Who studies. Lame.

so ya my blog hasn't been very up to date lately I mean I didnt even blog about halloween even though it is my favorite holiday and devin and I placed in two different costume contests...
but in my defense apparently I do much better in school when I actually do my homework instead of blogging.

this is the first semester I have gotten straight A's at ASU*. Usually I get at least one B.
Hurray for being studious.

On the flip side I decided that I would have way rather put forth minimal effort most semesters and gotten a B then tried as hard as I did this semester every semester to get straight A's.
Way too much effort. I definitely like being mediocre much better.

* maybe one semester I got straight A's on my transcript with one W for withdrawn but really got an F in that class that I appealed and got removed off of my record. oopsies.

citrus fruit

Day after Thanksgiving we went to the Christmas Lights at the Temple.
They were amazing, per usual.

We even got to see Brooke White turn on the lights. I don't watch American Idol so I was not star struck. Just kinda bored.

Then we walked around the lights and Devin and I had a conversation that went something like this...

Devin: I'll give you a dollar if you steal an orange off of that tree.
Laura: Deal but its not an orange its a grapefruit.
Devin: Fine just get the "citrus fruit" and I''ll give you a dollar
Laura: Sweet. (picks fruit off tree)
Laura: Done and done. Where's my dollar?
Devin: Umm...I don't have one. I owe you.
I'll give you a dollar if your throw your orange at the protesters.
Laura: What? No. I didn't get the last dollar your promised and I told you its a grapefruit!
Devin: Laura it's a figure of speech. I wasn't really ever going to give you a dollar. Sorry Miss Citrus Expert.
Laura: Fine. I'll give you a dollar if you won't promise me a dollar again and then not give me one again. Seriously...figure of speech...what a let down.

See it was a grapefruit.

(oh and BTW devin dyed his hair black.)

Flat Stanley

Dear Grace,

We had so much fun having your Flat Stanley at our house. We finally had time to put together a little package for you to return back your Flat Stanley. Sorry it took us so long.

We promise we will mail it today. Included is...

Pictures about our favorite Christmas traditions like going to see the temple lights and going to Disney Land.

Also a couple of hand drawn numbers by Miss Annie-bo-nannie.


Hope you enjoy and thanks for giving us the chance to have Flat Stanley!

Love,

Annie, Laura and the rest of the Jones Fam.

My secret fear

In case you are ever driving in front of me slash behind me
and see me swerve in an irrational manner
to miss hitting something in the middle of the road like
a box, a bag full of something or maybe even a shoe
its because I have a secret fear...

there might be kittens inside.


and you have to look out for the little loves.

Eat. Breathe. Sleep. Swim.

The above stated = our life for the past three months/twelve weeks/84 days.

Introducing the Mesa High Swim Team


It all started back in August, when the three of us witnessed an hour that is never spoken of in our family during the summer. Apparently the sun rises around 6:00 am in the summer. Who knew?



A week before school started we rolled out of bed at the crack of dawn for swim practice. We were really excited to be there. See also none of us were coherent enough to realize how stupid we were to be up that early.

It was Annie's first year and Julia's third so Julia was a darling and showed Annie the ropes of how it was done. We practiced a lot over the summer at the pool to try and get Annie to learn that she had to swim ALL the way across the pool and couldn't stop in the middle. Both girls did really well.

Sometimes Annie acted ticked but she secretly loved it as evident in the second picture.

Saturday practices were always entertaining (sans the mosquitoes) because I got to watch them do stupid exercises like the bunny hop and jump or dive. Random Julia talent, she is really good at jump or dive. Read: really lucky at jump or dive and the coach always says what she is already doing so she won the game. Jones's are never actually coordinated.


Julia had one major set back. When she got her team suit one strap was ridiculously shorter than the other strap. You can see in this picture as she is about to race how far the strap is cutting into her back.

This is what it looked like on the front...


I told everyone on swim team that she just had really uneven boobs. Julia wasn't so much a fan of that littler rumor.
No exaggeration. When we held up the straps it looked like this.



The extra strap isn't part of the short strap its the strap that goes across her back. I honestly don't know how she got the swim suit on. But I think it was lucky because this was the pool that Julia first broke her 29 second 50 free and got a 28.7. We were very proud. Here she is coming in from the race.


Julia really focused on dropping time this swim season and did an awesome job! She qualified for state which is no small feat as junior and we are hoping she will swim at state next year too!

While Annie waited for her race she practiced her top model poses. Who says a cap and goggles can't be fashionable.




Annie was a great swimmer! She was able to drop over 18 seconds on her 50 free over the course of the season. Annie always swam so fast on the first 25 lap across the pool but her favorite thing to do was stick her head out of the water to see who was cheering for her on deck. So her second 25 kinda slowed her down since her stroke went like this one arm, two arm, stick her head out of the water and turn back to see who was on deck cheering. She just loved seeing that all her friends were on deck screaming for her to do well.

At the swim banquet (my pictures are on my internal camera memory and i can't transfer them to my memory card so we might never see them...if you are reading this and have pictures of Julia or Annie at the banquet send them to us) Julia got another Varsity certificate so she received a pin for her letter that she got as a freshman (like I said she's really good). Annie got a junior varsity certificate and was able to give a little thank you speech to the other kids. She was very nervous but did an awesome job speaking clearly in front of everyone and reading her little speech. Then she told all of the swimmers that they were her BFF and handed out a bumper sticker that looks like this:


You know you are jealous. Let me know if you want one, we have extras. All during swim season, as Annie made friends on the team she would tell them that they were her BFF so we decided they all deserved a bumper sticker that said it for all the support they gave Annie.

Anyway Julia and Annie both had an awesome season and we are so excited to do it again next year!

Consolation Prize

Hi there, Devin here.
No, no, I am not going to gloat. I know that a lot of our friends were ardent supporters of John McCain, and trust me, I know what it is like to have your candidate lose, while the country elects a president you think will ruin the country. So, as an olive branch, I give you one of the best videos I have seen in some time. God Bless America and God Bless snarky kids on the internet.

Its been three years this month...

since I met my best friend.

DEVIN

ALAN

FLETCHER

(the above mostly drawn on mustache was a joke for labor day)

We are awesome and met in a Preparation for Celestial Marriage class.
We both were there because we were dying to get married as soon as possible and were ready to tackle the first person who approached us and asked on a date.

PSYCH!
(when's the last time someone said psych?)

For serious though, we were both there because of completely random situations.
You might even say that it was meant to be.

My dear friend Sean Larson was about to leave me friendless as he embarked on his mission to Australia, so I was looking for someone new to hang out with. At the time I was going through a phase where I changed my friends as often as I changed my underwear. So when I remembered that tall kid who I saw at institute wearing a Get Up Kids shirt...I thought it was time our fates collided. Turns out, he was Devin's best friend.


(a million times thanks! and as you said at our wedding...be careful who you introduce your friends too.)

Dear Darson introduced us.
After introductions we talked some music, I gave him a CD to listen to, and he gave me a new middle name.

One John Vanderslice concert later it became very apparent to me that I kinda liked this kid.

We held hands about a month later while watching "Walk the Line" at the movies. The next day he kissed me before I left on vacation to Florida with the fam.


Every night I was gone I would walk outside of the house we were staying in that had bad reception to talk to his friend Courtney trying to figure out if I was sure I liked him. You see anytime a boy liked me back I immediately figured something must be wrong with him. I was coming home that Saturday so I had to make a quick decision on whether I was okay with this whole thing. She told me that the whole time I was gone he kept singing these lyrics...

"And yeah if only it was Saturday Saturday,
things would be better in every way every way,
And I would be okay."
...from a Rocket Summer song

As well as these modified lyrics...
"Come back to me from Florida
All of us here in Arizona
Are starved for your attention
We're starved for your attention"
...from a Copeland song

That sealed the deal for a while.
But a short time later we broke up. You see our feelings are like this picture...


He was all for it, but I was hesitant.
So when I told him I wasn't sure I was ready to be exclusive we broke up.

That lasted a whole five days.
After showing him true devotion by going to an Aquabats concert with him we were back together.

By late December I was in love. On New Years I asked him what he thought about getting married since I couldn't imagine being with anyone else and the first Sunday in February we fasted about it and decided to go for it.


He proposed in March. He thought he was pretty sneaky but I knew the whole time.
(hence the painted nails)


Since then we got married and now we are just two stupid kids in love.


He still makes me mix CDs.
He still says I love you at least a million times a day.
He still can make me laugh harder than anyone else can.
He still randomly puts on 50s music and slow dances with me in the kitchen.
He still likes me love handles and all.
and He still gives me that look that tells me that I'm the only one for him.

So for me October 26, 2005 was a pretty good day.

Blarg

My excuse for not blogging are as follows:

1. THIS


2. Fourth Year Camp (next door cousins please excuse the swearing you heard from my parents house last Saturday when I was cleaning out the throw up in my backseat from the trip home. I finally resorted and got the car detailed. It still smells.)


3. School per usual.

My month of October has been rather full. Which leads me to two conclusions

1.I can't wait for November to come

2.I am so glad I put up my Halloween decorations mid september. Boo to all you Halloween Naysayers. My goal is to convert you all.

I leave you with evidence that Halloween can be cute.

More about voting

I realized while watching the debates last night they totally stole the idea of presidential debates from high school.

Or maybe its the other way around...


Either way if one of these guys wants my vote then they'll have to win over the leading man in my life

because he pretty much gets two votes.

Dear Susan B.

Sorry if I wasted your time with the whole women's suffrage thing.
I don't care about voting.

Sincerely,
Laura