I went shopping today at Kolhs. I love that store! They have the best deals if things are on sale or on clearance. Well, I love clothes, you probably can't tell by how I dress but I do (I refuse to buy a bunch of clothes until I lose some weight). Anyways, I wanted to share my finds. They have a lot of tops, skirts, and jewelery on sale (jewelry is 50%-60% off). They have some cute stuff, go check it out!
I wanted to say Thank You for all of the good laughs I had reading your responses to the, "How well do you know me", questionnaire. Our poor little family has been really sick, and reading the e-mails has been good medicine. I will try to get them back to you soon.
My sister in law, who I love to death, has finally succumbed to blogging. She has teased me about blogging and I have nagged her relentlessly to start. I am happy to report she could no longer hold out. Way to go Melissa!
Thanks again you guys, I love you all and I am very blessed to have such amazing, wonderful people around me!
As you know I sent this to everyone. My dear sister in law sent this back to me and I was laughing so hard I was crying! I wanted to share
My name: Sugar
Summarize me in one sentence: The one person I feel most comfortable around and the funniest.
Where did we meet? The coldest place on earth
Take a stab at my middle name: Marie
How long have you known me?13 years
When is the last time that we saw each other? April 13th
Am I happy? Most of the time
Am I a good person? Yes, with a big heart
What was your first impression of upon meeting me/seeing me? I thought you were a granola that liked to hug trees and you didn't eat anything good for you, like meat, ha ha.
What's one of my favorite things to do? Be at the beach
Who do I love more than my life? Your family, Adam, Jake, B-ray and paige
Am I funny? Duh, yes you are.
Have I ever made you smile..if so when? You always make me smile, every time I talk to you, even if I am crying.
What am I good at? Blogging, ha ha.
What's my favorite type of music? I would have to say Pop
Am I honest? Yes
Have you ever seen me cry? When I have not seen you cry.
Can I sing? You try
What is the best feature about me? Your eyes and hair
Am I shy or outgoing? Depends on the situation, but I would say mostly outgoing
Do I lie( I want to know who is really going to say, "Yes you are a big fat liar!"?) Not to me
Would you call me preppy, average, sporty, punk, hippie, glam, nerdy, snobby, or something else (what)? When I met you hippie, but now i would say Hip.
Have you ever hugged me? All the time
Kissed me? Not to my knowledge
What's the best thing about me? How much fun you are to be around
What is my favorite food? Mash potatoes, Taco Bell(No tomatoes, no lettuce, just beans meat cheese and lots of sour cream
Am I a good cook? Yes, but you like to add weird stuff to your food, ha
If there was one good nickname for me, what would it be? Aunt Jemima
What's your favorite memory of me? Man, how do I just think of one, but I did love to watch you do the aunt jemima dance
Do I believe in God? Yes siree
Have you ever had a dream about me? I do not remember my dreams like some people I know
If you and I were stranded on a desert island, what is the one thing I would bring? TV/DVD Combo and Jim Gaffigan
Am I family oriented? Yes
Who is my best friend? Adam
Will you repost this so I can take yours? Yes
So we have had a ton of projects under way. Pinewood derby was last night, it was a lot of fun. Jake's car was very fast, but didn't place in the top 5. Jake has an Africa report due on Monday. He chose to report on African Buffalo. Then we have had their 100 days of school projects. If you don't know what that is, they have to gather something that equals 100 and put it on a poster. Jake, the lucky duck, gets to do a 1,000 project this year! Last year we had fun using various kinds of candy. This year Mom is cheap, so we are doing toothpicks.
Jake will be back in school on Monday. It's been fun having him home. He is such a good helper. I am looking forward to both the boys being out of school so we can go do fun things together. Heidi and I are counting down until it's warm enough to go hiking again...I can't wait!
Here is Jake before the race with his Dale Jr. car!
Jake receiving his patch for completing his Bobcat
(No we haven't change how we spell our last name;)
Crossing his fingers for luck..I love this one!
After the race with his car, patch, ribbon and certificate for competing
Here is Brysen with his toothpick project. Love the cheesy grin!
I have been thinking for a while how I wanted to approach this day with my kids. I didn't want this to just be any other day. Adam and I try to do our part to be green and we want it to be a priority to our kids as well.
I decided we should go clean up a local park. I grabbed our neighbor girls and the boys and headed out. Garbage bags and purple latex gloves in tow we accomplished our mission. We almost filled up two big garbage bags with miscellaneous junk. The kids did awesome. We headed to the park for some play time and afterward we treated ourselves to some ice cream. I am glad Grace and Emma could come with us, they were quite the troopers.
Another idea (this came from Jake) was to plant seeds to celebrate Earth Day. I thought this was an awesome idea. What a great kid! I have been wanting the boys to experience growing something themselves. Since I am not brave enough to have a garden, growing flowers is a baby step.
Here is a picture taken after we got back from
collecting garbage. Here is our loot!
I wanted to post this link for everyone. If you are tired of junk mail and want to help save our trees, or donate money to have some planted, visit this site. It's worth it! ( Green Dimes link located under favorites list)
We had Jake's soccer game tonight. What a game. We have played this particular team twice now. The first game the coach was yelling at his players to, "PUSH!". At first we thought he was telling them to play hard, push hard. NO such luck. Can you believe he was telling them to push and hit our kids? I know soccer is a contact sports, but really? They are 8 and 9 years old.
So, tonight was the 2nd time playing them. Let me just tell you a few of us didn't handle things very well tonight. There was so much pushing, shuving, tripping, elbowing to the chest and outright aggression some of us parents were ready to throw a shoe or somehting at the ref just so he would call something. A few of us parents were laying into the ref. Which I might add, I feel quite embarressed that I didn't handle myself better. Well, the ref finally yellow carded one of their kids. Which has never happend in any game!
We tied 3 to 3. They have stomped every team but ours, so it feels so good to show their kids, parents and coach that you can play with integrity and still keep up.
This all probably sounds like the rantings of a soccer mom, but I am so proud of the kids on our team. I am just sorry you have parents that get a little postal sometimes on your behalf! Mamma bears and their cubs, right?
Jake, Paige and myself are playing hooky from church. Jake slept through the night...YaHoo! But he is still having coughing attacks and we thought we should have him stay home.
We got the boys' bed put completely together last night. Their room is definitely smaller, but we wanted then to have separate beds. Having the bunk bed made it hard to do anything without waking the other. The boy's love it, and now they have their own bed to bounce on, despite the fact Mom and Dad saying not to!
As you can see their room is still a work in progress.We have some things we still need to hang ect...We are very happy with the results. It's much better than wood paneling! If you are like my Mom and think,"Yuck! Green?". Well, it's a sports themed room and we wanted the green to seem like grass. When we get the room complete it should all tie together...we hope!
Today was Brysen's first game. He was so excited he woke up at 4 in the morning. To be fair, I was up with Jake and we probably woke him up. Jake, the poor kid, can't stop coughing. I have tried everything imaginable: medication, humidifiers, nasal spray,inhaler,Vick's Vapor Rub, hot bath, sitting outside in the cold at 5 am...and nothing is working good enough!
He's has been coughing so hard he can't keep anything down. We took him to the doctors and he's fine besides a combination of a virus, allergies and asthma. It's gonna be another long night. I feel so bad for him.
OK, back to Brysen, He did great! He scored a couple of goals and had a few close ones that just couldn't make it. It's nice to see him have to work harder this year. We moved him up an age group so it would be more of a challenged. Here are some pictures of Brysen...Way to go "B" !
You can see that he is #13 it's the same #
as his favorite player on the Jazz. Memo Money!
(Nice legs Parker! ;)
So....I have been to IKEA 3 times...that's right folks 3 times this week. We went with Melissa last weekend, then again on my birthday to buy the boys' beds and again today with Heidi. Today I went to get the rest of the boys' bed that we didn't get Monday, OOPS! Thank goodness for their play land, or I am pretty sure we wouldn't visit so much. The kids can be checked in for a whole hour at the play land. Their food is good and the prices are GREAT! I love how family friendly the store is and they do their part to be green. I love you IKEA and miss you already ;) Thanks for a fun day Heidi, it's always a learning experience and an adventure!
The kids loaded up for a day of fun at IKEA!
I started a blog for Miss Paige today. She is doing so many new things and it's hard not to want to have our family blog be mostly about her. I want to be able to journal her milestones and accomplishments without utilizing this blog. So, I have added a link to her blog under, 'Some Of My Favorite Things' or you can go to 'growinguppaige.blogspot.com'. I know I have turned into a crazed blogger, but I have really enjoyed tracking our family and the kids love seeing what I put up too.
This is the fun little project we did yesterday. It was quite the challenge painting these little guys, but they turned out pretty cute, I think.
Meet: Sarah, Spike, Fred, Shaggy, Ham Ham & Scooby
(Can you guess which names are B-Ray's?)
So the boys have been fighting a lot, and I am at a loss of what to do. I have tried almost everything. They have had time apart so they could get a break form each other, ect. Well, I was reading my sisters blog and she tied her boys together when they were cleaning their room and bickering about it. I thought of this before but never did it. Well Angie, I did it! I tied them together and made them pick up their room. There are laughing, crying, complaining, whining, and giggling. I will let you know how it turns out. Here are some pictures.... 
What a day. I woke up to Jake giving me a card, and a big hug, he also wanted to fix me breakfast. So sweet! Heidi stopped by and gave me an awesome present (thank you Heidi). Then it was off to lunch with the girls, which I was late to my own party! It was good to visit with you guys, and thanks for all the really cute stuff.
After Adam got home we sent Jake off to a Jazz game with the Moyers...thanks Jade for the invite. Oh and Adam brought me home some beautiful roses. Then we went to IKEA and then to dinner at Training Table (I wanted Taco Bell but poor Adam is Taco Belled out!). I think it was good for Brysen to have Mom and Dad to himself without big brother. Apparently I look 10 years younger. Just ask Brysen, he says I am only 22! What a good kid!
Thanks again for the gifts, cards, and phone calls. It was a good day!
Here are my flowers! (Thanks for the idea Jen)
I just had to say a quick THANK YOU to everyone. Your e-mails and comments on the blog have been so sweet! The birthday wishes have been very nice too...we have awesome friends!
Well, it finally arrived! Jake was baptized on Saturday. It was quite the special day. We have tried to prepare for it as much as possible, but it feels like it still snuck up on us.
We we were up bright and early. All the kids including Paige were up at 6:30 am. The boys were so excited their cousins were here they were up almost before the sun. We got ready and headed to the church. They have been re carpeting so it was a little messy. Adam and Jake got dressed in their jumpers. They went to peak in at the font and Jake got a little anxious and wanted to feel the water and got his jumper wet. I went and had a prayer meeting with the speakers participating in the baptism, and the boys had their own for the fathers and boys.
We had quite the turn out. Most of Adam's family was there and we had support from some close friends as well. As each family showed up I could see Jake's face lighting up. He wanted to greet everyone as they arrived. Having so many people come to support him made him feel so special and loved. Thank you for making the time everyone! We had an open house after and spent time with our family and friends. Jake had a soccer game later in the day. They played the toughest team in the league and tied one to one. We were very pleased. Later that night we headed to Bo's basketball game. Talent for sports sure runs in the family! We had a very full day.
In Fast and Testimony meeting today Adam got up first thing and shared his gratitude for having the Priesthood and having the opportunity to bless Paige and Baptize and Confirm Jake. Jake had been looking forward to getting to sit on the stand today. He jumped up and shared his testimony. It was the first time he has done that...he got very emotional and looked and like he was going to lose his breakfast. It was pretty cute!
I just wanted to say Thanks again for all the support and love. We appreciate you all so much. You helped make this a special day for Jake and our family. We feel very blessed to have the friends and family that we have. It was so good especially to see Melissa, Kyle and Kade, we love and miss you already!
Jake, Brysen and Kyle goofing off before having to get ready.
Brysen, Kade and Kyle waiting for the baptism to start.
Jake and Dad
Today was the boys' yearly check up. The are perfectly healthy.They took their measurements and weight. Jake is going to be tall like Dad, and poor Brysen is doomed to be short like Mom. Hopefully Paige will inherit Dad's metabolism and fall somewhere in between our heights. Not likely though. She already has Mama's thighs and junk in her trunk. We went by Deseret Book and got Jake new scriptures. He picked out a blue quad, and had Jake R. Jensen embossed on the front. We also grabbed some scripture stickers and new pencils. It's fun to see how excited he is. He's counting the days till his baptism. Adam just called me upstairs to see Paige's new accomplishment. Here is a video...
Jake had his second soccer game for this season yesterday. It was freezing! I had Paige in a snow outfit and wrapped in blankets. Thankfully she fell asleep and I was able to put a blanket over her head so her little face was warm.
It's so funny when we are out and about cute things happen and I want to blog them when I get home, but then I can't remember them!
Brysen said something last night that was funny. I made bran muffins the other day, my mom use to make them for us. Anyways, the boys had a shower and they were goofing around and forgot to wash their hair. I had told them if they hurried they could have a muffin before bed. Well, they were seriously slow and they were fighting. So, mean mom that I am said no muffins tonight. Jake was huffing and puffing around the house. We told him to knock it off, and Brysen said, "He's just mad because you won't let him have a mushroom". Adam and I started laughing and told him they were muffins. Brysen said, "What? They look like mushrooms". It was funnier when it happened I assure you.....he is always saying off the wall remarks.
I took some pictures last night to post on our soccer teams blog. I took this one of Jake while he was warming up to be goalie.
As many of you know it's Conference weekend. We had our traditional cinnamon rolls and chocolate milk this morning and settled in to listen to all the talks . We were able to get a conference packet for the boys, which really helped them get excited for today. They had to color the ties of the apostles, do word searches, bingo and a handful of other things. The funny part is Adam and I seemed to pay a little more attention as well so we could help the boys with their fun activities.
Jake said something today that was very thoughtful. He had been hanging around in the kitchen while I baked breakfast. I had set the pan in the living room for the boys to start eating. Meanwhile I was in making the chocolate milk. Jake had told Adam that,"We should wait to eat until Mom can eat too". That may seen like a small thing, but we really have tried to instill in the boys to be gentlemen. That is a trait that stood out to me when I met Adam, he was quite the gentleman. Over the years and 3 children later it's a little more of a challenge for him to do some of the things he use to. So, I thought it was very sweet and thoughtful for Jake to remind everyone today to be considerate and wait for Mom. What a great kid!
~Today I am grateful to live in a country that has freedom of religion, and for the opportunity to be so close to so much of our churches history, and leaders.~
I was putting laundry away yesterday and came across Paige's swimsuit. I had to try it on, and put on a matching headband.
I had to try on her sunglasses....
as you can see she didn't like them too well...
Adam and I were having popsicles and we were sharing with Paige. Adam gave her his stick when he was done and let her play with it for a while.
Not sure what this face was about, but it's funny!
It was a pretty uneventful day. Did some cleaning, played with the kids. Heidi and I went to pick up our pictures of the kids form J.C. Penny's and then browsed around Target. Love their dollar section! It's like a black hole though, it sucks you in and can do damage.
I did get to go out on my mommy's night, which are few and far between. Adam completely supports me having my time, it's just hard to do it sometimes. I went shopping at a few stores and got a few things. Then, I headed off to Bunco. It's always nice to visit with girlfriends. It's funny how we want to get away and have our time, then talk most of the night about our family and kids.
Jake is officially off track after tomorrow. I always look forward to this time. First, we get to sleep in a little longer (hopefully). Second, we get to do fun things together. The last time he was off track I was still re-cooping from some very sleepless nights with Paige. So, now I hope we can fit some fun activities in. Brysen loves having Jake home to play, and Jake loves it when B goes to pre-school and gets one on one time with mom. Well, not completely one on one, but he like having a break from his brother. We all need little breaks, why don't we take them more?
~I am grateful for a loving husband that supports me in so many ways!~
I know what you are thinking, Adam and I got to go on a date. No such luck. We had dates with the boys. They have been having a hard time and fighting a lot. So, when that happens we know that they need some quality time. Adam took Jake out to get a few things that he has been needing and grabbed a bite to eat. Brysen and I stayed home with Paige and ordered pizza and did a craft project.
Now, I have talked about a book that I have been reading, "The Five Love Languages" . What it basically explains is that we all feel and express love in different ways. There are 5 basic languages (actions) that speak to us or that we speak to others that express love. The book helps you figure out how you need to be loved and how your spouse and children do as well. It's been very interesting. On to my point, one of the Love Languages is 'Quality Time'. Tonight we tried to show our kids that we loved them by giving them quality time.
It also discusses Love Tanks. Your 'Love Tank' measures how loved you feel. I can be empty, full or somewhere in between. What we have learned is that when someones love tank feels full they are more loving in return. So, after the quality time spent with Brysen a miracle happened! I have had the boys help with their laundry. Brysen fights me tooth and nail. Well, I was switching over the laundry and threw the boys' clothes on the playroom floor by Brysen. I continued to do some things in the laundry room, and when I came out I was completely shocked. Brysen was folding his laundry. If you know him well he tries to get out of doing...pretty much everything. I love him but we have to push him to do chores. So when I saw him doing this without being nagged or pushed I was so proud of him. I hope I can continually fill my children's and Adam's Love Tanks!
~Tonight I am Grateful for individual, special time with each of my children~
Here is what Brysen and I worked on tonight!
