Ashley & Shayn Wedding

OKay, this post is pretty much the wedding in pictures. First we have Kennedy getting some last minute touch ups on her hair.

Then we have all of the bridesmaids in our "Team Bride" tanks before we got our dresses on. Most of the girls are Ash's friends from H.S. and one or two from college.

Kennedy and I dressed up and ready to go.
Kennedy was very excited about her flower girl duties. And how cute is the parasol? All of us bridesmaids had a black one, it was super cute.

Ashley at the Estate house taking the first of MANY pictures.

Check out this cake- I thought it was so unique and beautiful. It is layers of cupcakes with the top layer being the cake that Ashley and Shayn would cut. Love it.

My mom did the crystals on each and every "C"- aren't they so beautiful?!

Natalie and I at the reception. It was outdoors and there were yellow parasols all around for you to use which was so perfect to keep the setting sun out of our faces and it also looked really cool too here and there on the patio.
Ashley and Shayn's first dance...

Father/Daughter dance

My Mom and I with the cakes
My niece Emilee and I- Emilee did great with the kids all weekend, Thank you!!!

This handsome bloke was my date, lucky me!

The closest we got to a good family picture...not bad...
The wedding party
Congratulations Ashley and Shayn!!! It was a wonderful weekend!

If anyone is interested in viewing some of the photographers pics click right here for a link.

Rehearsal Dinner/Evening

Well, our entire family has been excited for 8.02.08 for quite some time. My little sis is getting married to Shayn- the greatest guy- and the party would commence up at Tamarack on August 1st. Friday morning as I was frantically gathering last minute stuff we may want or need I was silently cursing my sis for having basically a destination wedding, because it was such a hassle getting there. But it didn't take long once we were up there before I realized the hassle was worth it.

Friday morning the men-folk all went rafting and I had a lunch with Ashley and her other 6 bridesmaids. Luckily my niece Emilee was willing to come up and shoulder the burden that would be my three little ones in a hotel room (albeit very large with kitchen, multiple rooms and family room). The guys had an awesome time rafting and even witnessed a helicopter gathering water from the river right in front of them and another plane come over the helicopter and drop the fire retardant powder. Apparently it was pretty rad because I heard the story at least a 1/2 dozen times from a different guy each time and it was cute, they all sounded like what Kohen would have sounded like had he seen it...I guess some things never change.



At 4 we had the rehearsal which went well though Kennedy was over it pretty quickly once she had gotten to practice her part as flower girl a few times. Next everyone met over at one of the Estate houses that Ashley and some of the bridesmaids were staying in- for dinner and Ashley also gave all of the bridesmaids a gift which of course was adorable and easily the most generous bridesmaid gift I have gotten. Ashley is known for her 'matchy-matchyness' and so we all followed suit in case you are wondering. I thought it was fun and looked nice.
Next we all headed down to the lake for the 'Party Barges' and the three boats headed out onto the water. This turned out to be a highlight of the weekend for my dad because he unexpectedly got to drive the boat and was pretty much thrilled.

So all three boats went out to the middle of the lake and tied together and we enjoyed watching the sun set as we all hung out and laughed and chatted.

This would be me and Dixie aka: Mi Madre

My Gma Nona and Papa Don... How cute are they?

My Seesters Ashley and Natalie

If you don't know who they are (above) then you are reading the wrong blog :)

And then we have John-o (Dad) and Dix (Mom), what a good looking couple if I may say...After the boats we headed back to the lodge and went down on the patio for a big bon fire and some family friends jammed and it was just laid back and so nice. It was really a great night.

Nathan with the BIL's

Who all the fuss is about: Shayn & Ashley

The two chairs together making a toddler bed is kind of a tradition from my family, growing up we used to do this all of the time when we traveled. Both Kennedy and Kohen looked so cute and comfortable when we got back from the evening that I had to take a few pics. The day was a great prelude to the wedding day...

The Pool Party Sans Children

Kysa & Taylor (Nathan's Bro), Brandon and Tara (Nathan's 2nd sis), Amber (baby sis), Nathan and Mike (Amber's hubby). Present but not for the photo op. are Bonnie and Norm and Trevi (oldest sis) and hubby Keith.

I am so excited about this post because this is one of my favorite Jensen family traditions. Every summer we have a pool party over at my FIL and MIL's house with Norm and Bonnie's 5 children and their spouses. Best part about this party??? Hmmm, I had one in mind but actually there are several so we will start with 'sans children'- this is a no kids allowed party* (unless one of us is nursing, which this year no one was though Amber has a bun in the oven...so we let her bring that baby, lol) which is awesome because we get to have conversations without small people in-ter-rup-ting-us-ALL-THE-TIME. And, Bonnie and Norm get the best food- King Crab legs and Prime Rib and always some sort of specialty drink and sodas and then we all bring fun side dishes and desserts that we wouldn't want to waste on our little one's picky appetites.
So we always eat dinner outside at a table by the pool which is a beautiful and relaxing setting in and of itself with the water spilling over from the hot tub to the pool and the light glowing different colors through the pool water...ahhhh...wonderful....It is such a different place without 20+ children running, splashing, shouting, laughing, crying, eating, spilling and swimming wherever you look. And I always look forward to the converations because I love all of my BILs and SILs, they are each so unique and smart and funny in different ways that the conversations are funny and sometimes deep and more serious and then funny again, it is great.
Once we are all stuffed with some delicious dessert my SIL/BFF Kysa most likely has made we roll ourselves out of our chairs and into the pool to float around a while to let things settle. Then it is time for some Bump. For those of you who don't know this is a basketballish type game where you line up and the person behind you tries to get the ball in the basket before you and get you out. It is so much fun even though I am the total patsy player most of the time, the self-esteem builder for the others -if you will- cuz I am so easy to get out. Eventually we all head to the hot tub and squeeze in as the conversations and joking continue until we cannot ignore the phone calls from babysitters anymore and we all reluctantly head... I already can't wait for next years Pool Party Sans Children!

My First Time To San Francisco

Our house, the guy at the bottom left was a huge selling point for me ;)

If you are facing the house and look left, this is your view and a culdesac for the kids, yay!

Facing the house, look right and this is the view...those hills look allergic to matches to me...

Just like that *poof!* Nathan and I's week away together is over. At the beginning of the week the two of us flew down to San Francisco to go house hunting in the suburb Walnut Creek. As soon as we got off the plane I could smell the fresh ocean air off the Bay and I felt strangely welcomed. When we got to the Marriot we were staying at they didn't have any King beds left and so they gave us two Full sized beds which was a throw back to our Honeymoon bed situation (no choice but to snuggle up! shucks!) and that was just the beginning of several really annoying service issues with the hotel.

But I ain't gonna spend time complaining about the size of the bed when Nathan and I had days together, just the two of us. Our first day looking for a home to rent we saw 7 homes and got a good feel for the area and where we wanted to be. That afternoon we were driving around a neighborhood, in this case killing time until an appt., when we found a house for sale/lease. Just like with our very first home in Boise, the moment I saw the house I had a feeling it was the right one. We got an appt. to look at the house right away and at first I was bummed cuz the realtor told us there was already a lease application in on the house. But Nathan and I loved the house and the realtor encouraged us to go forward with an application as well and long story short, we got the house!!!! Yay!!! Phew!!! ...Yay!!!

We spent the week signing lease agreements, working out kinks (ie: T-mobile has no service at our house so I will have to get a new phone that has Wi-fi capabilities) and finding and getting Kennedy registered for Kindergarten.

That brings up a whole new issue. Where we have been living the cut off date for Kindergarten is in September. Kennedy's birthday is at the end of October so there wasn't even an option, she had to wait to go. But in Cali. the cut off date is the end of December and the registration lady was totally wanting us to put Kennedy straight into first grade. We will likely only be in the area for one year and I don't know what the rules will be where we move but all of a sudden Nathan and I were worried we weren't making the right choice for Kenna. Anybody have any opinions or advice? As it stands we are still putting her in Kindergarten. I mean, it isn't like she is going to be the tallest in the class...even if she is the oldest.

Anyway, it has been the most wonderful week with Nathan- getting to eat out together and go to movies together and just having hours of uninterrupted time to talk and be together. And thank you to my Mom and Dad who watched the Fiesta Trio for us all week!!!! We will have a guest room/bath in our home here so this is an official open invitation for anyone who would like to visit! Nathan and I scoped out Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39 and saw Alcatraz from a distance and would love to go exploring with anyone who comes down.

P.S.- It feels weird that I am not going back to VA...I miss everyone so much but it hasn't really set in that I'm not going back, with all that has been going on. But just know that I think about everyone often and miss you guys!!

Nathan and I on Pier 39 down at Fisherman's Wharf

More Pier 39 stuff

That is Alcatraz in the distance behind me, I'm a little weary to get much closer lest I somehow get captured and held captive there...I read too many books...

The Craziest Saturday Ever

Mi Madre, Ashley, Me, Natalie

The table settings and decorations

Me and my 'Seesters'

I did it. I made it through one of the busiest days I have had in a long time. Everyone decided to plan everything for last Saturday. And on top of that my Mom and I accidentally chose the time for my little sister's bridal shower at the exact same time as the Family BBQ for my high school reunion. There were at least 4 other things that I was invited to or wanted/needed to attend going on all in the same day. Why does that always happen?! You got nothing going on and then bam! everything all at the same time...but I digress.

Saturday morning I got up and got ready -right there I accomplished more than usual, right?- and my Mom and I scampered around the house getting last minute things for the shower ready. We got to Carino's Italian Restaurant early to set up and I was surprised how well all of our decorations looked and helped to transform the room a bit. This shower -one of several Ashley has been thrown- was for Grandma, Aunts, cousins and a few dear family friends to be able to help celebrate Ashley and Shayns upcoming nuptials (say the last two words with kind of an uppity air and it's more fun). It was nice to see everyone and visit for a little while before I had to leave. You can't see me but I am making a yucky face thinking about how I had to leave early. Boo for that.

I jump in the car and Nathan has the kids all ready to go and we drive down to Eagle Island State Park. I was a little bit nervous about the whole H.S. reunion thing. If I am being honest I waffled a lot about whether or not I wanted to even go. I mean, my high school experience was fine. Parts of it were great and parts of it really weren't and so I feel like it evened out to a middle of the road experience. My freshman and sophomore years were in Omaha, NE at Millard North -shout out to my BFF Rachel :) - and only my last two years were at Eagle so I felt like my loyalties were slightly divided anyway. But obviously I decided to go to this part of the reunion. We get there and immediately I feel thrown back into school where you walk into a room and frantically search the room for a familiar face so that you don't feel like such a tard all by yourself. But it didn't take long to find friendly faces and pretty soon I felt relaxed and was able to enjoy catching up with friends (most of whom I still keep in touch with already) and seeing some I hadn't seen in years. It was fun...

...It was also hot. And although we brought our stuff to swim in the river, every time we swim there one of our kids ends up with an ear infection (my ped. said it was probably cuz the water in that area doesn't circulate enough) so Nathan and I were trying to avoid the hassle of letting our kids swim. Plus, let's be honest. I wouldn't have wanted to get in a swimsuit in front of my whole class 10 years ago- what makes them think I would want to now!? So eventually we told the kids we would go to Papas house and go swimming instead.

As we left I realized that the people who never talked to me in High School still didn't talk to me, and those who had been my friends still felt like my friends. I hope my VA friends are right who told me 20 year reunions are better because the 'cool people' have finally realized they're not really cooler than anyone and then everyone can just be themselves. That sounds like a lot more fun to me.

Next (thats right, my day wasn't even close to being over) we took the kids over to Nathan's parents house to swim and then I went over to my sister Ashley's house and she and my older sister Natalie and I worked on Ash's wedding favors together which was fun.

And finally Nathan and I went out with my parents to dinner and the new Batman movie- which by the way was great- Heath Ledger was creepy as all get out and he did an amazing job as the Joker. But by the end of Saturday I felt like I had been hit by a truck...so tired! Even though it was a long day it really was a great one.

What We've Been Up To

Kennedy generously tried all of her safety biking gear on Aly which was adorable...until Kennedy decided to take it all back and Aly cried :( So much for "sharing"...


Papa John showing Kennedy and Kohen his guitar and letting them give it a little try...



Blowing bubbles with Papa Dixie (or "Pixie" as Aly has shortened it too, so funny)...

Kennedy and Kohen after I told them what the surprise was that we were going to go see...

Go Diego Go, Live! Came to Boise and we went with "Pixie" to see the show...

Although it was 'strictly prohibited' I lived on the edge and broke the law for all of my blogging readers by taking pictures of the show...your welcome :)

Papa Dixie even bought the kids T-shirts and a cool light up toy from the show which was a huge treat, very fun...
More updates again soon. Though if any of you are like me, blogging takes a bit of a back seat in the summer because there is so much going on...which is kind of a problem when we usually blog about all the stuff going on, not a great cycle...anyway, hope you are all enjoying your summers!!!!

Aunt Ashley's Birthday

Aunt Ashley's Birthday, Kenna and Kohen "help" unwrap gifts

Aly being held by "Pixie" which is what she shortened 'Papa Dixie' into

Kennedy and Kohen were chasing Ashley around pretending to be "her kittie's"...

All the while AlyCat -legitimizing her namesake- was tasting the cat food in the kitchen...mmm, fiber...

A Message From Idaho

Happy Birthday Nathan!!!!!!!
We miss you....

Those Pearly Whites

Since we have been at my parents house Aly has been out doing herself getting into mischief as she discovers all the new things she can gain access to. Exhibit A: Aly has realized that if she climbs up on the toilet in our bathroom she can crawl on to the counter to get the toothpaste. I had already caught her eating it earlier but when Kennedy came and got me to show me what Aly was up to a little later, I found Aly had decided to go all out and really own her rascality this time around.Two final thoughts: I love Kennedy's 2 cents in the video and yes, child locks have since been purchased and applied with varying degrees of succes. Turns out the doors have to be closed for the locks to work...

Kenna and the Two Wheeler

We had last Saturday to recuperate a little bit before we packed up our bags again on Sunday and headed out for the Bi-annual Jensen Family Reunion. This was the first one where I wasn't ridiculously heavy with child or where I had a new born less than two weeks old so I was definitely looking forward to hanging out with everyone at the 4-H camp up at Donnely that we go to, more than I had in previous years.

Kennedy and two of her cousins, Spencer and Caleb are all born within about 3 months of each other. When we got up there and there were kids bikes everywhere we realized that none of the 3 cousins were riding bikes yet, though the boys both have them and have worked with training wheels on and off but still weren't riding without help. Kennedy didn't have a bike yet and had never tried riding a bike sans training wheels but was as eager as the boys to give it a try. I think the key to their success that night might have had to do with Uncle Taylor and Aunt Tara helping them rather than their own parents. All three of the kids learned how to ride a bike! Poor Taylor was soaking with sweat by the end, having run back and forth with the kids spotting them. Thanks Uncle Taylor!!!

Of course I am most excited for Kennedy- she pretty much hopped on the bike and rode off...on gravel no less, cuz thats the easiest place to learn. Nathan and I were planning on getting Kenna a bike sometime this summer but this new development kind of threw things into high gear. When we got back Nathan and I took Kennedy to get her very first bike. She rides it like a speed demon, so I guess it's fair to say she takes after me in that area...The video is of Kenna up at the camp riding her cousins bike and it is only 15 seconds long or so, enjoy :)