All I have to say is ... THANK GOODNESS for GREAT friends! Dillon and Katie are such cute little friends who just love to play together and just run into each other's arms when they see each other. Katie's mommy happens to be MY great friend, who's always got a listening ear and a sympathetic heart!

BACK at last! Had a wonderful visit with family and now it's back to the daily grind! Missing James who is RI attending Officer's training for the navy. The saddest thing is watching how much the boys miss him. I'm trying to look at the bright side, but the only thing I can think of is that the bathroom stays pretty clean! Got to take my Mom to the Grand Canyon on the way home. It was as beautiful and majestic as ever. Especially with all the rainy weather!

Charles and Dillon had a blast playing with cousins and grandparents and unlces and aunts and all sorts of people. The highlight for me was attending a live session at the SLC temple with my brother's and mom. Unforgettable. See you in TWO Nate!!!


Here's something fun... long, but fun!






Name On Birth Certificate: Jennifer Jones
Nicknames: Jenny Penny, Yenny, Jooney
School: Utah State University
Location: here
Email address: Yes
Color of eyes: blue/green
Hair color: light blonde
Shoe Size: 8 (8 ½ when I'm pregnant)
You live with: too much testosterone in the house!
-----------------------------------HAVE YOU EVER--------------------------------Missed school because it was raining: No… that’s something they do here in AZ, though- hahaha.
Put a body part on fire for amusement: Heck no… I'm actually rather intelligent.
Been hurt emotionally: Heck yes…
Had an imaginary friend?: Many.
Cried during a Movie?: almost every movie/TV show I've ever seen, even several commercials.
Ever thought an animated character was hot?: Oh ya… Prince Philip- from Sleeping Beauty
Been on stage: Purity Dean, in “Pure as the Driven Snow” and several times for Drill Team… yes, I was in drill team.
Been sarcastic: No. Never.
--------------------------------------FAVORITES------------------------------------Shampoo: Nutri-Ox
Soap: Lever 2000 – has been since childhood!
Color/shade: I'm a lover of all shades of blue and, I'm actually a "BLUE" personality type too.
Cartoon Characters: I'm a Looney Toones gal.
Drink: Diet Dr. Pepper
Movie: The latest is The Lake House – saw it yesterday and sobbed like a baby…
Ice Cream: Yes, please.
Subject: Always liked English and Psycology
Animals: Our Chocolate Cocker Spaniel – Ghirardelli.
Silver or gold: Yes, please
Diamond or pearl: Yes, please.
Chocolate or Vanilla: Double Chocolate and YES, please.
---------------------------------------RIGHT NOW-----------------------------------Wearing: PJ pants and pink T-shirt – hair up and bare foot! Sounds sexy eh?
Talking to: Talked to James for over an hour a little while ago on the phone.
-----------------------------------IN THE LAST 24 HRS----------------------------Cried: Yes, twice… I won’t get into it!
met some one new: Yes, a funny old lady at the movies – one of those cute purple clothes, red hat ladies. She cracked me up trying to make sense of the movie! hehe
---------------------------------------BELIEVE IN-------------------------------------yourself: Used to more than I do now, unfortunately.
tooth fairy: I think the previous answer applies to this one too…
ghosts: In some form or another, for sure!
ufo's: um, not sure, really. I would like to think there are such things as aliens and other worlds etc.
Do you belive in soul mates?: I believe people can BECOME soul mates.
----------------------------------FRIENDS AND LIFE-------------------------------
Do you have a boyfriend/girlfriend?: Husband
Like anyone?: LIKE lots of people
Best friends: Several… I'm very lucky to have lots of great friends.
Person you have u known the longest of ur friends: My cousin Missy – she’s nine months older than me.
Who is the loudest: ME
Who's the weirdest: ME.
Who has seen you cry: Oh, gosh all of them I'm sure (roll-eyes)
What is the best feeling in the world: Love (giving birth to a new baby – that kind of love)
------------------ABOUT GUYS FOR GIRLS TO FILL OUT-----------------
Boxers or briefs: Well, a different variety that is mostly white.
Long or short hair: Short
Dark or Light Hair: It’s light
Good or bad guy: He’s great.
Hat or No Hat: Now I can really tell that this was written by about a 14-year-old girl who apparently sets herself on fire and is very particular about her bf’s. (Allie Hoopes wrote that and I couldn’t delete it… hahahaha)
Rugged or sporty: Neither… Scrawny and sweet, more on the sporty side, but ruggedly handsome.
Accent or not? He’s got an American accent!?!?
Tan?: Yes but only on his neck and forearms and bottom half of his legs
Tall or Short: TALL
-------------------------FOR EVERYONE TO FILL OUT------------------------
Sunset or sunrise: Sunset - Love AZ sunsets. The only sunrise I've seen that I'll never forget was from the deck of the cruise ship on my honeymoon. Breathtaking ocean sunrise.
Have you ever gone skinny dipping: YES
Have you ever broken/sprained/fractured a bone: Yes- my left leg, right collar bone, and several toes.
Rain, sun or snow?: LOVE rain, LOVE snow – After living here in AZ so long, not a big fan of too much sun.
How is the weather right now?: HOT
Do u like cookies?: Do I breathe? Do dogs bark? Does the sun shine? Is this getting long?
What makes you happy? My family
2 shy 2 ask some 1 out?: 2 kewl to speek ‘r’ tipe n this cr8ive way (gotta give Allie the credit for that one too! You’re crackin’ me up Allieoopa!)
Ever Been Kissed?: Yes, I especially like the slobbery baby kisses
Who will respond to this email fastest?: Fast is relative since it takes like an hour to fill this silly thing out! I'll say Haley.

The other day it was like 110 degrees outside, so, needless to say WE spent the day INSIDE. The boys were about to go bonkers at about 7:30- so after many pleadings, I let them go outside and play for 20 min. Dillon enjoyed a BLUE otterpop, and Charles, ran around as fast as he could lookin' for TROUBLE! He wouldn't stand still for five seconds for me to get a photo, that's for sure. Out of about 20 shots there were 2 that weren't a blur!

What does this face mean??
Here he was waving "HI" to a passing helicopter!

Dillon is such an artist! Here is his rendition of "DADDY SUPERMAN!" Sometimes I wonder what goes on in his funny little brain. He was asking me some questions about the lesson he had in church on Sunday and I was trying in my best "4-year-old language" to explain things to him. After explaining how Jesus is our brother but He doesn't live in our house He lives in our hearts, Dillon very thoughtfully asked, " Oh, so when it's Halloween time, can we paint our faces like clowns?" HUH? My thoughts exactly!!!!

Ghira gets her first HAIRCUT!

Here she is giving Dillon a little love last night, and all shaggy. . .

And here she is all "GUSSIED" up!! The people at the groomers fell in love with her and begged us to bring her back soon (maybe just a business tactic, but I'm a sucker and think they really thought she's the cutest and sweetest puppy ever). They shaved off her beard, her head and back, cut her nails, bathed her and brushed her teeth! It took them 5 hours and when I picked her up she certainly seemed relieved (she slept the rest of the day)! She's gotten to be such a sweetie. She rarely has an accident and can do sit, lay down and roll over!!! We LOVE her!!

Recent pages in the Mathews' History

So I know Charlie turned one months ago, but I just now got around to making these and think they turned out pretty good. It was JUST the FUNNEST little party and he really got into the cake thing as you can see!
I "scraplifted" this idea from a Brenda Carpenter at Paper Posies. Love how it turned out.
Here again, Charlie LOVING his very own birthday cake. The poem is author unknown (I got it from 2peas in a bucket website) and it fits PERFECTLY!

Pat-a-cake, Pat-a-cake Baker's man
Play with my cake? Mom says I can!
I blew out my candle, I made my first wish
Won't someone please help me and hand me a dish?
Frosting on fingers and cake between toes
is the best way to eat it as everyone knows!
Don't try to wash me before I'm quite done.
It's not every day that I get to turn ONE!
Smeared kisses and cake crumbs will all wash away,
but never the memory of my own first birthday!

This one's a pretty bad scan . . . oh well. The pics are of play group at the park last fall. Dillon and Shawn and Brynn were like 3 little MONKEYS! They always have so much fun! Thanks for looking! : )

My Mother's Day

The poem here reads:
I'm happy when you're happy,
I'm sorry when you're sad.
And even though it may not show,
I LOVE YOU when you're bad.
I love to hear you laughing
I love to watch you play.
I love to see you deep in thought
And dancing in the rain.
I love you on your very best. . .
and very worst of days.
And though I'm sure
you'll never know
I LOVE YOU more each day.
















Charlie's hair is sooooo white and thin, but it grows really long (we have to cut it monthly) and stands straight up, no matter what we do!

SO, I can't really say that I love Mother's Day. It seems I either end up feeling like a no-good mom, or I feel like all I want to do to celebrate it is to go far far away and NOT be a mom! (you can smirk or think that was a horrible thing to say, i don't care!) I LOVE being a mom, but on Mother's day it just seems harder.

A friend did share an awesome poem that put it into perspective for me. Click this link to read it.


On mother's day I spent a few hours doing what I love - preserving memories and creating papercrafts. I did pages to help myself celebrate motherhood and remind myself how blessed I really am.

Sometimes when God tries to tell me something he has to scream. I get it already!! I'm not supposed to travel with the kids by myself, and for that matter, I could use some time off from traveling at all. It just seems that it’s always too full of DRAMA!

We did have an awfully nice time at Huntington Beach last week. These pics were taken in the evening as we watched the tide rise and the sun set. It was beautiful. The last time we visited the ocean, Dillon was afraid of it and only played in the sand! This time, though the water was very cold, he insisted on getting his feet wet. That lasted 10 seconds and he was DRENCHED! Charlie was a sand MONSTER!!! He liked burying things in the sand, especially Mommy's feet!

I would add this last thing to this entry and that is how proud I am of my little brothers. Each of them has or is facing life and it's challenges with honor and courage and the process is really beginning to amount to their success. I'm inspired by them. Also, my dear husband who is always so motivated to be good. His goodness is my strength. MUSHY!! I know.