years with our Bubba. Eight exciting years as parents. Good stuff.

Book Reports from Hunter

Hi my name is Hunter. These are my books.I read these books in two days .Oh maybe not two days. Well I guess that is not a problem at all. The one on the right is an ancient Greece story and there is Pegasus the flying horse. Annie was caught but the ancient book saved them. Annie was caught because there were no girls allowed in the Olympic Games, but she borrowed a costume from the outdoor theater and dressed up as a knight. She sat down and said, "Go, go, go!" They found out she was a girl because of her pony tail.

Annie and Jack were almost hit by a bunch of furniture but they made it to the magic tree house just in time. When the Titanic sank many people died. Annie and Jack heard from the book that many people died on the third floor, so they came down from the deck and saved the people who were on the third floor.

They are great books, but you should definitely read them to find out everything that happened.

The end. Bye!

That's my boy!

Okay, pretty much anyone who knows me, knows what a... well freak I am when it comes to pens and my handwriting. Well, it would seem that it runs in the family. The other day Hunter wrote a story, which is nothing new, he actually writes and especially tells, a lot of them. He tells stories almost as much as he draws pictures, which have filled up books and folders. I thought this one was especially good and detailed, although it does indicate that I am 18 years older than Brandi... hmmm....



Anyway, I loved it. Check it out.

The big velociraptor! (by Hunter Jones)

This is Hunter Jones, back in my secret place. The velociraptors led me to this cliff. I did not know that there is an ankylosaurous under neath the cliff. And I did not know that there was tons of water already from rain when it just started. As you can see, there is a big rock that is holding most of the water away, while a lot of it is from the rain. After the ankylosaurous has whipped a velociraptor it tries to climb a rock and knock the big rock out of place so that the water will raise and the velociraptors will drown. Gotta run, there's a big wave of water behind me.... gurgle, gurgle, gurgle... whew, glad I'm safe in my home now. Sorry I have to go clean up my toy room.

Dinos in the Light (by Hunter Jones)

Hi, my name is Hunter, I am in a secret place where you can find dinosaurs. I found a T-rex that is eating another dinosaur. This dinosaur is a good prey because it has no weapon. It is a smart dinosaur because it knows if it kicks its eggs out of the nest they will stay safe from egg raptors. The blue flower in this land (lower right hand corner) is a poisonous dart flower because it can shoot poison. As you can see I found a waterfall in this island and a volcano. And I found terradactyls in the sky. This secret place is very unusual because I have velociraptors chasing after me right now! Gotta go! Ahhh!!