L and L Jones Family Blog

Pat's Run

2009-05-04T21:11:00.003-07:00

This year I ran Pat's run in Tempe with my cousin Dale. There were more than 16,000 participates and was a lot fun. As you can see, there was a group of solders that ran in full gear including backpacks. It was a nice 4.2 mile run that ended on the 42 year line in ASU stadium. The weather was perfect and we had a great time. We didn't set any records, but had a great time.

Hopefully this will keep me running and getting into better shape!

Mom in the hospital

2009-04-28T22:04:00.002-07:00

Right after my dad died, my mom went into the hospital. While we were up there, we went and visited her. Chad introduced his fiancee, Abby to Grandma.

She spent a month in there and was released this week!

Dad's Funeral

2009-04-28T21:25:00.007-07:00

Last month my dad past away in Colorado. He lived a great life and I will miss him. I was blessed to have all of siblings and my children there. Here are a few pictures from the funeral and burial.

I was able to talk at his funeral and here is a part of my talk.

"As a boy of about 5 or 6, I went with Dad as he would manage a farm 100 miles outside of El Paso. Dad did this for many years, but one year before 1^st grade, I spent most of that year with him. When we would walk along a ditch bank, I would be following behind him. I would see the prints of his boots in the dirt and stretch my small steps to try to reach from one footprint to the next. If I tried to do this more than once or twice, I would lose my balance. Really, what I needed to do was take 2 steps for every one of his. Later as a young man following behind him on the ditch banks in Blythe I could match him step for step. These past few years while walking beside him, I would be taking ½ steps to stay even with him.

I knew at a young age that I would try to follow in his footsteps and I also knew at an early age that that would not be easy. There were times during my life that I knew I was reaching with my steps to try to follow him, there were other times where I thought I was equal to his steps, and sometimes I thought I was out pacing him and had to slow down. I now realize that I am really still reaching to keep up with him."

The New Year

2009-02-08T12:30:00.004-07:00

I need to get into a better habit of writing. But just an update on us.

We had everyone here for Christmas and it was a lot of fun. Here are some pictures from then. We took family pictures, it had been about 5 years since our last one with the boys on their missions.

While they were here we went out shooting and found out that the girls really do like it.

Random Family photos in 2008

2008-12-14T15:34:00.003-07:00

We went to South Carolina with Chad

2008-12-14T14:53:00.006-07:00

Family Hikes in 2008

2008-12-14T13:49:00.008-07:00

Music and Karate in 2008

2008-12-14T13:18:00.008-07:00

This time of year is a time to reflect on all of the wonderful things we have done as a family this year. Now that we have a blog, we can share a few more pictures of the years activities. We hope you enjoy these.

Music

The Girls continue with music Devery on the piano and violin and Natalie with the piano.

Karate

Devery and Natalie continue with karate. Natalie has earned up to her purple belt and Devery is a jr. black belt working towards her full black.

Thanksgiving Hike

2008-12-05T09:02:00.011-07:00

Friday after Thanksgiving we went on a nice 4 mile hike in the McDowell Mountains north of Fountain Hills the our friends the Woolfs.

It was a little cool at the start, but a very nice day for a hike.

The hike wasn't very difficult but did get us up on a small ridge to look out over the mountains with some nice views.

We thought we were going to get rained on, but it didn't happen.

It was great to get out and work off some of the Thanksgiving dinner which was wonderful. (the dinner and the hike).

We are looking forward to hiking Camelback next month with the whole family at Christmas.

Family Backpacking Trip

2008-09-02T21:24:00.015-07:00

Last week we had a great trip to the Sierras in California. We left out of Wishon Reservoir about 2:30 pm on the 26th and hiked for over 4 hours to our camp site. The hiking was tough for Natalie because it was mainly up hill. She was a real trooper and didn't give up although she was very spent by the end. It was very beautiful up there. We made camp beside a nice steam and had pizza, hot chocolate, and cookies. We set up our tents and went to bed.

On Wednesday we got up and had breakfast and broke camp although a little late in the morning. Many in the family were a little sore and slow to start. But we did get going and again it was uphill with a few switchbacks. We made it to the top of a nice overlook to break for lunch.

After lunch we continued up the hill. The views were just great! The hike after lunch was pretty hard on the way to Chimney Lake. The last 2 miles were very hard up hill. When we got to the Lake, the first thing we did was set up Leslie's hammock, Chad said she did so good and deserved the reward. We also washed off in the lake which we needed badly, just look at Leslie's legs! We set up camp knowing that we would be there for 2 days.

Chimney Lake is a beautiful place. We spent the next day resting, reading, playing cards and enjoying the great views. Chad and I went on a little hike to WoodChuck Lake and were rewarded with a great view and a nice cold swim, well really it was just a dip.

Friday we broke camp in the morning and hiked the 8 miles out. This is the longest that Natalie had walked in one day and she did great. The last mile was very hard but the end was well worth the effort. Along the way we stopped twice to play in the water and wash our feet.

We were all happy for the trail to end. We were also very happy to get into clean clothes. For some reason everyone was very glad to have me change!!

I'm already looking forward to the next hike.