Taco Time

Our boys L-O-V-E tacos. Well actually they get enchiladas, but they call them tacos. And beans. They looove beans. And Brady loves him some salsa. We went to dinner with my mom (dad was out of town) to give the boys their fix. We asked Blake what he wanted for dinner and he started dancing and singing TACOS!! I had to snap a few photos with my phone to document their love for Mexican food. Brady ate an entire ramekin of salsa. He started off with a spoon and then decided it was easier to use his hand as a way to shovel it in his mouth.
Both boys scraped their plates clean. This is one restaurant experience that tends not to be stressful because they want to continue to sit at the table eating the entire time we're there.
And just because, a picture of two of my three leading men before we left.

Weekend O' Fun

I turned 30 last week. I'm such an old lady now. I was feeling a little unsure about this birthday. 30 is just such a big deal, right?? My last few birthdays have been a little blah. And the expectation to have 30 just knock it out of the park were pretty high. And unrealistic. But I have to say this is the best birthday I've had in awhile. Thanks to my loving and amazing husband, two awesome parents and a great friend. My actual birthday was Wednesday and Brad surprised me by taking the day off work. That alone, made it an awesome day. We got to hang as a family all day and it was pretty great. Then, for the actual celebratory part, we dropped the kiddos off to my parents (i.e. why they are awesome) Friday afternoon and headed to downtown Dallas for our vacation. Yes, I call it a vacation because we were in a different zip code. :) We had dinner Friday night with a great friend and her new boyfriend and then after dinner drinks. Such a great night. An adult night. I hadn't had one in FOREVER. Saturday we got to sleep in. SLEEP IN. I hadn't done that in FOREVER either. We spent the rest of the day frying, I mean hanging out by the pool. We then went to a movie, a rarity for us. And out to a ridiculously amazing meal that evening. Sunday after getting to sleep in again we made it back to the kiddos and oh how great it was to love on them again after spending the weekend apart. THANK YOU HONEY AND MOM AND DAD FOR THE BEST WEEKEND!!!!
It took us literally over an hour to get from my parents place in North Dallas to Downtown Dallas on Friday. RIDIC. But I did just get a new phone for my birthday (I had been rocking a phone circa 2000 for awhile now) and was playing with it on the way there to keep my cool. Here's a pic of my hot husband I snapped in traffic
And here is a pic of Brad and I out on the town Friday.
Sunday just also happened to be Fathers Day. I happen to be married to an incredible man. He is not only the best husband ever, he is the best dad to our boys. I am such a lucky lady to have an equal partner. Brad and I are also lucky to have had and have such amazing dads of our own. Brad's dad taught him so much and one of the most important lessons, put family first. My dad has always been there for me and is such an amazing Papa to our boys. He hung the moon in Blake and Brady's eyes and I love that they adore the time they get to spend with him.
I found this article and I think its pretty awesome. Just makes me more appreciative I am married to the kind of guy Brad is.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/06/16/pearlman.fathers.day/index.html
Good life lessons there.
Happy Fathers Day to all the dads out there!

Family Date Night

Before I get to the post at hand, thank you to all our friends and family that have prayed for the Jones family and given their love and support. Words can not express how grateful we are and how much it has lifted us up through this hard time. Our boys have provided probably the best therapy of all. They constantly keep us smiling and laughing and force you to keep marching forward. Brad, staying true to his positive self, has been coping so well and is staying positive and strong because he knows its how his dad would want him to carry forward. Brad is always teaching me life lessons and how he's handled such a hard time has been another huge lesson for me.

So, tonight was what I have affectionately labeled "Family Date Night". I was a big fan. I think a new tradition has been made. Several months ago Brad and I had a rare date night. We ended up eating at an Italian place at an area in Allen called Watters Creek. After dinner we walked around the outdoor shops, listened to a live band and smiled at the cutie patooties running a muck and enjoyed some beers on a patio. It was a perfect date night and such an awesome area. I came up with the idea to kick start my upcoming birthday week to take the boys back to that area for a family date night. We listened to the band, boys danced and ran a muck, ate at a kick butt pizza place (thanks to our friends Kim and Tanner for the awesome rec!) and then let them run a muck some more. It was the perfect evening.
We had to wait for a table for a bit at the restaurant and Blake was hungry and in no mood to be photographed. He gets moody when hungry just like his momma! Here is our failed attempt at a family pic...
More moodiness
The boys riding the duckies. What? That's normal.

And here's what happens when you feed two littles lots and lots of yummy pizza...

Great Loss

Brad's beloved father passed away late Sunday afternoon. His health had slowly been declining but went from meeting Brad for lunch on a Monday to going into ICU Friday where we learned he would have days, weeks or at the most months left to live. 8 days after learning this news he passed. It was all too sudden but the blessing of the situation is Brad and his brothers were able to spend the week with their father and had the time to let their dad know what he meant to them. Orion F. Jones III was the most influential person in not just Brad's life, but his two brother's as well. He was such a special man and close to my heart not only because he was so important to Brad but because he shaped Brad into the man he is today...the amazing husband he is to me and the amazing father he is to our boys. I am eternally grateful to him for that alone. Orion loved his three boys more than anything in this world and wanted nothing more to see them happy. He would do anything and did do anything for those three boys.
Orion was stronger in his Catholic faith than I have ever known anyone to be to their faith. Yet, he embraced me into the Jones family...a Jewish girl. From day one of Brad and I's relationship he included me in every family meal or outing and told me on more than one occasion that he was grateful for the love I gave his son, for making Brad the happiest he had known him, and knew I was meant for Brad. That meant so much to me and I will carry those words with me always.
The boys have had the hard task of going through their dad's home and have found so many amazing keepsakes and photos they either didn't know existed or thought had been lost through their parents divorce years ago. So many amazing things. So grateful to have them in our possession. Once we have the time to scan some photos I will post some pictures of his dad in his younger years....Brad's spitting image. So incredibly handsome!
Brad's dad was his rock in this world. It breaks my heart for the void his passing will bring Brad and his brothers as well. No matter the suffering someone may endure in their final days or the knowledge of that person being in a better place, we are never ready to let go of someone so near and dear to us. I pray the memories of his dad bring Brad smiles often and the love and support of family help get all of the Jones' through this hard time.