As a blogger, I STINK! It's been over two months since I've made a post. And it's not that I haven't had things to blog about. Oh, there has been PLENTY to talk about...
Like the evening I went out to the front yard simply to start the sprinkler and of course my little munchkins followed me out there. Before I knew it, my oldest was peer pressuring her sister into running through the sprinkler with her. I tried to tell them "no" but it was just too cute watching them hold hands and squeal in excitement as the water sprayed over them. And then, without warning, my sweet, sweet Isabella got a hold of the sprinkler itself, picked it up, and when her sister accidently fell to the ground, Izzy stood over her and relentlessly tortured her with that sprinkler. Oh man, it was funny!
Of course I could have blogged all about our family vacation to Northern CA in July. Santa Rosa was having a cold spell and it was in the high 70s to low 80s the whole week (how is that for relief from the hottest Houston summer in recordable history?!) We hiked through the Redwoods in Guernivlle, and buried each other in the sand at the beach, and visited Train Town in Sonoma. We even got to celebrate my cousin Gina's birthday with her (I won't tell you how old she is but it's WAY older than me) and the kids got to get reacquainted with their cousins. It's always fun seeing my Aunt and Uncle and cousins. One of my favorite parts is how they STILL affectionately refer to me as JoAnna Banana (they are the only ones allowed so don't even think about calling me that anymore!!) and now that I'm married we are collectively known as the Banana Family. There is Chris Banana, Josie Banana, and Izzy Banana. I love it!
Just when I didn't think we could have a better summer vacation, I was invited to travel with Chris for work to Durango and Aspen, CO for 6 days (Remember Chris is corporate pilot so I use the word "work" very loosely in this context). Did the kids go with us, you may ask. HECK NO!!! It was amazing! We went bike riding down the Animas River Trail in Durango, ate gourmet food overlooking the San Juan Mountains, and read books on our hotel balcony while watching river rafters float by. I can almost take myself back there just talking about it...*sigh*. After two days we flew to Aspen but stayed in Glenwood Springs just 40 miles up the road (or down the mountain I should say). In G.S. we hiked THE MOST AMAZING HIKE EVER! It was 1.2 miles straight up that dang mountain with uneven terrain but man was it worth it once we reached the top. Since it is called the Hanging Lake trail, Hanging Lake was the destination and it didn't disappoint. The lake was bluer than blue and crystal clear with 2 waterfalls flowing into it. (I have GOT to learn how to post pics on here.) Anyway, it was incredible! Even better than the hike, my best friend, Tara, from college met us in G.S. She had literally moved to Denver 3 weeks before our trip so it was a short little trek over the mountains for her to meet us (she'll think that "short little trek" is funny cause she got stuck in serious traffic). Anyway, we hung out the next day in Aspen and had a great time catching up on the last 4 years since we've seen each other.
Many more memorable things have happened since my last post but there just isn't enough time to blog it all. Today though, I knew I had to make a post cause it's a monumental day in the Jones household...our oldest daughter, Josie, started kindergarten today. I really will have to write more details later cause it's time for me to head out and go beat all the other moms to the car rider line.
Wishing you all many back-to-school blessings!
