CROSS YOUR BEAVERS - because you never know what will happen around here!

Farmageddington- The Big Storm

2011-12-23T11:13:00.000-08:00

December 1st we woke up around 2:30 a.m. to the sounds of strong, big winds. Shingles, siding, branches, garbage, and all sorts of stuff were blowing around the neighborhood. I slept/snoozed through the next 4 hours, occasionally getting up to check the damage outside. It was CRAZY and scary!

Around 4:00, Marion got ready and went into work, because he was wide awake. :)

Around 6:30 I got up, showered, and made some pumpkin chocolate chip bread. I'd been craving it and the thawed pumpkin in the fridge needed to be used. Then the kids woke up and we watched the wind and worried. I made them all get dressed and have their shoes and socks on in case we needed to leave in a rush -- it was that intense! Still, the winds blew, the shingles flew, with no end in sight.

The power went off just as the pumpkin bread finished baking. What luck! The kids and I had a wonderful basement picnic breakfast, because I was afraid of being in the dining room with the windows. It was dark and cold, but yummy too. And, for the kids, any excuse to pull out the flashlights is a holiday!

With the house getting colder, we considered leaving. It wasn't blowing as hard at Rodger and Michelle's, so we decided to go there when Marion got home, around 11. We loaded up the kids and got on the road, only to decide that it might just be safer in our basement!

Semis had tipped over, parts of I15 were closed down, debris was still blowing around. As we drove through Farmington and saw all the damage that had been done and was still being done, we decided to go home. We were blown away (ha, ha! get it?) by the huge pine trees that had blown over taking sidewalks, driveways, and power lines with them. Root systems the size of a garage door were perpendicular to the ground, lifting the whole layer of grass with them.

Finally, around 2 pm, the storm settled down. We got outside and assessed the damage. The aluminum shingles on the west side of the roof had pretty much blown off, and some of the asphalt shingles underneath. The east side was surprisingly fine. Weird. We also lost most of the siding off the north side. Another weird thing, and maybe one of the worst sounds I've ever heard. To hear the siding RIP off of my home and be able to do nothing about it was horrible. The last big thing was the hold in the soffit that the dishnetwork dish had ripped after it banged against the house for an hour and ripped off. Another horrible noise that I couldn't do anything about! Later, woodpeckers discovered the hole and enjoyed the hornets' nests inside. :)

We felt lucky that our trees hadn't blown down, and that we had (with the help of a chain-saw-loving home teacher!) cut down the dead one last summer. It surely would have blown over, causing lots of damage.

Anyway, the winds were hurricane level, and I believe it! It was scary. It made me think about how unprepared I was for pretty much any situation. Our 72 hour kids were in a storage that has outside access, so I couldn't really get them safely. We have very little water stored, not many candles, and I'm not a good cook without electricity. (Marion might say I'm not a very good cook WITH electricity!!!) (No, he wouldn't say that, though he might think it!)

Since, we have had a new roof put on, and they finished the siding yesterday. We recycled the aluminum shingles, a job that made the boys more money than they know what to do with! We hope a storm like that doesn't happen again too soon!

The Lightside

2011-12-22T21:25:00.000-08:00

A fabulously amazing friend of ours started a home school choir this fall.

Our family started off with 3 kids in it and ended up with 5.

Awesome, huh?! I love how they look in their concert dress, with the bright blue!

It has been so fun to go to their concerts, and see how they 'perform'. Sometimes I wondered if they were making any sound at all, or just sort of moving their mouths! (not the big ones, mainly the littles)

They performed at a couple of care centers, the church, the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, the Family History Library, and the Festival of Trees.

Probably my favorite things of it all have been watching Spencer perform. The first time he had a solo, I was BLOWN AWAY at how good he was! I had no idea he could sing so strong, in tune, and confidently! He has really amazed me, and I think he's had a lot of fun! In the photo he is with his friends Kel and Jordan being the 3 French Hens. They were awesome hens!

History Party

2011-12-22T21:12:00.000-08:00

The History curriculum I do with my kids is 4 books, about 1 year for each book. We finished book 3 so I told the kids we would do a History Party! We would have a full day of activities related to the history we had just studied.

I had a whole list of activities: cooking, crafts, songs, puzzles. The kids were so excited and so was I! It really was the whole day, that we learned more about standardization, Edward Jennings and smallpox vaccination, the Star Spangled Banner, Napoleon, Mexican Independence, the Maori and the Zulu, the Treaty of Waitangi and more. These were the favorites:

A shoebox pinata representing the Mexican flag and the year they got independence. I couldn't find ethnic treats to put inside, so I just bought red, white and green stuff! (good thing it's Christmas time!) The kids were AMAZED at my awesome tissue paper-on-the-end-of-the-pencil-dipped-in-glue abilities! They all had to give it a try! I have to admit it was very fun to do, very relaxing, and a very fulfilling end product!

We face painted to be like the Maori people. Each color and line has a meaning. Ours were very interesting meanings! Isaac wore his paint all day and night. In the morning I found paint on his sheet. :)

And the all time favorite, the Lewis and Clark Adventure Journals! Steven declared it 'the best day of his life' while hugging his finished journal! We made them by sewing copy paper in the center fold and then into a piece of cardboard. Then we hot glued this burlap-y fabric on and glued on leather ties and decor. The kids have taken them in the car, to church, and all around documenting their adventures just like Lewis and Clark!

It was a lot of fun and they surprised me by how much they had learned and remembered about the history. I've learned lots too -- one of the best things about homeschool!

Snow Canyon 1/2 Marathon

2011-11-14T21:02:00.000-08:00

I told myself and Marion that I wouldn't be doing another 1/2. Soon or ever. Then I decided I wanted an anniversary get-away. For some reason a commitment helps us actually do the get away instead of thinking of reasons or excuses to cancel it.

Since it was our 15th anniversary in August, I looked and looked for a 15K in November or December in someplace warm. I couldn't find one at all, but the Snow Canyon Half sounded good. So, I did another 1/2.

I was super excited to run through the red rock of the canyon, to soak up some warm weather, and to be with my hubby. I got 1 and 3, but #2 was not even close! It was so cold. There was even snow at the start of the race.

It was a really, really great weekend, but not my favorite race. The first 3 miles seemed really short, I felt like I could do that running thing forever. Then my breathing went wacko, my body started hurting, and at mile 7 I felt a little dizzy. I knew my race would be downhill from there. (ha, ha, it was downhill. That was part of the pain!) I ran what I could and took walk breaks the last 6 miles. My favorite part was when, around mile 12, I saw Marion ahead of me but headed toward me! He had finished and come back to finish with me! I was so proud of him and we were both amazed at how well he did! Not because he's not capable, but because he had been not feeling well.

If you haven't seen it, check out his post on the race here.

Once again I said I wouldn't do another 1/2. I'll stick to 10Ks, I said. Then Marion decided to sign up for Ogden 1/2 and my future jealousy crept in making me think that I should do it too. Luckily the race sold out in 2 hours and I logged on 30 minutes late. Phewsh!

So, I got my weekend away with my sweetie, and a run in the red rock. Awesome!

The Final Five-r

2011-10-18T21:28:00.000-07:00

October 17, 2006

October 17, 2011 -- My little boy Ike turned 5 yesterday!

The day was less planned than I like because of our busy, busy week before. The gifts had been ordered, but not even shipped yet! There was no cake or even a fun idea. And as far as fun plans, there weren't any. Thank goodness he wanted pancakes and waffles for his birthday dinner! Simple enough for me! He didn't even want sausage, bacon or hashbrowns to go with it.

Luckily friends stopped by to sing him Happy Birthday, cousins joined us for the birthday dinner,

and ToysRUs carries the same toys we had ordered.

In the morning, Isaac requested a Humpty Dumpty cake. OK, I thought, I can do that.

Then he said 'Well, maybe an Annoying Orange cake.' I thought, 'Round, one color, I can do that too.' Then I looked up Annoying Orange and changed my mind.

Humpty Dumpty won out.

He's been so fun lately, with the things he says! Sunday we went on a hike up the canyon. About 100 yards into the hike he had his front pockets full of rocks. So he started asking me to fill up his back pockets. Then he had to carry the rest. For the rest of the hike I had to keep pulling up his shorts because the rocks were pulling them down! He also learned and used the word 'conglomerate' over and over and over.

The morning of his birthday he woke up and I said "Happy Birthday 5 year old!"

He said "What time was I born?"

I said "1:45, after lunch."

He said "Then I'm not 5 yet."

I said "Close enough, Happy Birthday!"

The night of his birthday as I was sending him to bed, I said "Oh Isaac, I sure love you!

You're so amazing and I can't believe that you're 5 years old!"

He ran his hand across his forehead and said in all seriousness, "Yeah, and I don't even have any cracks."

Me, "Cracks?!"

Him, rubbing his hand across forehead again, this time looking in mirror, "Yeah, bumps or cracks."

Me, "What are you talking about?"

Him, "Like (great)Grandma and Grandpa Greengo, they have lots of cracks in their skin."

SO funny! He thought since he was getting older he might have wrinkles!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ISAAC! I SURE LOVE YOU!

Peek a Boo

2011-10-14T08:53:00.000-07:00

These birds were peeking in the laundry room window. Anyone know what kind they are?

Learning Facts

2011-10-13T21:39:00.000-07:00

Almost every meal our conversation revolves around computer or video games. Not really my favorite topic. But, I live with 6 boys and there is a lot of interest in that stuff!

When my boys get talking Pokemon, I am AMAZED at what they know! Now, I'm not discounting the value of learning Pokemon facts, but really, can't they learn the capitals of the United States with the same enthusiasm? What about the elements of the periodic table and their properties?! Even the youngest can explain a Pokemon's forms, strengths, weaknesses, and levels. Really, they know SO much! Their conversations are quite impressive, their knowledge immense.

One day I'll figure out how to tap into that.

Monday's Moments

2011-10-13T21:34:00.000-07:00

I generally wake up full of joy and hope on Mondays. It's like the whole week lies ahead with great potential. Then I make breakfast and the kids start complaining and fighting, but in those first early moments, I really appreciate life!

Last Monday, I captured a couple on film. See what you think:

Hard to see, but Isaac's eyelashes are gorgeous! And I love how sweet he is when he first wakes up. He was sitting by me, 'emailing' Dad. His lush, long eyelashes caught my eye.

Spencer got these goblets at a yard sale, and shined them up as props for their play. John put the 3 random pieces of produce that were sitting on the counter into them. Simple, functional, artistic, random. Love it!

I found this Trust Your Heart sign at the same yard sale as Spencer's goblets. So simple. I love it next to the Prophet's picture. Makes me stop for just a moment each time I see it.

And, for my last Monday Moment, I'd like to remember riding my bike to the class I was to teach. Yes, it was a 5 mile bike ride. The kids left my keys in Marion's car and he took his car to work. Luckily it wasn't raining, so the bike ride was actually pretty nice. However, I chatted a little too long afterwards, and the 5 mile bike ride home took too long. I kept thinking of the presentations I hadn't helped prepare, the kids who would leave before I returned, the lunch that hadn't been decided upon, the husband who was working at home, etc. I tried to pedal faster, but man, by mile 4 (9) I just wanted to be done.

Nocturnal

2011-10-13T21:25:00.000-07:00

I just realized last night, why I've had such struggles with my son! Besides the teenage brain only functioning at half capacity, he is NOCTURNAL! It's like when you try and try and try to make something work and then you decide to just let it be how it is, and all is well.

Last night, I sent him to bed. Not 10 minutes later he was saying "Oh, Mom, I've got to ________ for school tomorrow!" "And I forgot to __________." "Did you know that _____________." After a day of trying to help him get things accomplished, he accomplished all he needed to in that hour after bedtime. Very cheerily too.

Maybe that's why he's drawn to the Leopard Gecko as his next investment - it's also nocturnal!

4 year old's conversation

2011-10-12T19:42:00.000-07:00

I overheard this delightful conversation today:

Piper: This moon shouldn't be purple, it should be lellow!
Isaac: "Lellow", you said lellow! You should say 'yewwow'!
Piper: I did say "Lellow".
Isaac: No, you said 'yewwow', but you should say 'yewwow'.

They were so funny correcting each other when they were each wrong on something else!

I couldn't help but laugh!

Kung Fu Laser Baby

2011-09-23T20:45:00.000-07:00

I love it when I have one on one time with a little one and get to hear their true thoughts. Tonight it was Isaac.

Isaac: Mom, I know why I have blonde hair like yours and hair like Dads. (which it's not, except that it's hair!)

Mom: Oh really, why?

Isaac: Because when a boy and a girl get married (uh-oh, I think. what does he know and where has he learned it?!) then they have a baby. . . like if the blue guy on XMen, Mystique, got married to the one that shoots lasers out of his eyeballs, they would have a kung fu laser baby.

Funny, funny. A kung fu laser baby!

Triple Advancements

2011-09-01T21:08:00.000-07:00

Last night was our ward's Cub Scout Pack Night and also the Boy Scout Court of Honor. We went from one awards ceremony to another!

Steven earned his Bear plus a gold and 3 silver arrow points. He worked hard at the end to get it. My goal for him was to get it before the end of summer, so he wouldn't have to worry about it when school started. Once he realized how close he was, he jumped in and finished it up. Pretty exciting!

At the Court of Honor, they awarded 167 merit badges and about 13 advancements. 167. That's ALOT! We do have a lot of scouts, about 8 11 year olds, and 14 deacons. (I don't know the other numbers since my kids aren't there yet.) It was a fun meeting where they showed a slideshow from Scout Camp.

I encouraged the boys to work hard on merit badges this summer, so they wouldn't need to worry about it as much during the school year. John earned 9. Robotics, citizenship in the community, citizenship in the nation, citizenship in the world, archaeology, swimming, lifesaving, safety, and reading. He advanced to Second Class.

Spencer earned all the same ones as John plus small boat sailing, canoeing, salesmanship, rowing, and basketry. He advanced to First Class.

30,305

2011-08-28T16:28:00.000-07:00

That's approximately how many steps I took yesterday. It's a lot! 26,000 of them were from the Top of Utah 1/2 marathon. It's something I didn't think I would ever do, and in the last week, it has been something I really thought I couldn't do. I trained with Holly all summer, but didn't get as far as I wanted to, with my farthest distance ever being 7 miles.

There's something about the power of the crowd and the energy of the race though. I started out with Colleen and Tracy. We stuck together for a couple of miles, running about a 10 minute per mile pace. That's way fast for me, but I couldn't slow down! I'm horrible at keeping a good pace. At mile 6 they had oranges. I took a couple and it was the best food I've ever tasted! Oh, they were so refreshing!

The canyon was beautiful, loved it!

I was able to run until mile 9. After that I did intervals (which means I walked when I couldn't run - but 'intervals' sounds more professional, don't you think?) I tried to keep running, but many of my muscles were screaming out in pain! And not just muscles, my toenails were hurting! I couldn't wait to take my shoes off!

At the end, probably 11 1/2, I started talking to this older guy who had been neck and neck with me for awhile, also doing 'intervals'. He was funny. I felt like I was getting an awesome time and said something like that. He laughed and said it was his worst! He had run 7 marathons before and many halfs, but had tummy trouble today and thus was getting a bad time. After a few minutes I left him, thinking I'd run to the finish. But my toenails and muscles cried out and I slowed back down. This guy tapped me on the shoulder and said "Race ya!" for the last 200 feet. I was sure I could beat him, but about 5 steps into my sprint I had to back off and finish .something seconds behind him. It was a pretty fun little incident to end the race.

So, I ran it in 2 hours 28 minutes. I was amazed! That breaks down to an 11 1/2 minute mile. What a rush!

After inhaling more oranges and some water, I was surprised to get a text from Marion. I thought he wouldn't be able to come to see me run at all, but he was able to and had been looking for me. We ended up meeting in the Macey's parking lot where he gave me the prize of a cherry, cream cheese danish. Yummmm, he knows what I like! It meant a lot that he came.

Marion took the picture. I wouldn't turn around because I thought I looked horrible!

But, he finally won out, and I did look horrible - at least a little exerted.

It was awesome! I don't know if I'll ever do it again, but it was awesome! What an experience!

I really loved seeing Colleen, Tracy, Erin, Jason, Ethan, Holly, Dan, Sasha, Ptolemy, and Conna there too.

(The other 4000 steps came from coaching John's soccer game. That was an experience.)

Vitamin L

2011-08-28T16:01:00.000-07:00

The other day I took the kids to get their projects and money from the fair. Steven got $6 and wanted to spend it all on candy to share with cousins who came over -- like Uncle Mike and his library drawers. Drawers cost too much, so he came up with the idea of putting the candy in an old vitamin bottle. He drew a label and called it Vitamin L for LOVE.

Then, the best thing in the world happened - he shared, served, and loved his brothers for the next 24 hours! (until the candy ran out!) He made brothers' beds and put a Vitamin L on the pillow. He did Isaac's job and left a Vitamin L behind. He was so thoughtful and giving and loving. It was wonderful to watch!

Pickles

2011-08-28T15:50:00.000-07:00

We had enough donated cucumbers that I decided to try pickles. I found this mix
at Walmart. I bought it, glad that I didn't need to buy all the ingredients separately.

They turned out yummy, yummy! I love pickles!

Last Week of Summer

2011-08-21T22:34:00.000-07:00

Whoa, what a week!

We started Monday making and decorating cakes for the Davis County fair. That along with the other projects the kids were finishing up, led to a busy morning and a group of grumpy people. :) Once we got through the hairy part and out the door, though, the whole 4H/Fair experience was fabulous!

Wednesday we got up early for an 8:00 orthodontist appointment. After the orthodontist we explored BYU married student housing looking for the apartment of the chairs I bought on KSL. Then we finally got to head to Payson, to Grandma and Grandpa's, for our last-of-the-summer mini-vacation.

We worked on a big project, played with cousins and visited. My kids were asking for food every 1/2 hour, for some reason they were extra hungry that day. :) In the evening, Grandma and Grandpa hooked up the projector outside, hung a sheet up on the garage door, and had an awesome outdoor showing of The Apple Dumpling Gang. It was so fun!

Grandpa set up the trailer for us to sleep in. The boys thought that was so awesome, and loved all the drawers and tucked away spots inside! They kept saying how cool and lucky Grandma and Grandpa were! It was a very comfortable night, and such a nice trailer!

I got up early to go to water aerobics with Mom and Jamie. 6am. Oh yeah. It was that or push myself through a 6 mile run -- I gave in to the social, more relaxing choice. :) It was so much fun! We just talked and laughed and enjoyed the sunrise- full of pinks and yellows - no oranges. (according to one of the other aerobic-ers!) I forgot the camera. I fully intended to take pictures!

Once we all got up and ready, we loaded up playing van-tetris. With the 3 chairs I bought from the BYU guy, and the sandbox that Aunt Marcia sent for Jared, plus 5 kids, luggage, and just plain old stuff, we were LOADED! We first stopped at the Monte L. Bean museum at BYU. We love that place! Every time we go (we've been many times, because it's great and it's FREE!) the kids are amazed at the animals and the taxidermy. They always love the bug exhibits too. It's just so cool!
(I had to choose which picture Spencer looked the least bored in! Poor 13 year old stuck in a museum with his mother!)

Jared has a thing for cheetahs, so we were sure to get pics at every cheetah there was. Actually, there weren't any cheetahs, just jaguar and something else. But, if it has spots and is the right color, we call it a cheetah.

Next we went to SLC to the movie in the Joseph Smith Memorial building. That is always a wonderful thing to do. I loved sitting still and quiet for awhile! After, we hurried over to the Church Office Building to go to the top. It was really cool! So weird to be up that high!
Spencer enjoyed looking at the directories. He thought it was cool to see the Prophet's and Apostles' names.

We met up with Marion and Grandpa and Grandpa Jensen and went to their SLC apartment to have dinner. After dinner we went to the Salt Lake Bees game. We always love the baseball games, but this one brought out the worst in some of us. :) We won't talk about it.

Friday, vacation over, I went to the Temple with a wonderful friend. It's been a long time since I did initiatories, and I really enjoyed hearing it and being there. Afterward, we went to lunch and browsed in some very, very fun shops. It was so great to have a friend and do something fun!

Friday night we went to the Davis County Fair to see how the boys had done. They all did super, with lots of blue ribbons, and 3 projects that qualify for state fair. (I have pictures on my phone, but don't know how to get them off! That was another adventure for the week - new phones.) We love walking around the exhibits and oooohing and aaaaahing over projects.

Saturday Marion got crazy motivated and finished sanding and painting the ENTIRE deck. He had the kids working so good, pretty much the whole day. I helped in the morning and then went to a Parent Meeting for the youth homeschool group we are involved with. The training meeting was SO good. It is wonderful what a few mothers who get together can do! To finish the training, she showed this movie. Talk about inspirational!

Today we spent the morning at church, and the afternoon in North Ogden with Rob and Emily. They are always so amazing in doing super fun things that they make look so easy or no big deal. You should have seen the kids create their 'monster cookies' with Aunt Emily providing TONS of candy choices! It was fabulous to spend the time there!

Tomorrow we're back to school! Headed right into our 9th year of homeschooling, isn't that crazy?! I'm really excited about what we've got going this year! We had a great family back-to-school meeting tonight, and I think we'll be off to a great start! Ready or not, here we go!

What it says

2011-08-15T14:28:00.000-07:00

J E N S E N

Joining together in heart and hands. Finding joy in all things.

Ever faithful. Exceptional in all we do. Eternal

Never give up. Nurture. Be nice.

Strive for obedience. Share and serve. Strengthen spirituality.

Endure to the end. Love each other, everyone, and everything.

Learn something new each day. Remember your Heavenly nobility.

1997

It's kind of in a poetic style, using the letters of our last name to pick important words in each line. If you look back at the picture, you might be able to tell better.

Have you ever seen. . .

2011-08-13T14:34:00.000-07:00

a 7 year old with braces?!?!

Crazy, isn't it?! This is Phase I. Then we let his teeth fall out and grow. Then when he's 13 or 14 he gets Phase II.

Family Motto

2011-08-13T14:31:00.000-07:00

I occasionally think of crafting, even plan and purchase. But, if it takes more than about 20 minutes, I rarely get to it or get it finished. I guess it's something about homeschooling and 5 kids!

But, with the freedoms of summer shrinking before my eyes, I thought I'd better get going on a project that I've been thinking of for months. Marion and I wrote this family motto 14 years ago. Lately I've thought about it more and more, feeling like the kids need to see it, and know it.

Here's the before:

And here's the after:

(Sorry about the flash)The key ingredients to this project were
*a frame from DI
*Lowe's cutting plexi glass for me
*renting a vinyl cutter from the 4H office (Whoa, that was FUN!)
and *about 7 focused hours.

I'm so glad it's finally done! Now I'll move onto the 12 other projects itching to be done!

Blast from the Past

2011-08-10T09:05:00.000-07:00

Today while cleaning up the basement, I found this disc. Not sure what was on it, I popped it in. It was a total blast from the past! The good old days of hula hoops and swing sets and little boys. Be warned however, there are lots of diaper/underwear scenes. :)

Click on the link, then double click on the picture. Aren't they SOO cute?!

Community

2011-08-03T22:32:00.000-07:00

I'm just going to link you over to Marion's post here, because he says what I'd want to say. Only I'd add that he stood in line with 5 boys, and a wife with an aching back for 3 1/2 hours. It was worth it, and we stayed to give our minimal support. I think Brother and Sister Hanson gave us more than we gave them. As the Young Men's president, I know his attention and hug meant a lot to Spencer. What a blessing it is to be a part of a ward and community.

Tomorrow, my son will sing with the other YM and YW at Gabe's funeral. I don't think I'll make it through. :)

Bear Lake 2011

2011-07-24T15:46:00.000-07:00

During the middle of July we took our family trip to Bear Lake. We coordinated with the Harper's so we could spend time with them. We post-poned our trip for 1 day because the weather report was pretty daunting. Turns out we would have been just fine, but it did give us extra time to get ready!

We had a campsite on Cottonwood campground. Note to self: get Willow campground next year. Cottonwood was very cottoney! Birch has no shade. So, I think we need to try out Willow. It was a good thing we were going in the middle of the week, or we may not have gotten a campsite at all!

We set up camp and played on our beach. Marion and I were amazed at how high the water was, compared to past years. It made the beaches a lot smaller (obviously) and kind of junky. Ours was covered with a rift of reeds. Didn't stop the kids too much, they had lots and lots of fun! Marion and I found a shady spot and started reading. I finished 2 books. Ahhh. :)

We went to Harper's condo for dinner and a ride out on the boat - that was lots of fun! We were worried about our campsite when a big wind blew in. We hurried back to find that our campsite-neighbor had zipped up our windows and put some extra stakes in the tent. The storm blew over pretty quickly and we all had a good night's rest.

The next day we had a breakfast and more playtime on the beach. We played games and had lunch. Then back with the Harpers for boating. The water was shivering-chin cold, but oh so tempting and fun! I love being out in the middle of the lake! We had lots and lots of fun playing and laughing with them!

We ended the trip getting shakes on our way out of town. We were all shivering by the end, because it just was a little chilly for Bear Lake in July, we were sitting in the shade, and we were eating ice-cream! Nevertheless, Yummy!

Fabulous 4th of July

2011-07-22T08:01:00.000-07:00

I love the 4th of July! I wanted to get married on July 3rd so there'd be fireworks! Instead, we went with August 31st and had red, white, navy, and silver as wedding colors. :)

This year we spent in Riverside, UT with the Jensens. John and Stacey were here from CA, so it was great to spend more time with them. We had a fabulous big breakfast at Grandmas.

Breakfast was made more exciting by a small brush fire down behind grandma's by the railroad tracks.

Fire department to the rescue!

We went to the Riverside park to play the kid games and help run the SnoCone machine. It took 5 of us to handle the 45 minute rush of SnoCone needs!

Later in the evening we went to the Riverside park for the Patriotic program and fireworks. Spectacular!

Aunt Colleen became the favorite aunt by pulling out glow sticks for everyone!

I love the 4th of July!

Grandpa Greengo

2011-07-19T17:05:00.000-07:00

My Grandpa Greengo is 78 years old. Today we visited and I just wanted to write down some of the things I learned while there.

He has a twin brother, Richard, who lives in Minnesota.
Grandma, Marge, is the youngest of 12 kids -- whoa!
Grandpa's sister died July 7th this year.
Grandpa served in the Korean war as a court transcriber (stenographer?) for 2 years. He was at a fort in Washington State.

They showed me pictures of Grandpa when he was little. It was SO fun to see the photos! I would love to dare to ask to borrow them and scan them. They are treasures!

Grandma brought out 2 little Mother Goose puzzles for Isaac and Jared to 'race' on putting together. The puzzles were from 1942! I asked if she'd had them a long time or picked them up somewhere, and she said they were hers as a kid. Isn't that cool!

It was a delightful visit! I told Grandpa we'd come again at the next orthodontist appointment. :)

Earley Park 2011

2011-07-19T16:52:00.000-07:00

Earley Park has become a tradition that we all love! The kids look forward to the cabin, the cousins, the grandparents, the scenery, the food, and the activities. And it never disappoints! Our Jensen reunion was missing more than half of the Jensens (6 out of 11 original kids were not there).

Here's John with the youngest grandkid - and one of the cutest! He loves the babies!

A group had lots of fun playing ultimate frisbee. Look at John's jump and reach!

Now he's after a foxtail ball thing.

Steven was holding Jenetta when she fell asleep on his shoulder. It was SO sweet!

Spencer and Josh had both spent the days right before Earley Park at Scout Camp. They both came home with pretty nice sunburns - Josh's was especially bad. I had to get a pic of their sunburned noses!

Pulling the handcart around the park. Look at all those grandkids!

And this was the ride home. LOVE it when everyone falls asleep on the way home!

Happy 60th Grandma Jensen!

2011-07-18T10:20:00.000-07:00

I love my mother-in-law! She is so terrific! A week before her birthday we pulled together a low-key surprise party - more of her children being invited was the surprise. :) We had salads and breads, visited, and played a hilarious game of The Game of Things'. She acted appropriately surprised, cried a little, laughed and hugged. For anyone that knows her, that makes a perfect event!

The grandkids were SO excited to put 60 candles on her cakes and even more excited to LIGHT them! She's so nice and let all the kids help blow them out too!

Happy Birthday! We love you!

7 Years Old!

2011-07-16T16:45:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday last month to Jared! Our teasing, delightful 7 year old! As I was watching him set up for his own birthday party (because he was so excited about it!), I was thinking about how much DELIGHT he portrays. He bounces from one place to another, smiles contagiously, has such a sweet outlook and personality, and has a twinkle (or a gleam?!) in the eye that is irresistible! I can't believe he's 7!

He loves cheetahs and wanted a cheetah cake. My busy, tired brain couldn't fathom making a cheetah-shaped cake, so I was very glad to find an idea online for a cheetah spotted cake! We had quite the adventure getting the frosting the right color, since the 'copper' paste I bought was not the color we expected. He was pleased with the result, and that's all that matters, right?!

He had a few friends over for a water party. They squirted each other, played in the pool, drew with sidewalk chalk, and played. Then we had cake and WarHeads otter pops (who knew?!) and opened presents. Then they all came in to watch Tangled and eat popcorn. Jared planned his own party, and it was simple enough for me.

Isn't he a darling?!

This picture shows why he'll be the youngest person I know who gets braces. He's started Phase I of orthodontic treatment, including a bar/extender thing that I'm supposed to twist each day to help his teeth straighten instead of being pulled in concave like. It's called a cross bite, I guess. Anyway, I think, "Me?! Why do I have to be the one to twist the thing and hurt him each day? Sheesh!" Once they're un-concave, he'll get braces on the top to pull those front beauties down and in. Yeah.

Love you, Jared!

Things are growing!

2011-07-15T19:09:00.000-07:00

These were all about a month ago, but it's still so fun to see them! I am loving the flowers that grow in my front flower bed! And the garden too. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this lilly!

In Memory

2011-07-06T20:36:00.000-07:00

So, it's not been our best 2 weeks for rabbits. About 2 weeks ago, they escaped from their hutch in the night. We walked all over the neighborhood the next morning, passed out notes to call us if you saw them, and searched the yard. We finally found Spleen, the black bunny, hiding in the vines on the fence. We never found ChChala. We like to imagine that a cute little girl found him and took him home, but realistically there are lots of big dogs around here.

We loved to put the bunnies out on the lawn in a piece of fencing, so they could eat grass, run, jump, you know. It was super fun to watch them in there and the kids loved to crawl under the fencing so they could hold and pet the bunnies without worrying about them escaping. Today we put Spleen in the fencing out back. We left him there too long with not enough shade and water, and came home from Lagoon to a sad sight.

We feel horrible! Jared cried himself to sleep over it, and I think it'll be a little sad spot for awhile. Pets. Sheesh.

Last Days of School

2011-06-06T20:31:00.000-07:00

Steven and Jared were in 3rd and 1st grade public school from November last year until the end. They had great teachers, lots of friends, and so much fun!

On the 3rd to last day of school I went and had lunch with them. It was so fun to see them in their own worlds! It was a fantastic lunch too ~~ LOVED the red beets!

Stitches on the First Day of Summer Vacation

2011-06-06T19:57:00.001-07:00

Yup. We were at the Instacare today getting 3 little stitches in Jared's head. He wasn't even doing anything summer-ey! He was running across the basement family room and somehow tripped and smacked his head against the corner of the couchframe.

A couple of funnies (because I think there always are!)
**Jared was lying in my lap with a cold rag on his head as I decided whether to take him in or not. All the kids are looking on with worry and concern. Isaac says "Jared you can have ANYTHING. Anything you want." I said "Do you mean treats or toys or something of yours?" He said "ANYTHING". It was so cute!

**The doctor said "You bonked your head on the couch? Most people have a soft couch!"

**The nurse put numbing gel on him while we were out in the waiting room. She wrapped a big red bandage/wrap around his head to keep the cotton ball on. While we're sitting there, a big kid, probably 17 years old, walks out with a very similar big red bandage wrapped around his head too! He looked at Jared and said "Hey, we're twinners!"

**Marion told us that it's Jensen tradition to get a milkshake if you have to get stitches. So we went to Iceberg Drive In. Through the drive thru, I ordered a 'mini' shake. The order guy talked me into a 'regular' because it was only 30 cents more. We pulled up to the window and he handed Jared a 15 inch milkshake! It was huge! So, here's this little kid in the backseat buckled into his booster, holding this gigantic milkshake. It was hilarious! (The picture shows it once we got home. No kidding, it was at least 5 inches above the cup! All the boys were jealous!)

**On the way home Jared, eating his huge shake, says "Thank you couch!"

**Yesterday, the 3 younger boys were asking me where the skin went when you skinned yourself. I told them it's just on the cement, but you can't really see it because it's all ripped up. Today, we saw it. On the corner of the couch - there was Jared's skin. :)

Storage Room Envy

2011-05-29T12:27:00.000-07:00

I surprised myself today by having 'food storage envy'. I was looking at this site called Deals to Meals. On the left, under slideshow are some of the best, fullest storage rooms you've ever seen!

We've been in transition, so we tried to use up a lot of our food storage instead of moving it. Now it's time to build it back up. However, with 7 big eaters (well 6, Jared won't hardly eat anything!) it's proving harder than I expected to do that.

I need a commitment, a plan, and a great sale. Wish me luck, and I'd love to hear any ideas or favorite things about your storage in the comments.

Pocket Gardens

2011-05-27T21:18:00.001-07:00

This last semester I was teaching a club of boys and girls whose mothers were teaching the class for my oldest. We called it 'The Other Club'. It was so much fun! It was no pressure, anything I wanted to do, and board games at the end every single time!

One of my favorite projects were these pocket gardens. Using a baseball card sheet, you put a little potting soil in each pocket, tuck in some seeds, add a drop or two of water, and hang them with suction cups in the window.

It has been so fun to see the roots and the plants grow! We have a special planter out front for the flowers that grow well and I hope they'll survive the transplant and keep on growing! Fun, fun, easy project!

I apologize for the dark picture.

Sandwiches

2011-05-27T21:05:00.000-07:00

If someone asks 'What's for lunch?' and I answer 'Sandwiches', this is what I hear next:

Spencer: I'll make up some tuna!
John: Yummmm, I love grilled cheese!
Steven: Do we have any ham?
Jared: PBJ!

Isaac's still flexible and will eat any sandwich. But today he was specific. More specific than any of the other kids. It had to be a lion like in the book we checked out from the library. Ok, I checked it out. It's called 'Funky Lunch' and has all sorts of fun pictures of things to do with your sandwich. (So, it's my own fault.) I love letting my kids look at awesome recipe books!

Luckily, he was the only one who insisted upon the time-consuming lion!

Trying to win something

2011-05-26T06:35:00.001-07:00

I heard about this giveaway today and wanted to put it out there. Plus it gives me another chance to win!

Friendly Chemistry has recently edited & updated their curriculum. To celebrate, they want to send a full curriculum set to one of you!

After looking through a Friendly Chemistry textbook, you'll soon realize that, hmm, chemistry is a little more interesting than you first thought. Give it a longer look and you'll find yourself surprisingly absorbed in elements and molecules. Then...gather some students, teach a Friendly Chemistry lesson and you'll see that chemistry is not only fun, but the kids are asking to have another chemistry class!

The author, Joey Hajda, describes Friendly Chemistry like this:

"Friendly Chemistry was written using simple language and a host of analogies to make learning (and teaching!) chemistry easy. We believe that the chemistry concepts presented in Friendly Chemistry are NOT watered-down. The concepts are just explained in ways that are readily understood by most learners. Coupled with these explanations is a host of teaching aids, labs and games which makes the learning concrete and multi-sensory. Students find the course fun and painless. Parents often comment, 'I wish I had had this when I was taking chemistry. Now it all makes so much sense!'"

Visit the Friendly Chemistry site for answers to questions about teaching the program in your homeschool or co-op or for answers to using the program in private or public schools.

Guess what? The publishers want to offer one of you a free set of Friendly Chemistry curriculum, which includes:

Student text
Teacher text
Manipulative text (a 74 page booklet to be disassembled by the end user)
Current retail cost is $49.99 for the student edition and $24.99 for each volume of the Teacher's edition (Two volume set). The manipulative set retails for $9.99. Total retail value: $109.96

An Exclusive DISCOUNT Code: Friendly Chemistry is offering FreelyEducate.com readers an exclusive discount! Order directly from Friendly Chemistry and use Coupon Code 2KY9DJ4D for 10% off the price. Expires June 30, 2011

19/24

2011-05-23T08:57:00.000-07:00

That's how many hours I slept and rested yesterday. I made it to church, taught Primary, and crashed the rest of the day. This huge head cold and some stomach aches put me down and out! Although there was Sunday fun going on throughout the house, I slept and slept and slept. Then ate something and slept all night.

Crazy!

Ahhhhh.

2011-05-16T20:57:00.000-07:00

We spent the evening with homeschool friends that we've been involved in a 'club' with. We had a hot dog dinner, a short program, and then baseball.

It is always so great to watch all ages and abilities play with all ages and abilities.

It is always so great to have my kids playing with good kids who are good examples and friends for them.

It is always so great for me to visit with like-minded mothers and feel like our friendships are growing.

It is always so great to bring home 5 tired boys who don't argue when you say it's bedtime. :)

Ahhhhh.

Dyslexic or experimental?

2011-05-12T08:43:00.000-07:00

It's a little hard to see, but I am so proud of Isaac and his report on Mountain Men!

We're doing a little Utah History in home school. I asked the kids to write a report on one of the earlier settlers or groups in Utah. Amazingly they all got right to it and wrote super reports! 4 year old Isaac wrote his all by himself, even spelling his own words. :) I think it's absolutely adorable!

The entire thing is backwards! Read right to left with backward letters. It amazes me that he could be so consistent in the backwardness - it just seems to me that something would click to be the right direction. But, I'm not worried. I know that with as well as he reads and writes, his brain will straighten out the directions before too long!

His report says: Where did Indians hide their furs? Cache. They got to do games and drank tea and raced.

Love it!

Mother's Day 2011

2011-05-12T08:18:00.000-07:00

I really like Mother's Day. Not because I'm an amazing mother, but because I think motherhood is so special. I think it's great to honor all the mothers of the world and appreciate their love and efforts for a day.

This Mother's Day was celebrated with my special treat of Bruschetta. Yummmmm. And, since no one else will eat it, I get all of it! I enjoyed my Bruschetta while reading my gift of a Josi Kilpack book. It's so fun to have a series of books!
I remember my mom always saying she wanted 'good kids' for her present. Now that I have kids, I know what she means! Love the gifts, but really, what I want is good kids! No fighting for one day please?! And will you do the dishes and go to bed on time?! I did get that this year, just in spurts.

In fact, the week before Mother's Day, my 3 youngest kids spent HOURS in a Mother's Day ruse they called 'Candy Shop'. They put signs up in the hallway, numbering the doors, identifying mens/womens bathroom, and even a fire extinguisher. Inside their room they drew and colored and schemed mother's day creations, letting me believe they were playing Candy Shop. They kept coming out and asking me "What's your favorite food" "What's your favorite candy?" "Flower, bird, animal, color, book. . ." The result of this secret project was a stack of amazing, creative pictures that is about 3" high! Love the pictures, but love the getting along and working together on a creative endeavor even more!
The picture in the top left hand corner is a sword. With blood. Isaac drew it and around it it says "Swords are good for killing people." Marion thought that was such a touching Mother's Day message. :) I, on the other hand, wouldn't mind a little less sword drawing around here! (Especially during sacrament meeting.)

As hard as I am on myself about it, I love being a mother and I love my kids! I know I'm lucky, lucky, lucky and very blessed.

Saturday

2011-05-10T20:22:00.000-07:00

I had mentioned to my sister in law, Emily, that I wanted a perm for Mother's Day. We were visiting with them Saturday when she walked around the corner with all her perm stuff and said "Should we perm your hair?!" After a little discussion, I said "Let's go for it!"

I haven't had a perm for a long time, and handing the rollers over my shoulder to Emily took me back to the Jr. High days when my mom gave me home perms.

I held baby Jenetta a lot of the time, and she was fine on my lap with toys, as long as she didn't know it was me that had her!

It was so fun to take out the curlers and have curls!
Now I'm on the search for the right hair product to keep the best curl. Today I tried just air drying - didn't work too well. By the end of today it's pretty much straight, just poofier.

Mel, Callie, if you're reading, I may need your advice. :)

Blank Day

2011-05-06T20:25:00.000-07:00

Today there was NOTHING written on the calendar! That doesn't mean I forgot to write something, it meant there were NO commitments or places to run to! That, or one less child, or the sunshine, or the yard work - I don't know what, but it was a fabulous day!

Some highlights:
- 4 hours of yard work in the front yard!
- hedge finally trimmed
- discovered that our property has a well on it! emergency water problems, solved!
- planted gladiolas
- talked to a friend about fun stuff, not business
- ate truffles
- found yard sale Lego sets that kept kids busy for 2 hours
- cute shorts
- 2 successful playdates for children
- BBQ chicken pita pizzas for dinner
- Wii party with the kids and discovering Duel Spaces on Tetris ~~ SO fun!

Good day. Makes me wonder if I'm Vit. D deficient, and being outside so much today helped my morale. :) It probably helps that I've also gone running 2X this week.

La, la, la - piano!

2011-05-01T13:58:00.000-07:00

I've been married 14 1/2 years. Before I was married, I wanted to marry a man who could teach me to play the piano ~~ isn't that romantic?! I thought so. Marion plays, and back in the day, he even taught lessons. Perfect, I thought!

Well, you can't really learn the piano unless you have a piano - and we never have. Until yesterday. We get custody of Ellen's piano until she has space for it and wants it back. Currently she is in Taiwan on her mission, so we know it will be awhile. :)

With the piano came a lot of noise. We had company, lots of little kids, and a new noisemaker to play with! Overnight though, it turned back into a musical instrument, with just one person at a time playing.

This morning, as I was getting out of the shower, I heard the most best sound! It was a song that Marion plays every time he sits down to a piano. That meant that he was playing!!! My heart just jumped and I was so excited! (I should mention that he wasn't big on the idea of taking custody. He's moved far too many pianos in his days to want to move another.)

Then this afternoon, this happened: ~This is a week later. The video wouldn't post. But, they were playing that duet where you roll your knuckles across the keys. It was great, trust me. :)

Again, my heart jumped and filled with joy! I am so happy to have the piano and the opportunities it brings in our family!

Fitness Boot Camp

2011-05-01T13:27:00.000-07:00

Wednesday we had a Boot Camp, taught by my fabulous sister-in-law, Mel. My fitness relationship with Mel is a few years old, probably 5. When we both lived in Logan, she taught yoga/pilates at the community center in the mobile home park. I loved to go and learn from her!

Once, she asked if I'd like to go jogging with her. I'm sure my look said it all, as I politely declined, saying that I hate jogging and I think joggers look like they're torturing themselves. About a year later, I took up jogging, all on my own, and I'm planning to run in the Top of Utah 1/2 this fall.

Since, Mel has moved to Colorado and become involved in fitness clubs in her area. She has faithful followers for her classes, and has moved up the ladder to work for Lifetime Fitness. She also does bootcamps and fitness programs through her business, Enliven Fit. You've got to check out her site! She is incredible! She asked if she could offer a bootcamp here at my house, for some friends and family in Utah. There were about 12 of us, and we exercised and learned with Mel from 9-5. The weather was perfect, so we spent a lot of time outside, on the deck, on the lawn, and on the basketball court. We had so much fun doing Zumba, pilates, interval training, and even exercise with paper plates!

I'm always amazed at what she knows, and how easily she seems to teach and tie it all together. She inspires me so much! And now that I've done one, I'm anxious to head to Colorado Springs and do another! Thanks Mel! You are AWESOME!!

Proud Mama

2011-04-24T13:51:00.000-07:00

We have moved to a new level in the journey of parenting boys. SUITS. I'm so excited! They look so good and mature!

Spencer adamently told me he did NOT want a suit, when he was 12. Now that he's 13, he has realized the beauty of the suit coat in hiding the pooks and puffs of a tucked in shirt. So, we kept our eyes out for a good price, and thank goodness for Spring/Easter Sunday clothes sales! We were able to get one for John as well as Spencer, for the price of one! Then, we found a little suit for $2 at a yard sale. Jared was SO excited!
They all 3 wore their new suits to church today. They looked sharp and fantastic! I was proud of Spencer, once again, as he passed the sacrament. I'm grateful for the good person that he is, and that I get to be his mom. :) Friday, he wore his suit for the first time to the Bountiful Temple to do baptisms. I asked how baptisms went. He said fine. I asked how the suit was. He said fine. After a short pause, he said "I LOVE wearing a suit!" Truly, I never thought I'd hear that -- but I'm glad that's how he feels!

And this is how Steven and Isaac feel about not having a suit! No worries though, they'll soon get hand me downs! Isaac may someday wear every single one of those suits -- lucky boy!

Cool video!

2011-04-09T19:55:00.000-07:00

If any of you don't read my husband's blog, I wanted to make sure you don't miss this. He has had this trailer made for his TwHistory project, and it is SO cool!

http://chickenarmpits.blogspot.com/2011/04/twhistory.html

Magic Word

2011-04-09T19:37:00.000-07:00

It's Jane.

Isn't that funny?! It's a magic word that only works when said by certain people TO a certain person. The word 'Jane' turns Isaac into a dragon, a jaguar, or a puppy.

Steven or Jared can use the magic word when they need to go downstairs and they're scared to go alone: "Ja-ane, Jane the Jaguar - the secret gem is downstairs and we need to get it!" Isaac (usually immediately) transforms into Jane the Jaguar and accompanies the big brother by crawling down the stairs.

Jane the Puppy usually appears at the kitchen table. Isaac is finished with his food, Steven's not, and Jane the Puppy appears; right there under Steven's seat dutifully waiting for attention! Usually panting.

Jane the Dragon comes during a grand adventure of pretend. Jane the Dragon has a very un-ladylike fire breathing roar that makes my throat hurt every time I hear it! Jane the Dragon also accompanies big brothers when they need a little protection or to get an un-fun job done.

Funny thing is, I can't make Jane appear. Imagine this, "Isaac, will you run put your laundry away?"
Isaac, "No."
Me, all excited because it works when Steven says it, "JANE, will you go put Isaac's laundry away?"
Isaac, "No."
[Enter Steven]
Steven, "Jane, let's go put away Isaac's laundry!"
Isaac, as he falls onto all 4s and bounds to his room to put away laundry, "ROAR!!"

I wonder how long the magic will last?!

A little green ray of hope

2011-04-05T18:11:00.000-07:00

This cute little plant is growing out of our deck. I'm posting it to give Marion, who is working in Phoenix and sick, a ray of hope. :)

Spring!

2011-04-01T20:47:00.001-07:00

I love, love, love the weather these last couple of days! It has been so great to have the boys play outside for hours each afternoon! It has been great to get out and work in our garden, to go for a run, to wear short sleeves! Our boys love to go next door and play on the neighbors basketball court. They have an awesome cement area with basketball hoops that lower to my 6 year old's height, bikes for their grandkids which my kids ride, and even a dog! Thank you neighbors!And today, when I 'looked out the window', what did I see?

That's right! Popcorn popping on the apricot tree!

Ahhhh, we're loving it!

Pinewood Derby

2011-03-26T08:58:00.000-07:00

I have a confession. I hate Pinewood Derby cars.

Phewsh, that feels good to say. Some people have big guilt over Mother's Day, or Father's Day, or every birthday because of all the things they aren't doing or haven't done. I'm usually ok with those, but every year when the Pinewood Derby rolls around, my stomach lurches, my brain puts up defense, and I cringe.

This is my 6th or 7th Pinewood Derby car, and I probably have 6 or 7 more before I'm finished. You'd think by now I'd have a system down, the engineering and physics figured out and the Jensen Pinewood Derby cars would be legendary. That my son's chunk of wood would blaze down the track with amazing torque, perfect weight, and creative genius.

Instead, I hide my head, reading all the other parents' thoughts. "Whoa, look at that car." "Too bad his mom can't get the nails in good enough for it to roll - and straight would be really helpful." "If only she had some cool BSA weights instead of quarters duct taped on." "That poor boy, he'll be scarred for life with Pinewood Derby embarrassment." And those are just the nice ones.

So, here I am, on a otherwise nice Saturday morning, lamenting the fact that we MISSED the weigh in last night, and we're missing a wheel-nail. Now I have to face the cubmaster with late-for-weigh-in-remorse, as well as the whole pressure of the car itself. I could just crawl back into bed and maybe make an alternate plan - we don't HAVE to go, do we?!

Aaargh. (I wonder if my scout cares as much as I do. Probably not.)

Officially a teenager!

2011-03-15T20:39:00.000-07:00

Spencer turned 13 on Saturday! Whoa! We spent his birthday in Provo at the Odyssey of the Mind competition, where he spent time as a girl (yes, that's him in the gray wig!)

at Krispy Kreme with Grandma and Grandpa Olsen, Marcia and Jim and family, at home playing computer and Wii, and eating pizza for dinner. He didn't get to stay up as late as he wanted because daylight savings lost him an hour.

The next day, after church, we went to Grandma Jensen's for a triple-cousin birthday party! We celebrated Ben's 1st birthday, Marri's 10th, and Spencer's 13th. There was lots of playtime with cousins, a pig-latin treasure hunt, a 'favorites-a-thon', and a guess who slideshow. To top off the birthday dinner of cornbread and baked potatoes, we had a duct tape birthday cake, a cherpumple, a yummy coffee cake, and of course, ice-cream.

Happy Birthday Spencer! What a delightful teen you are!

Skipping school

2011-03-15T20:32:00.000-07:00

Well, we didn't entirely skip school, mostly just put it off an hour or so.

All winter, John has wanted to go sledding. For one reason or another, we never made it; the snow melted too fast, there wasn't enough, or we had to do other things.

So, when it snowed plenty last week, and I knew the next days were going to heat up and melt it fast, we made a break for it! I put the 2 littles on the bus, bundled up the 3 others, and we rounded the corner to cut through the neighbors yard and the weeds/woods to get to a good sized hill.

The snow was fresh and new, the morning was beautiful, no one was there - it was fabulous!

Question of the day:

2011-03-15T20:31:00.000-07:00

Do I have the energy and drive to raise $3000 by the end of April so my boys and I can go to Maryland to compete in the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals?

Way exciting, chance of a lifetime, but lots and lots of work!

We'll know the answer on Friday. (that's the deadline for deciding!)

More information on beans!

2011-02-22T19:23:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd just post more information on how to cook the beans, for those interested. :)

This is the pressure cooker I used. I think the procedure would be the same with any, if you know how to use it.

You do need to soak the beans first. This site tells you more about beans and at the bottom of it you can find the link 'cooking time charts'.

That second site tells you how long to soak them and then how long to pressure.

So, for my great northern beans, I soaked them 4 hours, then pressured them 8 minutes at 10psi. Everything I read said to use a 'natural release' method when they're done cooking. That means that you don't let the pressure out, you let it cool down itself. My limas and garbanzos I soaked for 8 hours. I pressured the limas for 3 minutes and the garbanzos for 14. On the great northerns and the limas, I would do just a minute less, they were pretty soft. On the garbanzos I would do a minute more, they're such a hard bean to start with. I also did blacks, and they're my favorite, but I can't tell you what I did, because I did it all wrong! I guess not too wrong, because they're edible, but it wasn't a method I want to pass on to friends. :)

I'd love to hear how it goes to any of you who try it!

Beans

2011-02-20T14:30:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a big event for me: learning how to pressure cook dry beans! We love beans and love to have them ready to go in the freezer. I did 4 different types, ended up with 6 cups of each, in about 6 hours total, thanks to the new pressure cooker/slow cooker that Marion got us for Christmas! Yay! Taco soup here we come!

What else we did in Phoenix

2011-02-13T16:23:00.000-08:00

(disclaimer: I apologize for any weirdness with the pictures, especially if you're viewing this in a reader. On the actual blog site, it's fine, I think.)

It was such a fun, relaxing week. I loved it!
Besides swimming and spending time in the sun, we spent a lot of time with cousins, and did a little tourist-y stuff.

Marion's brother, and his wife have 5 girls. We spent the night at their house, went over for a mommy-movie-night, and had them come to the hotel to swim and for dinner.

This is what hours with 10 cousins does to us all:

Makes you a little crazy! :)

This is cute Elise in broken goggles.

This is cute Chloe in John's new sunglasses.

This is Steven, Elise, and Nikki eating Valentine cupcakes.

This is the kids in the hot tub. The hot tub was the favorite!

This is cute Jared trying to hold cute Chloe!

We visited a town called Carefree. They had this charming Spanish Marketplace, that was just so fun! One of the shop's had this sign in the window. I thought it was perfect for a shop in a town called Carefree.

We drove through some absolutely beautiful desert on the way to Carefree. It was SO scenic! And these giant saguaro cactus always amaze me!

In Carefree, we went to lunch at the Bad Donkey restaurant. I thought the boys would love the name, and that's reason enough to go, right?! It was ok food, but fabulous service and atmosphere! The employees showed the boys missing finger tricks, and joked with us all. We'd go again, for sure!

Next to the Bad Donkey was the Dinky Donkey. So, for dessert, we got Dinkies. Yumm!

Having fun eating Bad Donkey pizza.

We went in search of the world's largest(probably) Kachina doll, and found it!

In Carefree, there is also the world's largest Sundial. You're probably as excited about it as the boys were! But, it was pretty cool, and now we can say we've seen it! See where they're standing? It was 11am.

In Carefree, a lot of their roads were named carefree names, like Nonchalant, Tranquil Trail, and Lazy Lane. Fun, huh?! We got this picture at Ho Hum Road.

Another fun and free thing was the Mining and Mineral Museum in downtown Phoenix. Really, really amazing rocks to look at! This is the boys in a very large dump truck scoop.

We ended the trip with 2 kids throwing up, cancelling a dinner with high school friends. Too much sun? Partly, but John has still been sick. Poor kid, he threw up about 1/2 hour into our ride home. We were on a highway with no place to stop, so he rolled down the window and did the best he could. Yeah, the wind smeared it all over the side of the van. Jared, from the back, says "Ewww, it's on my window"! Yuck.

Despite that, we'd go back in a heartbeat!

Sunburn

2011-02-07T19:23:00.000-08:00

I'm so happy to be a bit sunburned! It's February 7th, there's a snow/storm advisory in Utah, and look what we're doing! I'm loving Phoenix in February! Today was 72 degrees, it's clear and warm and sooo nice. The boys and I spent a fabulous couple hours basking in the sun and water at the hotel pool this afternoon. Then, we went again tonight after the sun was down, with Dad after he got off work. Ahhh, vacation!

Feng Shui

2011-02-02T18:08:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure where he got the notion, but yesterday at the library Spencer checked out a 'Feng Shui For Teens' book. It's been really great to watch him study this book and figure out the chi in his environment! Today he asked me to walk into his room and tell him what I saw. Later he asked me to walk into his room and tell him what I smelled. (Luckily it was nothing!)

As I was driving Spencer and John to scouts tonight, Spencer starts telling us how the chi needs to travel, and that certain corners of the room are certain areas. He says, "And, I'm really sorry about this John, and I'm not making it up, but I'm really sorry about it -- you're sleeping in the area of family-slash-romance." I busted up laughing, and John immediately tackled him the rest of the way to the church. You know how the boys feel about romance, if you read my last post.

He has also informed us that Marion and my bed is in the coffin position. I'm not sure entirely what that means, but it can't be good!

Living with boys

2011-01-31T20:30:00.000-08:00

The boys were sitting around the kitchen table, where there was this huge orange candle in the middle. Spencer picked up the fire lighter that was sitting on the table, and started to light 1 of the 3 wicks on the candle.

John says "Oooh, are you lighting that candle to be more romantic?"

Spencer comes back with "No, I'm lighting it to be more pyro-mantic."

That's how it is around here -- pyro-mantic. :)

John Denver Fest

2011-01-28T07:35:00.000-08:00

One of the things I learned at college, during my fantastic sophomore year, was the practice of the John Denver Fest. Some of our friends had this mix of John Denver songs that they had put together and they listened to it when they needed a good, thoughtful moment. Interestingly enough, these friends were 3 boys! So, now, whenever I hear a John Denver song, or think of one, like this morning as I sang Spencer out of bed, I think of those good ol' days at USU.

After I sang Spencer out of bed, I pulled out my John Denver collection and turned it on. Ahhhh. :)

Speaking of sophomore year at USU, last month 5 of us 6 roommates got together for our roommate reunion. We also had one of the John Denver boys and his family come. What a fantastic, wonderful, lovely time! I love these ladies so much, and love that we still try to get together when we can. They meant so much to me during those college years, and made my college days absolutely so much fun! In looking at pictures, I'm not sure how we got any schooling done, we were having so much fun! They are a big reason I am who I am now. It's amazing how the same we can be when now it's so different.
Here we all are with our youngest, except the one who couldn't come because her youngest was too young. :)

Remembering the Challenger shuttle

2011-01-27T21:06:00.000-08:00

I just learned today that the 4th Thursday of January each year is a day to honor the astronauts killed in the Challenger launch January 28, 1986. We spent a few minutes watching videos of the footage.

It was interesting to read the transcript from the Challenger's cabin and I especially enjoyed President Reagan's speech about the event. I think the part about Sir Francis Drake, the great frontiers, the quote "he lived by the sea, died on it and was buried in it" and how Reagan compared the Challenger's astronauts to that, is really, really neat.

Today we learn that bunnies chew through screen

2011-01-27T20:56:00.001-08:00

Last Saturday we got 2 bunnies! Our first animals, and our first pets in a LONG, long time. They're both male, and they're beautifully soft.

In preparation, we converted this old horse feed box into a rabbit hutch. The plan and picture in my mind were much better looking, and much easier to build than the actual ones, but it's still a place for the rabbits to live. And that's the point, right? We ended up using screen from an old screen door instead of chicken wire, because it saved us $14.

The bunnies' names are ChChala, and SpleenMcGasTank. Yeah, fun. At least we didn't end up with Farding, (no offense, Chickens in the Headlights!).

So, the screen. . . today we were sitting at the dining room table eating lunch when Steven says "ChChala is running across the backyard!" Everyone slipped on whatever foot coverings they could find and we ran out back to catch that rabbit! ChChala (we think) had chewed a hold in the bottom corner of the screen and hopped on out. We made some quick repairs, making the hutch more hodge podge than before, cleaned out the hutch, and put those bunnies back in. Good thing it was a sunny day!

Food

2011-01-25T21:10:00.000-08:00

I'm back from a long 2 months of blog-thought. Should I continue? Should I quit? Am I living my life through blog-lenses? Is that bad? The peer pressure of the virtual world, I guess, got to my mind and made me worry. I decided though, after talking to my friend, Mama Hen, to continue. I enjoy it, I enjoy looking back on it, it's a form of personal and family history (I don't do much else in those areas right now), and it let's friends and family know a little bit of what's going on with us. So, thanks Mama Hen!

I've got some fun pics of food to share, ready? It's a bit random, I know.

*Chocolate fountain from Christmas. We first used it on my birthday, and it is a HIT! We love it! My favorite, pretzels.

*Over the Christmas break, we had a lot of company and I had a lot more time. So, my food turned out SO much better than usual! Much better and much more! I'm talking chicken enchiladas, cinnamon rolls. . . These breadsticks were absolutely beautiful. I told my 9 year old niece, "Marri, these are probably the most beautiful breadsticks you'll ever see." She looked at me like I was a little loopy. Ah well!

*My birthday 'cake'. With a birthday 2 days after Christmas, and 5 treat-loving kids, we were SO loaded on sugar that I didn't even want a cake! Instead, I shopped for my favorite veggies, some new delicious dressing (called Green Goddess - so appropriate for my birthday, right?! except the green part!), and put together my birthday relish tray. Did it ever hit the spot! Luckily we followed it up by the chocolate fountain, as to not be too healthy! :)

*Potatoes. What more can I say? It was a great deal, 50 pounds for $15. So, I bought 3. I was sure they'd be fine in our cold storage room, last us all winter, yadda yadda. We finished off one bag and I opened the next to find THIS! This isn't dinner, it's science!

*Eureka! I feel like such a successful mommy when I make bright colored icing. Not sure why, but I do. Steven wanted cupcakes for his FHE treat. He begged to go to the store for sprinkles, but I was exhausted and refused. So, I felt like I needed to pull some trick out of my hat to make his cupcakes exciting. KoolAid in my frosting did the trick. Awesome color, awesome flavor! I win!

Isaac

2010-11-10T08:36:00.001-08:00

I love how he hops on the stool and pushes #2 on the CD player and intently listens to "I'll Follow Him in Faith".

Pulls out the lint tray in the dryer: "Whoa there's a lot we need to clean!" I hand him the garbage and say "Go for it!" He says "I wish we could sleep on this". I say "What?" He says "It's so soft!"

Whoa - I'm all befuddled and things feel so muddled

2010-11-10T07:37:00.000-08:00

Well, at least that was a fun title to type!

I just feel like I have to write some things down. Not for anyone to read or be inspired by, but just to clear them out of my head for a second. Right now, our lives feel so rushed and crazy and volatile. I feel like I'm waiting for balance to set in, and it doesn't! I make decisions and actions that should help the balance come, and it still doesn't. When does it? When does one ever get up early enough, or make a good enough meal, or send the kids to the bus stop not in a rush? When is the planning done and the goals met? When do we see the results; the self-discipline, responsibility, and drive that we are trying to instill in our children? When does the peace and contentment that we seek for our family settle in? It's true, we've been in transition and bits of mental chaos for about 2 years, but now we're here! There are so many things we have to do, so many things we should do, and so many things we'd like to do. When do we let go of the 'have to's' and go have fun with a 'like to'? And, why can't the consequences of that go away instead of lurking around?

Can I be enough? Can I be peaceful and organized and calm enough for this whole group? Can I not worry about the things that don't get done, and enjoy what does? Can I (and should I) let the 12 year old sleep in instead of getting up and getting to work like I envision him doing? Where do I just let go?

Is every house with many kids like this? Maybe this is just how it is and we have to adjust our 'clouds of glory' perception of what we'd like our home to be. Maybe we have much less control than we think. Maybe we'll find the magic potion or consequence or bribe if we just keep trying. But, maybe I don't want to try - maybe I just want everyone to do what they're supposed to and do it well and happily and in time.

So, I don't think that helped me at all. I still feel muddled. I guess I'll go get the 12 year old out of bed and dress the 4 year old and make a dent in the cleaning before I crack the whip on the home schoolers. At least it's Wednesday and we're on the downhill side of the week, right?!

Post 101 - About Babies

2010-10-10T20:35:00.000-07:00

If anyone told me 1 1/2 years ago that I'd have 100+ posts on a blog, I wouldn't have believed them! This is so exciting! And, I'm trying to figure out the technology behind starting another! There'll be more about that when I get it figured out. :)

So, About Babies.

I have always loved babies. I remember hovering around aunts and cousins or YW leaders with new babies, or older babies, even. Following them around, trying to haul them here or there. I remember one of my sweetest victory feelings being when I could get a fussy baby to sleep. I felt like a champion! I remember my mom calling me a Baby Magnet, because I always was just drawn to them. I started babysitting when I was 11, for a family with a baby. They had 2 other kids, and I was sure they adored me like I adored them! Then I had my babies. So fun! We haven't had a new baby in the house for awhile, Isaac will be 4 next week! He still brings lots of joy and smiles, but not the same as a baby apparently!

In the last month, my kids have been around lots of babies. We had the Jensen reunion with new 7 cousins ranging from 1 week to 1 year. A couple of which my kids had never seen. It was great fun for me to watch my babies gravitate to other babies! Especially John and Jared. They hover, they try to entertain and win the baby's attentions. It's not always easy or immediately accepted, but they try and try and try. They love babies!

After the reunion, one of my kids said "It's not fair. All these cute babies around, and none of them are ours." It surprised me that they so badly would want a cute baby around!

Tonight we had some friends over who have a 2 1/2 year old and a 10 month old. They doted on the littlest the entire time, trying and trying to occupy her and make her like them. They kept her safe, got her whatever she asked for, interpreted her signs and sounds, and tried so hard to help her be happy.

It's not often that I see myself in my children, and sometimes when I do, I cringe. :) But, this one makes me proud! I hope they'll keep loving the little people, and that we'll always have a chance to be around lots of little people!

Anniversary Weekend

2010-10-03T19:40:00.001-07:00

One year ago today we left Logan. That was a huge day/event for us. It was a huge day because, besides moving, I spent the morning of the move with Jared at the Instacare testing positive for swine flu. That was fun.

We got loaded up, then Isaac and I left with the movers to Taylorsville while Marion stayed with sick Jared who was napping on the front room floor of the empty, yet still dirty, house. (Thank goodness Grandma Jensen had the other 3!)

And, now, a whole year later, it feels like it's been 4! I keep reminding myself that it's fall and October, and that Christmas and 5/7 of our family's birthdays are right around the corner. My internal clock isn't keeping up with the rest of the world! I also have to think really hard about which direction things are. Now that we've moved south and then north, I get confused!

It's amazing what a year can do - and I'm glad it wasn't more. :) We've learned lots and grown lots, and have come to a very comfortable, happy place.

The next year will be a great one, I'm sure! Can't wait! And, Marion, I PROMISE this birthday will be better than the last! (It couldn't be worse, right?!)

--AND--

Two years ago on this Conference weekend, the idea for TwHistory was born. Way to go husband! Look at all you've done with it since then! You're always an example of thinking outside the box and trying out ideas. Great job!

Family Pictures

2010-09-26T15:46:00.000-07:00

It's fun to see what we can do with a tripod and a timer!

Jensen Reunion 2010

2010-09-26T15:25:00.001-07:00

Last weekend we met the Jensen family at fabulous Earley Park. It was a wonderful time, with the kids just playing and playing and playing and playing! Cousins were there from Arizona, California, Colorado, and Wyoming, as well as here in Utah. Uncle Mike and Aunt Ellen leave on their missions in about 3 weeks, so this was a great last chance to play with them!

Grandma and Grandpa put so much planning and work into making it a wonderful time for everyone! We had Halloween, with costumes and trick-or-treating,
Thanksgiving, with turkey dinner and pie fest,
Christmas,with a tree and gifts, and 4th of July at the Riverside park.
We took family pictures, had a yoga class, went for a 5 mile morning walk, and did lots of visiting. I loved holding all the new babies!

Despite the noise, messes, and chaos, Earley Park is one of my most favorite things! I always come away so, so glad that Marion picked me! That I get to be a part of this big, amazing group of people. It is wonderful!

Earning the 100 Years of Scouting patch - post #3

2010-09-26T15:13:00.001-07:00

Yay! The requirements were all finished, and it was award time! We met at the Adventure Base 100 in Sandy, where the kids got to try a few fun things. It really was an adventure!
This was Jared's first time rock climbing, and he loved it! He made it to the top!
Then we went to a shady spot of grass, had a snack, and awarded the boys their patches. They got to string the ribbons through and hook them onto their shirts.

Although it gets completely crazy when we get these kids together, they are such a great group of boys! I am proud of them!

Moment of gratitude

2010-09-06T20:12:00.000-07:00

Our Labor Day picnic was so fun! Marion fired up his new grill and we had hotdogs and homemade ice-cream. What made it even more fun, was having dessert first, since the grill wasn't put together yet, and eating the dinner at 9pm. In the dark. The chilly dark.

I just thought, once again, how grateful I am for this house and yard. For me, it is like a dream come true to have the space, to watch kids play out back, to eat out on the deck, to have big trees, and to have my family here. It is just absolutely fabulous, and I am so grateful!

14 Years and Counting!

2010-09-05T14:37:00.000-07:00

Tuesday was our 14th Anniversary. I can hardly believe it's been 14 years! It's amazing to look back at all we've done - the accomplishments, the frustrations, the kids, the learning. I think we're in a pretty good place. I'm a lucky woman!

This also means my blog is one year old! Happy Birthday to Cross Your Beavers!

1 Week, 2 Waterparks

2010-09-05T14:30:00.000-07:00

This past week we went to two waterparks! Wednesday, Marion took half the day off and we went to Seven Peaks. Then Saturday, we went to the Payson Aquatic center with Ealey cousins, Aunt Jamie, and Grandpa O. So, so fun!

Below is Spencer, John, and Steven going across this 'lilly pad' thing. It reminded me of Super Mario Bros. or something! The green buoys moved, and it was SO hard to actually get across! Way fun though!

Family running

2010-08-29T16:42:00.001-07:00

Last weekend was the Davis County Fair. Marion and I ran in the 5k, and the kids did the kid races.
Steven stretching out:

Isaac stretching out. He cracked us up with how well he stretched!

Steven running:

Spencer and John running:

Isaac and Jared at the start line:

All 5 finishers:

Huckleberry picking

2010-08-29T16:25:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, at a RS book group, a girl in my new ward said to me, "I've got you pegged. I bet you guys are tree-hugger, outdoorsey people. I'm right, aren't I?!" I was totally baffled! I told her that we really like the IDEA of camping, but not so much the reality, and that we like to sit out on our deck, and that we mow the lawn. Both of those are outdoors, right?!

Her comment made me think. It really depends on your definition of 'outdoorsey'. I mean we don't boat or ski or rock climb. We don't have amazing flower beds or a huge garden. We don't raise animals. But, we do like to go for walks, run, walk/hike in the canyons, throw rocks into lakes, and pick huckleberries! Maybe that counts - maybe we ARE outdoorsey people!

Every year around the 24th of July (this year it was a month later), we get a call from Marion's mom who has talked to Aunt Cathy or Uncle Bill or Randy, who have determined that the huckleberries are ready. Then we take a Saturday, hop in the car and drive up to Idaho. We pass Franklin (where there is now a denture shop - how well will a denture shop do in Franklin?!), go through Preston, then east-ish to Riverdale. Then we turn right and go past Mink Creek, which is such a charming place. Then when we think we've gone too far and that this trip is much farther than last year's trip, we turn right at a campground, turn right onto the dirt road, and go up into the mountains. Then one of us determines that 'this looks like a good spot' and we stop. We hand everyone their Tupperware and climb off the road into the bushes to fill our Tupperwares with teeny tiny huckleberries.

The berry smell, the crackly branches underfoot, the distant voices of some favorite people in the bushes, and the magic of nature make picking huckleberries some of the best hours of the year.

We leave with a small amount of berries compared to the time we've spent, sticky, stained fingers, and dreams of Huckleberry -o-cream pie.

So, are we outdoorsey, or not?!

Mar's 1/2 Mar

2010-08-29T16:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Marion ran his first 1/2 marathon. It was the Top of Utah 1/2, and took him from Blacksmith Fork Canyon to Providence. I'm so proud of him! He has worked so hard and been so dedicated in training! It was great to see him accomplish this!

Here he is coming in for the finish:

I guess the sight of us after running for 13 miles made him smile! That makes me smile!

Spencer had the camera and he got some great shots! I especially like this one, as he runs through the FINISH. I love how it shows his time! Although, he was at the back of the starting pack, so really he gets to deduct 3 minutes off the time in the picture. He did AWESOME!

We're so proud of him! He's come a long way in just a couple of summers!

Running has really inspired me this fall- like bring me to tears inspire. We ran the Davis County Fair 5k last weekend, and I kept tearing up while running! I was just so impressed with the people at all different levels and abilities who were DOING it. They were out there trying and succeeding. At the end, a little family on the sidelines started cheering for their mother who was just ahead of me. That really made me cry, I was just so touched!

Then, yesterday at the 1/2 Marathon, as we walked up to the Finish to wait for Marion, again I was overcome with impressions of how hard each of these people running had worked. How much dedication to this sport they had given and they were accomplishing. A very nice runner who had already finished let us take his spot on the sidelines, and cheered for us because we were there cheering for Dad. He told me 'Good on ya', which cracks me up, but still made me cry! Then, to see Marion advance toward us and cross the finish, was so amazing! I cried again! Yay to everyone who ran, and to everyone who sets a goal, works toward it, and accomplishes! That's what life is about!

We're eating out tonight!

2010-08-16T14:59:00.000-07:00

My picnic table project is finished! And I love it! It only cost $25! (let's not think of the refinishing + umbrella costs!)

I plan to use this set the rest of the summer as much as possible! Lunch, dinner, school work, picnics, everything!

Before:

And after:

Isn't it absolutely fabulous?! I'm so excited!

Isaac's mohawk

2010-08-15T16:33:00.001-07:00

So full of Ideas
Sweet, sweet, sweet
Still little, but kindA big
Always mAking me smile
Cracks me up!

(Notice the poetic-ness of the statements above?)

This is Isaac, straight out of the bath. He's changed his bathtime hairstyle from the Superman to the Mohawk. He's so funny!

Yesterday he got Iron Man shoes that light up. He was SOOO excited and wore them out of the store with the tag flapping. After church today he put them on himself and went into my dark closet to see them light up. He also practiced his running and jumping because he's so much faster now!

This morning, he told me to 'Watch and learn, Mom' as he fiddled on the computer!

And, it's a little bit of a weird thing when you take your 6 year old's pants off of him, put them on the 3 year old, and you're good to go. How can they be the same size? (I did put new pants on Jared.)

Gotta love him!

10 things I loved about Taylorsville

2010-08-15T16:26:00.001-07:00

10 Our mailbox that said "Florez 4925" on it. Caused a lot of confusion!

9 Becoming an experienced SLC driver. Toward the end, it felt great to know my way around!

8 Seeing 3 or more planes in the sky almost anytime and any day.

7 The Celestial feeling in the Celestial room of the Oquirrh Mountain Temple.

6 Jordan Parkway trail.

5 The raspberry bush.

4 Super great people in a super great ward.

3 Being less than an hour away from Mom and Dad in Payson.

2 Homeschooling, scouting, and becoming better friends with the Merchants. I'm sure they moved to SLC just for me.

and, the top thing I loved about T-ville:

1 Marion being able to come home every single night. :) Life's just not as good without the Man around!

Moving on and moving in!

2010-08-15T15:59:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago, we moved on from the Taylorsville-transition. With great excitement and anticipation, we packed everything up and moved to a new home in Farmington. It was lots and lots of work (seemed like more work than any of our other 13 moves), and had it's frustrations, but overall was great! At least we're thrilled with the end result!

I packed up and cleaned out the kids' rooms one by one until they all had to sleep on mattresses in the front room! One huge sleepover! They didn't mind too much though, kinda cozy!

We tried to pack and clean our way through the house so that the big day wouldn't be SO big. This is what the living room looked like the days before the move.

I very carefully planned out the last few days' worth of meals, so we could use up most of our food, have the dishes we needed, but pack what we didn't, etc. So, our final dinner was mashed potatoes and gravy. Once it was ready, I realized all the plates, bowls, etc were packed. So, we all had pots and gravy in paper cups! Maybe a once in a lifetime opportunity!
Spencer left for Scout Camp the Monday morning that we moved. It was a little weird for him to leave one house and come home to another, but he had a super time at Scout Camp.
After the kids had done all the helping we needed :) they got to watch a movie on the laptop in a all-moved-out room.

With about 2/3 of our stuff loaded, the movers informed me that they didn't think it would all fit. Hmmm. That doesn't seem like something you should tell your client on moving day. So, this is a pic of the moving truck and the guys playing Truck Tetris. They took all the big stuff and we had to come back 2-3 times to fill up the van. Thanks to Tim and Jillyn for watching the boys and saving them from the torture of 'just one more trip'!
The front of the new house:

And, the clincher when we were looking at this house, The Backyard. We are in love with our backyard!

Sleeping Boys

2010-07-25T16:06:00.000-07:00

Jinx!

2010-07-17T21:05:00.001-07:00

Our kids have started 'jinx'ing each other. If two people say the same thing at the same time, they yell "One, two, three, JINX, you owe me a soda!" It's been pretty funny to watch, because often they jinx their jinx. It's gotten so complicated that now they skip the numbers and the soda parts, and just say jinx. Usually that happens at the same time as the other person, so they move on to Double Jinx. My favorite is when Jared and Steven get going, grinning at each other,
"Jinx!
Double Jinx!
Tripe Jinx!
Quadruple Jinx!
Quintuple Jinx!
Hexa Jinx!
Infinity Jinx!" (They have to move right up to infinity, because they can't figure out what 6 should be!)

Tonight, I was putting Isaac to bed. I suggested I sing him a Primary song. He suggested we sing his favorite, "I Have A Family Here on Earth", together. I said OK. We start singing together, and Isaac sings the first line like this:
"I have a family here on earth, jinx".
Cracked me up! But on we go. la, la, la, la
"Families can be together forever, through Heavenly *jinx* Father's plan" la, la, la. What a silly boy!

It always surprises me a little when he slips in clever things! He's so cute!

Family Reunion

2010-07-15T20:54:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was our Roy B. and Ileen Olsen family reunion. It was a fantastic weekend!
-We had dinner at Firehouse Pizza with Allen, Logan, Landon, Jamie, John and Grandma and Grandpa Olsen. Soo delicious! We missed Alisha though!
-We stayed in the Spring Hill Marriott in Logan, which was soooo beautiful and nice!
-We enjoyed swimming in the hotel pool, as well as their delicious breakfast. 2 priorities for us in a hotel!
-Funny breakfast story: We were mostly finished eating. Rodger and Michelle came down with their 3 girls, one of which is just 3 months old. I went to Rodger, and took the baby so he could help the other girls get their food. When I brought the baby back to the table, John says to me "Mom, you can't just go around taking random babies!" He didn't realize the baby was his cousin and I had every right to take her! Soooo funny!
-We had 4 successful dentist appointments without one single cavity! Also so great to see our friend, the dentist, Dr. May.
-We had such a great time at the Olsen reunion in Millville! Fun, fun water activities, super food, and such amazing, great people. They always inspire me!
-We took a Dallas and Janis Olsen family photo. Turned out cute! Again, great, amazing, inspiring people!

-I went to a cousin's bridal shower - super fun, congratulations, Kayla!
-We went out to eat at El Parrall, in Tremonton, with the Jensen's; Lacey, Ellen, Joe, Tesha, Robin, Eleanor, Chris and Colleen. I learned not to order the ham and cheese sandwich, and the fries aren't that great. When in a Mexican restaurant, eat Mexican.
-We had fun visiting at Jensen's and the kids had fun playing with AZ and UT cousins.
-After all that fun, I even got a nice Sunday nap!

Lucky us!

2010-07-15T20:43:00.000-07:00

From the store, raspberries, fresh or frozen are pretty pricey. Last year we got a lot from the American West Heritage Center and their fabulous raspberry patch as well as from Marion's Uncle Marc and his fabulous raspberry patch. Marion made jam. He even did a batch of raspberry jalapeno! He got to eat that all himself!

This year, our house in Taylorsville has a big, crazy raspberry patch. Apparently it spread under the fence from the next door neighbors who planted raspberries. Strangely though, our patch is about 8X5 feet, maybe 200 stalks. There's looks to be about 20 stalks. It looks like ignoring the patch has had better results in this case. :)

This month, the berries have come. I love to go out and pick. It's so fun to search and find the big, beautifully red berries! The stalks are thornless, which means I can just make my way right into the heart of the bush searching for the red treasures.

I especially love to pick with Jared. He's my most dedicated picker. Tonight he says "I wish I liked to eat raspberries. I like the jam, but not the berries." He was also getting philosophical about how all raspberries are red when they are ripe, and all strawberries are too. If you think that's deep, hang on! His big question for the evening was whether I would like to be a raspberry bush or a tennis ball for Stormy (my sister's black lab- picture of Stormy in the Family Reunion post). It was cracking me up as we weighed the pros and cons!

There's just something so fulfilling about nature, fruit, things growing, and the possibilities they provide. There's also something fulfilling about having a husband who makes great raspberry jam!

Earning the 100 Years of Scouting patch - post #2

2010-07-04T18:51:00.000-07:00

Yeah for cute boys who will do service projects! We had the boys do some landscaping/maintenance at the Golden Living center here in Taylorsville. They swept gutters, sidewalks and patios, planted flowers, picked up trash, weeded a garden, and straightened up chairs. They worked really well!

My #4 turns 6!

2010-06-27T21:01:00.000-07:00

I don't know why it is, when my other boys have a birthday they turn a year older and I'm ok with it. But, every time Jared has a birthday, and I realize what number he now is, I'm in shock! How can he be 6?!? Maybe it's because he's a little short and skinny, or maybe my tired mind just can't keep up! He sure is a sweet boy though, we love him so much! He has a smile and laugh that are so adorable, he's a great helper, he's a great learner, he's just plain a delight!

Superman!

2010-06-27T20:58:00.001-07:00

Isaac's latest funny thing is to make his hair look like 'Superman' every time he gets out of the bath. He usually does this by dipping his forehead in the bath water, and raising his head up slowly. If I mess it up by drying his hair with the towel, he makes me recomb it to the Superman look. After I comb it, he always checks in the mirror to make sure I've done it right. He is such a cutie lately!

Taylorsville Dayzz

2010-06-27T20:45:00.000-07:00

You've got to love hometown celebrations!

This weekend is Taylorsville Dayzz, and although we've just lived here 9 months, and plan to live here only about 1 more, I feel a sense of hometown pride! So, we went to the parade. It was great!

A couple of highlights and funny kid remarks:

-the Daughters of Job entry came by. They had a llama at the end. A macaw was riding the llama. John says "It's not every day that you see a parrot riding a llama!"

-a local golf store came by and threw golf tees out to the crowd. My child, obviously not growing up in a golfing family, picks up the huge orange tee, looks at it curiously, and then excitedly says "A nail! They threw us a nail!"

-John, always proper and cautious about propriety, hides his face behind his candy bag everytime a princess float passes by!

- the CostCo entry is the next one coming. The kids look to see what they're throwing. "Soccer balls" someone says. CostCo truck comes closer and throws. . . a lovely roll of toilet paper!

- have you ever seen a 3 wheeled unicycle? Is it a tricycle? AMAZING!

Kids are so funny! It's so fun for me to go to stuff like that with them! I love a parade!

Old Barn Theatre

2010-06-27T20:37:00.000-07:00

Every time I walk into the Old Barn Theatre in Collinston, I wonder why people pay to go to shows there! I wonder when the building's going to fall down, and how they attract performers and audiences to this little, very used theatre. Then the show begins, and I become entranced, and can't wait to come again! I even spend money on their highly over-priced candy, in a meager effort to support them!

Last week we took the kids to 'The Music Man' there at the Old Barn. We watched Grandpa Jensen, Uncle Mike, Aunt Ellen, Cousin Josh, and Uncle Marc in a super performance of the well-known story. It was so well done and so fun! With every show I've seen there, I've been so impressed with the simplicity and ingenuity of the scenery and costuming. (To them it's probably not simple!) It is also so fun to see a show 'in the round', meaning there is no back to the stage. There are audience members all around the stage floor.

So, if you're in the area and are interested in a good show, go see what the Old Barn has playing. If you're like me, you'll be doubtful but quickly change your mind!

Phew!

2010-06-12T19:45:00.000-07:00

I spent a wonderful day at the UHEA convention. Homeschool convention, basically. I learned so many new things, was so inspired by different presenters, loved catching up with an old friend, loved spending time with another friend, and spent a sufficient amount of money on great new school stuff!

Spencer came along for the teen presentations. He went to totally different classes than me, but seemed to enjoy all but the last. :) He's inspired to tutor people in fields he enjoys, just has to get it set up in a workable way. It was great to spend time with just him today.

So, my question. Why is it that when I return home to the darlings who make oh so much noise, that all my inspiration for projects and ideas, that earlier I was sure would work and make our lives more fabulous, gets tangled in my brain and I can't see it working anymore?! What a learning experience life is!

For anyone interested in homeschool, how children work, or learn, or just good ideas, I highly recommend the UHEA convention. It does make for a long day though!

Earning the 100 Years of Scouting patch - post #1

2010-06-09T21:40:00.000-07:00

I had to make it post #1, because I'm so excited about this and I know there will be more posts!

This year is the 100th year of scouting in the U.S. They have a special award that Cubs or Boy Scouts can earn, obviously, only this year! Our ward scouts were not going to be able to do it, so I talked 2 of my most wonderful friends into doing it with me! Between us we have 13 kids, 11 of them boys, and 8 of those boys are scouts. We have 3 Boy Scouts, and 5 Cubs.

This morning, my friend called wondering what we could do for an outdoor conservation project. We talked about some options, and decided to try volunteering to fill sandbags for the flooding in Murray. Everything fell right into place, and we went!

The boys worked and worked and worked until the piles of sand were gone. They did great! Even the littlest were shoveling until the end. It went pretty fast once the Herriman football team got there! :)

Once the sand was gone, we waited for the delivery of pallets to stack the bags on and enjoyed lunch and snacks and drinks from the Salvation Army, which was wonderful! (Two of my boys had their first Coca-Colas, but that's another story!) Once the pallets arrived, we loaded the stacks of bags onto them. Once again, with a football team on our side, it went really fast!

It was so great! I love to volunteer and help out in the community, and this event served so many purposes for us! When we got home, we showed the boys the news reports about the flooding and how the sandbags were and would be used. It was a good project because it was 1)simple enough for them all to succeed, 2)hard work 3)had immediate relevance. They could see what their work was for.

All day I've been thinking about it, and thankful for the opportunity to help out and to share it with my boys and my great friends! Press the play arrow to see some of the fun!

Epitome of childhood

2010-06-01T12:33:00.001-07:00

My brother David took this picture. I think it's perfect!

Lessons from Veggie Tales

2010-06-01T12:27:00.000-07:00

We're driving across town listening to super cute Veggie Tales songs on a CD. Isaac leans over to Steven and says: Vegetables don't say Amen (aymen). They say Amen (ahmen). Steven laughs and responds: Vegetables don't talk!

Then on the way home, Spencer says: I can't stand this music! It's making me so hungry! I said: Why? He says: It's all vegetables!

We LOVE science!

2010-05-30T20:38:00.001-07:00

This was our final day of 'plants biology' at the park. Perfect weather, fun fun friends, great treats, and to top it all off, a snake!!! I told him not to pick it up, and when he did, I told him to put it back. Did he listen?! Not at all, and it was probably the highlight of the day!

Salt Lake Bees game

2010-05-30T20:12:00.001-07:00

Once again, thanks to Washington Online School of Utah (our online homeschool), we had a fabulous time together at a fun place! Last night we got to watch the Salt Lake Bees take on the Fresno somethings (maybe gators?). We were clear out past the 3rd base, but it was great! We got free Bees hats! The kids even got Bumble, the mascot, to sign theirs!
The little boys got to ride the train before the game
, and they loved rolling down the hill while they waited in line. We cheered and ate and visited with friends. It was great! And, to top it all off, every person got a free loaf of bread when they left! Have you ever seen two hundred people clamoring for their free bread, then walking down the street with their prize?! Hilarious!! And this is how the night ended.
Oh yeah, the Bees won!

Term of Endearment

2010-05-30T20:10:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, my husband called me 'Sistah'. Like a gangster. I know, I know, true love.

Symbiotic relationship

2010-05-20T06:37:00.000-07:00

We've been looking for a house to buy. It seems like the next move for us. And hopefully the last. :) We've driven by about 30, walked through about 10, and settled on 2.

Last night we looked through the 2 again. After, we drove home talking about the pros and cons of these 2 homes, trying to decide which one was our best option. Which one we would like to take care of, which one would take care of us best, which one we'd get the most from, which one we'd like to invest our time, money and efforts into.

Somehow, this term from science class came to my mind this morning, and it was correct! When I looked it up on Wikipedia, it said "Symbiotic relationships include those associations. . . where one partner (organism) lives inside the other. Symbiotic relationships may be either obligate, i.e., necessary for the survival of at least one of the organisms involved, or facultative, where the relationship is beneficial but not essential for survival of the organisms."

It made me smile. Look how naturally scientific we're being!

Another post on Isaac's spelling

2010-05-13T07:04:00.000-07:00

When I got out of the shower this morning, Isaac was outside the door waiting for me. First thing he says: Mom, 'John' should be J-O-N -- "j/o/n".
I said: You're right! But there's an H, isn't there?
Isaac: Yeah.
Me: It's a silent h.
Isaac: That's weird.

Mother's Day 2010

2010-05-10T21:16:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day was fun for me! We had great speakers in church, our Primary class went great, and I got favorite foods for dinner. Not to mention presents! And cards! And a nap!

But, my favorite experience of the day was going to my Grandma Greengo's gravesite. I hadn't been there for more than 13 years, and wanted to share the experience with my kids. I wish the kids and Marion could have known her. Mother's Day was a perfect day and a perfect reason to go. We found out that the cemetary isn't far from our home, and we found the site easily. It was fun to tell the boys about my grandma, whom they know only from pictures and stories. We took her some flowers in colors that remind me of her.

As everyone was leaving, Isaac started climbing a little on the stone. After all, it has a hole in the center, and looks like a slide, just begging kids to climb on it! He wasn't rowdy, just curious. I started to get after him, then felt that I didn't need to worry about it, that Grandma would love him and even enjoy him climbing on her headstone. It was a beautiful moment.

Duck Pond

2010-05-10T21:04:00.001-07:00

When I got my hair cut 2 months ago, I asked the girl, a native of Taylorsville, what great spots there were around for family fun. She told me a few, including the 'Duck Pond'. She said it was so fun to go feed the ducks and told me where the pond was. We waited and waited for some good weather, and a good supply of dry bread before we went.

Now, I haven't been to a whole lot of duck ponds, Salem Pond, First Dam, and the park in Layton, but this was not what I expected! We drove past this fenced canal with water in it and lots of ducks, figuring the actual pond must be nearby. We passed it, drove around the block, and finding nothing else, had to assume that THIS was the duck pond she had been talking about!

So, we stood behind the fence and threw all our dried bread out to the hungry ducks, seagulls, geese, pigeons, and tried to hit the goat on the other side. What an experience! Is this what city folk call a duck pond?!

Our favorite place. . .

2010-05-10T20:55:00.000-07:00

is Malta, Idaho! Many people don't know of this tranquil little destination, and we wouldn't either except for a couple special sugar beet farmers. And, if they weren't there, it probably wouldn't be a favorite!

We enjoyed an overnight stay (or invasion) at the Harper's, taking in all their projects, ideas, and fun!

My favorite things about the trip:
- Dominion
- hearing Marion speak at the Malta school (the kids played on the playground for a bit)
- talking and talking and talking with Tayna
- the great idea of kids having only 1 pair of pjs!!! (it's working!)
- the way to make thicker syrup
- the boys and Heidi making stronger friendships
- sleeping the entire 3 hours there
and perhaps the best
- Jared asking Grandma Susie to pull out his first loose tooth and getting a dollar because he let her!

Thanks so much guys! What a great time!