Ski Day

On Saturday I got to have a girls day and go skiing with three of my girlfriends, Joanna, Jen and Amber. It was so much fun! I have never been awesome at skiing but I use to go more than I have since I have had kids, (do you remember life before kids? It's a vague memory for me but I catch glimpses of it now and then). Whenever I do go skiing it is with Travis who is usually trying to make me go on all the super hard runs and I hate it because I eat snow more than stay on top of it. Saturday was a good mix, I still "ate snow" more than I would like to admit but I felt like it was at my own choosing. It was also fun to get away for the day and be with girls and not have any responsibilities. I hope to make outings like this more of a routine instead of the exception, it's good for the soul! Thanks chickas!

As per a previous blog

My dad's test results came back and everything looks good. He didn't have a mini-stroke they are assuming he just had a "senior moment" or attribute the incident to stress. I can't imagine why he would be stressed :) . All is well.

Oops my bad......

This morning I got up as usual, made breakfast, hurried the kids to get them ready and sent them out the door to the bus. I got Reece and Sadie ready and headed to the gym. Travis had the day off of work and was getting ready to head to the store. Guess who comes running home from the bus stop/park??? Landon and Dayton---it is Presiden'ts Day, no school. Oops my bad...hee hee. Of course they realized this after about 15 minutes but decided to continue to play for another hour. Good thing they caught their dad before he headed out. We are such good parents.

Update on my Mom

Thank you to all who have been praying for my mom. I thought I would post a little update for everyone. Her cancer is a grade three, which means it is very fast growing but it is a stage one which means she caught it early. Mammograms do work....make sure you are getting them! She has had two surgeries that have removed all of the cancer tumor and good portion of the tissue around where the cancer was. She will start chemo on Thursday. It seems everybody you talk to has there own "cancer story". I wish it wasn't this way, I hate to see so many hurt by it. We are optimistic that with the chemo and radiation she will soon be as good as new. To be blunt it just sucks she has to go through all of this.

What has my dad done to me??

Travis thought Sadie looked a bit chilly so he let her borrow his hat.

My cousin Maran

My cousin Maran is a Doula and came to Longmont to take some classes for a few days to keep up her certification. Along with being a Doula she teaches classes on hypnobirthing. Now I have always been an epidural girl myself but it was interesting learning about this alternative way to control pain and have a natural birth. Since I am done having kids I won't be able to put it into practice ever, but good to learn about new things nonetheless. It was fun to reconnect and visit. We had fun staying up late and gossiping about all the fun stuff moms, girls, friends and cousins gossip about! Thanks for coming Maran, let's get together again soon.

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentines Day! Travis and I gave the boys some books and balloons for Valentine's day. Star Wars and Pirates of the Carribean for Dayton, Diego for Reece, and Goosebumps for Landon.Sadie isn't much of a reader so she told mom she wanted a cute lady bug outfit from Gymboree.

Reece got to go to his own Valentine's party hosted by Allison Bird. The kids decorated cookies, ate lunch and played with plenty of toys. Here he is with his buddy Max. Thank you Allison!

Dayton played Valentine bingo, ate treats and watched a movie as part of his school Valentine party. It was also pajama day so he wore his PJ's to school. Dad got to go to Dayton's Valentine party with him.

Mom made it to Landon's school party and each table had it's own little fondue! Go 3rd grade room mom!

Needless to say the Jensen crew had plenty of sugar and plenty of parties! Love you all!

P.S. Travis and I also exchanged gifts. Clothes for mom and running shoes for dad.....aren't we romantic.

Who died and made you Coach?

I've been playing in a basketball league this winter and having a ton of fun. There is one girl on my team who is pretty bossy. Most of the time everyone just ignores her but this last game it came to a head. She kept making little passive aggressive remarks to me about how I was playing and I finally called her out on it. I know in my head I should just SHUT UP but I was raised a Honeycutt and sometimes I can't help it....(that's right, I'm blaming it all on my dad and my genes :) Anyway, we exchanged a few words and the game ended and I was headed out the door. I was already embarrassed that she had been so rude on the court and I just wanted to leave and what does she do??? Tap tap tap on my shoulder...."Can we chat?" she says to me. Great, just what I wanted to do. I know myself well enough that I can't just "chat" that I was more likely to rip her head off but nonetheless I walk over with her and she proceeds to critique me blah blah blah......"Are you kidding me???" is what I am thinking. So being true to my heritage I let her know that this is a rec league, we are grown women, we can manage ourselves, we have different ideas on how to play the game, she shouldn't be so bossy and she should just CHILL OUT already! Several other players came up to me after our little "chat" and told me not to worry about it that she does that to everyone and that she did it to them other days etc. I guess the thing that bummed me out is that I was having so much fun playing basketball, it was a release for me and a way to not worry about all the other stuff going on in the "real world" and she ruined it. I know that there are some people that are going to be negative and downers no matter what and I need to learn to just ignore them but it really sucked. UGGGGG! By the way, in case you are wondering, I am better at basketball then her and I could probably beat her up too....stupid stupid face girl! Oh no you did-ent!!!

You are not that OLD!!!! Are you?

Saturday February 7th I took Sadie to see her Grandma and Grandpa Honeycutt, my parents, for the weekend. We had a great time in Utah for a few days just relaxing, napping and visiting. Saturday afternoon my mom showed me all her latest "shopping trip buys". A new wig, several hats, bandana's and scarfs from the cancer institute.
What I am saying, "These are really cute, the wig looks just like your hair"
What I am thinking, "Holy shiz, my mom has cancer, this totally sucks" Later that night my mom and dad talked about how they should purchase some burial plots so the kids don't have to worry about that.
Sunday morning we head to church. The ward my parents are in is the ward that I grew up in. The bishop stands to give the announcements and lets the congregation know that Gary Shumway, my childhood friends' dad, passed away this last week from prostate cancer and the viewing is tonight. Wow. Sunday night my sister Tami hosted a dinner for all my siblings, parents and our families. My parents were taking more pictures than usual and wanted a picture of them with their kids only. After which my dad gives a mini speech about how we all need to get along and love each other because we are family and family is what is the most important.
Monday morning my dad has an appointment with his doctor because last week he had a lapse in his thinking and couldn't say something when he wanted to. The doctor thinks he had a mini-stroke and ordered more testing to be done on Tuesday.
Tuesday afternoon my dad heads to the hospital for several tests.
What I'm thinking "Wait, didn't I come to visit my mom because she has cancer? What is the deal with my dad?"
Tuesday night my mom takes me to her book club group. We get there and there is a room full of old grannies.....my mom can't possibly be as old as these women, she is my mom. The conversations skips between talking about Medicare benefits and filling prescriptions at Medco because it is much cheaper than anywhere else. Others converse about their different ailments and their husbands who have passed on. Somewhere in there we talked about a book.
Wednesday Sadie and I flew home.
Don't get me wrong we had a good time in Utah but it was hard to not realize that my parent's "Aren't getting any younger". My mom is still young enough to argue with me about politics and my dad still has enough spunk to builds hot rods. Our own mortality is something that was brought to the forefront and makes you realize how fragile life is.

Life is what happens when your Making Plans

A few weeks ago my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. Although it has been what I have been thinking about constantly since hearing I haven't talked about it much with anyone outside of my family. It seems surreal. My mom just retired after decades of teaching and in the last year alone she has had eight surgeries. She was in "perfect" health at the time she retired and had lots of plans to travel, relax, visit her favorite daughter in Colorado and enjoy life. Ironic. She has been aggressive so far with the cancer and we are optimistic. She has had two lumpectomies in the last week and the surgeon feels that he got all the cancer. She will wait about a month to heal from the surgeries before starting chemo. I'm taking Sadie and heading to Utah for a few days to visit and hopefully we can do some fun things to get her mind off it. My mom is a strong woman, she worries about everyone else and not herself. Hopefully the chemo and radiation will get rid of anything that might be lingering and she can get back to her plans. Love you mom.