Christmas post for real this time.

Remember when it took me almost three full weeks AFTER Christmas to get my post finished? Yeah, me neither. Awesome.

Our Christmas season was fantastic, can't you tell? It seems like we had parties and festivities every day, some of which will be documented here. We'll start with the Annual Jones Cousin Christmas party. It should basically be named, "You Wish You Were a Jones Cousin," because it rocks hard.

A few things you should know about Joneses:

we like sharks,

and weird finds from Reid's pantry,

things from Walgreen's,

and things from our childhood playing at our Grandma Jones's house,

references to trashy tv shows,

awkward pictures in a fancy album,

awkward and really smutty romance novels, with teaser phrases such as, "He took her virginity for revenge!",

LARGE underwear,

and costumes, which unfortunately didn't fit me (or Chad, who indeed tried it on but didn't let us see), but fit Annie like a glove.

You

are

welcome.

And again, you're welcome for this gem of Tanner.

Then a few days before Christmas we had my family's big dinner and Nativity and hang out, which was delightful. The kids were adorable, and Aly made all new costumes this year, which were seriously professional. Check them out. What angel doesn't wear a white feather boa? That might have been some flair that Noelle added herself.

Brynn, a very cute shepherd, ready for pictures, with Liz as Joseph and Amy as Mary this year.

Oakley, a wise man, Amy as precious Mary, and Kev as the donkey (if the shoe fits).

Marissa & Caleb both in their fancy shmancy wise men costumes, and Riss totally rocking those trashy boots that came out of the costume box. I'm sure all wise men had old fake leather biker boots, right?

Oh this picture probably should have been first, it is Mary and Joseph and our favorite donkey. Poor Kev seriously has to be the donkey like every year.

If Amy knows there is a camera pointing at her, she will pull out what she thinks is adorable, which usually looks really cheesy, but here it totally worked

In the meantime of this lovely production, Philip and I stole Nate, who is kind of my favorite baby right now. He is kind of naughty and ornery, and I can always make him laugh which I thrive on. Anyways, he likes Philip, and that makes me smile constantly.

And then we turn him into a thug.

. . Then on Christmas Eve morning, we had our 3rd annual family bowling extravaganza, at which I took a million pictures, go figure.

. . . My mom got a strike, and I struck out trying to get a picture of her with the screen saying STRIKE and the cartoon explosion of pins behind her.

Reesey Piecey can do the splits and it makes him laugh every time. We were also remembering that at this time last year, both babies were still in the hospital, and like 4 lbs each, and we then counted our blessings that they are such big boys now.

Nate and Philip being buddies again.

The Palmer family doesn't mess around when bowling, and I love how every bowling picture produces a crazy foot in the air. The future pro getting help from his mom,

and dad. Both of which I thought were precious.

Melvie tearing it up. He follows the game more closely than any of us every year.

Lizzie was actually really good for being just six. I told Aly that they seriously need to consider putting her on a bowling league where she can really shine.

My favorite gangly 11 year old, Marissa.

Us being in love in a bowling alley. So classy, yes?

And get ready for me to obsess over Soph, because I'm kind of an addict when it comes to her. How could you not love that little dancy pants?

It was too cute for comfort...

...every single time.

Christmas Eve night tradition is the Nativity at Lindbloms, and then the sibling gift exchange. This being the second Christmas that Philip's parents have been on a mission, the boy (Philip) got to take the responsibility of the man (Phil). And I loved it, but am excited for Phil to be back next year.

Oh how I love these kids! Here we have Jocelyn, Grant, Jennifer, Jolie, Rock and Janet, being very very adorable.

Kate and Griffin were the perfect little Mary and Joseph this year.

The lot of them singing the last song. And of course Nancie in the background who directed the whole lovely production.

And now the whole group together, including Aniston holding Sam on the right side of the picture, both of which were darling angels.

Jennifer looks like she's not sure why I am taking pictures here.

And this picture of Kate is seriously the most precious thing I've ever seen.

Then on to the gift exchange! Popcorn and entertainment was apparently the theme this year...

I love Jolie's face.

Todd, Wendi and Garrison with their popcorn-er, kind of like the corn baller, but it's legal.

Julia was thrilled with her present, obviously.

And Michelle's family spoiled us with 30Rock (which we've already watched once, and I'm now watching it a second time with Stacie), and SNL dvds. And thank you again Michelle for returning the "V" original series. :)

CHRISTMAS GIFT!!!

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We accidentally had themes this year too, Philip had a very XBOX Christmas, and he can tell you why his new one is WAY cooler than his old one.

And new and exciting games that he was sooo surprised about/picked out.

As for me and my nasty-A hair...

I had a very Tiffany's Christmas, which was my first and likely my last.

Philip stole my old bracelet and ring and took them to be refurbished and get all sparkly and whatnot, and it's amazing how pretty they looked again!

Then came the surprise, a ring I've been lusting over for a solid 8 months. This is my "oh my goodness, are you serious, I love it so much!" face.

It's like the mesh one but it has a row, or I suppose column since it is vertical, of little diamonds on it. It makes me happy.

We then headed over to hang out with family, and were once again spoiled, this time by Kev & Nicole. Philip loves his new sunglasses, and promises to not let them get stolen like his last ones.

I L.O.V.E. this book, and they got me a fancy hard back with pretty pages. It will go in our pretty library someday.

Phlip was thrilled with the Microsoft points for his XBOX, and has used them already.

And look at fancy pants me with a third pair of jeans! I haven't had more than two pairs of jeans since high school! Kev and Nicole are the greatest!

Most of us kids helped my parents ease their way into the 21st century (only 10ish years too late) by going in on these gifts:

A new tv and dvd/vcr (because yes they still have plenty of vhs tapes) player! They were finally able to get rid of the Quazar! They seemed to like it, which thrilled us to pieces.

Sophie was kinda the greatest on Christmas morning, when opening presents, she would untie the bow and get to this point... and then not know what to do.

So Beth intervened and helped. And yes Sophie's hair is super awesome.

It was a kitty! And seriously, how cute is this picture?! And when Beth asked her what it's name was, she promptly replied, "Jordan." As if she was waiting to name it. The family presents from yours truly.

Chris freaking out because Bethy was opening hers before he was ready because he takes SO. DANG. LONG. to open any presents. And they liked them! They were a little tricky to shop for because they needed to fit presents in their luggage home, so my original idea of a two-person horse costume was out of the picture. We also wanted to introduce them to the greatness that is, "How I Met Your Mother." And what two year old doesn't want/NEED band-aids?

And she promptly found owies that needed to be treated.

Nicole was the official passer-outer of the presents from my parents, and have I mentioned that my parents are the greatest? Because they are. And bless Nicole's heart, Kev was working in Indiana on Christmas, so she had to fly solo.

The Nielson family opening their present from Chris and Beth...

...and Noelle's expression says it all. Band Hero rocks!

Then my parents had the grandkids open their presents, and my mom made all of the kids towels with their initials on them, and decorated to fit their personalities, which turned out so stinkin' cute.

And my dad made them all marshmallow guns, which resulted in all of us getting pelted once or twice with wet (spitty) marshmallows.

And it was a Christmas Miracle! Jake was on call in Tucson at his residency, but one of his friends took his pager for the day so he could come up to Mesa! So here are Jones kids opening presents and looking precious.

Amy's towel being modeled so splendidly by Jake above, and Parker loving his too.

Sara and Jason were both so excited for new toys for the babies, and forced them to play with them.

Oakley loved his guitar from Jake and Nat's fam,

and later took a little time to strum a little diddy.

Big Melvin & Little Reese Melvin, who kinda look like twinners, yes?

Okay, so a couple nights later we were hanging out and I showed the kids the SURPRISED KITTY, have you seen it? If not, google it, because you are one of the seven people on the planet that haven't. Anyways, the kiddos loved it.

See?

And then Philip and Sophie played Peggle on his iTouch and were very very precious.

And hooray, all of Philip's sisters were in town at the same time, so we had a very lovely and delicious (no surprise there) dinner, and laughed really hard for like three hours straight. And lastly, our last morning before Chris & Beth left, aren't they the cutest little family on the planet? And, how cute are these twinners?

And then us sibs went to QT and tried to talk Chris into moving here, which only time will tell if it worked. And we're done! Can you believe how many pictures there are? The entire time I've been working on this, Philip keeps asking questions like,

. "How many pictures are there?" .

. "No seriously, have you counted the pictures?" .

. "Do you think people stop caring when there are so many pictures?" .

. "No really, do you think there are more than 50?" .

. "There are way too many, you should delete them." .

. That last one wasn't a question, but yes, it falls under the same category. So there you go, lots of pictures of Christmas and whatnot that only family might or might not appreciate. The first person to count and give me a total number of pictures gets a high five.

Merry Christmas

I had to come home and upload pictures midday, since I took a few too many in the past three days. So here is a teaser of our Jones/Lindblom festivities, and some super cute kids wishing you a very merry Christmas! Oakley bowling

Sophie being adorable And Rockwell being a (blind?) shepherd.

Have I mentioned before how much I love my family?

Killer Brownies

You guys, I have the most delightful recipe for you. I've featured these brownies on the blog before, and got rave reviews again recently when I made them, so I thought I'd share.

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Ingredients:

14 oz package of caramels

2/3 cup evaporated milk

1/2 cup margarine, melted

1 package of chocolate cake mix

1 cup of chopped walnuts

1 package of chocolate chips

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Directions:

1. Unwrap the bag of caramels and add 1/3 cup evaporated milk to them (note that's only half of what's called for). It's okay if you eat one or five while unwrapping.

Heat over low heat, stirring constantly until caramels melt. Keep it warm.

2. Combine cake mix, walnuts, melted margarine and 1/3 cup evaporated milk in bowl. FYI for the nut haters out there, last time I made these I was nervous because the doctor I work with doesn't like nuts. Um, he ate two. Tell snobby nut-haters to nut up and try them anyway. It should look like this: kinda sticky and it just holds together. You might even have some powdery spots, and that's fine.

3. Spread half of dough and press into a greased 9x13 inch pan. And don't be jealous of my pretty counter tops.

Like so, and bake at 350 degrees for 6 minutes.

4. Sprinkle chocolate chips evenly over hot crust. It calls for a bag, but I usually only use half-ish. I'm not a huge chocolate person though so do whatever you want.

5. Pour caramel sauce over chocolate chips, and don't try to lick the spoon afterwards because it is hot and will burn your tongue.

Then spread it all nicely, not like the crap-A job I did getting caramel on the side of the pan there.

6. The recipe then says "crumble" remaining dough over the top. Um, I'm a lot too obsessive-compulsive to crumble, so I get my hands wet (so that the dough doesn't stick to my hands) and press the dough into little patties (kill me for using that word) and lay them nicely next to each other.

Just like...

...this. And yes it takes way too long, and would be way easier and faster to crumble. But I like my inefficient way and will continue to do it this way.

7. Bake it again at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. And ta da! Also, they are easier to cut and serve if you let them sit for a while after coming out the oven.

9. Eat lots with lots of milk. They are SUPER rich, but so freaking good. Clearly me and my pointy nose liked them a lot.

10. Thank me profusely for bringing these into your life.

See? I'm a good wife sometimes. I don't cook, but baking is my favorite.

Easy.

I needed to update, and didn't want to try to be clever, and some of my Lindblom family wanted to see these, therefore you get my easy post.

Presenting: more pictures taken by Amanda!

Please cross your fingers with me in hopes that our kids get his dimples.

Pretty sure that Philip was mocking me with my hands on my waist, but it made for a cheesey and cute smile so I'll take it.

Amanda seriously deserves a medal for working with the two most awkward people on the planet and getting some cuteness out of it! She rocks.

Tankful Tuesday

Do you know what I love? Reading. Do you know who I love? The Mesa Public Library for letting me borrow their books for free (or just the small fee when I forget to return them on time, or forget to pick up the books that they're holding for me, whoopsies). But aren't they sweeties?

Currently they are holding these two gems for me:

both which came highly recommended (thanks Bekah and Emily!). I'm so grateful that there is a library near me, and that people write lovely and entertaining books, and that I've been blessed with a love for books and reading. Sometimes I kind of wish I didn't have to work and I could just read all day...sigh, maybe someday. :)

Grateful Monday

Today I'm grateful for my job, even if it means leaving the house at the

CRACK OF DAWN.

I was even running a bit late this morning, and yes, 6:24. I kind of hate leaving the house when it is still dark outside, since I am the most anti-morning person ever. So how is it that I managed to have 4 of the 5 days that I work during the week start at 7 am? Who freakin' knows. Regardless, I'm counting my blessings.

Gratitude Sunday

I'm preparing a lesson about gratitude for my young women today and it makes me realize just how blessed I am. So this week my blessings will be documented.

Today I'm grateful for:my adorable Philip.

And my cousin talented cousin Amanda who took our family pictures.

And the fact that Philip says they aren't family pictures until we have kids, so according to him, we got buddy pictures.

Love that boy.

November 19th

This is what 25 looks like:

We celebrated on a small scale with food and free Krispy Kremes. A happy birthday indeed.

We'll continue to celebrate with a birthday breakfast this weekend which I'm sure will also be posted. Thanks everyone for the kind thoughts and warm wishes!

Mel's Birthday Wish List 2009

In case you're panicking about my birthday being next Thursday (THURSDAY!) and not knowing what to get me, here's my birthday wish list...in a fairly random order.

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1. H&M anything. Or gift cards.

Or looking like this girl? How is this on the first page of Google images search?

Btw, H&M is a clothing store that has styles ranging from Forever 21-esque to Express-classy, all at Old Navy-ish prices. Ya know?

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2. Not this watch, I already have it, but a new battery in it.

Last time my battery died only one store in the mall dared to fix it, and it wasn't the speedy service we expected, they told us to come back the next day. Apparently it likes to be tricky, and I like to be lazy and not have to take it there.

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3. A trip to Sedona.

I've lived in Arizona my whole life and never been and I think it's pretty. And don't worry, I'll pass on the weirdy-people-sweat-to-death-tents.

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4. Big, the movie.

Have you seen this movie? I never had until I married Philip and it is now one of my favorites. Every time it is on TV I watch it, and I think I cry every time. LOVE. IT. .

. 5. Mia Bellina undershirts.

Despite the extremely awkward picture (does it look like she is doing a Hip Hop Abs work out while this picture was being taken?) these are my favorite undershirts. Fantastic with dresses and basically anything where you get way too bunchy. And they keep the girls sittin' pretty, seriously. I would like black and white, though if I had to choose one, I'd say black, because mine has been worn too much and now looks like Swiss Cheese, with some crazy big holes.

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6. A mini MagLite.

Mine broke. And now how am I supposed to read in bed?

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7. Small loaf pans

I borrow and covet my mom's every time I borrow them to make banana bread. And the ones at the store are enormous and nothing at all what I want.

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. 8. A blank cookbook. Which may as well be named:

I hate to cook. But, I love to bake. Regardless, I want a blank cookbook that I can compile all of my recipes in. And if possible, I'd like white pages in it. It seems like every cookbook ever has cream colored pages...no thanks.

. . 9. My carpets cleaned. PLEASE PHILIP.

Though we've never had this horrendous of a spill, Filiberto's sauce and Diet Pepsi have made their way to our pretty carpet more than we'd like to admit. Luckily our carpet is dark, but still, it needs a good cleaning.

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10. Boots.

However, I'm kind of at a loss on what I want. So if you are adorable and have flawless style (ERICA), please pick out some boots for me and either purchase them or email me pictures so I know what I should want.

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11. A 72-hour kit.

Do I really need a shovel? I'm clueless, so I have a duffel bag and I'd like it to be transformed into a 72 hour kit, and then I'd like yearly reminders, or however often, to switch things out and update it. And while we're at it, I'd also like a year supply, and a house to put it in. And if I have a house, then I want bikes, an elliptical machine, new pots and pans, new bedding, and a lawnmower.

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12. A blender that works.

So apparently if you don't use your Bosch blender for like 2 or 3 years, they freeze up and break-ish. My mom told me to call on it since it's crap that it is basically new but doesn't work. And since I'm not ballsy enough to call myself, that's what I'd like...you to call on it for me. Thanks.

And if you're wondering if I'm having a small identity crisis about turning 25 this year, the answer is YES. But I think these gifts will help me cope better. :)

Kinda like the greatest day ever...

Usually when I have a day off I sit around in my pajamas for too long and then at like 3 PM, rush to get stuff done so that Philip doesn't think I'm the laziest person on the planet (I kinda am).

NOT TODAY.

Today I went to the grand opening of H&M, and it was fantastic. I called Kev to see if he wanted to go and then I talked Nicole into coming too, even though she was sick and felt like crap.

We were hoping to be one of the first 500 people in line to get gift cards, but that didn't happen. We did get coupons though, which we gladly accepted.

. Then random reporters and whatnot would take pictures, and one gave us a card. So while we were laughing and taking a picture of us with the card... ...someone else was taking our picture. I saw him waiting for us to not look at him though which made me laugh really hard and look really unattractive. Regardless, it made it on the AZCentral website.

And I quote, "Melissa Lindblom, 24, right, takes a self portrait with friend Kevin Jones, 26, both of Mesa, as they wait in line for the opening of the H & M store in Scottsdale. " And in case you're wondering, he's my brother too.

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Yes, one last picture before we entered, because I was deliriously excited.

Welcome H&M, I will welcome you with loving arms and an open wallet. You're my favorite.

P.S. I'm sure you're stressed because it is two weeks until my birthday and I have yet to post my birthday list, but after today, I think that a gift card has made it to the top of my list. :)