Peppermint mint mint mt milk SHAKE

Kids finally had one in Norman, Okla.

I don't think any of us actually liked it. The four of us couldn't finish the one we ordered!

But at least, now we know.

Peppermint mint mint mt!

Evey's 16th birthday song

Happy 16th birthday Evey!

Our sweet Evey Jones turned 16! We celebrated over a dinner at the Baldwin Mexican restaurant.

I tried to sneak away to arrange the birthday song but everyone saw right through me. I got a video of the song, I'll post it to YouTube soon. 

Evey is digging the Old 97s Christmas song in Guardians of the Galaxy Christmas Special so I picked up one of their CDs from Love Garden. And you know Evey loves Glass Animals…

Happy 16th birthday Evey!!! We love you!!! 

Bub's birthday song on his 11th

 

This is old but since Evey's birthday is Wednesday, better post this now! Bub's 11th b-day party at El Potro in De Soto.

The weekend that was Thanksgiving 2022

I had been working pretty hard since early October. Business travel coupled with some new opportunities (Equip Expo) and some magazine deadline really ransacked my day-to-day life. In fact, over the last few weeks, I took two business trips that were 5 days and 6 days long. That’s a rarity for me. I travel a lot for work, again now that we’re coming out of Covid (I think) but I’ve always tried to limit my travel to three days away, four at the max. And that usually works.

Not for Equip Expo (5 days) or the back-to-back Summits (six days.) It wore me out, and I came home from the back-to-back Summits gripping the steering wheel a little too tight.

So I took off Wednesday afternoon before Thanksgiving, even though I was on deadline (a magazine was due the following Tuesday afternoon, while I was double-booked with travel) and I needed the time off. Work schedule be damned.

I should mention that at this time, Adrianne was on the downhill with her first experience with Covid. So I hadn’t really seen her up close for over a week. She got sick while I was in Orlando, and when I got home, even though I hadn’t seen her for six days, we had to keep our distance. This was tough.

///

On Wednesday afternoon I took the kids to my sister’s house and we met Jess, Jett and Marina and Cousin Melissa for a pre-Thanksgiving Mexican feast. It was great! Jess made queso, pasole and enchiladas, I made refried beans. We all enjoyed the meal. Then Boyd suggested a game of Monopoly (Ghostbusters edition… OK, we brought it along). The game went a lot longer than normal (the risk of playing with folks who don’t play much) but Evey emerged victorious eventually. Boyd was on a three-day winning streak. We had been playing every evening at the house while Mom was in quarantine, a different Monopoly version each time (we own several.) Evey suggested that maybe this is a new Thanksgiving tradition? Maybe. But I did come in last place three of the four games (and second against Evey at Jess’ house.)

///

Thursday was Thanksgiving and I was pretty excited that a lot of the cooking fell to me this year. With Adro sick, and her cousins making plans months ago to spread out all over the earth during the holiday we have been hosting (I won’t take it personally… I think) that meant we had a small crew. Grandma Judy usually cooks the turkey and ham while I make a few sides, and my sister makes a few sides. 

With Adro sick, that meant Grandma Judy couldn’t come over. So call up Seth Jones and his kitchen sidekick, Evey Jones, culinary student extraordinaire.  

I watched a YouTube video the night before (in the guest bedroom, my new bedroom while Adro is sick) and came upstairs early with a game plan. Evey joined me around 10 a.m. and we first cleaned up the whole kitchen. I recorded the KU/Wisconsin game (KU won on a last-half-second tip in by Bobby Pettiford Jr., a game I watched about three hours after it concluded) and Evey and I put on some tunes and got to work. 

I made everyone breakfast burritos early to hold everyone off to 3 pm that afternoon. I got the turkey in the oven by 10:45 a.m., just a little later than I wanted. Evey got busy making the stuffing and green bean casserole. Bub came up and we all cleaned the house a little. With Adro down for the count, the Halloween decorations were still up, something we’d just have to deal with.

Jess and Melissa arrived right on time, much to my surprise. We were still in cleaning mode, but it was great to just stop and hang out. Melissa brought Polly Princess, here little toy dog, so we all watched as her dog and Mittens tried to kill each other through a window.

The weather was mild so we relocated to the HOJ. Irony, the kids and I cleaned the house but I didn’t bother cleaning up the HOJ… and it became the headquarters for Thanksgiving! We all made plates and headed outside and Adrianne joined us. We ate, listened to music and watched the sun go down. A super-memorable Thanksgiving.

And I NAILED the turkey. Super juicy. There was a moment of nervousness because the little thermometer red button thingy hadn’t popped out when I pulled the bird out… but the YouTube video I watched advised I get the turkey to around 165, 167 and then pull it out and let it rest for 20 minutes… it’ll keep cooking internally and make it to 170. (I did get a 170 reading actually so I felt OK pulling it out.)

My sister is always good about posting photos of the family on Facebook. She wanted a photo of me with the turkey, before I was about to carve it. I was still moving pretty fast, trying to make sure everything was ready.

When Sis snapped the photo, I’m smiling, looking into the camera. I’m holding a soup ladle in one hand. In the other, a knife, upside down.

///

Friday was pretty chill. Black Friday! 

I told myself I’d clock in, work a little (deadline, remember?) Instead I slept in, woke up and made (almost) everyone their own breakfast (ham, egg and cheese on an English muffin; egg over easy with a tortilla and bacon; Evey makes her own smoothie, I don’t make hipster breakfasts). 

Poured myself a beer by about noon and put on sports. Then I went next door and started CLEANING. 

By 2 p.m. or so the girls (Jess and Melissa) returned and we watched the US Men’s National Team play a weak sauce 1-1 game against England (a game they could have won.) That afternoon was a little long and made me grumpy. The weather was nice, though. 

I probably knew, deep down, I should have gone to work that morning.

/// 

Saturday was another fun day. The highlight was the entire family, including Grandma Judy, loading up and heading to AMC Studio 28 for a midday showing of Glass Onion. 

The movie was fun. Silly in spots. A good ensemble cast.

Afterwards we went to Wahlburgers, which I will state for the record, sucks. But Adrianne was finally Covid-free (as of Thanksgiving afternoon) so to celebrate I knew she wanted some mediocre cheeseburgers in a cold warehouse setting, along with overpriced milkshakes and slow service.  

C’mon, c’mon! Feel the vibration.

That night I went and met Neuty out for beers at Rick’s and we watched the KU/KSU football game. It might have literally been before Covid since we did that (drinking together at Rick’s, that is. Because I never stopped drinking at Rick's by myself.) 

///

Sunday came and I told Adrianne: best weekend ever.

Had a lot of fun, saw family, ate a bunch of great food, nice mild weather, played a ton of Monopoly, watched a bunch of sports. I told her, “I’m almost ready to go back to work!”

Sunday afternoon was Chiefs / Rams. The weather got colder, but I turned on the propane torch and we watched the game outdoors. The neighbors came over. Hot dogs off the Oscar Meyar roller. Chips and queso inside.

Eventually I packed a small bag for a quick business trip to Houston. Reluctantly went to bed. 

Exhausted, but finally rested.  

More Seattle photos

This was right when we arrived. Had a nice direct flight to Seattle.

The kids and I decided to give the Big Wheel a try. It was kind of cool.

We had a blast at the Mariners game and we went spur of the moment.

Bub and me taking in the view at the Mariners game.

 

Birthday bike ride

 

These photos are from Bub's actual birthday... but today (Sunday) we all went out for a nice bike ride.

Adro and I walked with the dog, while the kids biked the path. It was Craig's Crossing or something like that... off the Woodland exit of K-10. We biked it last year.

Nice afternoon. Beautiful weather here.

Happy birthday Bub!

***

Thursday or Friday, I was in the HOJ and Boyd parked his bike. He's wearing this long sleeve Batman T-shirt, new to me... maybe Kelly Jones art? Or Norm Breyfogle? 

I looked at him and said, "Dude. Awesome shirt."

He walked by me and said, "Awesome bike!"

***

I'm glad he likes the bike because I guess there was some discussion about him getting a working cell phone for his birthday. But he seems quite pleased, and thankful, for his birthday gifts, etc.

***

We had a sleepover party last night, for Bub's b-day. I survived! 

Attendees:

• Joey (previously Joseph)
• Tom (previously Thomas)
• Pancake (previously Nolan)
• Brady (still Brady)
• Aiden (though he didn't spend the night)

All is well.

***

Say... nice bike.

Watchdog day

For Boyd's birthday I'm here volunteering at his school. It's 1202 I've been in the lunchroom for an hour and it is CHAOS. 

And I'm starving. Boyd gets here in 13 minutes.

Pictured is art class. One of the more relaxing hours so far… 

Indiana days

 Here's a pic from my mom and dad's photo album, of Jess and me with Dad. I'm guessing 1980? The other photos in the batch were of the year we built a snowman on Easter day. 

All about Boyd (5th grade)

9 holes at Eagle Bend

 The kids and I had such a great time at Eagle Bend two weekends ago. I let Boyd drive my cart (where it was safe) and we all had highlights. Evey had a great tee shot over the ravine on No. 8. Boyd had a few nice chips. None of us made any putts though!

***

I took a mini-vacation to Minneapolis with my old friend Andre recently. We went and did a fantasy football draft then played 18 holes at Rush Creek the next morning.

Friends, my putter was HOT. I dropped one of 20+ feet and two or three more around the 10-15 foot range. I finally cooled off on the last six holes but by then the damage was done.

I would like to play like that again but with some co-workers next time!

***

Took the kids to see WWE Raw on Monday. We had so much fun! I took a few photos, they aren't great (like these golf pics) but I'll try to post them soon.

***

We celebrated Adro's birthday recently! I took her to Hollywood Casino for a bit of day-gambling, then What-a-Burger for a late lunch. There were some other gifts too like flowers, scratchers and an AMAZING painting. I'll share the painting (by Evey Jones) soon.

Drive-by trucker

So this was a first for me... as I was driving with Boyd, heading to his parent/teacher conference ... I saw a familiar car approaching me... it was my own daughter, driving by me, heading home! She waved, I waved. Crazy.

***

Photo is of the kids both doing homework (OK, Evey doing homework) on the back patio. The cat is hanging with them. Koko wanted to come join, but as soon as El Diablo Rojo (what Boyd calls the cat) saw Koko, she started scratching at the glass door to scare Koko away. Adrianne brought Koko to the front, so she could hang.

***

I grilled cheeseburgers on the flat-top after work today. They turned out great! Adrianne gave me a nice compliment at the end of dinner, about how good they were.

On the menu was cheeseburgers with grilled buns... and grilled onions and mushrooms (for me and Evey.) We decided to watch TV during dinner (we don't do that very often) and we put on the season finale of Rat in the Kitchen, this cooking show the kids (especially Evey) love. The last episode was actually pretty fun.

Will the show return for a season two? Chef Ludo puts out his hand and drops a thumb... down? (That's my guess.) The co-host said they would be back for season two.

***

Breakfast burritos for the kids before school today. Gonna try to fire out ham and egg and cheese croissants tomorrow morning. 

That's my A-game in week one of school. In two more weeks, it'll be cereal! I hope not, I like making the kids a decent breakfast before they go to school. And I can make a small egg meal in like 10 minutes.

 

 

First day of 5th grade and sophomore year!

 

 Evey is driving to school now, in her own car! She is driving Adrianne's old Tucson... just about the perfect wheels for her.

And yeah, she's still 15. Crazy!

We worry about the idea of her out there as a young driver, but she is also SO RESPONSIBLE. We trust her to pay attention and be careful. It's nice that it's all country roads from home to her school. But still, stressful.

Love you kids, have a great year!

Waterfall at Mt. Rainier

 

Here's that photo of the kids by the waterfall...

Right now we're in South Padre Island. Kids are still asleep, I'm on the back patio. My back is toast from two weeks in foreign beds...

Between Seattle and now a long Texas trip, we've been on the road almost three of the last four weeks!

We miss Grandma, our dog and our home. Evey and Adrianne also miss Mittens.

We're going to go do another day on the beach. The beach just beats me up. I'm not as young as the kids but I still try to boogie board with them and that workout is hard on me. It is fun though, in the moment. It's the before and after that I dread.

Evey and I walked around Port Isabell last night and scored a couple good root beer floats. That was a good close to a long day.

Oh, and we returned to Wanna Wanna and the burgers, like always, were amazing. 

Mt. Rainier

We took a tour of the mountain. It was pretty cool. The most memorable part was the 2-hour drive home in an unairconditioned bus… 

But the lunch on the trip was also great. And we hiked a lot. I think Evey enjoyed the woods. I don't know how Bub felt about it all. He was cooperative at least.

I have some cool pics of the kids by a waterfall I'll share soon. 

Mexican meat market

I did pretty good managing my way through the Mexican meat market down here in the RGV. Bought $30 in marinated chicken, $20 in marinated skirt steak. Away game grill but it turned out nicely. And plenty of leftovers!

I think they liked seeing the Silver Fox in his Mahomes T-shirt at the meat market.

Or, maybe I was charged extra. 

AYE AYE AYE AYE AYE!!!

My favorite photo

From the Alex and Emily wedding Is this one!

 

And I've got a lot more amazing pics coming soon! 

Kids + Grandma

Man, these kids love their grandma! 

Ok, we all love Judy! I think even Mittens likes her! 

Evey is mowing… and growing!

Yes my sweet Evey is mowing the lawn for me! She wants to help out and I was happy for the help! Allows me to do other yard work while that is getting done.

Also, she got her license the other day (I buried the lead there) and as they were putting her information in, the DMV lady was like 'uhhh you're taller than 5'3"." They measured her and sure enough she is taller now! (I'll have an official height soon!)

Happy B-Day Judy!

Wow, G'Ma Judy had a landmark birthday recently! I was out of town the day of, so we finally all got to go out to dinner last night...

Happy birthday Judy! We love you!!! 

Happy 96th Virginia!

 Nice party at the farm just now! No tequila but there may have been a Tecate, and a horchata 
+ rum.

But I had nothing to do with either. Honest!

Last days of school

Evey only has one more day of 9th grade. Boyd only has two more days of 4th grade.

We'll have 10th and 5th graders soon! Has a nice ring to it.

I think both kids enjoyed this school year immensely. Evey was active in a bunch of different groups, and maintained a 4.0. Boyd enjoyed his teacher, most of his classmates and also... no homework!

Evey has big goals for the summer. Wants to ride her bike on trails, wants to watch movies on the projector and wants to hang out in the HOJ. Sounds like my kinda summer!

***

Evey wanted me to take her photo against a tree with white flowers... I told her, based on the sun and what she was wearing... we had to pick a different tree! I got these great shots of the kids a few weeks ago, on my 45th birthday.

 

Foosball fans

 

Thank goodness. Although I'll admit, I've been treating this entire week like it was a Friday night. 

Boyd is obsessed with playing foosball right now. And guess who else loves foos? I do! It's hard to say no when it's one of my favorite games. So we go to the HOJ, next thing I know I'm pouring a beer off the keg, next thing I know it's midnight!

Ha! Ride the wave. He'll move back to the XBox soon and I'll be sad.

We've also been playing a lot of washers and pop-a-shot. Adro threw three ringers in a row the other day!

These photos are random but they were on my desktop. The photo of them together is from the fall, when I was trying to take the annual "first day of school photo" a month late. The other photo is when Boyd discovered a raccoon skeleton and skull.

The weekend is here! Let's keep the party going!

Jones Kids

Late April, 2022.

Stellar. 

Ugh don't touch

 

Hello Mrs. Murphy,

 

First off, thank you for coming to Boyd's soccer game last weekend! He was SO EXCITED. Sorry the game was lousy… they played better this week.

 

OK, Boyd asked me to send you these photos. He said you always ask about the weekend… and he thought you might appreciate these.

 

Boyd and his friend Aiden found these… remains… in the woods. And they were excited to show us. I'm not as excited! I'm guessing, maybe a raccoon's remains? Who knows.

 

Have a great week!

 

 

Rock chalk 2022 National Championship parade!

The kids said, let's go to the parade!

We went down at around noon for a 2 pm parade. Got front row seats at 9th and Mass! It was cool, but short. Enjoyed hanging with Jess and the cousins. Ok, Boyd didn't enjoy all the people. But that's alright because the Jayhawks are CHAMPS!!! 

Special guest at the soccer game

Boyd was really excited that his teacher, Mrs. Murphy, attended his soccer game last Saturday. 

Boyd asked me to invite her to game one and I told him, buddy, it's hard for teachers to do something like that on a Saturday… but he really wanted to invite her so I emailed her the schedule…

She said she couldn't make it that Saturday, but she could make the third game. And guess what, she did! Her and her husband drove in from out of town to cheer Boydee on! Boyd said he could hear her a few times, then she caught up with us at the end of the game.

Very nice of her!

Welcome back!

The reason I haven't been posting lately? My cell phone can't check/send emails!

Also, you know what's awesome? When your cell phone can't check/send emails!

More soon. We're doing great! This photo from last October at Worlds of Fun... 

Antigua trip

 Adrianne and I were fortunate enough to take a trip to Antigua in the West Indies for a long weekend. Here are some photos I took:

 

A warm weekend in Feb 2022

Note: This blog post was written recently on a long flight to Antigua, but is about the weekend of 2/18. I'll post photos of our beach vacation soon!

Last weekend was pretty awesome. Let’s take a look back.

 

Friday the kids both had plans… Evey went to see a play, I think, while Boyd was invited over for a sleepover. Adrianne got home around 5 p.m. and we had the evening to ourselves. I suggested a bar stool at Rick’s, but she had a better idea… a cold cerveza at the house. 

 

My beautiful bride and me enjoying a dinner
on the beach in Antigua.

We started recapping our days and then I put on YouTube on the TV, set to old 120 Minutes alternative rock videos from the 80s and 90s. This used to be a tradition of ours when Evey was little, but it’s something we hadn’t done for ten years maybe.

 

Evey came home and she enjoyed watching the old videos with us. We’d take turns deciding what video was next. Evey played a lot of Glass Animals (including one nightmarish video); Adro played George Michael and Tori Amos; I played Blur (Coffee & TV), Radiohead (How to Disappear Completely) and Arrested Development (Tennessee.) Eventually we all crashed.

 

…

 

The next morning I woke up with a bad feeling. We had our last game of the season (Boyd’s basketball team, 3^rd/4^th, the Lakers) and I just felt like something was wrong. My assistant coach texted that his boy was sick. I opened the paper and my horoscope said I was going to have a 1-star day (maybe 2, I dunno.) I went next door to pick up Boyd at our pre-arranged time.

 

Boyd came out and waved at me, then told me he couldn’t find his phone. He went inside and kept me waiting… and waiting… and waiting. And this is not something I enjoy. Eventually the neighbor’s dog strolled over towards my direction and took a big No. 2. I thought, yup… we’re going to get destroyed today.

 

Boyd eventually came outside and we had an emotional moment. We worked it out. There was no shouting, but hopefully he learned something. We had to go pick up his teammate so I told him to collect himself and get into game mode, because I was going to need him.

 

We got to Baldwin, their Primary Center, it’s a nice gym. Our kids started warming up and they were complaining about how tight the rims were. I told them to not think like that. We were outnumbered, 10 kids to 7. We’ve lost every game this season so far. We even got shut out in our first game.

 

Right off the tip, we made a nice play and got a quick bucket. Then another. A steal. Then another. We were up 8-0 in just a few plays. 

 

I’m not a great basketball coach but I did feel like I channeled Bill Self a little when I called a timeout with 50 seconds left in the half and stressed that we needed one more bucket before halftime. The lead had narrowed. The kids didn’t score on that play, but they did score on the next play, the last of the half. I think we had a 12-6 lead at half.

 

Second half got a little close again, but then we got some more put-backs. I could tell the other team wasn’t playing with urgence even though they were down. Both teams were happy to work the ball, and I was happy to see the clock dwindle. The final score was 21-9, or something like that. My kids were all pretty happy to end a rough season with a W.

 

Boyd, poor guy, didn’t play his best. He did OK. I think he was fatigued from the sleepover. He did fine handling the ball but all his shots were short. He did get a couple rebounds and a steel or two but he also had a few turnovers. On a good game he was our second or third best player. This game, he was in the top five, but not as effective. No more sleepovers before games!

 

We went to the Mexican restaurant in Baldwin after the game to celebrate the W. Brady came over to hang out with Boyd (his social calendar, sheesh!) I went next door and worked on cleaning up the HOJ (the bar cabinet) and also hung up some new art. The girls watched Kindred Spirits in Evey’s room. That evening the kids and I watched KU handle business at West Virginia.

 

That night I was exhausted and went to bed early. It was a long day! But despite my frustration in the morning with Boyd’s pick-up, it was a good day. Especially happy for that W.

 

…

Adro isn't buying Bub's BS.

 

Sunday I woke up and was determined to be productive around the house. I do my best if I make a list of things I want to do. I think my list looked like this:

 

1.     Make breakfast (biscuits and gravy)

2.     Vacuum downstairs

3.     Organize Spidey comics

4.     Clean kitchen

5.     Empty out an old box in my closet that had been bothering me

6.     Rock out some Pixies

7.     Print photos of the kids, mail them to family

 

Check, check, check, check. I did the whole list. By about 1 pm I was done, and ready to relax. 

 

The weather was getting better so I went next door to the HOJ and kept cleaning up over there. The girls had some errands to run so it was just me and Boyd. I had him come outside and write some letters to the family with me. We would take study breaks and throw the football or play PIG inside the HOJ (the rim is currently indoors.) 

 

I had a good time. But I always have a good time in the HOJ. Eventually I let Boyd off the hook and told him he could play Xbox once he did a few chores in the house.

 

That night I watched the NBA All-Star game by myself downstairs. I love the All-Star game. It kind of reminds me of my dad, I think, I don’t know for sure. But I feel like he’s with me when I watch NBA games. He was a big KU fan, but I think I was a bigger KU fan … while he’s the guy who saw Lew Alcindor play for the Bucks in person, and gave me the program from the game when I was young. He knew the NBA from way back when. And he always wanted to know who the best player was in any given season.

 

Another productive, fun day.

 

…

 

Monday I had plans on going to work, even though we get President’s Day off. I was going to press on Tuesday and I had a lot of wood to chop. But the day started off with me needing to get a COVID test so I could travel internationally on Thursday. 

 

Adrianne and I made two stops, one at Sigler Pharmacy and the other at Orchards. This took up pretty much my entire morning (OK, add in a stop at the library and a stop at Love Garden Sounds.) 

 

Got home around 12:30 and it’s beautiful outside. So I’m not going indoors. Grab my laptop and start checking email in front of the HOJ. 

 

Eventually my barber came over and I got a haircut. Then I went to the grocery store to find that evening’s feast — grilling was in order when it’s 70 degrees in February. I picked up some pork sirloins and a bunch of chicken breasts. Picked up Boyd from school and headed home.

 

A little later Judy come over and I had the grill sparked, the music rocking and a cold beer. Then Adro and Evey got home and sat outside with us, bringing the cat out. It was still 65 degrees as the sun went down. We eventually went in to eat because Evey ran 2.5 miles at soccer conditioning, but we really just wanted to sit there longer and enjoy the breeze. 

 

Evey and Bub set the table so I just had to bring everything in. It was a feast! The pork turned out great; the chicken was good (a little rubbery); add in zucchini & squash; asparagus and baked potatoes. I went crazy with the food! But we ate all the veggies and had enough meat to feed us again two days later with some microwavable veggies. 

 

What a great three-day weekend!

 

And yes, I paid for it at work on Tuesday… but we got the magazine done on time. All’s well that ends well.

Winter formal (I think?)

There was some drama, Evey tells me, as to what this event was called... and that it had the wrong name. It was last Saturday.

Whatever it was called, Evey looked beautiful and she reports that the highlight was the end of the dance when they played "Sweet Caroline." 

More pics from Alex wedding

 I mean... how pretty is my wife?

Third photo is of the cruise we took on the Rio Grande. I bet the kids will have some recall of that trip! Just seeing the National Guard, the wall(s), etc.