If you follow this blog, you know that ‘Quints By Surprise’ was nearly canceled after season 2 aired back in May…or actually I think it really was canceled…either way, the show’s future was not looking so bright.  But then someone somewhere threw a Hail Mary and somehow connected with the powers that be who decided to give us another run (read more about that here:  The Snake in the Barn).  However it went down, the Jones Family thinks it was a great idea to bring the show back and we hope you will agree!!

To say that our lives while filming this season’s shows have been a bit hectic would be an understatement.  To say those same hectic days have been overflowing with  fun, excitement, and cuteness that is almost too much to bear would be a huge understatement!!  In fact, if I had to describe the experience this time around in just a few words, they would be:  exciting, fun, and over-the-top cute…and once again I hope you agree!!!

Click here for the schedule:  TLC TV Schedule – Quints By Surprise!!

I would also use the word “natural” to describe the shows this time around as well.  The kids turn three in January and so they are old enough now to know what it means when we describe what we are going to be doing for the day…and then get really, really excited about it!  For some of the past episodes, like taking them camping or to the water park, they had little concept of what that meant and so the fun didn’t really begin until we got to what we were doing.  But this time around, when we told them they were going to get “big kid beds” they had an idea what that meant and they were giddy with excitement from the word go!  And when we said we were going to go to the fire station to meet the firefighters who helped save our neighborhood during the recent Texas wildfires, they knew what a firefighter was, no explanations necessary, and they were ready to go…immediately!

And that is how it is with most everything these days, whether it’s going to a Baylor football game, taking a ballet lesson with Eliot, dressing up for Halloween, or getting them training bikes.  These kids, Eliot included, get so into whatever it is they are doing we just have to get them started and then sit back and enjoy the show…it is so fun to be a part of!

For those of you who have watched the show from the beginning, I think you will be shocked to see how much the kids (yes, they are kids now, not babies anymore!) have grown and hear how much they are talking, interacting, and running wild with their imaginations!  Like I said, over-the-top cute is definitely a theme of the season!!

As always, we cannot forget to mention how thankful we are for everything that is happening in our little world!  The love and support we continue to receive is nothing short of amazing and we thank you all for inspiring us to be better and do better with our lives!  The Lord has blessed us beyond belief with our six little miracles and life is oh so good!!!

So tune in this Tuesday, the 8th, at 10/9c on TLC to see how the kids have grown and hopefully how the parents have as well…

God bless,

Ethan

If you are wondering why it has been nearly six weeks since I last updated the blog, wonder no more. Our lives have changed dramatically…again…and we have been trying to keep our heads above water ever since!! This change was not unexpected, but it isn’t necessarily a welcome one, either – the Fab Five has collectively hit the terrible 2’s and we are entrenched in daily battles for dominance of the Jones domicile!! And so far, the kids are winning the war…

There is the usual whining, fighting, and fussing that comes along around this time in any two-year-old’s world and of course there is defiance, stubbornness, petulance, pouting, hitting, biting, and kicking as well…it’s a lovely, peaceful existence…

The attitude swings, defiance, and constant need for attention, the need for the EXACT right thing at the EXACT right moment from the EXACT right person is difficult enough, but what has taken its toll on the time we have in the day (and therefore my ability to update the blog) is the kids’ ability to outwit, outsmart, and outlast every attempt we make at getting them a nap and a good night’s sleep on a regular basis. Gone are the days of putting them in their cribs, zipping up the tent, and walking away knowing that they’ll fall asleep soon, safe and sound in their beds; hello to the new normal of putting them in their beds, leaving the room, then returning to their room to put them back in their beds (the crib tents proved to be no match for the 5) and leaving the room, then returning to their room to put them back in bed and repair whatever damage they have caused in the two minutes you were out of the room, leaving the room, then returning…you get the point. Multiply that routine 40 or 50 times and you really get the idea! Oh my Lord, have mercy on us as we attempt to confront this new challenge with love, patience, and understanding!!!

The good news in all of this is that it is happening just in time for the cameras to catch the action – cameras will be rolling once again in the Jones house and Quints By Surprise is returning soon to TLC for season 3!!! We are really excited to start filming and share with you all what we have been up to lately! Can you believe is has been almost 9 months since we last filmed??

Fortunately between the fighting, the time outs, the fussing, and the fury there are a lot of really fun moments with the whole Six Pack as the kids are really settling into their personalities and preferences. As you’ll soon see when the first new episodes of Quints By Surprise hit the small screen, we have six very distinct, very independent, and very engaging little personalities running the house these days. Here is a funny story that perfectly illustrates the kind of daily fun and frustration we are encountering with these guys…

While I was getting ready to take Eliot to soccer practice one evening, the 5 were having dinner – chicken tenders and sweet potato fries – something they have had many, many times. Britton in her “I’m Little Mighty and I’ll do what I want” sort of way pushed her chicken tenders away and said, “I don’t want chicken!” My response was the same as it usually is – “ok, but you’re not getting anything else” – and we took the chicken off her plate. Eliot and I leave and not two minutes later Casey sends me a text to say that not only had Britton asked to have her chicken back and ate it immediately, but she also asked for more. Gotta love it, but it gets better…

When we got back from soccer, I asked, “Hey Britton, what did you have for dinner?”
“I don’t know” was the immediate response.
“Did you have chicken?”
“No.”
“Really? What did you have?”
“I didn’t have chicken.”
“Oh, ok. But what did you have?”
“Not chicken.”
“Are you sure you didn’t have chicken because mommy said you did?”
“No, I did not have chicken. I had sweet potato fries.”
“Hmm, no chicken, huh?”
“Nope, no chicken.”

I tried every different possible way of asking her if she had chicken and what did she have for dinner to try to get her to admit what she had eaten and that stubborn little thing never wavered…not.one.time.  Can you believe the little cutie in the picture above could pull a stunt like that??  Stubborn, stubborn, stubborn, but fun-loving as well – she had a twinkle in her eye and a little smile on her face the whole time I was interrogating her about her meal! :)

So there is fun mixed with frustration, laughter mixed with something very far from laughter, and scowls mixed with smiles in the Jones house these days. The kids are growing like crazy, exploring and challenging the world around them, and keeping us guessing, running, laughing, and fretting all the while. Look for the new episodes of Quints By Surprise to show you all of this and then some, coming soon to TLC!!!!

We are very excited to announce that “Quints by Surprise” is finally making its return to TLC and you do not have to wait any longer!!  This Monday, April 18th, a one hour special called “Quints by Surprise:  Turning 2” about the Fab Five’s second birthday will air at 9/8c, right after “Cake Boss”!  Follow this link to read the exclusive announcement from sheknows.com:  Quints by Surprise:  Turning 2!

Here is how TLC’s website describes the show:  “The Jones Quintuplets are turning two! Ethan and Casey decide to go all out for the special day and scramble to make an outdoor winter wonderland in Texas. With rain in forecast, will they keep their snow day from becoming a slushy disaster?”

We had Jones Family Sneak Peek night earlier this week and can confirm that if you enjoyed the first season of the show, you are going to LOVE this special!!  For your own sneak peek of what is to come this Monday night, check out the new webisodes just loaded to TLC’s site:  Quints by Surprise Webisodes!

And in other fantastic “Quints by Surprise” news – the official start of season 2 has been announced and May 9th is the big day!

We are really excited for the new episodes to be hitting the air and hope you are as well!  Tune in Monday night and let us know what you think!!

God bless,

Ethan

P.S.  You have no doubt noticed that we have spent some time with our favorite photog, Ella Bella Photography.  Elle once again dazzled us with her photographic brilliance and willingness to combine five two-year-olds, one energetic six-year-old, four baby ducks, and one slightly manic mama for the incredible pictures you see on this page!  See below for more pictures from the shoot!

If you have been following along with our Facebook/Twitter updates the last few months, you’ve likely picked up on a theme – this family has been sick, sick, and more sick! It has been a long, tough winter for the Jones clan complete with too many colds to count, a stomach bug or eight, the flu, Bronchialitis, RSV, and many other little ailments along the way. It has been a vicious cycle which really took its toll on our spirits and had us wondering if we were ever going to be “us” again. Well the family has been completely healthy for about two weeks now so we decided it was time to venture out on another memory-making journey…destination: Paris……………………Texas.

That’s right, there is a town in Texas named Paris and it sits in the northeast, piny woods of our state, about a six hour drive from Austin. Once you reach Paris and discover that there really isn’t much there worth hanging around for you can head a little further east to find a cabin in the woods owned by my parents, otherwise known as Nana and Bapa. To get there, you’ll drive through Blossom, Reno, and then Detroit (population: 786), hang two more lefts the last of which puts you on a dirt- and gravel-covered county road, then take one more left through the gate and onto the property which holds the aforementioned cabin.

The cabin isn’t anything fancy – one room and no TV or indoor plumbing, but there is running water and electricity (which is required if you have any hope of convincing Miss Casey Ann to make the trip). And of course, there is a hammock out back that seems to be almost always occupied. My dad, my brother, and I built the cabin, most of it anyway about 10 years ago over one really hot and humid week in late July. Since that time, a small kitchen, a fireplace, a covered porch and a few other “luxuries” have been added on with quite a few helpers along the way and plenty of elbow grease from my mom at each and every step.

It didn’t take long after we got there to get into some serious fun – four wheeling*, fishing** (there is a two-acre lake near the front of the property), shooting guns***, more fishing**, flying kites****, making s’mores*****, canoeing******, and then more fishing** and four wheeling* to make sure everyone was good and wiped out. The kids, as you might imagine, had a blast! And in spite of the challenge of organizing and managing a trip of this magnitude for our family, the adults had a blast as well!

Legal fine print and disclaimers:
*No kids were hurt while four wheeling and all safety precautions were observed.
**No kids were hurt while fishing and all hooks were dulled down so that no eyes could be poked out.
***No kids were allowed to even think about shooting guns, they wore Kevlar suits the entire weekend whether we were shooting or not, and were put in timeout if they said a word that even resembled the word “gun”.

****No kids suffered any rope burns or were hit by out-of-control kites.  All kids wore protective gloves and stood behind a blast shield while flying kites to ensure their safety.
*****No kids were allowed near the fire and were drenched with fire-retardant chemicals to ensure they would not spontaneously combust from the fun of making s’mores.
******No kids were drowned while canoeing. Actually, I think no kids even got to go on a canoe ride because they were all in timeout for saying they were having fun (see note above, re: guns).

In other news, we are getting close to “Quints by Surprise” making its return to TLC!! We still have no exact date from the network, but we promise the show will return soon! Believe us, we are very, very anxious for season two to begin – we filmed some great stuff and can’t wait to see it all come back to life! We will make an announcement as soon as TLC makes something official!

First and foremost, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the Jones family!!  We are all really looking forward to our Christmas break, but as you could guess, the kids are most excited of all.  Check that, Eliot is most excited of all…the Fab Five don’t really get it, but they do get a huge smile on their faces every time they see Santa…or his reindeer…or elves…or Christmas lights…or presents….or, or, or…let’s just say they are pretty big fans of anything Christmas!!  Unfortunately, I cannot say much more than that because “officially” I can’t say much about anything we’re doing these days…hint, hint…    :)

This holiday season we have something to look forward to that is almost exciting as the Christmas celebration – we taped a segment of The Oprah Show!!!!!  Our segment airs on December 28th so set your DVR’s if you are headed out of town for the holidays and when you watch be careful not to blink or you might miss us!  We were onstage for eight minutes, but we’ll see how long the segment actually ends up making the cut.  We actually taped the show in early November, but couldn’t say anything about it until now.  It was a quick trip and incredibly surreal (it still doesn’t feel like we really met Oprah!!).  They flew us up to Chicago on a Wednesday, we taped the show on Thursday morning, and left the studio to head straight back to the airport to come home…talk about a whirlwind!!  And you won’t see any pictures of the show on this site because they just about strip search you as soon as you walk in the studio door and take all phones, cameras, , writing utensils, paper, and etch-a-sketches and then they use that memory eraser thing from Men In Black when you leave…and you thought airport security was bad!!  The topic of the show is reality TV stars or something like that so we were there along with the people from “Dirty Jobs,” “Deadliest Catch,” “DC Cupcake,” and “Cash Cab.”  And no, we didn’t get to meet any of them – we were sequestered to our own little green room both before and after the taping.  Come to think of it, we have no evidence that we were actually there so the airing on the 28th will be as big a surprise to us as it is to everyone else out there!!

To make up for the fact that we have no pictures from the Oprah experience, I went ahead and posted pics from another quick, little, super-double-top-secret trip we took this fall – New York City!!!  That’s right, don’t adjust your monitors – the entire Jones family, Six Pack and all, took a weekend trip to NYC for a TLC photo shoot!!  We had a blast taking the kids to Times Square, Central Park, F.A.O. Schwartz, and soaking up as much of the city as we could in a three day weekend!  Again, we have no evidence that we were actually there for anything other than a weekend trip, but I promise you’ll be seeing some really cute and fun promotional pictures on TLC and their websites before too long…I hope you will, anyway!!  By the way, if you ever want to get TONS of attention just take five babies to Times Square…wow!!

So that is all I have for now except to say that we all wish you a very merry Christmas!!  And we hope that you take some time away from the craziness and busy-ness of the holiday season to remember the reason for the season…

“Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them.  They were terrified, but the angel reassured them.  ‘Don’t be afraid!’ he said.  ‘I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.  The Savior – yes, the Messiah, the Lord – has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!  And you will recognize him by this sign:  You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.'”  Luke 2:9-12

God Bless, y’all!!

Wow, it seems like the moment our family has been waiting for has taken FOREVER to get here!!  TLC has just announced the series premiere date, the new official name of the show, and we are thrilled, thrilled, and more thrilled with the way everything is developing!  First – the title:  “Quints by Surprise”…yay!!  Second – the date:  August 30th at 9:00pm Central…double yay!!!  Finally – yes, this is a series, not just a one time deal which makes the show on the 30th the series premiere…you know what’s next:  triple yay!!!!!   I don’t know if I can say how many episodes are planned at the moment or how many have been filmed so I won’t say, but I will tell you that they don’t call it a series for nothing!!

Wow, it has been a wild, crazy, fun, super-sized kind of summer for our family with cameras in tow most every step of the way!  Honestly, it has been a little frustrating to not be able to tweet or blog about all of our adventures which makes the airing of the new shows all the more exciting for us!  So set your dvr’s and mark your calendars for the premiere of “Quints by Surprise” on TLC!!!

God bless,

Ethan