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A Gift for Russell

A little bit late for Valentines Day but since I love Russ everyday of the year a gift is never too late.

From the moment I met Russ I understood how much he liked football. At a time early in our relationship he introduced me to his football card collection which was stashed secretly in the back of his closet in two large shoe boxes, wrapped in duct tape and labelled "DO NOT OPEN". We have moved these boxes from one apartment to another even from one country to another and finally here into our new home. The moment finally came to cut open the tape and rummage through the little treasure. The boys who love football too, were so excited to be given some of Russ' favorites like:

Barry Sanders, John Elway, Eddie George, Steve Young, Walter Payton, Dan Marino, Ty Detmer, Joe Montana, Earl Campbell, and Randall Cunningham, to name a few.

As I watched the men's faces light up with each card my little brain also lit up.

I made my way to Michael's craft and purchased some large frames at 50% off

(that's not cheap love). Mckay helped me pick out the best cards, 84 in total. I mounted them on green paper in memoriam of the Philadelphia Eagles and set them into the frame. Since our media room is everything football these tiny treasures made a big impact and a fun addition.

If you look closely you can spot Russ' two favorite football stars. Mckay and Caleb have their own Rookie cards nestled in amongst quarterbacks and linemen of the NFL. Who knows, maybe one day a Caleb Jensen 2008 or a Big Mac 2005 will be fished out of the back of a closet and treasured by another little boy?

Little Walker Hurren

I wrote the following poem for my nephew Walker who loves to visit aunt Jana's house. The last time he visited we found a few things had, well...been destroyed. Things like the Peeps all eaten, several packages of gum chewed and Mckay's school essay cut into some very tiny pieces. I hope he visits again soon, we are prepared to take some precautions.

Little Walker Hurren

(adapted from Little Orphan Annie Poem)

When little Walker Hurren comes to our house to play

we hide the crayons and markers and put our gum away.

We clean up school projects and hide them in our desk

and cover any items that make a papery mess.

We conceal our easter candy, the kind we all call Peep

I guess they are no big loss, the things are very cheep (ha ha cheep, get it)

We hate to take precautions, we love the little fart

but if we are not prudent, other things will soon depart.

Am I Too Old?

On Saturday we made a quick trip to P.G. to pick up a Valentines Gift I had preciously bought for Russ. While we were driving down the snow drifted streets we watched a 40 something year old woman and her child. She climbed over the snowdrifts and then reached back to lift her toddler over (this is where I should tell you we stopped and helped her across the street but we didn't so I will continue). As she turned to retrieve her child we all noticed the word "juicy" splashed boldly about her behind.

That's when Russ piped up. "You know", he said " when you become a certain age you should never wear pants with any type of words or phrases on your butt. I can see a seventeen year old wearing their team name on their buttocks but that's about the extent of it." He continued on about age appropriate dress and especially the fact that ones butt should never be highlighted. I, fishing for a compliment either on my age or my anatomy asked, " Am I too old to wear...?" Before I could even finish my sentence the silence in the back of the car was broken by Mckay who very quickly and with much seriousness replied, " Yes, Mom you are."

Thanks for your honesty Mckay. No "juicy" pants for me.

The Thing about 12 Year Olds

Twelve year olds are great people. I have one, his name is Mckay and I think he is the best 12 year old ever. Mckay has lept from my arms and grown up to be such a little man almost overnight.

Twelve year olds are strong-willed. My 12 year old is a little stubborn yes, but so far his stubborn nature is taking him in a very good direction. Plus, who doesn't love a strong-willed, stubborn personality, right Russ?

My 12 year old might not admit it to all of you but he loves his Mom. With his Dad away all week, each evening Mckay asks things like: " Are you warm enough Mom?", " Do you want me to put the little boys in the bath for you?", " Do you want me to warm tea water?", and... " Goodnight Mom, I love you." He makes me beam.

My 12 year old loves me but please no public displays of affection. I was recently summoned by said 12 year old to bring his skates to school. It's a 15 min drive and I had already been once so a deal was struck over the phone. I would deliver the skates and he would hug me in public and say something like, " Thanks Mom, you're the best." With some insistence the plan went accordingly.

Twelve year olds are kind, thoughtful, very responsible and cute as all get out. They get phone calls from girls with silly crushes almost every weekend but one mother put a stop to that, he's mine for several more years.

You can depend on 12 year olds. Mckay gets things done and usually better that I expected. You can reason with 12 year olds and darn if they aren't a whole lot of fun to hang out and visit with. And, did you know that my 12 year old wakes himself up 15 minutes earlier than the rest of us to make his bed, shower, brush his teeth, style his hair and put some yummy smelling stuff under his chin, every morning. That's good right? A boy who likes to shower and clean his room.

I am so grateful for Mckay, he has developed a fun sense of humor, he's a gifted athlete, a good student and often complimented for his good manners and he's a good dancer to boot. Twelve years have flown by and I wouldn't trade one minute of them. Mckay is a blessing in our home and he makes things so much easier on me.

I am looking forward to future years with a 13, 14, and older young man.

4 Billion plus 11 served

It started off so well. Four Moms and 7 little boys. We met in town all climbed into two cars and were off to the big city of Prince George for some shopping fun. We decided that crafting Wednesdays could only go forward if we went and purchased more crafting product. Stop #1 Walmart, Stop #2 Michaels Craft. We were doing so well and the boys were so patient, especially Gavyn who sat ever so quietly and didn't whimper once. So we decided to take them to McDonalds, the one with the giant playland where they could have fun and enjoy themselves.

And then it happened ...

We entered the Victoria Street McDonalds at 12:35 pm. The joint was packed. The boys were antsy so most went straight to the jungle gym. The lines were long and the service was slow. Luke had wet himself minutes before so Karli made me responsible for retrieving her food while she went to the restroom to change Luke. She stepped out of line and weaved her way through the crowd of hungry people, only to return about 15 sec. later, weave her way back through the crowd to ask for a restroom key. Can you believe they lock the doors? So she quietly asks for a key at which point the cashier yells out,

" Some one needs the bathroom key!"

" Who needs what?" bellowed the manager.

"The lady in the red coat," barked back the cashier, "needs the key to the bathroom!"

"______ (insert cashier name here) get the key!" she yells back.

So with eyes rolled to the back of her head the cashier walks out from behind the counter with said key, makes a come with me motion and holding the key high in the air calls out even louder than before, " Anyone who has to go, follow me!", while marching toward the restroom.

Surprisingly Karli and Luke were the only ones to step forward. Everyone in line had a giggle as she followed _______ (insert cashier name again). back to the restroom.

The fun didn't stop there.

Becky, who is fighting a terrible cold and has a bad case of the sniffles, was the last to order. We were all seated in the playroom, laughing about the restroom incident, when Becky entered the playroom. Somehow she made it through the crowd, down the hall and through the playroom door without any problems. Only, six inches from her seat she somehow managed to drop a very large rootbeer and child's sprite onto the floor. It exploded and just about everyone got a little taste. It was pooling under the tables and running down the walls. The same cashier was summoned and half hazardly cleaned the mess. I wondered if that eye roll she does is what got her hired? Soon after, Becky has a refill in her hand and had actually made friends with another woman in the playroom. She probably felt bad for Becky since all we did was laugh at the typical Becky blunder. :)

Tina, (name changed to protect the innocent) and her daughter Sydney chatted with Becky for a while as Becky explained things like the fact that there are only 2 girls but 17 boys in the family, how we travelled to Prince George for a shopping trip and how loud and crazy our boys were. Sydney had come to play but simply cowered in the corner, too many boys. Plus the small pond of pop on the floor sort of prevented any kids from actually getting to the play area.

When we finally got ready to go we sent the boys up the slide for one last run, put on their shoes and started out across the sticky floor. Then almost simultaneously Gavyn turned green and vomitted two meals worth, (McDonalds fries and chicken nuggets, and pears in case you needed to know) all over Mindy and the floor and Aidan fell out of the gym, hitting his head. Aidan was screaming, Mindy was panicking, and I... grabbed my camera. Tina ran out of the playroom, (and this is no joke) yelling, "You guys are crazy." She did return however, with guess who... you got it, our little cashier with the potty key.

We laughed as we helped clean up, partly because Tina sat at the play steps dry heaving and the cashier mopped as she mumbled something to herself.

What an adventure.

We left at 1:36 pm and were surprised that in only one hour we were able to hurt one child, spill two sodas, sniffle and sneeze on one innocent woman, puke on the floor, convince Tina to never have another child and really really annoy ______ (you know the drill).

I think next week we better hold Wednesday craft day back at my house. Prince George will not be ready to see us anytime soon. Oh, and a big shout out to Rochelle who was supposed to come with us but at the last minute decided to stay home with her three. Good move Rochelle, she's smarter than the rest of us. And again, on Wednesday craft day we missed Kara, maybe today she will not feel bad for having been absent.

Science Projects Part 2

As per my previous post. The boys and I agreed that we would do a good job on the science projects so as to merit an A. However, we also agreed not to over achieve and avoid the District Competition. Mckay did not get the memo, jumped ship, bailed on us or just plain did not pay attention to me. Mckay is going to Districts with his Kinetic Kuestion science project. Caleb worked very hard and did a great job and according to his teacher aced the interview but was the last eliminated from his age group so he is not attending. Good job to both of you and Good luck Mckay.

A Secret Admirer

A secret admirer for Mckay. His Dad claims he was down town when an unnamed mother approached him and asked him to deliver this valentine to Mckay. It was a beautifully decorated box with a homemade cupcake inside and a charming handwritten note that said "Happy Valentines Day". Much to Mckay's disappointment his Dad's lips are sealed. A secret is a secret.

The cupcake was delicious so I suggested Mckay take the box to school and MIA and see if it fit anyones foot, he just thought that was weird.

He is a very sweet, handsome young man who can also dance very well so I couldn't blame the secret admirer one bit, a good choice.

Valentines day ahhhhh! the day of love. This year Valentines day was filled perfectly with all the things I love. Russell took me dancing on Friday night, I love dancing. Mckay, our resident babysitter, and the others played with LEGO all night and ate hawaiin pizza. A good night was had by all.

On Saturday we all decided to have a nice dinner together. We made tortillini with marinara sauce, breadsticks, the olive garden salad and included some sparkling cider. Caleb and Coleson set and decorated the table while Mckay made the salad and Russ and I prepared the pasta and dessert. Dessert.... yummy, we had fondue. It was SOOOOOO! much fun.

Chocolate fondue with pineapple, pretzels, green apples, bananas, marshmellows, angel food cake, ripple chips, kiwis and my favorite, strawberries.

One dirty face

two dirty faces

The third dirty face.

Dirty face number 4 did not want to appear on my blog with chocolate on his mug.

By the end of the night we had had so much fun visiting and laughing together and the food was so good. So good in fact that we were all so full that all the men had to rush to the scale to see how much weight they had gained during the evening. Russ was the only one disappointed with the sudden spike. Caleb, our slightest fella, ran out yelling, " I'm 60 lbs., I'm 60 lbs. I am a man now." If only we were all as excited over a little weight gain.

Happy Valentines day to all, may the love of dancing, food, family and all things good be yours.

There's good new and bad news. Bad news, our store's roof is poorly insulated which causes giant icicles to accumulate along the roof line. The good news, look at the cool icicles. The boys have fun knocking them off, sword fighting with them, making jails in the snow and yes, (much to my disgust) licking them. Added bonus, no bleeding tongues or lips yet.

Wednesday Crafting

My sisters and sisters-in-law have decided to spend Wednesdays doing fun crafts that we can decorate our homes or beautify our lives with. This week we rummaged through my old fabric scraps and color matched some pieces for table runners. We cut the scraps and are excited to sew them together next Wednesday. Only thing wrong with the day, no Kara. Stay tuned.

Karli and Rochelle's fabric

Jana's retro fabric

Mindy's fabric

A Good Imagination

I find it so curious what my little men can come up with to entertain themselves. Yes, there is life without the x-box, T.V., or a computer. In our home you can play with electronics if... it's Saturday, all the chores are done and it's too cold or raining outside. This works well and brings out some very fun, creative play. This is Coleson's last creation, a hunting backpack complete with everything a man might need to hunt a trophy buck. He snuck around the house in silence (my favorite part) for hours one afternoon. I love a good old fashioned imagination.

a tree blind

the backpack

homemade binoculars

guns and ammo

scented doe spray

horns for rattling

Amazement and Wonder

I had to take this picture as proof that these two brothers can get along. I didn't even make them sit down together. Yeah!!!

Sledding

I try not to brag, I really do, but we have got the funnest sledding hill here on the Jensen farm. We get to host the funnest sledding and chili parties and to share our hill with others. Some days I pick up the boys at the bus stop and we go for an hour. We even get the skidoo stuck and spend hours getting it unstuck. We laugh together and pose for pictures together. It almost makes me wish the snow never melted. Just kidding Mindy, I even get tired after a while. While the snow is here though, we make the most of it.

A Scream with Buttercream

I was asked to teach some ladies in my ward some tips on cake decorating. It was a fun night with lots of good company and some very studious pupils. Good job girls.