A proud day for mom

You try to teach your children how to be good, how to be nice and how to make good choices.  And even at a young age, you wonder if any of it is sinking in.  But, for now, I am happy that my eight year old has made one important decision that I can be very proud of (although, with Corbin, I have little doubt that he will almost always make good choices). 
Corbin was recently baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and has taken upon himself the name of Jesus Christ.  He will now be held accountable for all of his choices.  I hope I have taught him well.  :)

Corbin is genuinely kind-hearted and has the sweetest spirit.  He is obedient, is always giving compliments to his mom, and tries to help his brothers.  He understands things far beyond his age and is an eager learner of things temporal and spiritual.  We are so blessed to have him in our home!  Corbin was anxious and excited for his baptism and so happy to have his dad perform this ordinance and share this day with him.

And so many people were there to support him! 

I know he felt very loved.

Best primary teacher ever:

Best Buds:

Awesomest Bishop (who has helped us in so many ways):

And family from near and far:

 Corbin is so blessed to have so many great priesthood holders as examples to follow!

We are so proud of you, Corbin!  We love you!

To find out more about what we believe about baptism, go here (and make sure you click the "view more"), or about Jesus Christ, click here.



Sugar for my Sugars

As much as I try to avoid too many treats for my kids on Easter, I just can't resist.  Since we don't normally buy candy, I think it's okay to spoil them every once in a while. :)

I got home from Denver late Saturday afternoon, picked the boys up at Grandma's and it was 7:30pm by the time we got home.  Just enough time to get the eggs ready for the Easter bunny . . .

 The next morning, we found our baskets . . .

And joyousness abounded!

Then onto the Egg Hunt!

  Some were seriously camouflaged.

And Dad had to help with some too.

Back to playing with all their goodies:

  

All ready for church: 

More Easter fun with the cousins at Grandma & Grandpa's

Egg hunt for the "little kids":

 Scavenger hunt + Egg hunt for the "big kids":

And just to prove that we were really there:

And that's our Easter in a [large] nutshell.  Luckily most of the candy that was not consumed that day has been forgotten about and may soon disappear for good . . .

The Crazy Rooster (and our love for Grandpa Jensen)

 My in laws have lots of animals - cows, horses, goats, chickens- and last year, they had a rooster.  And he was absolutely crazy.  Or mean might be a good word.  He was like some crazy attack guard dog, but not quite as smart.  Whenever the grandchildren went out, grandma would remind them to carry a stick in case the rooster decided to attack.  Yes, sad, but true.  And it wasn't even when it was provoked.  It would see people in the driveway and come all the way across the yard to peck and squawk at them.

So last spring great grandpa Jensen came to visit and, as he is the adventurous farmer type, he offered to take the rooster back home with him to Oregon.  In a box, in the car.  They made it home safe and the crazy old rooster acted much the same at Grandpa's farm as he had here.  But it became somewhat endearing, and because Grandpa lived alone, I think he liked having a "guard" to alert him when someone arrived.  Unfortunately, in the end, the rooster was too much like a dog and chased a car into the street and was killed.  Poor rooster, and poor Grandpa Jensen.  But such is the life of a farmer.

There are many stories we could share about Great Grandpa Jensen - about his life as a farmer, about hunting and fishing along the Owhyhee,  about how as a pilot he and grandma used to fly all over the world, about how they set a great example by putting the farm work on hold and going on a mission.  With almost 50 grandchildren and over 100 great grandchildren, they have left a great legacy for the Jensen family. 

We are so grateful that we got to see Grandpa just a few months ago and visit him on his farm in Oregon last August.  We will miss you, Grandpa, but we are so happy to have the plan of salvation and to know that you are home now with your wife and the others who have gone before you.  Thank you for your life and your love.

Darwin Ernest Jensen

Sept. 4, 1925 - Feb. 28, 2011

A little bit of gluttony

is okay when its shared with family and done in the spirit of giving thanks, right?  Our day of food and family was perfect and since there's not much to say besides "yum", I will just share a few pics and a few recipes...

And here's what I made to contribute to the feast:

RASPBERRY JELLO YUMMY-NESS (this would be really good at Christmas too)

1 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen raspberries
1 (6 oz.) pkg. raspberry Jello
1 c. boiling water
1 c. applesauce (used my homemade sauce!)
1 c. sour cream
2 c. miniature marshmallows
Dissolve Jello in water; stir in raspberries and applesauce. Pour into 8 x 8 pan. Let Jello set. Mix marshmallows and sour cream together. Spread marshmallow mixture over the Jello. Allow to set in refrigerator several hours. (I actually doubled it and use a 9x13).



SWISS VEGETABLE MEDLEY (this is seriously good.)
1 (16 oz) package frozen boccoli, carrots and cauliflower, thawed and drained
1 can condensedcream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 (4 ounce) jar chopped pimientos,drained
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese,divided
1 (2.8 ounce) can French-fried onions, divided
In a bowl, combine vegetables, soup, sour cream, pepper, pimientos and 1/2 cup cheese. Stir in half of the onions; mix well. Pour into an ungreased 1-qt. casserole. Cover and bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until bubbly. Uncover; sprinkle with remaining cheese and onions. Return to the oven until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes.  (I doubled this too and used a bigger baking dish)

I also made Pumpkin Fudge, which was really good, but I will wait to share the recipe, because if you live anywhere near me, you may be getting some for your neighborly Christmas gift. :)

Hope everyone else enjoyed a great day of giving thanks as well!

HaLLoWeeN 2010

CoRbIn - The Mummy.  Costume hand-sewn by Dad with first aid gauze. Head wrap and face paint my Mom.  Butterfly bandage (yes, it's real) from getting hit by a door at school.

CoDy - The Ninja.  Black shirt and pants from DI, weapons $5 at Walmart.  The rest of the costume, including the mask, silver stripes and velcro chinese stars sewn by Dad. 

CoLtOn - The Frog.  Costume hand-me down from big brother.  He was a little cranky for pics because he had just woken from a nap, but he was the best little hopper ever.  When anyone asked him what he was going to be for Halloween, he would hop and say "ribbit, ribbit."

And the festivities included . . .

Corbin's party at school.  Colton helped me with the game station.  Then we got to watch all the kids parade through the school and around the black top.  That was fun.

Visiting Grandma Sharee at her school.  Corbin actually had Friday off, so we went to see Despicable Me at the dollar movie and then to see Grandma in her cute farm girl costume.

Fire Dept Halloween Party.  Chili cook-off, cake walk, pinatas, pumpkin bowling (by moi), trunk or treat and lots of fun.  And Corbin won 1st place for best costume.  It was a great night.

On Saturday, Main Street trick or treat while daddy & Colton took a nap.  It's fun to see the scarecrows and to see everyone's costumes in the daylight.  But it's getting more and more crowded every year, it was fun, but I don't think we'll be doing it again.

And of course, the traditional trick or treating on Halloween (which actually occurs on Saturday in Utah when Halloween falls on the Sabbath).  This picture was actually taken the night before.  Which was good.  I got NO pictures of the actual Halloween, because it was rainy and yucky and the first time Russ and the kids attempted to go out, they actually got hailed on.  Luckily they were still in our cul-de-sac, but they had to make a run for it and that was a bit frightening.  But after about an hour it cleared and then the whole neighborhood was out.  It turned out not too bad, although you couldn't really see anyone's costume's because they were all covered with coats, gloves and hats.  Oh well, the kids had fun, that's all that counts.  We ended the night with a scary Scooby Doo movie and popcorn.  It was a good night.

Why do we celebrate Labor Day?

I don't know, but it sure is fun!!

On Saturday: Payson Onion Days Children's Fest

On Monday:  BBQ at Grandma and Grandpa's . . .

we start with the hAyRidEs!

  sHuCkiNg the CoRn and FeEdInG the cOwS

Grandpa's "Door to AdvEnTuRe!"

CaTcHiNg CrAwDadS

And Colton wakes up from his nap and sees that everyone is...

RiDiNg HoRseS!  HOORAY! (And Corbin went for the first time without being led!  Way to go, bud!  And thank you Zyrtec!)

Oh, and we ate lots of yummy food, but I guess I was too hungry to take any pictures.  Just use your imagination.