What a Year!

In typical Jones fashion, we ended 2009 with a bang and continued our tradition of being involved in many different things. I took a business trip to WA and then the holiday party season began. Brayden and I visited Santa at a local toy store where she sat on his lap (a bit reluctant) and told him of her Christmas requests: a blue snow hat, a firetruck, and a blue bouncy ball. We like these realistic requests and will appreciate them as long as they last. We went to a holiday party at the Przygoda’s as well as Trent’s office party. We celebrated Miss B’s friend, Grayson’s, birthday party where a real firetruck showed up for the kids to climb! That was pretty neat. I had no idea you could get a firetruck to visit your house!

When it came time to decorate our house for the holidays, we found in Brayden the most amazing little helper. She decorated the centerpiece on our kitchen table, cleaned the stocking hangers, and hung ornaments on the tree…all the while saying “sure, mom” and using the best manners ever. It was so much fun and I love her excitement in getting so involved. One evening, a bunch of girls came over for the annual cookie bake (read: more bags of sugar and sticks of butter than I’ve ever seen…definitely not for the health conscious). I made gingerbread cookies with lemon-cream cheese frosting and chocolate chunk cookies with mocha icing. Everyone bakes two types of treats and then we all swap…leaving with multiple tins of goodies. So delicious! This is such a fun tradition! I enjoyed a dinner with some girlfriends and Trent continued to play soccer each week. My mom came in town right before Christmas for a nice weekend as well.

We determined now is the time that our immediate family start working on setting our own holiday traditions. They have to start somewhere, right? We decided we really want Brayden to be at our house Christmas morning. We hope we can do this the majority of the time and this year was no exception. We opened presents on Christmas morning and hung out for a bit, then packed up the car and drove to DC for a few days. It was good to see Trent’s parents and brother. Capping off the end of the year was an exciting (and chilly) trip to Disney World. We explored each of the parks: Epcot (“Epricot” as Brayden says), Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios. We originally planned this trip around my friend, Meg’s, wedding, which took place on December 30. Our New Year’s Eve consisted of hanging out in Downtown Disney eating dinner and listening to a band, then back to our hotel for lights out by 12:01am! The next morning was the highlight of our trip—breakfast in “Epricot” with the Disney Princesses. You should’ve seen the look on Brayden’s face…she was starstruck! The pictures tell it all.

More funny Brayden quotes:
•In her bed one night: “Someone needs to bring me a tissue.”
•Watching America’s Funniest Videos: “That drives me crazy.”
•During blessing at dinner one night: “I am thankful for the Christmas tree, the Bomino (Abominable) snowman, and Dad’s football turkey panties.”
•Commenting on whether she played at the ‘kitchen center’ at school: “It wasn’t an option.”
•When Trent asked her if she had a ‘case of the sillies’, she responded: “No, I have a case of the dillas.”

It’s hard to believe another year is behind us, and what an excellent year it was. We know 2010 will continue to bring our family joy, excitement, and lots of laughs. We are already looking forward to many fun trips with family and friends. Here’s wishing your family a happy, healthy year ahead. We love you all!

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