Pirate Thanksgiving...2006

The food = Pork and plantain hash, bread pudding, coconut and jerk shrimp, jerk crab dip, jerk turkey, sweet potato fries, and the bar wenches famous cranberry cake with rum sauce.

The activities = swashbuckling, shivering our timbers, walking the occasional plank, and responding "RRRR" to nearly every question asked.

The verdict = Grandma and Grandpa win best dressed. Beyond that....we have a lot to be thankful for. God Bless you and yours.

Deer Hunting 2006....congrats to Derek and making his first appearance on the Jones blog. We hunted in a zone labeled a "herd management" unit. In other words, the DNR wanted to control the population with a large harvest this fall. After 2 days, 4 hunters, and a truck bed full of 7 deer, we feel we did our part. I'm sure the thank you card from the DNR is in the mail already.

Happy 30th birthday Ryan! I love you!

Happy birthday to my BIG sister Abigail!

I am currently on day 5 of being a hunting widow (again). Ryan, the duck-slayer, is currently in North Dakota hunting ducks with his brother and a friend. I have been once again left to fend for myself. I have only spoken to him once, so I really don't know how the hunting is going. He is due home late tomorrow night. I can't wait for him to come home. Lucy is always a terror when he is gone. She is super whiny and chews on everything (which she never does). It is kind of sad to see her looking at the door waiting for him to come home. I am keeping myself busy...shopping, got my hair cut short again, and going to a halloween party with my sister-in-law and nieces. Oh, yeah I have been working too. I am currently taking a class to renew my teaching license...man, I don't think I even worked this hard in college. It is tough!
Moving on...my volleyball season is offically over. We had a tournament last weekend. We came in 5th (out of 7). It was a good way to end our first season. We actually did win a whole game(not just a set) this year too! I was so proud of my girls. Basketball starts in 3 weeks...can you sense my excitment. I do enjoy coaching and will definately be ready in 3 weeks, but right now I can't even think about it.
I am sure that Ryan will have pictures to post from his trip when he returns...yep, more dead animals. Welcome to my world! :)

A strong cold front blows in from the West, and the ducks come with it.

Dinner on the tailgate...few things in life produce this degree of happiness.

A solid Saturday morning in the field...

Time to catch up!

Wow, times always flys by so quickly. So much has happened in the month of September and we are so bad at keeping this updated. Let's see...

A few weekends ago we had super football weekend. We went the the Badger v. San Diego State game in Madison and had a wonderful time! My sister and her husband came with and we tailgated, enjoyed Madison, and we actually got Matt to wear Badger red. Oh, and he even cheered for the Big Red. (We are going to get you to be a fan yet!) Then on Sunday, Ryan and I had a chance to go to the Packer v. Saints game. We ROASTED! It was so stinking hot that day...we were burned AND sweaty. It was a whole lot of fun, but let me tell you I was footballed out. Ryan was in heaven. :)

Last weekend we spent at home. Our first weekend at home since the summer...Probably even July. It was nice not to have to go anywhere, but we got a lot done around our house. We also went to Appleton's Oktoberfest. We had a great time...good company, good beer, good food. The only thing that spoiled it was the occasional downpour in which everyone went running for the nearest building overhang.

In between our weekends we have been keeping busy too. Ryan has been busy duck and goose hunting. He has been providing our family with birds to eat. Hungry anyone? He will head off to North Dakota for a week of duck hunting at the end of October. His goal for this hunting season is 40 ducks. He is well on his way! He has also decided that a man can never have too much camouflage. Yikes! I have been busy with volleyball. Our season is almost over and the girls are getting better everyday. I will be happy when the season is over, but basketball is right around the corner. It never ends!

The Joneses

Dan being Dan

and Ryan being Ryan

Labor Day in Lake Geneva...


Sarah and I spent the Labor Day weekend on Lake Geneva with the Volbrechts. Two days of boating, three nights of cold beverages and great food, and whole ton of fun. Thanks to Dan and Trina for bringing the boat...and thanks to the Harbor View Motel for providing a cabin with one knife, two forks and no coffee maker. Note...if you can boil water, locate a few plastic cups, and you have Dan Volbrecht in the house...you can make a mean cup of coffee.

Don's Place


Grandma D and the great grandchildren(and Andy!)

This past weekend was spent with Ryan's extended family in Minoqua, WI. We all gathered at his uncle's cabin to have fun, catch up with each other, meet new family members and to dedicate the place to Don. Don passed away last summer and Jerry named the new cabin "Don's Place." It was a great weekend! We got to see family that we haven't seen in a year...including new great grandchildren! Boy, there were lots of kids running around.

Ryan and I stayed through Monday...which means we had the place to ourselves Sunday afternoon to Monday. We read, slept, and played backgammon and cribbage. We also went into Minoqua on Sunday and went through the shops. It was very relaxing and very hard to come home!

We are leaving tomorrow to go camping at LuWiSoMo in Wild Rose. It is family weekend and should be lots of fun!

Matt, Abby, Dan, Sarah, Ryan

Lambeau Field

Ryan and I in Wild Rose, Wisconsin

Hello Everyone!

I always have good intentions of keeping this blog up to date, but I always fail! These past few weeks have been very busy and emotional. Two weeks ago, my grandmother was brought to Theda Clark Hospital in Neenah. She was diagnosed with a large brain tumor. She decided to go home (King Veteran's Home) instead of having surgery. Ryan and I had a chance to visit her a few times, but she passed away last week. The memorial service will be in August to celebrate her walk with Jesus. Prayers for the family and friends would be greatly appreciated!

Ryan and I took our very first-just the 2 of us-camping trip 2 weekends ago. We had a great time! The weather was great( and the company even better!). We had a brief storm...we always do when we camp...but managed to stay dry by playing darts and cribbage at a local restraunt/bar. I managed to beat Ryan once in cribbage! We also played a few rounds on frisbee golf...I beat Ryan once (the first time ever!). We also played a round at Nordic Mountain...which was the craziest and hardest course ever! You start and the base...go up...come down....go up...and come down. We quit halfway through...we were tired! Ryan managed to get poison ivy somewhere there too!

This past weekend our friend Dan came down from the Twin Cities to go to Packer Training Camp. We went both Friday and Saturday....HOT, HOT, HOT!!!! It was fun to see the new Packers this year and to see what the team is going to look like. While I enjoyed myself....the boys were in heaven. Ahhh, thus begins the football season! On Friday, we also took in a Green Bay Blizzard game. This is our arena football team. This was our first Blizzard game and let me tell you, this is a whole different culture! It was very fun...but the people in attendance were very different than a normal football game.

Today is so hot...about 100+ degrees! I am trying to stay cool and enjoy what is left of my summer!

Can you believe it's been three years! Happy Anniversary! It feels like just yesterday...

We biked to the top of Meditation Hill to watch a beautiful sunset....God is good!