Jason in DC

I had a work conference in Washington DC this week, and it was the first time I have ever visited our nation's capital.  I don't profess to be the most patriotic guy in the world, or very interested in politics at all, but it was an amazing place.

Capitol building

What would a blog post about DC be without a picture of the White House.  If you look closely, you can see Obama inside...running our country into the ground.  (That was for you Kendall).  :-)

Random building...with artwork reminiscent of what you would come across in everyday life.  Don't you always run into naked ladies riding horses backwards, with miniature dolphins jumping around them?  Happens to me ALL THE TIME.

I think there was a famous picture like this...maybe a historic speech, or something like that from this point.
Oh yea, that's right, Forrest Gump spoke from here, and then ran out majestically into the water to meet "Jen-nae" (c'mon, go ahead and use your Forrest Gump voice to say it..."Jen-nae").

Now onto the more serious portion of this post...

Just outside Vietnam Memorial

A section of the Vietnam Memorial

A photo from the WWII Memorial

Arlington National Cemetery

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
If you haven't seen this, you are missing out!  AMAZINGLY POWERFUL!

I was humbled, amazed, and overcome with a sense of gratitude to all the men and women (and their families) who give their time, energy, even their lives to defend this amazing country we live in...giving each of us the ability to enjoy the freedom's that we too often take for granted.  Thank you all!

Courtney turns 7!

My little princess is growing up.  Here are a few snapshots from her special day(s)...you can't only have 1 b-day party around here.

B-Day party with Grandpa, Grandma, Aunts, Uncles & Cousins...that cake looks really freakin' good right now.

"Yo, Yo, Whatz Up Boyz?"  Courtney and a bunch of friends at some over-priced pizza joint.

I am posting this picture for posterity.  This is the boy Courtney has a HUGE crush on (Joseph) - although she won't admit to it.  Look at how he makes her smile.  You better watch it Joseph...I've got my eyes on you.

Just a cute pic of Courtney opening presents.  Also, a classic pic of the two girls in the back.  One enjoying every moment of her cupcake...the other, puking all over the ground.  :-)

Fun times in Prescott, AZ

For Labor Day weekend, we escaped the heat up in beautiful Prescott, AZ with a group of friends. Here are a bunch of the pics from the fun-filled weekend.

So many things to discuss in this picture...I don't even know where to start. Maybe with Carter's sweet muscle-man costume as he sits on the pillar...or Cassidy's evil smile as she shoots defenseless animals?

There's nothing like teaching the little ones to handle firearms...that's how we roll.

All the cute kids during one of our day-hikes. Don't you hate it when you're taking a picture of a group of kids, and everyone in the entire picture looks so cute, until you notice that one random, annoying kid that is flexing and screaming like he's wearing a muscle-man costume? Who's kid is that?!

Dave showing off his mad tree-climbing abilities....not to mention his "ass-ets".

Harry: Holly jeez look and the butt on that.

Lloyd: Yeah, he must work out.

If you know where that quote comes from in less than 10 seconds, you are "cool" in my book.

Teaching the kids the critically important skill of skipping rocks.

Anytime I catch Kimberly trying to take a picture of me, I strike this pose. Usually that keeps her from taking the pic...but not this time.

Yep, it's OK to be jealous. Not all of us can be hung like a hamster. It's genetic.

Another pic of a bunch of cute kids with a beautiful scenic backdrop.

Can you hear the birds singing in the distance?

Here's a pic of me doing the dishes. Yep, I'm domestic like that. Not only do I slave away at the office all day to provide for the family - then I come home and do the laundry / dishes / clean toilets / wash windows...you know, the usual stuff.

What's that ladies? Don't all your husbands do that too? They must not love you as much as I love my beautiful wife. :-)

I figured we'd conclude the weekend festivities with this nice pic of all of us at a local park, eating ice cream. If nothing else, I wanted to highlight Brock's SWEET outfit. What's your favorite part? I personally love the boot / short combo. Although there are a lot of fun things ot see in this picture...like the kid falling off the wall in the background, or the random crippled lady (notice the walking boot) laying on various bathroom towels, covering her face.

First Day of School

Our little ones are growing up...here are the first day of school pics (even though it was the first week of August that school started, not September).

Carter started pre-school this year (2 of them actually - he was too smart for just 1). As a random side note, do any of you have the problem where your boy will ONLY wear basketball shorts? Literally, 24/7! We have to tackle him and force pants on him every Sunday for church (the only time he isn't wearing basketball shorts).

Courtney started 1st grade. Another random fun fact - this summer Courtney decided that she wanted to cut her hair super short (this photo has a couple of months growth on it). As any loving parent, I said, "That's fine with me, if you want to look like a boy." to which she quickly responded, "Nuh uh Dad! I will look like Pink!" (I'm still trying to figure out how she knows who Pink is...I just made a mental note to block MTV and VH1)

Cassidy started 4th grade this year, and is growing up WAY too fast. She is a great big sister, and a good example for her siblings (most of the time).

Kimberly is officially OLD...

Well...it's not every day that your wife turns the big 3-0, so this year, the kids and I decided to throw her a big surprise B-Day party to celebrate her incredible "old-ness". We booked a limo for her and a group of girlfriends, and sent them out for a night on the town. They went to the spa, out to dinner, drove around the party scene (standing out of the sunroof, like in Pretty Woman), dancing in Scottsdale, a male strip club, and then dessert. OK, so maybe they didn't do every one of those activities - I'll let you try and figure out which one was fictitious (HINT: they skipped dessert). It was definitely an event-filled evening. I wasn't there, but I'm told that the old maid had a great time. I've attached a handful of photos - apparently there were not that many photos taken. I was repeatedly told "what happens during Kimberly's b-day party, stays amongst those at Kimberly's b-day party".

Since the kids and I had never been in a limo before, we decided to take it for a spin before the girls went out partying...the kids thought it was "totally wicked"!

The girls loading up for a night on the town...they were all looking pretty hot - as evidenced by the chauffeur grinning from ear to ear.

Girls at the spa - part 1 (apparently the cute little asian gal is really good at pedicures, manicures and massages, but not so much at taking "non-blurry" pictures)

Girls at the spa - part 2

Finished product

Out to dinner - some hip & trendy joint in Scottsdale...the food looks good.

Jen getting the party started. Funny story: when I was booking the limo, they asked which kind of champagne I would like, and were shocked when I said, "the non-alcoholic one". They insisted that it was "on the house", and that I just needed to tell them which brand. After going back and forth, I was finally able to convince him to leave out the alcohol when I said, "Trust me...you DO NOT want to see these girls drunk!"

Once they had a few drinks in them, they were ready for the dance clubs. Every Scottsdale club rolled out the red carpet for a limo full of hot women....that is until they realized that Jen didn't bring her ID. ;-)

This is where the night got a little fuzzy for everyone...and amazingly nobody captured any pictures of the next 3 hours......hmmmmmm.

Successfully returned after an eventful night...thanks girls for giving Kimberly a B-day she'll always remember

Cassidy turns 9

Our little baby turned 9 years old, and it feels like time is flying by way to quickly. In true Kimberly fashion, Cassidy was spoiled rotten, and had like 37 b-day parties. :-) I was only able to attend 5 of them, which are documented below.

We were allowed to bring treats into her class on the day of her birthday.

Here we are celebrating with the extended Bates family (both she and Kimberly had B-days in Aug)

Here she is on her night out with Mom & Dad (the waiter's / waitresses embarrassed her pretty good)

This is her b-day party with a bunch of family friends

Here is her "official" b-day party with all her girlfriends (they did a "spa" party)

Annual Jones (Draper) Family Reunion

It's reunion time! Oh...where do I even begin to describe Kimberly's family reunion. It has been a tradition for over 20 years...and is the highlight of the summer for many of us. It is a week filled with lots of love, laughter, food, late nights, games, memories, food, fun events, belching, farting, food, arguing, whining, and more red-neck moments than most people experience in a lifetime (all in 1 week)...but we wouldn't have it any other way! Unfortunately, this year work precluded me from being able to attend - and as much as it surprises me to say it, I found myself wishing I could be there.

Kimberly and the kids were able to attend the open house of the Oquirrh Mountain temple with the Prater family (Kimberly's cousins)

I just had to put this picture in ... this is what happens when Dad is not around to say "no". Notice how our 4-yr old son is sporting the Mr.T bling at the temple open house. Nice. :-)

Can't you hear him grunting out - "I pitty the fool!"

It's always fun to see Great Grandma Draper and Bill. Before the trip became too long to drive, they used to stop by and stay with us every year on their way down to CA.

PS - How's it hangin' Bill? I'm guessing "to the left".

Almost every year, Larry (Kimberly's dad) plans a sweet 2-3 day hike for us - through amazing & picturesque terrain...it's usually a tough hike, but these past few years, he's watered it down a little so some of the "girls" can join us. :-)

That comment will probably put me on a few $#!t lists. ;-)

Many of the hikers and loved ones at a restaurant "post-hike"

You will find a lot of this at reunion...laughing so hard that you cry.

This has to be my favorite part of the entire reunion - family programs! It's something I look forward to all year, and never want to miss (in case you can't tell, that last sentence is "dripping" in sarcasm). I think this is a pic of Cassidy and her cousins doing a skit of some sort. I'm sure it was followed by a 4-hr testimony meeting. ;-)

Feeding uncle Stu's horses...

Mom and Carter going for a ride

A bunch of the cousins peeing in the hot tub. I mean "swimming"...sorry, freudian slip. But assuming I was subconsciously correct, I get slightly sick to my stomach when I see them filling their mouths with water and spitting it at each other. This is the beginning of a series of increasingly "red-neck" activities.

Cute pic of the girls playing with cousins in the sprinklers

A bunch of the grandkids jumping as far as they can at the sand dunes.

OK...now we're getting heavy into the red-neck activities. Yep, that's Aunt Amy in her PJ's humiliating all the men with her shotgun shooting abilities, while the 30 grandkids run around within a few feet of the shooters. See if you can count how many shooters are lined up.

"Kids, when we say "PULL", you hit the deck! We don't want any Dick Cheney casualties again this year."

Uncle Rod....enough said.

Another classic family reunion moment. A close up on uncle Tyler's "pelt" - after having it styled with gel. If you think this is nasty, you should see his back....or even worse, his butt (don't ask how I know). :-)

But, in spite of all the red-neck moments, it's still a week of fun, filled with memories. We'll see you all next year!

A pic of the Larry & Debbie Draper family (everyone was able to be there this year, except Kaitlin and I).