The Birth of Sadie Ann Jensen

On July 22, 2008 we were blessed to welcome our little Sadie Ann into the world. She was born at 3:22pm weighing 8lbs. 4oz and 21 inches long. I was scheduled to be induced on the 22nd which was a few days after my "due" date but I actually went into labor the night before and came into the hospital at around 4am. Sadie is my only child that I have gone into labor on my own with. I was induced with all of my boys. It still took several hours (14) to get her here. Everything went fairly well except I did get a spinal headache from my epidural which caused me to puke with every contraction. Needless to say I was exhausted by the time she finally came. Dr. Austin and my OB nurses were fabulous and minus the headache it was the best delivery I've had. The important thing was that Sadie was perfectly healthy and we headed home after just one night at the hospital. I ended up going back to the hospital for a blood patch to get rid of the headache. It was a quick procedure that led to instant relief. Grandma Erin came out to help us with the boys so that Travis could be with me and Sadie in the hospital. It was so nice not to have to worry about the boys knowing they were in good loving hands. Not to mention my house a lot cleaner when I came home than when I left. It was great to have her here with us for the week. Here are some pics of our new addition to the family. We love you Sadie!

Father and Son Campout

About two weeks before I was due with our baby girl was the annual Father and son campout. Travis was planning on taking Landon and Dayton but as he was packing and loading the car little Reece went and got his backpack and started packing his stuff into it. He walks out of his room and says "I all ready to go". Of course he was the cutest thing ever so Travis was good enough to take him along. I was left at home alone 9 months pregnant, I almost didn't know what to do with myself. This is the first night I had been without Reece since he was born, over two years. I was a little sad. I went to subway and then went and browsed a few shops but eventually ended up on my couch and I watched 27 dresses (I think that is what it is called). Travis and the boys had fun roasting marshmellows and hot dogs, and the usual campout stuff. Travis was a little stressed because some dads were not very vigilant about watching their kids and several almost fell down into this huge hole. The next morning the boys had fun riding four wheelers and hiking and throwing rocks at an old abandoned car that was at the bottom of the pit?? Okay, nice campsite! Overall I think the boys had a blast and Travis was glad they all lived.

My kids look exactly how I do when I go camping! I guess that is why I prefer the Hilton. A face only a mother could love! I sure missed them.

4th of July Race 2008

The Erie Fourth of July 4K run! Travis and the kids took to racing this 4th of July in Erie Colorado. Travis ran the 4K. Landon and Amberly ran the .4K and Dayton, Skyler, Reece and Kenadee ran the 40 yard dash.


Travis took 2nd place in his age division. You can see in this picture he just barely missed 1st place at the finish line. He took 4th place overall.

All the kiddos received ribbons!

Landon was a bit dissapointed that the kids only received ribbons, he was hoping to get a medal like Dad but he felt better after this picture below was on the front page of the Erie Review. It was a fun morning.

Landon Cubscout camp

Landon enjoyed Scout Day Camp this year. Travis was able to volunteer one of the two days and had fun watching Landon rock climb, shoot BB guns, archery and all that other scouting stuff!

I know what you did last summer

Anytime any of our friends asked us "what are you guys doing this weekend?" or "Are you doing anything for the holiday?" Our response was usually the same. Working on the backyard. Summer of 2008 (and probably2009 as well) is all about landscaping for the Jensen's.
Our yard had a huge hill in the back so we decided to excavate out a good portion of the dirt. Thankfully the lot next to us was still vacant so Travis took down the fence inbetween our properties and we brought in some heavy machinery to get the dirt out.

This is the before picture and a picture of are our child laborers, Landon, Dayton and Reece with their buckets putting rocks behind the wall for strength.

Next came the tractors to clear out the dirt. The boys loved watching the tractors and the other picture is how much dirt we put in the lot next door. Travis got permission from the builder

(DR Horton) to dump "some" dirt there. When they saw how much we were putting there they were a bit surprised and said they thought we meant a few bucketfuls. Oops! Actually they were cool about it and our dirt was "good" dirt and the builder used it on other houses in the neighborhood which was great for us. That way we saved a few thousand dollars because we didn't have to haul it away. The dirt hill was the entertainment for the boys and neighborhod kids for the 1st half of the summer before they hauled it away.

We ended up getting 5 dumptruck loads full of rock that went inside the retaining wall blocks and behind the wall to give it strength. It was pretty nuts. Everytime I saw a dumptruck pull up and back up I just thought $cha-ching$ in my mind. This is the first (and hopefully only) retaining wall Travis has built and, like everything, he researched it and probably went above and beyond to make sure it was what we wanted.

Below the first retaining wall we decided to build a bench and a firepit sucken down. Before building the firepit Travis ran a gas line underground and up through where the pit is in case we decide later we want a gas fire. For now we love having woodburning. It fits our lifestyle better with wanting to roast marshmellows, do dutch oven and just has more of the campfire feel. Above the bench we planted an Autumn Blaze maple tree and we will add other plantings soon. Hopefully a few before winter and then more next spring. We decided to use the same retaining blocks for the firepit and bench to have a coordinated look throughout the yard. Here are the during and after pics of the firepit area.

You can see Travis in the distance standing on empty pallets building the wall. It's hard to tell in the picture how massive this wall is but the fact that he had to stand on pallets and lift the blocks over his head helps you get an idea of how big it was. Not to mention how long it was. I took this picture from a window in our house and I still couldn't get the whole wall in the picture. Travis is such a workaholic I can't keep up. He planned to take a Thursday and Friday off to build the wall in three days (crazy) because he didn't want to miss too much work. However, the excavators actually dug up a power line with their tractor because it wasn't marked correctly by the utility company and it took a whole day to get that fixed so that left Travis with only two days. He got up first thing in the morning (well before normal morning time) and worked well into the night with his little head lamp light. He got it done. He is insane. In front of the top retaining wall we planted lilac bushes so hopefully those will grow and look good for next summer and on the far right of the wall (it's hard to see in the picture) we have a four tiered vegetable garden. The wall steps down and as it steps Travis put in wood beams to make a big box (4 of them) for our garden. It has it's own irrigation system which should help with watering. Just behind the first retaining wall we planted forsythia bushes which will hopefully grow and become a "hedge" to help with safety so kids don't fall of the wall.

So in a nutshell, that is what the Jensen's did last summer!

Looking Back continued: Disneyworld 2008

In January sometime I was feeling a bit of cabin fever and it wasn't helpful that Travis was traveling a lot for his job. So I was messing around online and came across a great deal for a Disney family vacation. I decided to book it then and there for the week of the kids Spring Break and I'm glad I did.



We decided to keep it a secret from the kids and the day before we left for Florida we sent the kids on a scavenger hunt around our house. Each place had a different clue about what the surprise was. At the end of the scavenger hunt the last clue was about treasure and how X marks the spot. Our backyard was still dirt so Travis had buried a treasure box back there. After searching for a bit the kids found the X and dug up the treasure which was a pair of Disney Crocs. The note inside told them to pack their bags because we were heading to DisneyWorld! The kids were so excited and so were we. The picture above is a picture of us at the airport getting ready to head south to Florida!


We stayed at the Disney Pop Century Resort and before we even made it to our room Landon and Dayton had spent their money in the gift shop. Dayton bought suckers for everyone and Landon bought pirate swords for everyone. Reece was happy with both.

Dayton being eaten by Bruce after going to the Turtle Talk with Crush Show! Totally Awesome Dude!

One of my favorite pics of my boys at the Bugs Life 3D show! Very Stylin' shades. Reece didn't know what to think of the 3D shows at first but loved them after he got use to them. He is such an easy going kid, he will do anything. The bottom right picture is of the boys stopping for a break at the muppet fountain after the muppett vision 3D show. They were trying to get some extra cash out of the fountain! The Jensen's wish on stars, we don't throw money into fountains---what are ya crazy!

One of Reece's favorite rides was Winnie the Pooh. I always made sure he sat with me because I loved seeing his expression when he saw all his 100 Acre Wood friends!

To infinity and beyond! It was Landon and Dayton against Mom, Dad and Reece. Landon and Dayton would win every time just like on the video games at home. (Whatever happened to Mario Brothers and jumping on mushrooms, seriously you need a PhD to play some of these video games)

Look who started it! Dad being funny with the picture on the wall. Ha ha, the crocodile is eating dad's head. So Dayton and Landon tried their own version below. They know how to make a mother proud.

Kali Rapids was a favorite for everybody, well everybody except Reece. Too short to ride but Dad, Landon and Dayton went on it about 10 times. One night we were there late with the Disney "extra magic hours" and they rode it about four times in a row without having to get off. Needless to say they were soaked but happy. This is a picture of Dayton explaining to me about how he was completely covered in water and how it was totally awesome and can we go one more time?

Playing at the hotel pool. I just love this picture of Reece. Water is always fun when your two! One of the souveniour's Reece chose, surprise surprise, a ball.













We have gone to Disneyworld twice since we have been married with children and both times I've been about six months pregnant. Somehow that didn't stop me from being the one to go on the teacup ride with the kids. You owe me Travis! Bigtime!

Thank you Disney! We had a blast as usual! See you Soon!

Looking Back

My good friend Susan and my sister Tami told me that you can make a book out of your blog so I decided if I was going to do this at the end of 2008 I would like to have some highlights in there of what happened this year. Since I just started blogging a week ago I wanted to go back and post some of our family highlights of the year so they will be included in the book. I hope you don't mind.

REECE TURNS TWO!

Reece had a family birthday party with his brothers Landon and Dayton and his mom and dad. His presents consisted of balls, bats and other sports stuff. For a little guy Reece is very coordinated. He tries to keep up with his brothers and loves doing what they do.

Kindie Valentine Party for Dayton

Dayton loved Kindergarten and he especially loved the parties. He has a sweet tooth like his mom. Notice his lovely haircut that he gave himself with dads razor. Your cute with or without hair Dayton---just like your dad!

Kaya came to visit us in Erie and she brought Uncle Kevin with her! My boys love Kaya. She is such a well trained dog and so good with kids. The kids loved visiting with Uncle Kevin too. Come again soon!

Landon and Dayton were on the same basketball team this year. I think Dayton was the youngest on the team and Landon was one of the older ones. I'm not sure if they had a winning or a losing record but they had a lot of fun! They also had a great coach--thanks Ryan!

LANDON TURNS EIGHT!

Landon was so excited to turn eight for many reasons:

1. So he can be baptized

2. His first gun (BBgun)

3. Cubscout's

4. 1st set of scriptures

Landon's baptism was a great day. He was baptized by his dad. His Grandma and Grandpa Honeycutt were there to help celebrate along with his Uncle Travis and Aunt Erica.

Crazy hair day at school. Landon sporting one

mohawk while Dayton has two Mohawks!

Kindergarten graduation. Dayton was very excited about this special night and wanted to look his best so he put on his sports coat. Way to go stud muffin! You made it all the way through Kindergarten, it's all down hill from here.

Dayton's Sixth Birthday!

Dayton wanted a pirate party for his birthday so we went all out with a treasure hunt, walking the plank and of course digging for buried treasure. The boys loved the skeleton drink cups. Happy Birthday Dayton.