Monday, January 26, 2009

Before I'm 40!


Oh man...that just sounds bad. But, there is really nothing else I could name this post than what I did. On my list...you know...the one you make that states all the things you want to do or accomplish before you die list, well time is beginning to run out with one particular goal I made. I said I would run, at least, a 1/2 marathon before I turned 40. Well, I have 1 year, 4 months, and a day to do it. So, I have decided to post and declare on my blog that I have registered to do the Bay Area See Jane Run 1/2 marathon on May 30th 2009. I have 123 days to train. I know I have plenty time, but I have a lot of work to do. First, is to finally lose this 20 (something) pounds I've put on since having Amy. Second, is to train. Which is the part I really don't mind and look forward to. I love to workout...it just sucks when you 20 (something) pounds heavier. I really miss that feeling of being totally in shape...feeling really strong and physically confident...feeling like ME! So...here's to crossing things off my list.

Friday, January 23, 2009

The Christmas Card that never was...


This should have been our Christmas Card and letter. Steve and I could not agree on a picture. I didn't like this one. Ironic, now that I am posting it to my blog. We hoped to have taken a "snow" picture in Idaho, but it just never happened. And now that the Christmas is but a faint memory...I still wanted to make sure I had our letter in for archive purposes. So, forgive me as I reflect back...

Greetings from the Jensen Family,

We hope this letter finds you and your family happy, healthy, and enjoying the Holiday Season. Life has been good to the Jensens this past year, so we’ll just “cut to the chase” and fill you in on the highlights.

Amy just turned 4, and most people would never guess she has Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. She loves to jump on the trampoline, ride her tri-cycle everywhere, learned to swim this summer, and is regularly found climbing the counters to find hidden My Little Pony “treats”. We recently changed doctors and now see 2 phenomenal doctors at Stanford Medical Center. Amy’s last lab results gave us huge encouragement that she is well on her way of putting this into remission. She also started preschool this year and is having fun making new friends.

Rachel is now 9. Her pleading and begging finally paid off and she convinced her parents to buy her a hamster for her birthday. His name is Nibbles. She still loves soccer and is currently playing in a year-round indoor league. She is the family baby sitter, being that she is more qualified than her older brother. She recently formed a club with her friends called the “Mouse Town Club” (not sure where the name came from). Basically, the club is a good excuse for her and her friends to get together and play…but at least they have an agenda. She still likes to draw and write books in her free time.

Alec is now 12. He loves being involved in the young men organization of our church. He also is quite involved in scouting and earned 10 merit badges over the summer. He continues to love swimming and played in some junior golf tournaments this past summer. This coming year he will be trying his hand in karate, something he has wanted to do for years. While he has always liked the girls, it is hitting full force now (although he won’t publicly admit it).

Trisha is busy keeping the house running at “peak performance”. She keeps up with the kid’s schedules, which seems to get more hectic as the years go buy. She finally replaced her “lemon” sewing machine for a much better one that sparked her faded interest in sewing. She made several things this past year, including a darling TinkerBell costume for Amy that she wore on Halloween.

Steve turned that magic age this year where rigor mortis sets in after a hard fought game of flag football. Trisha threw a huge surprise birthday party for him and invited all his local friends. His job content increased this year so he’s busier than normal for the time being. He is now involved in shipments of plutonium “parts” in addition to the test work he oversees.

Fun activities this past year included a trip to Disneyland, camping at Lake Tahoe, and our yearly visit to McCall, Idaho for some scenic mountain beauty and lots of golf.

We would like to wish your and your family a Merry Christmas and best wishes for the New Year.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

A tea party without cups!



The messes girls can make. Amy loves to have her "best friend" Alice over with her little sister "Janie" (really Jane, but Amy is into nicknames like her dad) to play. It usually starts with the dresses...then the jewelry...and then everything else. This particular day the girls announced from the top of stairs down to me, busy on the computer...as I always am when Amy is busy playing, "we are having a tea party". Later, after hearing much business and chatter upstairs, they announced it was time for the tea party. I climbed the stairs to find this.

I asked, "where are the cups?".

The looked at each other and then Alice said, "I'll go get them".

I think everything else from Amy's room was on that table, but the cups.

Amy, Alice and Jane finished up the morning with their own rendition of "Princess and The Pauper".

It was clearly the best tea party I have ever been to...that is...without cups.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

New Year's Day never tasted so good!





Oh, how we look forward to our annual trip to Idaho for the New Year's Holiday. We spend it with my side of the family...which always includes food! Really good food...and lots of it. We arrived on the 26Th of December with a think blanket of snow. The kids played in it on Saturday...us lame parents didn't get a picture. The next day...the sun came out and melted it all away. We played with cousins, saw movies, went shopping, played at PoJos, and did a little R&R.

New Year's eve we went over to my brother Jesse's house and ate and hung out. New Years day we gathered at my parents house for the annual "Feast". The whole family comes, plus Jamie, Jeff, and Ava. From the pictures you can see that we eat well. The kids played hard...so hard we ended up with one broken arm. Another down fall was my sudden out brake of pain in my jaw/teeth. My dentist filled a prescription of antibiotics and codeine that day. Since being back...it has ended up not being an abscessed tooth or anything else with my teeth. It sounds like it might be a blocked salivary gland. The things that can go wrong you?