Monday, March 16, 2015

With Jensens

And so it begins. 10 days with the Jensen's.
 Since Oakley just finished up her Aladdin play, we were still singing the songs and so we sat down to watch the Disney movie. I must have watched that movie a thousand times growing up because I could remember just about every single lyric.
 
The wind was just right on that Sunday so we went to the school to fly the boys kites.
 Briony and Milo just loved being outside playing in {and eating} the grass.


 And the kids loved playing at the playground.
At one point, a little girl recognized Oliver from pre school and they started talking and playing together. I thought it was pretty cute.
 On Monday we got ready for St. Patrick's day. That night we ran to the store to find something green for Oakley's class to try. We searched for a while and she finally settled on Mint M&M's
Later on, we made out trap to catch the Leprechaun.
 
 And did a little Irish Jig before bed.
 The next morning the kids were so excited to get up and see if they caught the Lepracaun.

They didn't catch him, but they did get a bit of loot that he left for them.

and the trail of gold that lead up to their surprise. Just look at those sleepy eyes. 
They thought it was funny that he wrote all over the walls and peed green in all the toilets. 
And turned the milk green. Morgan said that she would drink it this year. (a few years back when the milk turned green she didn't want anything to do with it.)
They drank their milk with cookies and we made sure that everyone wore green.

Happy St. Patricks Day!
 I'm sure Trent and Amy are going to want to be out of town every year for this holiday so they don't have to keep it up.
 
So the next day I thought it would be fun to take all the kids for a late night viewing of Cinderella. I had tricked them into thinking that we were actually going to go to the Library to hear an old lady read to us. They were so bummbed out about that, especially Andrew. he asked about a hundred questions as to why we were doing this. He was actually pretty mad about it, but quickly figured out that we weren't really going there when I drove up onto the freeway. When I told then what we were actually doing, they all erupted in screams and cheers.
 All settled in with their popcorn and drinks.
 They all really seemed to enjoy it except for Oakley who had major leg pains during the movie. She was crying and writhing in pain but she made it through and at the end of the night told me that she really did have fun.  
 We played outside a lot and it was a nice change to be able to be outdoors.


 We even had a hot dog roast in the new fire pit.

Oliver was in heaven being able to play with his cousins all the time. They were playing DJ's in this picture and gave themselves the names DJ Skinny legs and DJ DoNimo (because Andrew couldn't pronounce Domino pizza)
 
Everything was going so well until I got sick. I felt terrible and was puking and couldn't keep anything down. The next two days I laid mostly around and tried to let my body heal. I think it was only the 24 hour flu and I was hoping no one else would get it.



 Oliver and the babies ended up getting only a little of it which I was so thankful for. I would hate for everyone to be puking everywhere and to cancel or change any plans.
 
That night we were suppose to go to Chuck A Rama with my family to celebrate my dads birthday but because I was so sick, we decided not to go. I was so sad to tell the kids that we were no longer going. They were looking forward to this dinner so much so that in the morning for family prayers, Andrew blessed that we would have a good time at Chuck A Rama later that night. Yep, I was pretty sad to tell him that wasn't happening anymore.
 
The next day Luke was so nice to take the kids for lunch. The raved about if afterwards and I was a but sad that I couldn't go with.
 
 
So, one night we were playing outside and Morgan tripped and landed chin first on the concrete steps and busted her chin open.
 
I wasn't sure what Trent and Amy would do so after talking to them and talking to our friend who is a nurse, we decided to take her to the instacare and get her stitched up.
 
With only 15 minutes left before they closed, we loaded up
 (Morgan, Paige, Oakley and myself), and I drove as fast as I could to the clinic. Our friend Marty who works there gave the clinic a heads up letting them know that we were on our way.
 Sweet Morgan was a trooper. She hardly even cried.
 The awesome nurse put a numbing liquid on her chin a couple of times which seemed to help a lot.
 And a bathroom selfie.
 The funniest part about this whole situation was that Paige was complaining about the scratch on her leg. We teased her about it and the nirse even put some numbing liquid on her.
 Poor Paigey.
 Finally after waiting nearly 45 minutes, they cleaned out the wound and prepped her for stitches.
 Again, she was awesome and didn't even move.
 And all was well again.
 
I just hope that their parents will let me watch them again after this little event.
 
These girls are so much fun. After an unexpected change in Oakley's soccer game, we decided to make the best of it and head to Sams club to stock up on milk. Love these big little babies.
Saturday morning the kids ran out to play on the trampoline complete with snacks, blankets and in Pajamas.


Briony and Milo found the drawer. 
 As usual, Briony was climbing on anything she could.

 We had a lot of fun together, but we made sure to get the important stuff done too. Homework.


The last night at the Jensens house I went in to check on the kids and found these two. Oliver loves his cousin probably more than anything else (including me) and I know that he is going to miss them so much even though we are only 5 minutes away.

I think I am going to miss them too.


 

Sunday, March 15, 2015

Thankful for...

Family Night.
Luke and I didn't really grow up doing family night. The times that I had it growing up were on Sundays and they usually turned into discussing everyone's problems so we would call it Family Fight Night. For our family, I decided that I would make it a priority this year. I love this quote from President Monson...
 
"We cannot afford to neglect this heaven-inspired program. It can bring spiritual growth to each member of the family, helping him or her to withstand the temptations which are everywhere. The lessons learned in the home are those that last the longest.”
 
I have faith in this program and strongly believe that most important work that we do, is the work with in the walls of our own homes.
For this family night we talked about forgiveness and did a little demonstration of carrying the weight of our burdens if we don't forgive. Oliver read out of the scriptures with help from Luke and did so good at listening. Briony and Milo were there and crawled around on the floor during all of this and I am so grateful that they were there too.
 
For dessert Oliver had the strangest request. Croutons and Ranch.
We even let him eat his "dessert" in the livingroom...in his skivvies. 

I am so thankful for my children. They are amazing to me and picturing life without them makes me so sad to think about.
 
This particular day we walked to the grocery store which is another blessing to me. I love living where I do. It is close to everything including Luke's work. Going on walks is one of our favorite things too.
 

 
And then there's these two. I am so thankful for their closeness. The whole way to the grocery store, sweet Milo had his hand on his sisters lap and for once, Briony didn't care that he was touching her. (she usually swats his hand away from her and makes a disgusted dramatic girl noise of some sort)
I hope these two stay close for their whole lives. 
 
I am so thankful for "Me time".
I needed it so bad this week and since it was Tuesday and movies are only $5, I packed up a drink, grabbed my coat and went to see McFarland USA complete with a single serving of popcorn and a delicious hot dog. It was perfect way for me to unwind and do something just for me.

Part of the reason why I need an out was because I had just finished taking care of two very sick babies with RSV and Ear infections, followed by me getting sick with a nasty head cold complete with headaches and restless sleep, Oliver getting a cold and waking up with aches, AND THEN Luke getting a nasty cold which kept him from work for a couple of days. I was tired of taking care of everyone and especially done with all this sickness. SO the thing that I am thankful for here is that it wasn't worse than that and that we have medicine to help us get better. That we have Doctors that will see us and help us and that we have a comfortable place to rest and get better in. Really there is so much to be thankful for here.
 
Poor Luke. 
 
Thankful for church activities.
This was also nice to get out of the house and go to. I don't have the best attendance for going to RS activities, but this time I tricked myself into going by signing up to make a cake. I knew that if I signed up, I would have to go and I did and it was fun.
 I ended up making a Lemon-Lime Cake with whipped cream topping and candied lemon lime rines and key Lime custard filling.
 
The table that I was at was so much fun and I love that I have sisters in the ward that I can relate to and enjoy being with. I also see the importance of supporting others in our ward that spend so much time on these activities and do it out of love and service for us. Bless them. I know it's not easy.
 I am thankful for dear friends.
Our friend Tracy's dog was suddenly put down this past week. Seeing a picture of her crying with her dog just broke my heart. Amy arranged for us to take her out and try to cheer her up. We ate at the delicious Yannis and went shopping after. It was so nice.

 
I am thankful for my Jensen's.
These kids really are like my own. I treat them like my own and certainly love them as if they were mine.
Oakley performed in her school play, Aladdin and was the magic carpet.
She was the best and in my (bias) opinion, stole the show with her back handsprings, cartwheels and charisma. She is pocket sized and just too adorable. I loved being there to watch her perform and can't wait to see what she does in the future.
 

Again, I love these kids like my own and I love seeing how they are with my own kids. They love them so much and I hope its a closeness that always lasts. Oliver especially loves the boys so much and it seems like any time he is not with them, he is asking to be with them.
 
This day we took them to see the large scale Lego exhibits of our Nations popular landmarks. It was pretty impressive to say the least. Which of course, reminds me of how awesome of a nation we live in. Always, always thankful for that. 

 

And lastly, I am thankful for our family friends.
We love this particular family of these adorable girls (although you may not be able to tell by the look on Oliver's face) and are always hoping and praying for good things to happen to those that we love.

Life is so good.
I don't know if my perception has changed since I have been back from Mexico and have been humbled by being there, but I really am so blessed to have the life I do. It is filled with goodness and beauty. It is filled with service and love and happiness. I know that things may not always go the way we have planned or even wanted, but I am trying to embrace the wonderful things that I do have in this moment and it is good.