Another Monster Update

I am sure that readers will be glad that the disgusting ramen noodle on my wall will no longer be visible...I know that I was getting sick of looking at it over and over again everytime I would come to my blog. Buckle in for the ride!!!

SOOO, here is an update on the Jensen family's comings and goings. We've had a great couple of months. Halloween was fun.. (yeah, it's been that long since I've blogged!) Spence was a brain donor. Note to self: when using a cauliflower in a jar with water as a brain, DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT forget it in your kid's bag. It will stink to high heaven when finally discovered and discarded and you won't be able to eat cauliflower for a good couple of months afterwards. Molly was a sweet little witch, Brigham was an astronaut with his official NASA jumpsuit purchased at the National Air and Space Museum on our trip to DC, and Jake was a pretty fierce lion. We had a great holiday season. Thanksgiving was spent in Boise at my sister's house. We had a delicious meal and lots of fun conversation! Here is Nan and I with our boys..Chad, Spence and Brigham

There were attempts to make ginger bread houses.....we'll just leave it at that.

Jake chillin' like a villan at grandma and grandpa's!!We had our family pics (seen above and to the right of the kids) taken by a great friend of mine that weekend. It was FREEZING...but she did a great job and was FAST! See more of her work at http://www.heidisimmonsphotography.com/. She lives in the Lewiston area if anyone is in need of a great photographer. Thanks Heidi!!

Jakie Bug turned one on Dec. 9th. I win mom of the year for not having cute birthday cake pics. Jake was sick and we didn't really have a huge celebration for him. Whew--glad we got through that year and on with the next!!! He is such a cutie. He is starting to be less and less high maintenance (knock on wood right now!). He loves playing peek a boo and his siblings keep him laughing!!

INTERMISSION--look who we found in our backyard....yup, Mr. Moose decided to pay us a visit. I am amazed at all the deer we find as well this winter. It isn't uncommon for us to watch them eat our trees or lay around in our backyard. The kids love it....me too!

Christmas came so quickly this year!! We had lots of snow to enjoy of course. Here are a few pics of Christmas Eve, before Christmas morning and during and after.

Brigham opening his Christmas jammies....he does have shorts on, I promise! He just looks nakie. We laughed so hard at this pic!New jammies for all!Santa left us plenty of loot.

Spence and Brigham with their new remote control helicopters (which Jake is terrified of, by the way!)Molly helping Jake with his presents..too cute. We had a lazy day and just enjoyed being together!!

Next was Molly's 8th Birthday. Can't believe this girl is 8. She is such a joy to our family. She is such a great helper and is always willing to do anything for her mom!! She loves anything sparkly, hanging out with friends and reading (i love it when i find her upstairs reading on her bed). Our family wouldn't be the same without our Molly Moo!

We had to have her birthday party at the church....everyone else had the sickies!! She had all her fun friends over to decorate cupcakes, play games, dance and be silly!! Aren't they all so stinkin' cute???!!

My mom and dad got to be here for Molly's baptism. We are so lucky to have them make such great efforts to be with our family. We love them so much!! We took a trip to Logan to find Molly a baptism dress. We found the perfect one....she is a beauty!! We are so proud of her for making the choice to be baptized and become a member of the church. She is such a special girl!

Now it is February and we are all just trying to trudge through till our beautiful Bear Lake Spring arrives (oh, will it ever arrive????). Sometimes I wish I were a bear and could just stuff my face and then sleep till all the snow melts away...wouldn't that be awesome? Anyway, hopefully it won't be another several months till I post again!

What the?

Yup. Found this Ramen noodle stuck to my wall. It wasn't in the kitchen where Ramen noodles are usually found. It was in the living room by the piano. Gotta love it. I think I'll keep it there awhile to remind me of all the fun I'm missing without my kids running amuck (is that a real word?).

Where have YOU found food mysteriously appear?

School Days 2010

It's here again! School has begun. Early bedtimes, early mornings, quiet house. Hallelujah.

Spence is a big 5th grader this year. He has Mrs. Brooks and is already loving it!

Molly Moo is in 2nd grade with Mrs. Harris. She loves to read and is doing well also. She comes home all bubbly and talkitive about the friends at school and jumpropes and projects...I love it.

Now Brigham--He is off to preshool in Paris. It is actually really lonely without my little guy. He gets to catch the bus at 7:20am and comes home at 12:20pm. It is a long morning for him! I miss our conversations and his sweet voice following me around the house! He will have a great time learning all the things a 4 year old should know!!Jake and me are having some quality alone time. He is now 9 months old and is so stinkin' cute. How can you not love that face?! We are thinking that teeth are just around the corner (thank you sleepless nights and cranky days). I'm hoping those little buggers pop up any day. He is loving his new high chair--I love being able to have my hands free to do dishes, sweep, or just dance for cryin' out loud!

Welcome Fall!

Our Ah-mazing Trip

Let's face it, anytime Bill and I can get away together is heaven. We were so lucky to be able to take a trip back east to Washington DC in August. My parents have pretty much earned sainthood by watching our 4 little munchkins (yes, Jake was left behind too). We had such a great time. Here are some of my favorite (or crazy) things from our trip.

1-I started and FINISHED a book while away. It wasn't even a spiritual book, just one for fun.

2-Paying a shuttle driver $80 to get to my hotel. Okay, to pretty much get anywhere about broke ya, but it was worth it.

3-Sleeping in.

4-Shopping in Georgetown and making it there safely by myself. I had to take a cab and figure out the metro alone. I am such a city girl now.

5-Sight-seeing at warp speed. There is sooo many things to see, there isn't enough time to do it all. We did a pretty good job mapping things out and getting to where we really wanted to go.

6-Paying like $5 for a pack of peanut M&Ms.

7-Spending time with family. We have two neices Kimi, Annie and a nephew Corb, who just happen to be back in Virgina. We got to see them all and had a great time visiting and eating some yummy food--thanks Kimmers.

8-Fireflys

9-Our shuttle driver to our hotel in the hood...he does karaoke and eats hot wings every friday night with his wife. man, this guy was hilarious.

10-Almost having to stay an extra night because our flight was delayed. After 5 days, I was actually ready to see my kiddos (something I never thought possible). The thought of being away one more night was pretty much unbearable. Long story short..by some small miracle we made it home after spending 7 hours in the DC airport. Success!

Here's some pics!

Where to Start??!!

Alright, let's get caught up here! I sound like a broken record...here is another monster post. Summer flew by. It always does (except for about the last 3 weeks when you are hopelessly waiting for school to start and a routine to begin because your chickens are driving you crazy-whew). We had a great time just chillin', going to the lake, doing some backyard camping (i'm not ready to rough it with a bebe in tow!)

I'll just post some highlights--enjoy!

Bill and Spence took a hike into Lake Alice in Wyoming. They went with our good friends and had a blast!

This is what I found one afternoon when I put Molly in charge of watching Jake. Nice eh?

Dr. Campbell's office always is in the 4th of July parade in Paris. The kids love to ride along! We won't post pics of the beauty queen that Bill dressed up as...it was hilarious, but a bit disturbing. We'll leave it at that.

One of the great things about living in this valley is the lake. The kids can seriously spend hours digging and building and soaking. the best thing to bring to the lake is a shovel, FYI. We didn't make it out as much this year, but when we did, it was always a great time!

The kids got bored one afternoon and decided to play "beauty parlor". Mmmmm, whose idea was this Molly? Here are the boys and their awesome mohawks! Spence is looking waaay too old in the pic!Bill built a firepit in the backyard. I was a little hesitant, but it has been a blast!! He did a great job. We spent many nights out by the fire roasting marshmellows for smores. Bill is also perfecting the art of dutch oven cooking....yup, great idea to build a firepit.

Summer wouldn't be complete without a trip to Oakley, ID. I have so many fun memories as a kid of trips to grandma Dayley's house. My kids love it there as well. It's such a sweet, quiet place to be. They love to explore, eat fresh veggies from the garden, send sticks down the irragation canal and swing on the big swingset. It's heaven. That was our family summer in a nutshell! Loved having the kids around (most of the time!). I can slowly see them all growing up too fast! They are such a joy!

My Handyman

I have a wonderful husband, in case you didn't know. He is smart, generous, caring, romantic, makes me laugh, is an amazing dad, rocks the triathlons, the list goes on and on. There is one thing that I can now add to that list---he's handy!

These are a few of the home improvement projects he's done to our home. Who knew he could build!

He built a corner shelf for our blu-ray, satellite thingy and stereo, along with hanging our crazy tv (anyone is welcome to come over for movie nights, we don't need to go to the theatre anymore!)

This is my favorite--a new bar in the kitchen. We don't have a whole lotta space for a table in our kitchen, so he built the bar. It looks amazing and gives us so much more room. It really adds alot to our home!

There are also some others that I don't have pics of....new shelves in the pantry (a HUGE improvement!!) and a back porch awning (i don't know how to spell it) that protects it nicely from the multiple feet of snow and ice that build up there ever winter.

You are the best handyman a girl can ask for!

Jacob!

Our little guy just recently hit 4 months. Man, time is flying by! He's growing so big and getting so fun. The kids LOVE the little guy and really can't get enough snuggles and loves from him. He weighed in at 14 lbs 3 ounces. I love his round little face and body...so yummy! Here are a few recent pics of him!

Cute Cow socks from Aunt Nan--notice the little tail on the heel. He has a pair of duck ones too. SO cute!

We love you Jakie Bug!