Life Is A Highway...

I love our Honda Odyssey, have I mentioned that before? Seriously, it is so nice and comfortable. This morning as we packed every square inch of it with things we have acquired (from camping, weddings, birthdays etc) I still knew that it would be a relatively comfortable trip to Cali. As we pulled out of my parents neighborhood Kennedy parts the piles of stuff she is buried under in the back and asks, "Is that thing on top going to slide off?" Thinking she was worrying needlessly about the topper I started to answer her when Nathan slowed the van and pulled over saying to himself, "Geez you've got to be kidding me..." I was surprised when he thanked Kenna for reminding him and got out of the car to strap the topper down. Yeah, that wouldn't have been good.

Anyway, there we were a few hours later somewhere -or rather nowhere- in Nevada. I was driving while Nathan (jet lagged from his trip back from Taiwan yesterday) rested. We were cruising along on the gently rolling hills of the asphalt ocean that is I-80. I was singing my heart out to my favorite tunes on my iPod feeling like, dang I sound good- even though I can't hear my own voice with the buds filling my ears with perfectly pitched professionals. It was 103 degrees outside but what did I care? we were comfortable in our well air conditioned slice of heaven-in-motion. My little utopia was suddenly given a reality check when the gas light decided to rear it's ugly head.

This shouldn't be a huge deal, but last week we had new tires and wheels put on the van -for all you nonmechanical people out there yes, those are two different things- which is a whole different drama in and of itself. But since the switch a few quirky things had been happening. I noticed that the one time the gas light had come on the digital read out said Range: 44 miles which was totally normal. Then in a matter of about 10 miles it told me that the Range was 0 miles...not normal. It is usually perfectly accurate and thankfully has a generous buffer after we hit Range:0 miles. But in light of what happened last time we were worried. Nathan and I watched nervously as the digital miles before the big "E" dropped like el-bees off the Biggest Loser, and we were down to zero in about 10 minutes. Not good.

About twenty minutes later my worst (immediate) fear was realized when the gas ran out. I hit the flashers and aimed for a big gravel spot off the shoulder. Now all of a sudden the 103 degree weather was serious and we rolled down the windows and put the sun shade up in the windshield which worked all right. I had visions of Nathan hitchhiking into the nearest town -which was a mere 8 miles away- but in a matter of minutes Nathan had found a towing company who brought out some gas. It was the cleanest tow truck either of us had ever seen and the gentleman was super friendly and did his best to make us feel less stupid. He said that it was a long stretch and a gas station about midway that had been open for 50 years had burned down and so people who think they can fill up there get a not so nice surprise. He also said our tires could totally mess with the system so it tells us we have more gas then we really do.

Anyway, it was an expensive fill up but quite a little adventure seeing as it was a first for both Nathan and I. Good times. You know you are jealous, and if you aren't by now then I will just throw in that after we filled up we were back on the freeway all of 5 minutes before traffic came to a complete standstill due to an accident somewhere up ahead. We waited an hour before things started to move. So yeah, those are just a few "adventures" from our day. I am sure there will be more to come soon. Here is a pic of "Belle" on her thrown she made, with her dog "Rootbeer" resting in her lap, before the mean witch made them get their pj's on and go to bed.

Girls Night Out

Trevi, Bonnie, Amber, Kysa, lil-ol Me, Tara

So as you can see, I got my very first Pedi the other night with my SILS Amber and Kysa. I am S-O-L-D! It was so relaxing and wonderful and over far too quickly! After, we met up with my other SILS and MIL and did some shopping before dinner at PF Changs. It's always really fun shopping together because you get feedback from 5 trusted sources which is so nice/dangerous. Dinner was great though Tara did have to save me with an infusion of caffeine from her D.P. and pretty soon I was feeling a little perky-er.
When everyone called it a night Kysa drove me home and we sat out in my parents drive way for almost 2 hours talking (which frankly, isn't that difficult for the two of us to do) but it was a total blast from the past when I went to go inside and everyone was asleep and I was locked out...does anyone else remember those days? or am I the only one who had them? Anyway, as usual it was a great night with the girls!

Kohen's 4th B-day

My favorite little boy in the whole world has turned 4. He is still the happy boy he has been since he was born, or at least a few minutes after anyway. I was showing Kohen pictures from when he was born, many of which he is crying in. His simple observation was, "I didn't like you guys." And from that context he looks right! But actually he was the sweetest and easiest baby I have had. He only cried if Kennedy was trying to scratch his eyes out or if I had overlooked feeding him because he was always just content to hang out.

He can still be talked down from most melt downs by tickle torture or teasing which is helpful...unless he has irritated me past the point of silliness. But for the most part he is a happy and fun kid. He shows signs of having his fathers unfailing optimism ("one in a million?......So your sayin there's a chance!") and a bit of his mom's healthy imagination, though he is very much his own little guy. We are grateful everyday that Heavenly Father chose to send him to our family.

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.