Jensen to Jensen: 2014

Saturday, December 6, 2014

Everything Else in November

November came and went so quickly, it seemed. We had fun days and fun moments throughout the month. Here's a sample of what we did!

Happy Mo-vember. I think that's what it was called at least. For some reason November was mustache month and several of Paul's friends were growing a mustache. Paul had just gotten started when he had to shave it off. Why? He was called into the Bishopric in our ward and can't have facial hair. So his mustache didn't last long...

And here's a snapshot of the new Bishopric of our ward.

Mark Christenson. Bishop Aldridge. Paul.

Fun with Neighbors

We really are grateful for our wonderful neighbors all around us in our apartment complex. There really are great people everywhere!

We've recently met another neighbor and he and Glenn have become fast friends. Caleb is an only child as well, is 6 and is similar to Glenn. They play so well together and have such fun! One day they were outside having adventures, collecting treasures and having a blast. It was one of our chilly days we've had here and I had them come in and enjoy some hot chocolate.

Happy Thanksgiving!

This year for Thanksgiving we spent with several friends from our ward. We all signed up to bring different dishes, so it was a fun combination of traditional dishes from each of our families.

Our friends the Denson's hosted the event. We also had the Fairbanks, the Breinholt's, Uncle Bob (of the Denson's), and Paul's co-worker and his friend. So 11 adults and 5 kids.

A New Car!

Paul and I had been thinking about buying another car for a while...But we didn't really put a lot of thought or work into it until the last month or so. We decided that we wanted another car that was bigger than our Civic, especially in the storage area. That wasn't hard to do because our hybrid Civic has only 12 cubic feet of storage. So...we then decided that we wanted a small SUV.

We test drove many different models but ultimately we liked the Honda CR-V the best and felt most comfortable in it. After doing research into the price and the year and all that, we decided that the one we test drove was the one we wanted. We went back to the dealership the next morning--the first customers in the door--and asked for the guy who helped us the previous night-Justin. He wasn't in yet, but Aaron was willing and able to help us. We started walking toward the desk where they keep all the keys and we were telling him about the car we drove--the make and year and I even remembered part of the stock number! As I was saying it, another guy was walking away from the desk and started saying it with me--because he was taking the car out right now for a test drive. Wait what?! He had gotten a request to drive it last night but the guy had to postpone it to the next morning. So he was about to take it out.

Our hearts sank.

We were definitely nervous, but Aaron said not to worry. He had a good feeling for us. We wanted to believe him, but we weren't sure. We didn't want to go through the entire process all over again. Not that it was the only car in the world for us, but it was nice that it was what we wanted at a good price and here in Austin. So we got started with paperwork and getting into the system and all that. It seemed like the others were gone a long time, but I'm sure they weren't. When they returned, Aaron got the keys from them and was not going to let anyone else have them.

It was going to be ours!

So we sighed a huge sigh and finished all the paperwork. Then I wrote the biggest check I've ever written--but it sure felt good to pay with cash! And it was ours! We finally had another car!

Happy Halloween

I can't believe how quickly the month of October passed. It seemed to come and go so fast!

It also was a pretty warm month. I am used to Utah weather--so it's definitely not summer anymore and it's autumn. Not so much in Texas. It was still so warm that some of our window clings melted!

October Extras

October was a fun-filled month! We had a good time watching Joanie while daddy helped their family move to a new apartment.

Houston with Daddy

Mid-October Paul needed to go to Houston for some work stuff. Glenn and I got to go with him! We chose another book on CD--Charlie and the Chocolate Factory--Paul got a rental car and off we went!

When we had come back from our trip to South Carolina, I saw a giant squirrel on the side of the road but didn't have the camera ready to take a picture. My sister-in-law Lena loves squirrels and had see a picture of it online somehow. When we went to Utah I told her we had seen it but hadn't take a picture, she told me to get a picture with it the next time we drove past.

So this was our chance!

The squirrel is a mascot for the Berdoll Pecan Candy & Gift Company.

Thinkery and In-n-Out

We had a family move in recently to our ward with three boys. The oldest just left on his mission, the next is Glenn's age and then the youngest is 1. They also do homeschool-hooray! We wanted to invite them to come to the Thinkery with us each month on our pass. We figured it was a great way to learn and have fun.

More Frozen Birthday Parties

This year Glenn has gone to 7 birthday parties and 5 of them have been Frozen-themed. Two of these happened two day apart from each other the second week of October.

The first one was for Paige Marcella.

General Conference

The first weekend in October is General Conference.

We traveled down to San Antonio to spend the weekend with Mark and Bonnye.

Paul and I had gone to the temple Friday night before it closed for the month to be deep-cleaned. The next morning we got breakfast tacos from Bill Miller's. Then we started Conference.

Holiday Blocks

Last December, my ward had a craft day. I signed up to make some holiday blocks. I started the process there--painting and adhering some paper to the blocks--but I didn't have time to finish there. So I brought them home to finish. I brought them out a couple of times here and there, but I hadn't wanted to finish because I didn't really like how they looked. The paper had been slightly larger than the block, and I hadn't realized it while I was there...and I just didn't like how they were looking. I debated what to do about it until one day, I ripped off the papers--off of all 20 double-sided blocks. Either I was making a big mistake, or I was going to make it look much better.

Well almost an entire year went by and I still hadn't fixed them. October was fast approaching and I wanted to be able to display the blocks I had made for that. So I gave myself a deadline and I am happy to say that I did it!

September Extras

Just a few more pictures from September.

One day when Glenn and I were with my parents in Utah, we played a game called Carcassonne with my mom. She has a really big set--so lots of tiles. It was a lot of fun! And Glenn beat us!

He got 197! Mom and I didn't get that much...:D

Another Indian Festival

The Saturday after coming home from Utah, my friend Rashmi was hosting another Indian Festival. The Friday before I went over to help with some food preparations.

Kangaroo Zoo

Saturday September 6th, my sisters Kirsta and Sirie came up from Provo to my parents' house. I had gone grocery shopping before and gathered all the things needed to make some freezer meals with them. I had felt terrible being in Texas and not able to do much for my family when times were hard. I had the idea to make freezer meals for them--that way on days that were difficult they could pull out one of those meals and not have to worry about it. That way it's like I was there to make them a meal when they need it.

So they came up to Layton and we got going on some meal preparation. I didn't take any pictures of that because, well, I was busy chopping vegetables and such. But we had a great time as we did it.

After the meals were done, we made our way south a bit to go to Kangaroo Zoo. Glenn had remembered it from his birthday a couple years ago and wanted to go again, Devin's birthday was later this month, and Mackenzie's was next month. So we decided to go there to celebrate all of their birthdays together.

Logan, Utah

Wednesday September 3rd Glenn and I took a drive to northern Utah to spend some time with our best friends the Jardines. They had recently moved to Logan and we were excited to see them!

On our drive, we took a short stop in Brigham City to see the new temple there.

Labor Day

Labor Day we had a fun time planned. My sister Kirsta got tickets for her family, my parents and I to Disney Live! Mickey's Musical Festival.

Dinosaur National Monument

Sunday after going to church in Colorado Springs, we headed back home to Utah. When we drove to Colorado we took the route through Wyoming. On our way back, we took the route through the mountains of Colorado.

August Extras

Finally we have come to the end of August. One more post to showcase those extra pictures and videos.

I love looking at little children when they sleep! There is just something so peaceful and wonderful about them!

Priscilla and Spencer Malona Wedding

August 30th was the day of the wedding. I was so excited and happy for my friend, Priscilla! We had been best friends when we were in high school. And funny story about the groom--Spencer. One day when she and I were sophomores, we were standing in the hallway at school talking. This freshman kid came up to us, turned to Priscilla and asked, "Would you go out with me?" She was surprised and said, "I don't even know you." He walked away and we, stunned that that just happened, laughed. We soon forgot all about that...until...they worked together at a restaurant after high school, then met up again later in life. When she told me who she was marrying--and that he had gone to high school with us--I couldn't put a face to the name. She reminded me of that time back in high school, and we laughed and laughed that it was the same kid!

Pike's Peak, Colorado

Remember that one of the reasons why Glenn and I went out to Utah was because one of my best friends was getting married? She was getting married in Colorado Springs, Colorado. I didn't want to make that trip alone and since I hadn't really been there since I was a teenager, my parents came too. Plus my friend was more than happy to have my parents come to her wedding as well. I was glad to have them come along. My dad drove the entire time, we listened to more books on CD--Wizard of Oz, 101 Dalmatians, and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland--and we got a little mini vacation with my parents!

We left Thursday around 11am and arrived late in Colorado Springs that same night. The next morning we decided to go to the top of Pike's Peak--the famous mountain in that area. When I was a teenager we drove up as a family, and my dad has hiked it with my brother. He had mentioned going to the top by way of the Cog Railway. I was always hesitant of it because I envisioned a really steep train track going up the face of the mountain...and that did not appeal to me at all. But I figured that it would be fun to try it and to show Glenn the very top of a very tall mountain.

So up we went.

LDS Ogden Utah Temple Open House

While in Utah, we had the awesome opportunity to tour the newly re-dedicated Ogden Temple. We went on Tuesday August 26th. This was a great time for Glenn to see inside the temple. I was really glad that we were there for that and that my Mom could come with us.

Fun with Cousins in Utah

A few days after getting back from our trip to South Carolina, I felt like I needed to be in Utah to be a support for my sister whose family was going through some tough times. I also had a friend getting married in Colorado, so I thought it would be a good time to head to that part of the country. So Sunday August 24th, Glenn and I flew to Utah!

We flew there so we would have time to visit with my brother's family. They were heading to Russia and would be there basically the same time that we were going to be in Utah. Monday, we headed over to visit with Jasper and Freya. Glenn was so excited to see them again!

On the Way Home

Sadly our time in South Carolina had come to an end. We attended Sacrament meeting with Holley's family, then went home to change and start on our way home. We wanted to go a different route home--into Florida--so we needed a few extra hours to travel.

Arik and Natasha's Wedding

Saturday August 16th, Arik and Natasha were married and sealed in the Columbia, South Carolina Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Day Four in South Carolina: Patriot's Point

Our last day of sight-seeing in South Carolina was on August 15th. That day we went out just as our little family. We went out to Patriot's Point to tour the 3 boats there: the USS Laffey, the USS Yorktown, and the USS Clamagore.

Day Three in South Carolina: Lake and Beach

Our third day in South Carolina was spent near the water. Holley and her friends were going to the nearby lake for the day. They had boats and were going to have a picnic and just enjoy the water.

Once we were all there, we piled in the boats and went to this little beach area.

Day Two in South Carolina: Downtown Charlotte

Our second day in South Carolina was spent with Arik, his fiance Natasha, and her brother Ben. We also had Bonnye with us for the first part of the day.

We had kind of a late-ish start--not until lunch time because we had to wait for them to come down from Columbia. So we started our time together having lunch downtown at a place called Wild Wing Cafe.

Day One in South Carolina: Boone Hall Plantation

Our first full day in South Carolina, we went out to explore with Holley's family. Great Aunt Bonnye was there too! We first went to lunch at Skoogie's.

South Carolina Here We Come!

The day after the party--the 10th--we went to church and then started on a family vacation to South Carolina. Paul's youngest brother, Arik, was getting married at the end of the week and we planned on taking a family vacation out there.

We were excited to go through some new states and cross them off our list of states that we've been to. Our first state was Louisana.

Magic Tree House Birthday Party

Glenn's actual birthday was on a Friday, but we had his party on Saturday. I had commissioned my good friend Cassandra--she's made all the other cakes I've mentioned--to make an awesome cake for Glenn. Friday night it was all ready and I picked it up. Isn't it awesome?!

Glenn turns 5!

Glenn was super excited to turn 5. He couldn't wait for his birthday. All year he would ask us how old he was--down to the fraction. He loved telling people that he was 4 and 1/2 then 4 and 11/12, etc. Finally he turned 5!

July Extras

Of course at the end of the month, there are those extra pictures.

I sure love finding Glenn reading anywhere and everywhere!

Batman Day

July 23rd was Batman Day. To celebrate 75 years of Batman, Barnes & Noble stores were hosting a special story time with different Batman stories, and then some cool Batman crafts.

Austin Botanical Garden

After our visit with Rebecca and Miguel, we stopped at Zilker Botanical Gardens.

Donuts and Friends

We feel like we haven't done much in the Austin area. So one weekend in July, we took care of a few things on the list to see and do here in Austin. We started out by having breakfast at a donut truck in the downtown area. It's called Gourdough's Big. Fat. Donuts.

Indian Party

On July 17 one of my Indian neighbors, Rashmi, had a party. She wanted me in wear a sari again, so she let me borrow one of hers. It was a fun excuse to get all dressed up again, to meet new friends, and to eat good, authentic, homemade Indian food.

Sea World

We spent the night in San Antonio and decided to go to Sea World the next day. Mark and Bonnye live about a mile away from Sea World and had thought about buying a year pass. We had thought the same thing, especially since they lived so close. So we decided to go and get passes!

Happy Independence Day!

July 4th weekend, we headed down to San Antonio to spend it with family.

(Glenn and I have had fun decorating for the holidays here. We have a large window in our dining area where we like to put window stickers. Throughout the years we have collected several American flags and we put those up too.)

Surprise Party

On Monday June 30 I was talking with my neighbor, Swasti. She told me that her mom's birthday was July 2nd. I was glad to know that information because I had been wanting to do something for Rashi, but didn't really know what exactly. When I found out it was her birthday in a couple of days, I set to work right away. I called my good friend, Cassandra, who makes cakes and asked if she had a egg-less cake recipe because Rashi doesn't eat eggs. She hadn't made one before, but she said she would find a recipe and make the cake for free! (She usually does that when she does recipes and things she has never tried before--it's like we are her guinea pigs.) I also talked with my other neighbors to invite them over for a simple party.

July 2nd came and I was pretty excited. I couldn't wait to see Rashi's face! Cassandra brought the cake and cupcakes over and we decorated my table.

Indian Sari

In June, my new friend Rashmi had me and Rashi over. We were talking in the front room, and the conversation suddenly changed. Rashi and Rashmi started talking in Hindi and I obviously couldn't tell what they were saying. Then they smiled, grabbed my hand and pulled me into Rashmi's bedroom. They wanted to dress me up in one of their saris!

I didn't object. It was fun having them dress me up, put expensive jewelry on me and some extra make-up. We did a little mini-photo session afterwards too.

Father's Day

Glenn and I wanted Paul to know how much we love him. Glenn helped me make this card for Paul--he chose the colors and what Daddy was wearing.

Art in the Park

On a warm summer day in Austin, Glenn and I went to a park in down town Austin. They have Arts in the Park for kids and do all kinds of fun things.

The Largest Caterpillar You've Ever Seen

After the Thinkery, we met Daddy at his work to have a picnic lunch with him. We went to a table outside and enjoyed the weather. While sitting there we saw a large caterpillar on a nearby tree. After looking at it for a time, we went back to eating. Later we wanted to find it again, but couldn't see it. The next thing we knew, it was climbing up Paul's pants!