Hey, friends of the Jones Fam!
We’ve obviously been a little too busy to update recently but we hope you’ll check out this short video with some of our adventures! We hope you’re having as much fun this summer as we are!
Don’t forget to check back for more updates!!
For the last few months, we have all been watching an old show that Erin and I both grew up on – The Waltons. This is an old classic but the family values that the show espoused in the 70’s are even more important to reflect on today. The humor and wit in this show are timeless! It is still a great show to watch as a family and get some good life lessons in for the kids, as well. It helps that the girls really seem to love this show about Depression-era life on a mountain, as much as we did years ago. Another plus side is that it has been so long since Erin and I have watched it that we have forgotten the plot of most of the episodes!
Thanks to being able to stream the show with Amazon Prime Video , we are able to enjoy this classic again.
Of course, we all have our favorite characters. Mine would definitely be Grandpa, I think Erin enjoys Olivia and the girls love all of the children. However, we are all huge fans of Grandma! Her directness is something we need more of and her moral compass is hard to find in today’s world. Who would have thought that a television series from my youth could still have such an impact on young people today?
I think we need more shows like this, that are truly centered on family values. I know I can’t wait for tonight’s episode!
Thanks for taking the time with me today and I hope your family will decide to visit Walton’s Mountain again sometime as well. If you don’t have Amazon Prime Video, you can get it by clicking here:
Chuck
P.S. Good night John Boy!!
(As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. However, we would never link a product here that I did not like or use.)
Today, Chuck and I attended the Computer Science showcase at the girls’ school. They are doing some really neat things and learning about computer coding. Aidan and her partner made a virtual “Sunday School” with a Lego model. Peyton’s group made a “Code Cruiser” which is basically a motorized Lego Robot that operates based on a computer program they designed. We thought their projects were super cool! We also had time to stop by one of my favorite things, ever: the SCHOLASTIC Book Fair! Who doesn’t love the Book Fair? Here’s a video of our adventures this morning. Don’t forget to follow us on Youtube, and give us a like! (channel: livingthejoneslife)
Thanks for watching!
-Erin
Hey guys! We’re a little late posting about this but we were definitely not late celebrating! Who are we celebrating? Dr. Seuss, of course! Our school, as did many around the country, celebrated Dr. Seuss and his birthday (March 1st) during Read Across America week, last week. We had lots of fun dressing up for different days. Mom even got involved on the last day, more on that later.
Why do we celebrate Dr. Seuss? Well, unless you’ve been living in the woods without coming into civilization at all for the last 80-ish years, you probably know why. Dr. Seuss is the author and illustrator of some 60 beloved children’s books, which have encouraged a love of reading in children for generations. And The Jones Family especially LOVES all things Dr. Seuss.
Here’s a few of our get-ups for the week.
Wacky Wednesday! We basically just threw on every layer in a different color that we owned. And of course, mismatched shoes!
Hat Day Thursday! We may have argued a little over who got to wear the kitten hat.
Dr. Seuss Character Friday! This one is always our favorite, and Mom tries to come up with as many cheap or free DIY ideas as she can.
As we all know, a good Cindy Lou Who costume relies almost solely on the HAIR! For Peyton’s super-tall bun, I hid a mini soda bottle inside her pony tail. We had some reddish-pink ribbon, so, we tied a bow at the top. She chose to wear a little blush, and all pink clothes to complete her look.
Fox in Socks was a super easy one. I would have preferred it if we would have had an all red outfit of clothes but we did not. Red pants are apparently not even a thing in our house. We made it work with a Dollar Tree Cat-Ear headband, some folded red paper (re-purposed a Valentine’s gift bag) glued together and taped to the headband, and some toe socks on both hands and feet)!
Presenting, Cindy Lou Who and Fox in Socks!
Did we tell you that Mom got involved on the last day? This “Cat in the Hat” hat is a leftover from last year. Last year, for character day, Mom crocheted all of our costume pieces for the day. See that post here: https://livingthejoneslife.com/2019/03/04/crocheted-diy-dr-seuss-character-costumes-2018/
That hat must have been a lucky hat for Mom because on the day she wore it, she wound up with a NEW car! More on that here:
https://livingthejoneslife.com/2019/03/04/new-car-wheres-our-car-whose-car-is-this/
Thanks for everything, Dr. Seuss!
I’m posting this now but these are actually last year’s Dr. Seuss Character day costumes for Read Across America week. When it comes to just about anything, I dislike purchasing something from the store if I can make it myself. Luckily, when Aidan was a baby, I took the time to learn to crochet with the help of good ol’ YouTube. Having that as a skill, really opens up the possibilities of what you can do, especially when it comes to school dress-up days and costumes.
Aidan chose to dress up as Mac the Turtle (from Yertle the Turtle). She has always been her own person and quick to come up with her own ideas for things like this. But where on earth would I buy a turtle costume in the correct colors, or even close? I did search online briefly but was unable to find anything. Crochet to the rescue! I made a turtle backpack, using colors I had on hand and also made a simple beanie but chose to add a triangular shaped bill for the turtle’s “mouth” shape. I added a few little sprigs of yarn on the top (to make our Mac look more like the drawings from the book), and some backstitching to make a face. Aidan threw on some different shades of gray for her clothes, just working with pieces we had in the closet. Cost to me for this project: NOTHING, because all supplies were items we already owned.
I loosely based the turtle shell backpack off of a free pattern for a baby turtle shell, which you can get here: https://stitch11.com/turtle-love/
Peyton wanted to go a more original route and be The Cat in the Hat. Fitting for her, because she always, “knows a lot about that.” For this one, I just found a simple crochet hat pattern and kept working the rounds, interchanging my colors to make it taller. I then stuffed the inside and crocheted a round circular piece to hold the stuffing in the hat and stitched it on the inside. I also made a simple belt shaped piece, using only double crochet to make her “bow-tie.” If you’ll notice, I was completely out of true-white yarn, but I used some speckled off-white yarn for the hat, instead, and it still totally worked. Again, no cost to me because the yarn came out of my stash. Apparently, there are some upsides to hoarding! Ha ha
I had fun again this year, creating new costumes for Dr. Seuss character day. This time I went much simpler, but both girls were very pleased. See that post here: https://livingthejoneslife.com/2019/03/04/read-across-america-week-dr-seuss-diy-character-costumes/
We hope you enjoyed these costumes and decide to give them a try yourself!
Thanks for reading! -Erin
On Friday, due to some issues we were having with our old car, we ended up trading it in while the girls were in school. We were so excited to surprise them at school and maybe confuse them just a little bit. You see, just a few weeks ago, while our car was in the shop, we picked them up from school in a rental they knew nothing about. That time, they looked all over the parking lot for our “lost” car. Once they figured out we were driving a different car, they automatically assumed we had gotten a new one. Of course, we explained that no, it was just a rental. So this time, when we picked them up, they couldn’t figure out what was going on at all. Where was our car? Is this another rental? Whose car is this? Is it ours? We “own it, own it?”
We hope you enjoyed this video! If you’d like to see more, leave us a comment and make sure to follow us on YouTube!
I have discovered Snapchat. I am now 54 years young and have become slightly obsessed with the Snapchat app with all the filters. I joined to be as up to date as I could be. I have three older daughters and two younger daughters. So, I don’t want to be considered out of touch with what they are experiencing in the tech revolution. I also need the stress relief with the laughter and amusement it gives me. In my profession I have very stressful days and need an outlet. So thank you, Snapchat. I have been sending a lot of snaps to people and I might be a little strong with my use of it. However, everyone seems to be indulging me for now. Laughter, especially at myself, has always been a way for me to release the tension. Being silly with my wife and girls is a great way for me to forget about the rat race out there. As this is my first endeavor as a blogger with the help of Erin, it may be short and sweet until I get the hang of it. So thanks for reading and here are some samples of my Snapchat life.
Chuck
We’re still working on getting some new content and videos together for you all. In the meantime, here’s a cute video of Peyton gettin’ down at the Watermelon Fest! (Age 3)
THE JONES FAMILY 