Christmas Cocoa

Oh my, it has been a long time since I posted!   However, on this late summer day in August,  I am in the mood to dig through my virtual pile of pictures.   It is early afternoon and  I sit here all alone still wearing my pajamas.  The kids are gone with their grandparents for a few days and the hubby it still at work.  So today I reminisce on the Christmas Cocoa we had at my mom and dad's house this year.

 
This year we were blessed to make the 15-hour drive to Utah for Christmas without incident. Fortunately, we did not encounter any snow or ice on the road.  However, the day after we arrived to Alpine, it started snowing like crazy.  It was beautiful and splendid and oh so festive.  In fact, it seemed we were nestled in Swiss chalet tucked in the Alps! Coincidently, when it came time to drive back home, all of the snow had vanished.  Driving conditions were very ideal considering the time of year we were traveling.

Anyway, back to the cocoa party... Mandy and the girls arrived in fabulous tea party fashion including hats, rings, and heels.  I loved it!  All of the girls were acting quite proper and British if you will.

Here is the beautiful Danish Snow Princess Kristine and cocoa-maker extraordnaire.  The cocoa and cream were heavenly.

Grandpa escorted each of the princesses to the "tea."

This was just about all I got from the ornery teenagers.  I know pathetic, right?

I am certain this will be one of my fondest Christmas memories.   Oh and just for the record, notice the brace my mom is wearing on her left wrist.  She broke her wrist in late November as she fell hanging a Christmas!  Somehow she managed to pull off hosting a wonderful Christmas garland.  I am truly grateful for dear old mom.  Coming home for Christmas is just like being a kid again! It was wonderful spending Christmas with my parents since we did not see them for 2 years while they were serving an LDS mission in Denmark.  So there you have it warm Christmas memories smack dab in the middle of summer!

Surprise 15

Jared’s 15th birthday was in September.  This year two of Jared’s buddies called to ask if they could plan a surprise party for him.  I told them I was happy to host it at our house and provide the food.  The best part was that they did all of the decorations, invites, and games!  And yes, he was completely surprised.

Highlights of the evening included a disco ball and laser lights and a very fun game of “Pin the Bow Tie on the Jared.”   Special thanks to Madison for creating a fabulous version of Jared complete with argyle sweater, green Addidas, and of course, bow ties. 

 

As you  might have noticed, little bro, Sam was an integral part of the birthday party.  Sam has great admiration for his brother and often takes style cues from Jared.  Can you tell?   

Happy Birthday to my stylish, creative, smart, handsome, helpful, and kind 15-year old son!  

EQUATION FOR FUN

One big BEACH HOUSE with a private POOL + all of the Jensen COUSINS= BIG TIME FUN! 

By the way, Audrey, my little swimming mermaid, took all of the underwater pictures her SELF!  Since starting swim team last winter, she has grown a set of gills.  The 'Y' swim team season is now in full swing.    I'm excited to watch her and the other Hammerheads compete!

JENSENS ReUNITED!

WE ARE SO EXCITED!  

Mom and Dad recently returned from serving a two-year LDS mission in Denmark! 

They headed straight for the beach.   Well, kind of.  

Every single member of the Jensen family REUNITED in Duck, North Carolina August 12-18 for a fun-filled week at the beach.  Stay tuned for more posts with highlights of all the action.

Don't you love our matching black tees with a J for Jensen on the front?  Check out the back too. 

Special thanks to Ben and Mandy for designing our very hip and original reunion t-shirts.    I bet nobody else has a viking surfing beside a Nordic ship on THEIR back!

Berry Pickin' Cousins

This summer my sister's house in Alexandria, VA was a mere 5-hour drive from our place in Jacksonville, NC.  In the hottest part of July her air conditioning broke which forced her to flee to the cool confines of our ultra-air conditioned apartment.  Lucky me!   One morning during her visit we loaded the van with our kids and headed out to the blueberry farm.  

This picture is yet another of my favorites.   Grace is so stinking pleased with her bucket of blueberries.  

Berries are so YUMMY AND BEAUTIFUL too!  

I adore this picture of Lucy or Lulu as Grace calls her.  I love the serene expression on her face and I can't get over that hat!  The navy blue ribbon with white polka dots is just right for picking blueberries. Don't you agree?

All this talk of blueberries is making me hungry!  You have got to try the DIVINE blueberry crumb bars we made in honor of our blueberry picking excursion.  I am certain that BLACKBERRY crumb bars would be equally tempting.  Let me know if you try!  Find the recipe HERE

Just Beachy

This summer was quite practically perfect in my book.  We spent 6 weeks near the Southern Outer Banks of North Carolina.  Naturally we made lots of trips to the beach! On this hot and sunny day in July, Jared and Audrey were back in Washington attending church camps.  Mike and I got to spend some quality time with the younger half of our family which is always refreshing because they aren't nearly as hard to please as our teenagers!    

This has got to be one of my favorite photographs of the summer.  Two very excited beach bums boogie their way to the surf with boards in hand.  

It was so fun to see Sam and Grace pal around together while the "bigs" were away.  Sam tends to hang with the  older kids most of the time.  He was really sweet with his little sister and even played "Littlest Pet Shop" with G more times than he would like to remember.   Hopefully the bond will last.  Or was it just a summer "romance"???

Big 5!

I can hardly believe my baby is 5!  We celebrated BIG this year--I went all out on a puppy and kitty birthday bash.   As always I had lots of fun dreaming up a grand party scheme and then nearly killed myself trying to meet the deadline.  In some ways it was a good distraction since Mike is currently away on a 4-month job assignment in North Carolina.  But then again I nearly bit off more than I could chew given my busy schedule as a temporarily single mom.

Anyway, Grace was a pet shop owner for the day!  As each of her friends came to the party, they started at the pet adoption station.  Each child chose and named a pet.  Then they were able to buy pet supplies at Grace's Pet Shop.  Grace rang up her customers at the register and bagged their goods in her signature pet shop bags.

Next came the puppy obedience school and kitty care.  I taught them doggy tricks and showed them how to lick melted ice cream from a cat food bowl.  Too funny!  Also, they looked adorable in their kitty and puppy ears that I have been crafting over the past few weeks.  I love that Sam and his BFF, Grant got in on the fun.  Check out those two brown-eyed puppy dog boys!

Needless to say, I am pooped, but satisfied that Grace had such a fun 5th birthday party.  I have a feeling that we will be playing pet shop for weeks.  Thank goodness Daddy sent  G a new cash register as a gift. Special thanks to my buddy Shauna and her daughter, Madison for their help at the party.  Thanks to my big kids for their help too!

Happy Birthday, Grace!