BEEN A WHILE . . . . . MANY ADVENTURES!

It has certainly been some time since I posted our adventures in Italy on our blog.  For that I am sorry.  We have been here in Italy now for 6 months and can hardly believe it.  We have settled in and finally feel at home in our rental house.  We are getting more used to the the way of life here in Italy.  Angela has figured out where all the local markets are located and how to navigate them.  She certainly does more italian living than Tann, in fact she often reminds him that he gets to go to work at little america every day, which is true.  We had a wonderful new year and were blessed and lucky to spend it with family.  Brook and Lisa and children came to visit us and we had a grand time together.  We went to a small mountain town tucked up in the hills called Poffabro.  It is an enchanting little town with small walkways that lead into the town's alleyways.  This little town is famous during christmas time for all the nativity scenes people display in their windows and patios.  We went to a ginormous cave in Trieste, Italy and visited the only concentration camp that was fixed in Italy.  It was a sobering experience to think about what people went through during that time.  We of course rang in the new year together while enjoying "Jones" sodas at the Jones house.  We enjoyed a day of sledding at Piancavallo, the local ski resort and mountain area.  We had a great season of skiing and were blessed to ski in Italy and Austria.  We went to Piancavallo, Bad Kleinchercheim and Tavisio.  Tarvisio was beautiful as it sits on the border of Italy and Slovenia with breathtaking mountain views.  The children have learned to ski very well and have had their mother as their instructor and she is the best teacher.  We had some wonderful friends come into town from Altus, OK and we visited Verona, Sirmione and of course another round in Venice.  Verona was a beautiful city with very neat sights.  It has the third largest Coliseum in Italy dating back many, many years.  It still stands and is used for concerts today.  Of course Verona is famous for the story of Romeo and Juliet and the small courtyard and balcony where the story is said to have taken place.  We then went to a small and awesome peninsula town on Lake Garda where we saw the castle that guarded the city in ancient of days.  We continue to enjoy our time and adventures in Italy.

We got cool family hoodies for christmas "Jonesing Adventure" We certainly enjoy family adventures together!

Thus begins the beginning of the ski season.  There is grass visible in this picture but plenty of snow came during the season for many wonderful ski days!

The Jones crew at Poffabro.  You can see two walk way on both sides of us that go to many more path and alleyways in this quaint town.

Venice and the famous Rialto Bridge.  We were on the Vaparetto on the Grand Canal.

Enjoy a "Jones" soda with the Jones Clan

The Jones Beauty!

The Jones Braun!

This was the cool cottage we stayed in while in Austria at the Bad Kleinchercheim Ski area.

The Austria ski trip group "JoMeKu".  We had a great time enjoying great friendships

Of course the basket ball season was an adventure each game and practice with dad as the coach.

As you can see much more snow came our way in the season.  It is a wonderful time skiing together

The Mom's always had fun teaching a small ski school of children to get down the hill.  

Tavisio ski resort on the border of Italy and Slovenia was majestic, very surreal! 

These type of views were all around us as we skied all day long!

This was a cool fortress on top of the hill we stopped at on our way home from Salzburg, Austria

The christmas market in Salzburg, Austria was a real adventure with cold kids that did not want to be there in any way, shape or form.  There may or may not have been some real stellar parenting moments on this trip, we'll leave that for the imagination.

This is an often sight in Italy, sheep herders tending and guiding their flocks of sheep.  This was on our way to church one sunday morning.  

TEMPLE, SWITZERLAND AND ROASTED CHESTNUTS!

It has been an eventful Thanksgiving weekend.  We had a few days off so we went with the ward to Bern, Switzerland to attend the temple.  That's right, the temple is now 8 hours away from us.  May we never again take for granted a temple that is less than 2 hours away, much less 5-10 minutes away from our home.  It was a wonderful blessing to be able to go to temple even though it was a sacrifice in preparation, travel, lodging, food, etc.  We packed the day before and took most of the food we would need for the duration of the vacation.  It was a very pretty drive through the northern parts of Italy, through Milan and into the country and mountainside of Switzerland.  It really was as we had imagined it: Green meadows (even in the winter), and small swiss villages with cow herds and sheep flocks.  Of course after 8 hours in the car with 4 small children our destination was a welcome site.  We arrived at the temple about 10:30 at night.  We had a room reserved at the patron housing, much like a hostel.  It was very functional but far from very comfortable, at least we each had our own beds.  It was a small room with 3 sets of bunk beds, which of course the kids loved, but the parents did not sleep as well.  We attended the temple, had to listen to headphones in english as each session we went to was in a different language.  We had Thanksgiving dinner as a giant potluck with the many members of the ward that went.  It was good but interesting.  One of our favorite parts of the trip was riding the train in Bern, Switzerland where there was streets full of people shopping with all the building lit up and decorated for the Christmas season.  My favorite part was the small stands roasting and selling chestnuts.  A roasted chestnut is one of my new favorite nuts to eat, it is a hot and soft nut, which is so delicious as we walked the cold Swiss streets.  Another highlight of our trip was going to a chocolate factory that was way up in the hills, off the beaten path.  It was called the Cailler Chocolate Factory in the Gruyere region.  We had a blast as we learned the history of chocolate and then ended it with an all you can eat sampling of different delicious chocolates and truffles.  I never wanted to see another piece of chocolate for about 10 minutes until we got back in the car and drove back to our sleeping quarters.  We ended our trip on saturday waking up to a snowy, white morning which was a beautiful site on the temple grounds and then one last visit into Bern to the Christmas Market.  It is a neat event where different vendors come and set up their booths in the streets selling all things winter and christmas.  We were glad to make the 8 hour trek back home but certainly had a wonderful trip that put us in the right spirit and excitement for the Christmas Season!

                                                  

The Bern Switzerland Temple in the winter.  Not much snow but it as certainly cold.  We got to hear the temple president and his wife speak.  It was good to know that testimonies are strong around the world.

The streets of Bern Switzerland lined with Christmas lights and decorations.  We had one extra little friend with us.

The temple at night as big bro hugs little sis.  It really was beautiful all lit up.

Coco beans at the chocolate factory.  It was a fun process to see.

Standing in front of a giant chocolate cow.  About 20 different farmers deliver their milk to the chocolate factory each week to make delicious chocolate.

We could not get enough of the taste testing room.  No one was telling us we could only have one of each, we had as much as we wanted.

The Factory!

She was thrilled to be at the Christmas Market

Our favorite stand selling roasted chestnuts that were so good.

CINQUE TERRE - MEDITERRANEAN BEAUTY

The kids had parent teacher conference with thursday and friday off.  So we decided to take a good Italian trip to a prime and popular location to which we had never been.  We went with some friends to a beautiful place called Cinque Terre (Cheen-kua Ter-ra).  This was the main location that we wanted to go to and see but we stopped at some other neat places along the way.  Do you like Balsamic Vinegar on your bread or salad?  Did you know that all vinegar that is produced, marketed and sold as Balsamic Vinegar has had the stamp of approval to be sold as such from Modena or Reggio Emilia, Italy.  Both locations are close to where we are living.  We decided to take a detour to Modena and see where the balsamic vinegar is made.  It was very neat and we sampled Balsamic Vinegar that was 6, 12 and 25 years old.  It was delicious.  It was more like a syrup than a liquid.  Cinque Terre is translated to "five lands" or rather five cities.  Each of these cities are built on small outgrowths of land that jut into the Med Sea.  They are very small cities, each with a church, bell tower and it's townspeople and unique shops.  We rode the train to one of the top towns called Vernazza.  We then enjoyed a beautiful hike to the next city called Corniglia.  It was about a 2 hour hike.  The hike is through a mountainside of vineyards and olive trees.  Many locations have huge nets on the ground to catch all the olives that fall from the trees.  We of course enjoyed gelato and focaccia bread in each town, delicious!  From Corniglia some of our group decided to ride the train to the next city, while others of us decided to hike to the next city.  We thought that we had read that the hike would be no longer than 30 minutes and a pretty easy hike.  We could not afford to have a longer hike since it was going to get dark in about one hour.  Much to our surprise the hike was very difficult and took us about 1.5 hours.  Yes, we hiked the last 30 minutes in the dark with some kids.  That last bit of the hike going down steep hillsides was a bit anxiety ridded, but we made it safe and sound.  Some cold water and pizza was very welcome.  The next day we visited a city called Vinci.  It is the birthplace of Leonardo da Vinci.  The last day of our trip was a stop at the ever famous and world tourist spot of Pisa.  This is where the Leaning Tower of Pisa stands.  I had heard about it in my life, seen pictures etc. but it was really a cool site to see it.  It should in all regards in my mind tip over, but it does not.  It is amazing to think that an error or miscalculation in construction which led to the lean in the tower has made this otherwise italian city worldly known.  We had lunch in Pisa at a sandwich shop where my wife ordered for me the best seller.  I looked at it, took a bite of it and it was some type of cheese, with what I think was raw pork on the toughest bread I have ever chewed.  Italian cuisine is delicious, but in this instance I sure missed good ole Subway.  During out trip we stayed in a town called Lucca, which is known for a city wall that goes all the way around the city and you can walk on top of the wall.  It was neat. We had a great trip, saw wonderful sights, ate good food while we continue to enjoy our Italian adventure.

Looking back at Vernazza as we begin our hike.  Each town is like this, built on a small peninsula shooting into the sea.  

This is the attic in Modena in the house where the Balsamic Vinegar is made.  The vinegar is made from pure, natural and aged grape juice, they call 'must'.  It sits in these wood barrels for years until ready to eat.   A new set of barrels is started when someone is born and then the aged product is given to them as a gift when they are married

We all felt this way on the hike, it was not real easy.  This cute boy was just the only one that decided to take a load off for a minute on trailside!

This picture is taken from one slope to the next of the many vineyards on the mountainside.  We eventually hiked around until we were on the mountainside you see in the picture looking back at the mountainside the picture was taken from.  Try planting your garden on the mountainside.  The people ride motorized chairs up the hillside.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa.  The picture is not skewed, it really does lean as much as you see here if not more. the picture does not do it justice.

The beautiful trail we were hiking on from city to city in Cinque Terre!  We did see the awesome sunset as we hiked.  We just needed to be closer to our destination during sunset rather than being guided in by moonlight.

CITY OF WATER - VENICE, ITALY

We live 15 minutes from the train station and the train is 45 minutes to the waterfront streets (The Grand Canal) of Venice.  We have been there a few times now and have enjoyed walking around the small narrow streets.  There are certainly plenty of waterways also, but it is a small fare to ride the water bus or taxi.  The classic and iconic water gondola's are for sure available to take a ride on with the man in a blue stripped shirt but they are expensive.  We will do it at least once while we are here.  We know we are having a blessed experience and a unique one that many people dream of having all their lives.  It is fun to get lost on the streets of Venice.  There is much to see such as St. Mark's Square and Basilica, The Doge Palace and other tourist spots.

THE GRAND CANAL OF VENICE

THE FAMOUS BRIDGE OF SIGHS, IT CONNECTS DOGE'S PALACE WITH THE PRISON

THE MOST FAMOUS BRIDGE IN VENICE CALLED RIALTO BRIDGE WITH ONE OF THE CLASSIC AND ICONIC GONDOLAS

MENORCA, SPAIN

After a whirlwind travel to italy, staying in a hotel on base and one week after being in europe we decided to take a trip to Spain to see Steve as he was getting married.  We were very fortunate to be able to stay right on the beach of the Mediterranean Sea in a little cottage.  We later learned that this cottage is one of the most popular cottages on the island and is in many magazines, postcards etc.  Just google image Menorca Spain and the very cottage we stayed in will show up.  It was an absolute blast of a vacation.  If there was ever an awesome 3 day vacation this was it.  The water was crystal clear and warm, the cottage was as cool as can be and the wedding was wonderful.  The one new experience we encountered but had to accept was the many topless women of all ages and sizes enjoying the same beach we were enjoying.  I suppose modesty isn't a part of all cultures!  Sorry no pictures of that adventure.  We had the wonderful opportunity to tour and see a functioning lighthouse and go to the top where the light is.  It was fascinating.  We even got to ride the fairy back to the mainland to catch our plane back to Italy.

THE AWESOME COTTAGE WE STAYED IN RIGHT ON THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA

THE WHITE HOUSE WE TOURED AND CLIMED TO THE TOP OF

IN THE TOP OF THE LIGHTHOUSE IN THE ACTUAL LIGHT HOUSING AREA

CLIMBING MANY WINDY STAIRS TO GET TO THE TOP OF THE LIGHTHOUSE

SLEEPING ARRANGEMENT ON OUR 15 HOUR FAIRY RIDE BACK TO BARCELONA.  TO TOO BAD FOR THE KIDS.  NOT THE BEST NIGHT OF SLEEP FOR MOM AND DAD.  THERE WERE PEOPLE LAYED OUT ALL OVER THE FLOOR OF THE FAIRY ON BLANKETS AND SLEEPING BAGS.

GOODBYE TO ALTUS OK, WELCOME TO ITALY

It is time to start Keepin' up with the Joneses again!  It has been along time since we posted on our blog, which means we are terrible at keeping up with ourselves or we are just computer and technology "dumb".  Likely a combination of both.  We spent 3 wonderful years in Altus, OK.  We had never heard of this tiny southwest OK town before going there.  The only thing we heard about it was that if "Wal-Mart doesn't have it you don't need it".  It certainly is not full of commercialism or fast past metro areas.  It has plenty of fast food, hometown cookin' and small unique shops.  Most of all and best of all it has warm, welcoming and the friendliest people you have ever met.  We loved out time in Altus, we made wonderful lifelong friends, bought our first home that we absolutely loved, did a lot of work to it and wish we could have it back.  We had wonderful adventure in OK with the wind always roaring, the thunder and lightning cracking like we have never heard before and the excitement during storm season wondering if we would be in the path of the next tornado.  Thankfully we were not.  We will always have a warm place in our hearts for this great little town full of smiling faces and dear friends.  Time came for us to separate from the Air Force or stay in.  We decided to stay in when the AF told us we could go to Europe and even better to Aviano, Italy.  It is one of the most popular over seas locations.  We were excited for this possibility for new adventure and seeing parts of the world we had never seen.  Without getting into the weeds of our travels to europe, the long and frustrating process of getting settled and now being settled lets just say it was a HUGE adjustment.  We are settled now after two months of being here and enjoying our time.  We continue to learn new things everyday from language, customs, driving, eating and living amongst the italians who are a welcoming and friendly people.  Aviano is in the NE region of italy which makes it convenient for traveling to other countries.  So now that we are here we will do our best to keep up with ourselves and our new adventures so that you can too and see the places we have been here on our blog.

A few days before getting his cast off Landon learned how to jump.