My baby isn't a baby anymore......

I think as parents we all have those moments where we look at our children and wonder how they ever got so big. Last Friday I had one of these moments as I had the opportunity to have some "one on one" time with my oldest child Landon. Landon is eight years old and has been snow skiing for four years. Although I ski a little I haven't ever gone skiing with Landon. For one reason or another I've stayed home with the little ones and dad would be the one on the slopes with the older ones. Friday was the first day of Christmas vacation for Landon and Dayton so I took the opportunity to go with Landon to the slopes. We had such a wonderful time together talking about all the important issues in an eight year olds life. We arrived at Eldora ski resort where Landon proceeded to get all his gear on by himself and show me where to go to get on the correct lift. When did he learn how to buckle his boots and snap into his skiis by himself? Where was I when he learned how to coast up to the ski chair and hop on board as if he had done this a million times? Why wasn't he looking to me for help with all these tasks? It seemed that I was skiing with a friend instead of teaching and taking care of all the things that you have to do when you are with your "little ones". I was amazed at Landon and what an awesome skiier he is. Partly because he is my son and I'm a bit prejudiced and partly because I still think of him sometimes as my little guy that I need to help even if he doesn't need my help. On our first run down the mountain I told Landon to go first and I would ski behind him. He kept stopping and looking back at me and I would encourage him to go ahead and I would ski right behind him all the way down. After the first run he didn't look back for me anymore and would just ski down with me directly behind him. On the way home he asked me why I always told him to ski in front of me. I told him that I wanted to ski behind him in case an out of control skiier came flying down the mountain than I could protect him from being hit. That the skiier would either hit me or I could grab Landon in time to get out of the way. It seemed completely logical to me. Landon told me that when he goes skiing with dad that he always skiis behind him. He told me that when they get off the lift dad says "Follow me" and a way they go. I guess that explains why Landon kept looking back on our first run. I don't know if this is the difference between a mom and a dad but in a way it made me laugh to realize that even though Landon didn't need my help or my protection that old habits die hard. I guess no matter how old our children get in some ways they will always be our babies.

Landon's Holiday Piano Recital

Please pause my music before playing this video. We are so proud of Landon, it is a pleasure to be his mom!

Nightmare

Last night in the middle of the night we awoke to Reece yelling and crying. Travis ran in his room and asked him what was wrong.

Reece -- "I had a bad dream"
Daddy -- "It's okay, I'm here"

Reece cried some more while dad comforted him.

Daddy -- "What was your dream about?"
Reece -- "Mom made a bunch of cookies and Dayton ate them all and I didn't get any"
Daddy -- "...ughhh...okay, go to sleep now"

SPOILED ROTTEN

So today I went to lunch with one of my friends. I left Sadie and Reece at home with Travis. I was gone for a couple of hours, maybe 12:30-2:30pm. At around 4:30 Travis says to me. "I'm starving, nobody made me lunch and there wasn't anywhere to buy it from". I seriously didn't even feel bad, not even a little.

Happy Birthday Hot Stuff!

Well, it is true that the love of my life has added another year and is now the magical age of 33! In honor of this, I dedicate this blog to you Travis with 33 things about Travis

1. Travis is my best friend

2. Travis is a writer and a poet.

3. Travis is a proud lifetime member of the NRA

4. Works harder than anyone I've ever known

5. Loves sushi

6. Great snow skiier

7. Helps others to be better people

8. Compassionate

9. Loves the outdoors, hiking, fishing, hunting

10. Selfless, always giving to his family

11. Still makes me laugh after more than 10 years

12. Always tries to kiss me when I'm yawning which drives me crazy!

13. My greatest defender

14. Master plumber

15. Appreciates good literature

16. Likes scary movies

17. Positive person (one of those "cup half full" people)

18. Determined and motivated to achieve his goals

19. Supportive of all I choose to undertake or choose to not undertake

20. Travis loves being active with his family rather than wathing TV

21. Electronics whizz, taking care of all my ipod, cell phone, and computer needs

22. Likes to Mountain biking

23. Travis likes to torture me with weird facial hair (when he is shaving, sometimes he keeps a ugly mustache for a few hours or some other weird looking thing on his face and I hate it!, Eventually he will shave it before going out in public.)

24. A great father, tells his kids stories every night before bed whether he is traveling or home

25. He is a runner and often takes the kids with him. They ride their bikes and he runs.

26. He can do more pull-ups than any hot shot at the gym

27. He honors his priesthood and uses it to bless our family and others

28. Makes slingshots for the boys and carries one himself when were out walking...he can hit anything with it

29. Travis can fix everything. Whenever something breaks the kids say "Dad will fix it"

30. Travis also teaches his kids how to fix everything so when he is gone, Landon and Dayton take care of stuff.

31. The boys love that he plays and teaches them sports

32. Travis is the best primary teacher (Landon submitted this one :)

33. Most of all, Travis is loved very much by his family and we couldn't live without you!

Happy Birthday!

Kaylee Ann Jensen

Last Tuesday November 11th marked the four year anniversary that I gave birth to our heaven bound little girl. Sometimes it seems like yesterday that we were holding her in our arms and at the same time we have been so blessed with many things since her passing. For the last few weeks I've been experiencing many emotions anticipating this date that marked a mortal experience that didn't just "influence" my life but rather "changed" my life. "I know that my Reedemer Lives. What comfort this sweet sentence gives! He lives, he lives, who once was dead. He lives, my ever living head." In Job 14:14 we read "If a man die, shall he live again?" Job answers his own question in chapter 19:25-26 "For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God". I have been taught my entire life about the Plan of Salvation and yet sometimes the only way we can truly learn is by experience. Isn't that the reason we are all here? If we turn to the scriptures we can find answers to our questions. Four years ago I needed to know, not just have faith or hope, that I would be with my daughter again. In the bible, specifically John 20 we learn about the first resurrected person, our Savior Jesus Christ. Mary Magdelene has gone to the tomb and found it empty... Verses 12-17 "And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him. And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? Whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say Master." In the Book of Mormon we have another account of people seeing the resurrected Savior. In 3 Nephi 17 we learn about Jesus visiting the Nephites who lived on the American Hemisphere. 3 Nephi 17:25 "And the multitude did see and hear and bear record; and they know that their record is true for they all of them did see and hear, every man for himself; and they were in number about two thousand and five hundred souls; and they did consist of men, women, and children." In this dispensation their have been new witnesses to the resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ. In the spring of 1820 a young Joseph Smith adds his witness of seeing God the Father and his son Jesus Christ while in the Sacred Grove. Later, Joseph sees the Savior again along with Oliver Cowdery in the Kirtland Temple. D&C 110:2-4 "We saw the Lord standing upon the breastwork of the pulpit, before us;...His eyes were as a flame of fire; the hair of his head was white like the pure snow; his countenance shone above the brightness of the sun; and his voice was as the sound of the rushing of great waters, even the voice of Jehovah saying: I am the first and the last; I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain; I am your advocate with the Father". In 3 Nephi 23:9-10 we learn about the Saviors postmortal ministry. In modern day revelation, President Joseph F. Smith gives us more knowledge about the spirit world and life after death. His Vision of the Redemption of the Dead answers the question of what happens to a person once he dies? "Gathered together in one place an innumerable company of the spirits of the just, who had been faithful in the testimony of Jesus while they lived in mortality; And had ...suffered tribulation in their Redeemer's name. All these had departed the mortal life, firm in the hope of a glorious resurrection... They were filled with joy and gladness, and were rejoicing together because the day of their deliverance was at hand. They were assembled awaiting the advent of the Son of God into the spirit world, to declare their redemption from the bands of death... While this vast multitude waited and conversed, rejoicing in the hour of their deliverance from the chains of death, the Son of God appeared, declaring liberty to the captives who had been faithful; And there he preached to them the everlasting gospel, the doctrine of the resurrection and the redemption of mankind from the fall, and from the individual sins on condition of repentance... And the saints rejoiced in their redemption, and bowed the knee and acknowledged the Son of God as their Redeemer and Deliverer from death and the chains of hell. Their countenances shone, and the radiance from the presence of the Lord rested upon them, and they sang praises unto his holy name". As I was mourning the loss of our baby I studied the scriptures to find understanding. I read example after example of "life after death", the scriptures are full of stories of our resurrected Savior and "eternal life" but somehow I still struggled. One night while reading in D&C 6:23 in a revelation given to Joseph Smith, the Lord is speaking to Oliver Cowdery when The Lord answers Oliver's questioning by saying: "Did I not speak peace to your mind concerning the matter? What greater witness can you have than from God?" I knew that this was also my answer. Through prayer my Heavenly Father had already let me know that everything was "okay." This is the greatest witness we can obtain about the truth of not only life after this life but any question we might have. We do not have to rely on "experts", "scholars", or other witnesses, we only have to rely on the Lord. Christ taught, "I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live." When our little girl was born we did not give her a name. We prayed about it and felt like we didn't need to. Over the last several months I have felt like I wanted to give her a name. Travis has shared this feeling. We have decided to name her Kaylee Ann Jensen. She shares her middle name with her little sister Sadie. We have many friends who have lost babies prematurely as we did and many who have lost children after their life was cut short for other reasons. We all have had experiences in our lives where we need to rely on the Lord, my hope is that we remember to do that. I know that we will be with our daughter as well as others who have gone before us. We love you Kaylee Ann, you are such a special part of our family and will always be with us.

Small Town Living

Since we moved to Erie a little more than a year ago I've complained (a little) about how small it is here. I didn't realize I was more of a "city" girl. As I was reading our newspaper tonight I was reading the part about the recent "police activity" and this is what it said:

On Sunday November 2, an Erie police officer responded to a 911 hang-up call from the 1800 block of Alpine Drive, The officer contacted a 5-year-old male who was playing with the telephone.

HA HA HA...I had to laugh because that was the only thing listed in the paper....too funny. Plus I know a bunch of people on Alpine Drive so fess up if it was your 5-year-old male!

Date Day with Reece at the Children's Museum

Reece, Sadie and I had a day date together at the Children's Museum in Denver. It is super fun for toddlers and younger children. If your in the Denver area and have toddlers I would recommend going if you haven't already. It was about $15 dollars for both Reece and myself and Sadie was free. They have a little cafeteria but I will pack a lunch next time because it's a rip off-- $2.50 for 1/2 a pb & J? Lamo! Here are some things we did.

They have a miniature basketball court complete with jerseys. Reece being a sport nut loved it.

In one area of the museum they have these miniature houses with all the miniature stuff to go along with it. This is in the "house" where kids can "play house" and put dolls in this little bed. I couldn't help myself, I put Sadie in the bed and took a picture. There was a little girl there that was really annoyed that I moved her doll. (Too bad kid, this is a photo op) I quickly put her doll back and restored order when I was done.

Reece thought I needed a picture of him in the bed too. (Yes, the little girl was annoyed by this as well, I told her "we need to share" I guess that's better than pushing her out of the way right? Ha ha, totally kidding...a little)

Here is Reecer dressed up as a bunny exploring the underground animal exhibit. Kids could dress up as bunnies, a mouse, a worm, and a few other animals that head underground.

Next was a trip to the grocery store. The plastic fruit doesn't taste that good. (I wonder how many kids have done what Reece is doing--can we say germarrific?)

Picasso at work!

Reece hopping on the giant foot in the Lily Pad area!

One boppy wasn't enough to help Sadie sit up so we used two. I have to comment on her hat..my neighbor Michelle made about 10 hats for Sadie, all different sizes and designs...she is so nice!

I think Reece's favorite part of the museum is the full sized fire engine that they can climb in and push buttons to turn on the lights and pretend to drive and rescue people. He was so excited when he saw this he started running around saying "I need my hat, I need my hat" and ran right by the hats about 4 times til I finally grabbed him and helped him get his fire hat and jacket on. He had a blast. We spent about 4 HOURS there, which any mom with a toddler knows is a super long time. It was great and I need to do things like that for him more often.

Ra Ra ra ra ra Ra Ra ra ra ra Gooooo Cougars!

Our family was fortunate to be some of the recipients of "free tickets" to the BYU/CSU game. Our good friends Bishop Mike Alletto and Ann have a son who is a lineman for the Cougars and he was able to get us some great seats to the Saturday game out here in Colorado. It was so fun to watch the Cougars play and WIN! We were on row six in the BYU section and you could see everything. I remember thinking...Wow those college kids seem so young (a true sign that I am getting old). I remember when Nick was leaving for his mission and now he is a married man playing ball for the Y. His younger brother Terry use to babysit for us when we lived in Parker. The boys loved him because he would wrestle and play pass and all that stuff. He is now a senior in highschool and will be heading to the Y to join his two older brothers on the football team, Nick and Dan who will return from his mission in time for the fall season. The Alletto's also have two daughters at BYU Jean and Amy. Amy has played Basketball for the Y the last couple of years but will be leaving on her mission to the Ukraine in January! What an amazing family! As a mom with young children I look to families in the different wards we have been in for "advice" of things that have or haven't worked for them. The Alletto's have been and still are great friends and we miss seeing them on a daily basis...it was so fun to visit! Thanks Ann!

Ann, Adrienne and Sadie in her "bear jacket". Sadie was a little freaked out by the noise at first but she settled down and was great.

Travis and Reece

Dayton celebrating after the Cougs pulled it out at the last minute (literally)!

Sugar me up Baby!

This year we spent Halloween night with some friends. Joanna and Dave Toy had our family and John and Angela Lampros family over for dinner before we hit the streets. Here is the group "kid shot" of all the trick or treaters. I love how all the boys are dressed up as something scary or dangerous. Here is the rundown: 2 Ninja's-Landon and Levi, Batman-Dayton, Dorothy-Sophia, Witch-Olivia, Gymnast-Kenayde, Dracula-Nathaniel, Power Ranger-Reece, and Jude as Rocky!---YO ADRIENNE (I heard that a lot growing up!)

My sister JeriLynn put together this cute little butterfly outfit for Sadie. I don't know if it was meant for Halloween or just one of those cute baby things but that's what Sadie wore for the night. Lovin' it, not even hatin' it.

The kids dined outside around the firepit.

After dinner we took to the streets and this is what we ended up with!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

I Have the COOLEST Friends!

My friend Meredith was reading my blog and took pity on me. She made me one of her yummy caramel apples and delivered it straight to my door. How cool is she! This picture doesn't do it justice, not only did it look pretty but was the perfect mix of sweet with salty. Thanks Meredith, YOU ROCK!

That's not a knife, THAT'S A KNIFE!

So we have our pumpkins and we start trying to carve them and the top isn't coming off. I bought those little "carving" knifes they sell with the kit things and they just weren't cutting it. So Trav goes in the office, opens the safe and comes out with a friggin sword and proceeds to cut the tops of the pumpkins off for the boys. Needless to say my boys think there dad is the coolest ever and then they pose with the sword for a picture before mom has to put an end to it all with the "You're going to shoot your eye out" saying except knife version of that saying which went something like this...."Seriously, seriously.....sit down, I'm not kidding, seriously seriously, someone is going to get hurt, knock it off, Landon...Dayton....1, 2, 3, ..." Am I alone on this or what? I'm so outnumbered. Well, everybody survived and here is the finished product.

(Side note: I've noticed since starting blogging, my kids are always on the table, chair, some kind of furniture or another..and always the scary faces hmmmm...)

30 Days Poll

Okay, it's 11:30pm and Travis is out of town and I am obviously bored and I can't sleep so I was checking out blogs and I stumbled upon my friend Kaysha's blog and she had a poll on her blog asking people what they thought she should do for the next thirty days. I'm totally hijacking her idea and putting a poll on my blog cause I need some motivation people!! So vote for what you want me to do and I promise I will do whatever gets the most votes! Be kind....

I need to FIRE our maid!

This morning I woke up to a filthy house! I just can't put up with this any longer. The kitchen is a mess, bathrooms gross, I can't even see through the windows, piles of laundry waiting to be done, I'm sticking to the floor. I mean what is the problem here?? It is just so hard to find good help these days. Am I right? So I called Travis to discuss the issue with him and this is what he said.......... "Honey, we can't fire the maid, I love her, that's why I married her". Ughh, excuses excuses.

HELP Meredith HELP!

About a week ago our ward had it's annual Super Saturday. My friend Meredith was teaching a class on how to make candy caramel apples. The apples they made were works of art, so pretty and perfect, you know the kind that you pay $10 for from those fancy catalogs. I unfortunately was not able to take the class but I've been drooling over seeing them for the last week. So I decided to buy some stuff and we would try making them at home. How hard can it be right?? Well I didn't calculate 3 silly boys and a goofy dad to mess up my "martha" moment but we had fun anyway.
It started out okay, I was giving a demonstration of how to roll your apple in the caramel, that's the last thing I remember.....


Next thing I know the boys are on the counter sampling all the goodies to put on the apples...




It was so hilarious what a crappy job we were all doing decorating these apples that we were laughing so hard. I seriously almost peed my pants. I haven't laughed that hard for a while.

Mmmmmm.......apple, caramel, butterfinger, heath bar, nuts, white chocolate.....did I miss anything??

So Gross!!! I think Travis is the only one that ate more than one bite of their apple.

Here are some samples of the finished product...yummy....maybe I should start a home based caramel apple business.....maybe not!

Devious Dayton!

Pretty much since we got out our Halloween decorations out dear little Dayton has been making decorations of his own. He also has several fake spiders that he likes to place strategically throughout the house to try to scare me. I'll admit he has gotten me a few times. Here are a couple of pictures of his creations!

Here we have Dayton with a sinister look on his face after placing his spider on my purse!


Here is Dayton's scary monster pose along with little ghosts he made for my fake plants!


Another scary ghost hanging from the door...there isn't a door in our house without a decoration!



My cute little "Welcome" and fall wreath wasn't good enough for our front door so Dayton added his Jack-O-Lantern as well. (Scary pose again) Dayton wants everyone to know that this picture is "super scary because my shadow looks like a ghost that's going to getcha!"


Beware of the Devious Dayton come Halloween night everybody!

The Bottomless Pits!

This last summer the kids and I went over to a friends house for lunch. We were making sandwiches for the kids and my friend asked if they wanted a half or a whole sandwich and I remember thinking "Is two an option?" My boys are bottomless pits! Saturday after the pumpkin patch we went to the Golden Corral for lunch. Travis and I are not big fans of buffett restaraunts but it is a favorite for our kids. They eat and eat and eat. I am not a light eater but I am still amazed to see what these boys can throw down. For breakfast I made an entire package of bacon, 12 scrambled eggs, 10 pieces of toast, a big bowl of strawberries, a whole pitcher of OJ and there wasn't a scrap of food left. I'm pretty sure ten minutes after they were done eating breakfast I heard "Can I have a snack?" When we were living in Parker I remember a conversation I had with one of our good friends Ann Alletto. At the time the Alletto's had 3 teenage boys and 2 teenage girls, I remember Ann saying that their household food bill was more than their mortgage! I think those days are in our future.

Reecer with his icecream cone for dessert!

Dayton had 3 plates of food (real food) and dessert of course!

Landon also had three plates of food and dessert! Crazy!

Sadie just sat patiently thinking?? Are you guys done yet?

The Pumpkin Patch!

We finally made it out to the pumpkin patch with a week to go until Halloween. Every Saturday seems to be filled with all those things you "have" to do. This saturday was so much fun with the day free to be together. Of course Sadie is sporting her new pumpkin patch shirt and fall sweater (Thank you Jolynn). It was a nice day, a little windy but still great. The kids had fun seeing the farm animals, playing on the big slide, finding their pumpkins and playing in the hay.



Here is Dayton petting one of the baby pigs.



Reece looks as tall as Landon with the help of this hay bale!


Landon was a great big brother helping Reece up and down the slide. The slide was fun but not very slippery, the kids kind of rolled down instead of sliding down.



The sun was a little bright and Sadie wasn't having it! I kept telling Landon to smile and he kept saying I am!

Here is the whole Jensen crew!

After the family shot we took one of just the kiddos and Reece kept screaming "CHEESE" which then led to the kids laughing and this great picture. Love ya Reecer.

I was trying to prop Sadie up and get that one fabulous shot but she didn't like the wind much so was witholding the smiles. I still think she is darling I could be biased though.

Reece and his "Big Boy" bed!

Well, after the episode with Reece climbing out of his crib he never would stay in there. We ended up setting up a spare bed we had in the basement for him in his room. He was very excited about his new big boy bed. Eventually he will share a room with Dayton and Sadie will move into his room but for now she is still in mom and dad's room. We love you Reecer man you little stinker bum!

Tiny but mighty!

Reece is our fearless 2 year old. He cruises around on his bike and scooter like he is 10 years old. He kept taking his older brother's scooters so we finally bought one for him. I didn't realize how good he is on it until I saw him playing with someone else his own age and it's amazing how coordinated he is. Maybe I'm a biased mom but Reece has always had a knack for active things. I guess being the third boy he has had to learn quick to keep up with his older brothers. He loves sports! Forget T-ball, he can hit the ball straight from a pitch, and you better have your mitt ready because he will huck that ball right back to you! Needless to say with mom and dad being ball players ourselves we are excited!