Segs in the City

Kysa and I took a tour of D.C. on a Segway this Saturday...it was SO much fun!!! At least 75% of the fun was getting to ride one of these things! The Segway moves forward when you lean forward and back when you lean back, etc. There are several groups that give tours on the Segway downtown and we were lucky to get in last minute. The company that we went with is called 'Segs in the City' (a play off of 'Sex in the City' that I naively didn't connect until Kysa pointed it out walking to the place) which I have to admit is kind of clever. When others didn't show we ended up getting a tour just the two of us with our guide and off we went zipping around D.C.. It was a blast! We were able to see so many sights in such a short amount of time which was awesome. We were a spectacle everywhere we went. The Segway seems like something a bit ahead of it's time, and though they were so much fun to ride, we both would laugh every time we saw our reflection in building windows as we went by. Kysa said we looked like we were in the category 'special needs' and I couldn't argue with that. It looks so funny with your legs straight, leaning forward- every time we would get going all I could hear was that music from the Wizard of Oz! We answered lot's of people's questions along the way and at one point as we went by this guy in a truck shouts at me, "Where did you rent those from?" Wanting to be a good customer I eagerly shout back, "SEGS IN THE CITY!" as soon as the words left my mouth I felt like such a moron shouting that phrase....from the look on the man's face I think there was some confusion on his end too but I don't know what else I would have said I guess. Anyway, our tour was 2 1/2 hours and before we went we thought we hadn't gotten the best deal because many other tours are 4 hours for about the same price. About an hour into it and both Kysa and I's legs started killing. Standing for so long in one position- man, we were SO grateful our tour was the shorter one. We would have died 3/4 the way through a longer tour! But otherwise the experience was a fantastic one. Our guide Bill was an older gent from Australia and he would quiz us on all of the historical facts and pretty soon Kysa and I started feeling like we shouldn't have passed high school history! Bill didn't seem to mind though, and when we asked him if we were the worst ever his response was, "hardly." I watch Jay Walking, so I believe him... Anyway, if you ever get the chance to tour on a Segway, do it!!!

Segway fun!

Okay, this is right after we received a short lesson on how to ride a Segway and we were still testing things out and laughing...a lot. So you will have to excuse my obnoxious intake of breath while I am laughing so hard at Kysa but in my defense, she was trying to crack me up! Hope it does the same for you!

Amen sister!

The other morning Kysa and I were sitting down to breakfast with the children and we went to fold our arms to bless the food when out of the corner of my eye I see Aly move her arms. Kysa was convinced (though I was a bit incredulous) that Alyssa had folded her arms too. We decided to grab the camara and see if it had been a coincidence...when I asked everyone to fold their arms once more- right on cue- Aly folded her sweet little arms. I can't believe I got a picture of it! Next (of course) we had to try to get it on video and though we were successful, you have to watch carefully because she complies quickly and then is off onto other things...like maybe the breakfast that she thinks has been blessed 3 + times! You can tell she is so over it when I ask her to fold her arms again...can't blame the girl for that. Anyway, hope you enjoy it as much as we did :)

Flying Planes on the Mall

While we were on the Mall my dad brought out some little wooden airplanes for Kennedy and Kohen to fly. The planes were a big hit...literally, there was a lot of planes hitting the ground as the children tried to master throwing them and making them fly as well as Papa John could do it. How herky-jerky does Kohen look in that bottom picture as he hurtles the plane straight into the ground? He looks like he has taken some dance lessons from Elaine on Seinfeld! Actually he is just trying to get used to throwing again since he got his cast off and he is making progress. We had a great time watching Kennedy and Kohen run along in the grass making their planes 'fly'. Thankfully both of the planes were able to avoid a watery grave in the Reflecting Pool- truly a modern day miracle!

Lincoln Memorial

Here is Kohen pointing to Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial. However when I ask him what it is he decides to say "peanut" in reference to the peanut he still had in his hand after feeding them to squirells on the Mall...Kohen isn't quite the stealthy squirell feeder that Kennedy is- he still tries to chase them down and hand them the peanut personally, sweet boy. Anyway, here is the Lincoln Memorial :)

D.C. with Papa John and Dixie

Our trip down to D.C. with my mom and dad was great. We walked up and down the mall with the children and saw the WWII Memorial (first picture), Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument (last pic.). It was especially fun for the kids because Nathan- who had been out of town for the week- met us downtown and we were all excited to see him. After 6 days of rainy, blustery weather Friday was a beautiful day, perfect for seeing some sights in D.C!

10 months old

Alyssa Marie is 10 months and as usual, I can't believe it. She is still a sweet, happy baby- unless you take too long getting her food! Let me try to give you a snapshot of Aly J. at 10 months old. She still doesn't have any teeth though she has two that look like they will come in any day. She has started doing these short, staccato grunts to get my attention and she will keep doing them intermittently until I come and see what she needs. Aly isn't crawling yet, she seems to think she is going to skip it altogether and go straight to walking. Apparently that is what my sisters and I did...which explains a lot :) The other morning I went in to check on her and found her with her head and feet down and her little hiney sticking straight up in the air, she looked like a little human tee-pee. She kept pushing off with her feet and getting increasingly frustrated that she wasn't going anywhere! She still does the light bulb though it has now evolved into both hands twisting and her feet kicking- it looks like some sort of spastic hula dance- I have no idea how she keeps it all going! Anyway, I thought it was noteworthy that after 10 months of being smothered and mauled by her sibling's 'love', Alyssa is still with us and happy... Then again maybe that is why she is trying so hard to walk, so she can get outa here!!!

Time to Eat!

Public Service Announcement

HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?

A. Got in fist fight with lady on Metro

B. Had Skin cancer spot removed

C. Fell down the stairs...again

Answer is B. Can you believe it? I had my first skin cancer spot removed by way of MOHs Surgery almost 2 weeks ago. My good friend Amber who grew up in California brought my attention to the fact that skin cancer was a possibility even at a young age when she had some Basal cell cancer spots removed. I finally had a small flesh colored bump under my right eye checked out and after a biopsy learned that it too was Basal Cell Carcinoma (the 'good' kind of skin cancer, if there is such a thing). I first noticed it when I was about 25 and the only thing that made it suspicious to me was that sometimes I noticed the shape would change slightly. Any way, I think I was shocked that at 25 I developed skin cancer. But I have learned a lot about all of this and I will share some of what the Skin Cancer Specialist who removed the spot with the MOHs Surgery- taught me (if you read about it scroll down and there are pictures showing step by step what is done during the procedure.). The way they reconstruct is interesting too. Since the area they removed is circular you can't just stitch it up because it would pucker and pull awkwardly. Instead they made incisions to the side of it as well and then sewed it shut. I ended up with stitches below the skin and 4 or 5 above. I was told I would likely have a black eye and was bitterly disappointed when it only turned green...I know, I know, you are thinking "I could give ya a black eye!"- Hardy-har-har...I figure if I have to have a hole dug in my face the least they could do is give me the black eye they promised! :) Here are a few interesting things the Dr. taught me. The damage that likely caused this spot happened about 20 years ago which means I was around 5. I told him, "Wonderful. That means my face is going to shrivel up and fall off at about 35!" I spent several summers as a teenager laying out in the sun against my parents advice, of course, and now I want to just kick myself. Anyway, he went on to say that every time our skin is exposed to sun it damages the DNA. However our bodies are amazing in their ability to fix themselves and when there is sun exposure the DNA can usually heal and fix itself...until you get a sunburn. Then your system is so overwhelmed trying to fix all of the damage that sometimes damaged DNA gets by without getting fixed and turns into skin cancer. But he said it isn't just sunburns that will cause skin cancer, and he used this example to illustrate: If skin cancer cost $1,000 then a sunburn would be $300. Tanning would be $50 and a 10 minute walk in the sun would be 10 cents. So basically, it doesn't take very many sunburns to cause skin cancer. The moral of the story is to wear sunscreen everyday (there are several lotions with spf. in it and lots of moisturizers for your face that have it.) and if you will have prolonged exposure you must reapply the sunscreen every few hours. So, now that I have posted a picture of my face that was more close up than I am comfortable with- do me a favor and wear your sunscreen!

ps- In under two weeks the incision is already fading. I can't believe what a good job the Dr. did, I am completely amazed and grateful!

May I Have This Dance?

Dancing around uninhibited is common place in our home. While we get meals going or while we clean we often turn a song on loud and all dance around together. Everyone is involved from Nathan down to Alyssa. I have never documented this before because A: we are all too busy getting down and B: because I am afraid if I see what I look like in a picture I may be tempted to stop :) Anyway, soon after 'Papas' arrived(Our kids call both grandparents Papa) they were solicited for an impromptu dance. Seeing as I didn't have a partner for this particular dance I felt it safe to document the moment. Of all of my family's dancing I know this dance will stand out and be remembered for the fun they had cutting a rug with Papas!

The Nutcracker

When Uncle Justin visited a few months ago he saw how much Kohen loved the peanuts at Five Guys but couldn't get the shells open. So he taught Kohen how to open a peanut by smashing it with a closed fist...thank you Justin! :) The other day my parents were with us experiencing Five Guys and we got some video of Kohen being a nutcracker...the shells didn't stand a chance against his cast...whatever works!

Accomplishment

Today I took my parents into downtown D.C. to check out some sights and museums. What about this picture is noteworthy you may ask? Well, not only did we find a rare parking spot right in front of the museum we were going to, but I, Erin Jensen, parallel parked on Constitution Ave.!!!!! Though it was about a 10 point turn, it wasn't like that commercial where the girl parking backs in and hits the car behind her then drives forward and hits the car in front! It isn't so much that I can't parallel park as I never have to do it and I certainly don't want to do it under pressure. And even though there were cars coming towards us as we got situated, with a little support from my dad, I executed the parallel without a hitch...or even hitting one!

Cast off!

This Monday Kohen got his cast off. He was a great little patient. They put on a gown and then ear phones while they took his cast off. I thought he might not be a big fan of the loud, spinning pizza cutter blade but he sat patiently while they removed his cast. The interesting thing happened when we got home and he was trying to adjust to using his arm again. Hours after getting his cast off he, not realizing it, would hold his arm in the exact position that the cast had held it in. I thought that was kind of funny, though today he is using his arm more. He seems to be happy to have two hands that can get food to his mouth again!

Air and Space Museum

On Saturday while Nathan was home for the day before he had to leave again, we all loaded up and went to the Air and Space Museum. Nathan was able to go with his parents a week or so ago when they were here and if I would have known how Kohen would react we would have went with that time too! Kohen walked in, looked up and saw the planes hanging and parked all over the giant hangar and flipped out!!!! There is no way I could have predicted Kohen's response- pointing, jumping, laughing, squealing and frantic to see all of the planes- Nathan and I were so surprised. The museum was awesome and my dad especially enjoyed it too, and we all had fun watching Kohen's reaction- which probably sustained it's energy for at least 45 min. We rounded out our trip by going up to the flight deck to watch planes land and take off from nearby Dulles Airport. What a fun outing!

Assisted Living

Having my mom and dad here has been great. With Nathan out of town they are a huge help. So huge that I am starting to feel guilty...well, almost! My mom especially is doing so many of my 'mom responsibilities' and it works well for both of us because instead of trying to spread myself over 3 children's needs, with her help I can focus on one child while she takes care of another. Meanwhile Papa John is no doubt getting the third child all riled up playing a chasing, hiding, or wrestling game of some sort. Now I am just trying to figure out how I can get them stranded here forever...any suggestions?

Tag

Three Things That Scare Me:

1. My loved ones getting hurt
2. Being home alone at night
3. Scary Movies

Three people Who Make Me Laugh:

1. Nathan and the children
2. Kysa
3. Mom

Three Things I Love:

1. An awesome book
2. Having fun as a family
3. Target

Three Things I Hate:

1. Being so far from family and friends in Boise
2. Children or animals suffering
3. doing laundry

Three Things I Don’t Understand:

1. Politics
2. Mortgages
3. foreign languages

Three things On My Desk:

1. (only 3...oh boy, how to choose) umbrella
2. calculator
3. calendar

Three Things I’m Doing Right Now:

1. typing
2. breathing
3. blinking

Three Things I Want To Do Before I Die:

1. finish college
2. work in an orphanage over seas
3. be published

Three Things I Can Do:

1. Rival Nathan's debating skills
2. Make baby bracelets/headbands
3. The splits

Three Things I Can’t Do:

1. Put down a good book
2. Push ups, I laugh just imagining it
3. Hold my tongue...that should be on 'to do before I die' list

Three Things I Think You Should Listen To:

1. The Holy Ghost
2. Spouse
3. Intuition

Three Things You Should Never Listen To:

1. The little guy on your left shoulder with a pitchfork and tail
2. Music that brings you down- Kristin is right, too much good to waste time on that
3. Gossip

Three Things I’d Like To Learn:

1. How to be as optimistic as Nathan
2. Sew better
3. Photography

Three Favorite Foods:

1. Happy Fish Spicy Salmon Bowl
2. Panera Turkey Caprese Sandwich
3. Bacon (this is a new discovery as of late)

Three Shows I Watched As A Kid:

1. Smurfs
2. James Bond Jr.
3. Full House

Three Things I Regret:

1. Just know that there are more than three but I don't have the guts to share them here!

Three people I tag:

1. Halaulani
2. Kristy
3. Amy

Backing Up

Poor Alyssa. She is trying to figure out how to crawl and she is feeling frustrated. I can tell she wants to just stand up and walk and is irritated that she has to crawl first. Between the wood floors and her clothes she does a lot of sliding around and ends up always going in reverse. It is kind of comical because when she starts practicing she ends up only able to scoot backwards and getting more and more upset the further back she goes. In a particularly unsuccessful session Aly started backing up and amazingly she somehow reversed herself into this tight spot between the couch and the wall. The more frustrated she got the harder she tried and the further back she went! The bottom picture almost looks like a smile but she was actually just relieved when she knew I was coming to save her!

Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday morning -like many Sunday mornings- is usually a test of mom and dad's patience. More than any other time of the week on Sunday there is the greatest chance of me losing it and I feel like I am always thisclose to unleashing a tirade of expletives I haven't used since middle school out of just sheer exasperation. Nathan and I have learned that to have a smooth Sunday morning you really have to prepare the night before. Doing this has helped immensely. However this Easter Sunday morning I was solo since Nathan is out of town and even with preparation the odds were not in my favor. All morning we did a maddening 1-step-forward-2-steps-back-dance with a grand finale of Kennedy and Kohen messing up their hair and clothes wrestling while I was dressing Aly! #%!*!!! Overall I thought the pictures represented the morning well (eyes closed or shoes on the wrong feet etc). I especially love the picture of Kohen because it reminds me so much of Justin when he was little. Anyway, by the time we got to church I had taken a few deep breaths and was able to actually enjoy the meetings. As I sat in Sacrament I chided myself for letting new dresses, ties and tidy hair distract my sensibilities. Soon our tumultuous morning was all but forgotten and the importance of Easter came into focus. Especially after hearing this quote in class, "The three most important words in the English language are, 'He is risen'." Happy Easter!

"Dying" Eggs

Kennedy was so excited to color eggs this year. The confusion started when I said we were about ready to "dye the eggs". Kennedy got this worried look and asked, "What happens to the eggs when we "die" them?" Still oblivious to her real worry I answered, "We will put them back into the carton." To which she replied, "Yeah, but are they dead?!" After a lengthy explanation by me she still looked concerned so Nathan took over and in one sentence had clarified things for Kennedy...Just another reminder that Nathan is doing all the talking when we have to have the 'birds and the bees' talk with our kids- he is such a better communicator than I am! But I digress...us poor communicators do a lot of that! The coloring of the eggs went beautifully. It was fun for the children because they were able to be creative, and there were no spills- which was the definition of success to me! It went egg-sactly as I hoped it would!...sorry couldn't resist!

Christina Aguilera Concert

For my birthday Nathan surprised me with Christina Aguilera tickets! The sweetest part is that he bought them clear back in January and kept it a secret. I wanted to see this concert because I think that Christina has one of the best voices of my generation. Highlights of the evening: Nathan and I ate at a yummy little cafe' and then Nathan ran to go put some more coins in the meter (there's a highlight right there- $20 parking garages vs. $4 metered parking spot! woo hoo!) and while he was gone some 50 year old rich guy -I assume this because of his clothes and the pimped out Navigator he dropped his kids off in- totally hit on me. What!? This was a mini highlight because even though he was old and out of his ever-loving mind - I appreciate his...fortitude. And Nathan and I had a great laugh about it. Anyway, as you might guess the concert was amazing. We had great seats and could see really well. Christina (I feel weird calling her by her first name like we are friends or something, but what else do I call her?) belted out song after song- I can't believe she does that each night and still has a voice! Another highlight of the evening was people watching...too much to tell in a blog. The last picture is of this man who sat in front of us who was there with his son. His son looked about 3. He was not wearing ear plugs. What kind of a parent brings their 3 year old to a Christina Aguilera concert to have their innocent little ears permanently damaged roughly 3 hours after he should already be in bed?!!! Well, Nathan heard the guy proudly talking on the radio the next morning about taking his kid to the concert. We had suspected he was a d.j. because he had a radio station on his jacket but still- that is no excuse! Anyway- great night, thank you Nathan!!!!

Kite Festival on the Mall

On this day of the Cherry Blossom Festival there was a Kite Flying Festival. It was a perfect day for that since it was overcast and a little windy. We enjoyed the scenery while we shared a snack on the grass by the Monument. These pictures do not capture nearly as many kites as you could see with the naked eye- it was spectacular against the already powerful backdrop of our Nations Capitol. I had a rare moment where I thought, "This is amazing. They have nothing like this in Boise."....then I slapped myself hard and pulled it together! It was still a fabulous experience I was grateful to share with our children.

More Kite Festival

The last picture gives you an idea of how many people were out flying (or trying to fly) kites. There were also some really huge kites that had 20+ strings that had to be managed. I wonder if I had started to sing, "Ooh let's go fly a kite! Up to a the highest height!..." if this huge crush of people would all have joined in singing and dancing in unison; just like how it works in musicals...I guess we will never know!

Popcorn Popping

This past Saturday we we took the children and went downtown with Bonnie, Norm and Rosie to see the 2007 Cherry Blossom Festival in D.C. The children have been very excited as the trees have begun to bloom near our home. Everytime Kohen sees one he gets all amped pointing to the trees and saying "popcorn popping! popcorn popping!" over and over. He is quoting from a favorite Sunday School song about popcorn popping on the apricot trees in spring. So when we got down on the mall where there are literally thousands of trees in blossom he was beside himself. Kennedy was insistent on bringing a little purse to gather the blossoms, and I had to make sure she understood that though it looked like popcorn it was actually flowers. She seemed a little disapointed but quickly got over it probably because gathering flowers seems like something a princess might do. The scenery did seem a little like something straight out of a fairytale. You would have to be heartless not to feel a little romantic when you are standing under what looks like a canopy of pure white butterfly wings fluttering in the wind... well, heartless or else just asleep. Alyssa was all tucked in her new favorite form of travel- the backpack carrier- and was asleep as soon as we walked into the trees. With such beautiful surroundings she must have had sweet dreams.

How are Aly and a Geisha alike?

Anybody ever read Memoirs of a Geisha? In the book there is a little girl nicknamed "Pumpkin" because she constantly curls up her tongue in a way that looks like the curly vine at the top of a pumpkin. At the time when I read that I really couldn't picture exactly what the author was describing. Then about a month ago Alyssa started to stick out her tongue in this odd, pointy curled way and immediately I thought of 'Pumpkin'. The fact that I already call Aly 'Pumpkin Pie' is a coincidence- and this little quirk is now one more reason the nickname fits. In related news, it took me forever to get a shot of her with her tongue out. I seriously took dozens of pictures over several days trying to catch her doing it. She actually does it an awful lot, especially when she is working at something and concentrating. The problem is that she rarely sticks her tongue out and holds it there and by the time I could snap the picture she would be done! It was so frustrating! So hopefully the 3 pictures show at least the progression of what she does. This girl moves too quick for me!!