Merry Christmas!!!

2008 was quite the exciting and busy year for us!
It started off nice and slow in January...which had us thinking-Hey! this year might be a relaxing one! ....HAH!!!!

In February, Hailey Jewel Slade was blessed! We had a lot of family here, and it was very enjoyable!

Nathan and Corri also told us at this time that she was pregnant with their first!

March! Dallin hit his one year mark on his mission! Boy, time flies! My Dad (Kevin) was released from being Bishop for Wagon Wheel Ward after five and a half years! Although it was definitely time for him to be released, it was a very emotional time for our family! We've all grown so much in those 5 years! and NOW...he gets to make us waffles every Sunday morning! woohoo!

April was slow for us...but we were NOT complaining!

I finished my freshman year in May....and unlike a lot of people say, Freshman year was amazing for me! I loved it! On the last day of school, it SNOWED! So instead of wearing shorts and flipflops, everyone was decked out in their boots, and coats! But it melted fast, and the summer began! Right after school got out, my Mom and Dad left me home alone (with Marissa) and took a 10 mile hike in some place called Chiricahua. That was just a little "stroll" for my dad...but my mom says differently! It was a beautiful hike, and me and Marissa had a wonderful time keeping the house very very clean and not staying up all night. :) I also had my final violin recital at the end of the month, where i played a concerto for 2 violins by Bach. (i didn't play both parts if that's what you were thinking...) My violin teacher Dr. Shaw played the other part. It was a very challenging piece that i worked months on, and i really started hating it, but performing it was very satisfactory. I wish i could continue lessons, but with my schedule for school, i don't know if I'll be able too! :(

In June, we went down to Glendale to watch Nathan graduate for Midwestern University. He is now a Pharmacist at Fry's Market. It was a good graduation ceremony, no super long speeches that nobody cares about! :) the after party was very fun, we got to eat and swim! nothin' better! July was my favorite...you'll figure out why. I attended my second year of EFY. This week was one of the funnest and most spiritual weeks of my entire life. It was such a good time, and i made plenty of new friends!

After EFY, I got to go to a retreat before Girls Camp. This retreat is for all of the "fourth years" (or girls of that age) who will be attending girls camp the following week. We went horseback riding, (and i got sore in places i didn't think were possible...) and we stayed in a big cabin. My best friend Marissa went with me (as well as girls camp) and she had an amazing time. She took her first missionary discussion the night before the retreat, and then at the retreat we had a testimony meeting, and we all felt the spirit very strongly. Marissa stood up and said what she thought of the church so far, and how happy she felt. Obviously, it planted some seeds, as she was baptized in September! And then....the wonderful GIRLS CAMP! Girls camp is always my favorite part of summer. It's always right before the school year begins...kind of a good kick-off. My leaders are amazing, and all the girls in my ward get along so well. They're all my best friends! This year was different because my dad didn't come, (as he wasn't bishop anymore) and i wasn't sure if I'd like it. But it was a very neat experience having a different bishop there, and we were very nice to him... even though Sister Montoya didn't think we would be! :) I don't know what my parents did all this month....I was never home! They probably just sat there...WAITING for me to come home! :P The day i got back from girls camp, my sister Shauni and Jordan had their first baby, Jaren Peter Roberts! Jaren had a very adventurous birth, and Shauni was in a lot of pain due to the c-section, but they are fat and healthy now! (Shauni could NEVER get fat. Jaren's the fat one.) They stayed with us for a few weeks so Shauni could recover in a place where she wouldn't have to climb stairs, unlike her apartment. It was fun having people here again...it gets kinda quiet sometimes! September was baby centered! September 4th, (same day as their anniversary!) Corri and Nathan had their first baby, too! Tanner Allan Coons! Corri's wasn't as hectic, but she did give birth about three weeks early. Tanner is healthy, and smiley! They live in Glendale so i haven't gotten to see him as much, but he is very very cute, and Corri posts a lot of pictures, so we get to see pictures of him a lot. :) We had two baby blessings this month! Jaren's and Tanners! Both were very enjoyable, having the family around and lots of good food! It's so cool to see the family growing!!

Cousins!

All the mommies, but they're not holding the right babies!

October... my sweet sixteen! I had a party w/ my friends, and it was very fun! Hailey also turned a year old the day after my birthday! (the 4th). she was very cute playing with her cake! My choir class also put on a melodrama called "How the wild wild wild west was won!" I played a 'calamity Jane' type girl, and i had a lot of lines to memorize. It was very stressful, having rehearsal until 10 o'clock each night, 2 days before midterms...but a lot of new friendships were made, and now we're all like family!

November - Every year for thanksgiving, we go down to Pomerene, where my dad's family is, and we stay there for a few days. They have a lot of things to do down there for such a small town! We ride the quads and the horses, play on the swings, make bottle rockets, and watch football. (well...the men do.) I don't have any of the good thanksgiving pics up, but Here's one of us hanging out outside.

And now, here we are in December! If you wanna know whats up this month, check the last post. :)

We hope you all had a wonderful year, and hope that next year will be great as well!

Merry CHRISTmas and a Happy New Year!

With Love,

Kevin, Melanie, and mostly Janae Coons

Giving In....

Over the past few months, we've been reading people's blogs more and more to find out what's going on in their lives. So a few nights ago, i thought, "hey? why doesn't my family have a blog?"
I then went to my parents to see what they thought. My Father, Kevin, couldn't care less, as long as he doesn't have to be the one creating it. No offense to my lovely mother, Melanie, but she's not exactly computer savvy. It was then decided that their beautiful, talented, sweet, wonderful, friendly, and intelligent daughter Janae write the blog. So here I am.
Because I'm the author of the "coons cabin" I get to put the music of my choice, and say the things that i want ... as long as it's nice, and not a waist of peoples time. (no promises on that last one...) Let the Blogging Begin!
Lately, in the Coons Cabin, (not really a cabin, but just a plain old house) we've been preparing for christmas. I'm not going to lie, but this Christmas has probably been the slowest. We have no family coming up, and everybody who's going to be here for christmas, already live 8 miles away! My Dad is working until tomorrow, so these past few days have been mom and me, just kickin' it in my house. My Best friends all have family up, so i've been very very bored...hence why i'm writing this blog. I suppose i could be studying for my finals that i have yet to take (due to the very INCONVIENT snowday the day of finals) but really? why would i do that.
Okay, enough about me. This is supposed to be about my FAMILY! okay...here's some family stuff. Ever since Shauni and Jordan (my sister and her husband) have been married, we've seen them atleast once a week since they only live a few miles away. We've also been able to see their adorable baby Jaren grow! But now, the time has come for them to move, so that Jordan go to ASU west and live in Glendale. They will be living very close to Nathan and Corri (my brother and his wife.) They too have an adorable baby boy, Tanner, who I wish I could see more often. We miss Nathan and Corri A LOT, and we will miss Shauni and Jordan when they move, but hey, that's life. It'll be fun to watch Tanner and Jaren play and laugh together! Megan and Danny continue to live here in town, and they come over once a week for dinner. It's so fun watching their daughter Hailey play! she's a little over a year old, and she loves playing ball with her best friend, Grandpa. (my dad.) She loves laughing, and she is talking more and more.
It seems crazy that Dallin will be coming home from his mission in about 3 months! those two years have gone by FAST! So much has happened! Dallin has 2 nephew and a neice to see when he gets back...and a driving and dating little sister! :) The Family misses his spunk and spontaneity very much! We can only go so long without hearing some of dallin's randomness. We're very excited to get a call from him this Christmas! YAY!
It's snowed a lot last night, and it's supposed to continue snowing off and on until friday! We just might have a White Christmas after all!
Well, I hope I haven't bored you too much, and I hope all of you have a Wonderful Christmas! Maybe next time I'll actually have stuff to talk about...

We (my parents and I) Love all of you!


Love, Janae