Kennedy's First Day of Kindergarten

Kennedy was coloring pictures the other day and when she showed me this one I said, "how cute! That's Aly?" and she says, "Yeah, AlyCat". I don't know exactly what my expression was but it must have been impressive because then Kenna says, "Isn't it the cutest ever? Does it make you want to cry?"

It is official. Kennedy is (finally) a Kindergartner! She couldn't be more happy. Seriously, she has been waiting a long time and she is excited. I, on the other hand, have a been having a bit of a rough time. Not because she is going to be away for a few hours everyday (yeah no. not sad about that) it is because I can't believe my mini little Kennedy is off to school. The process of losing her to a life of her own has started...and it hurts my heart. I know it is cliche' but just grant me this okay?! I swear "it seems like just yesterday" that Nathan and I were in the hospital changing her first diaper and trying to find some article of clothing to fit her tiny body, and most of all, I was grateful I wasn't pregnant anymore, PRAISE ALLAH! and the trampoline that food had found when it hit my stomach for the past 9 months had suddenly disappeared ( a Festivus Miracle!) and we were left with this beautiful baby girl. There is a line from the musical Children of Eden that has always struck painfully true to me. Noah sings this, "And it's only in Eden grows a rose without a thorn, and your children start to leave you on the day that they are born..." Just reading it isn't as moving as with music but ya know, it is a great song, if you want to read the rest of the lyrics click here.

Anyway, I had my choking up moment at the meet and greet yesterday but today I was totally pulled together...what? I swear! Kennedy had a great day and is totally excited to go back "every day for ever and ever until how many weathers have gone by mom?". I love this little girl....

Somebody Call Me A Waahmbulance!

Heads up: If given the right circumstances I can be a real "Debbie Downer"(wah-wahhh). And this past week was totally the perfect storm. Wed. when the movers came, at first I was so happy to just have a place to put our things and I was tearing through the unpacking which was so different from when we moved to VA. Though our townhouse was a fine size there was just so little storage space! I remember trying to unpack just standing in the kitchen doing slow circles around and around trying to figure out what to do first, it was terribly overwhelming. But there is plenty of storage space in this house so you simply unpack a box right into where it belongs and call it good. So that part was great and I felt really proud of all the work I had done on Wed. Thursday morning I woke up and I don't know if it was the scent of dog pee wafting around my nose or the chaotic state of things left half unpacked or what but lets just say, I had "packed my angry eyes" and I put them on before I rolled out of bed.

I just couldn't make myself work or unpack anything else because I was determined that if something wasn't done with the stinky/filthy house, I was leaving. And then I was even more frustrated because I knew there was no way to really leave...and I hate being forced. The kitchen turned into a sore spot because it was filthy. The cleaning women had surface cleaned it some but there was so much more to do elsewhere in the house that it was still pretty bad. I couldn't unpack the kitchen because it was dirty and needed to be cleaned, but I couldn't clean it because I needed to unpack to find the cleaning supplies. In the mood I was in it seemed a hopeless conundrum so I politely backed out of the house, into the car and- wait for it- found the nearest TARGET. It took the edge off a little, I actually needed to go so I wasn't being completely useless but no matter how you cut it it was not as productive a day as it needed to be. While I am out blowing off steam Nathan was of course at home working the phone to get some of the issues figured out...love that guy.


Friday morning I brake out the rubber gloves and get to work in the kitchen. All of the cupboards have food splattered and stuck on them and - against all logic- in them. There was old lining in all of the cupboards which I stripped out and the bane of my existence Friday was the detail work on the front of every cupboard door. There was no other way to get it clean besides scrubbing with a toothbrush. The picture of the water (which looked much darker in real life, the picture makes it look pretty weak sauce) was after I had cleaned only 2 cupboards that were supposedly already clean...blech.

The tiled floor in the kitchen was really grossing me out too. The grout was now black though it should be tan, and there is so much texture to each tile and the texture was all filled in with black grime...With as limited as our time was we decided to call back the cleaning ladies who at first thought Nathan wanted them to come back because they hadn't done a good enough job- she was all- You not happy? I am so sorry, there was just SO much to do!- But Nathan quickly explained that they had done a great job and we wanted to pay them to come back just to scrub the kitchen floor and baseboard. It took 2 ladies over two hours to clean that floor. I was SO grateful for them! Finally I was feeling like I could move into the kitchen.

And for the grand finale, what you've all been waiting for...The latest chapter in the "Dog Pee Chronicles". So, I am with all of you who suggested new carpet. Believe me, I long for it. But we are renting and so the choice isn't really ours. But we have been speaking directly with the owners whose dog is at the epicenter of our suffering and this guy has been very apologetic and desiring to make it right. He called around and found a company that specializes in 'pet problems'. He said the guy had some machine that detected where the urine was...I was skeptical, you know, the whole Debbie Downer thing.


But low and behold this guy shows up with this thing he pokes all over in your carpet which beeps when it detects moisture or salt (what is left when urine dries) and then he takes this gynormous syringe and needle and literally injects the cleaner into the padding under the carpet. It contains live enzymes that feed off of the remnants until they are gone. It was fascinating to watch the guy work and blessedly it started to work very quickly.


It turns out we were right, the dog had marked the inner frame of every doorway- especially bathroom doors, and so some of the particle board there has actually swelled out. eew. I have to say that I love animals and especially dogs but I really think there is NO excuse for this. But the Dog Pee Doctor obviously sees it all day long everyday and he didn't seem to think this was the worst he had seen by any means. He left us some of the cleaner too which I was grateful for.

Anyway whether or not you can believe it things are finally looking up around here. I actually love the house, though it is a shame it hasn't been kept as well as it should have been. But it sits up in these hills and where we are seems so private. Our children are loving the backyard and playroom and haven't had the tv on once or even asked about it. And California is of course gorgeous. I know I am going to love it here. And although I have painted quite an unsavory picture of our new home- things are being taken care of and turned around. It would really be a super nice place to visit. Hint Hint.

More "Adventures"

(Random cute picture of Aly with her leg warmers on, and it seems just yesterday I had her all snuggled up in the Moby wrap, *sigh)

Note the sarcasm in the title of this post. This move and move in needed/needs to go smoothly. Apparently no one else got the memo. We only had less than one week to get everything settled and taken care of before I am on my own. Okay, better avert your eyes now if you aren't in the mood to read my vent.

First train car to derail was our moving truck. It was 'delayed' and so suddenly our move in date was pushed back to Tuesday. As frustrated as we were we were still feeling optimistic. We had to go to the DMV to get our licenses most importantly for Kennedy's Kindergarten registration -they have to have a CA picture I.D.- so we headed there with the Fiesta Trio in tow. It was towards the end of what should have been nap time and all three were severely sleep deprived at this point. They did well until Nathan and I were trying to take our written tests and they started in. Aly kept lifting up her coloring and shouting "To-To-Dah!!!" (ta-dah) and the older two were irritating each other and having moments of high decibels. About halfway through the test, in a first for our family, we were asked to leave. Uh-huh, they asked one of us to take the children out while the other finished. I was supremely embarrassed. I don't know why, after all it was the DMV, not the FBI, or BYU, or NYC or some other dang acronym. It was the DMV, please. So I tried to get over it quickly but still- not fun.

From there we went up to our house and since our realtor suddenly wasn't returning calls we had Kennedy go through the doggie-door and let us in. The first thing that hit us as we walked through the garage door was the strong smell of dog pee. Kind of like what I imagine was a giant bat of dog pee smell and I was being hit in the face over and over with it *gag*. Next we noticed that the carpets that had supposedly been cleaned hadn't been vacuumed before they were cleaned and the further we looked around the more obvious it became the house had not been cleaned at all since the owners left - from the looks of things they didn't clean much when they lived there either. We don't know how we didn't notice this before but partly because when you walk through a house you don't open cupboards (and find they are stuck shut from some spilled substance) or lift toilet seats or whatever. Plus we think someone just brought in their own Hoover carpet cleaner and gave it a once over and dog pee stains were brought out through the heat and water exposure. I could go on but I will spare you the gory details. Just know that the 3 Hispanic ladies (saints!) who were hired to come over and clean today said it was bad -as they were literally covered in sweat and worked hour after hour trying to cut through the grime- then you gotta believe it was bad.

And of course our movers were delayed again which at this point is a blessing seeing as the house wasn't ready. But you know, just a lot of stress. And in the middle of it all we have 3 little ones who are off schedule and under foot and so yeah, things haven't been smooth so far. My Eternal Optimist husband was even down a little yesterday but today it seems he has corked as usual and after a short bout of frustration, today he was determined that all could be well. But I for one am not gonna feel okay until the pee is out of the spare bedroom by the garage. Anyone have any ideas short of getting new carpet?

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!