Our adventure to Columbia, Missouri

We had a great adventure last week. My brother Jon and his cute wife Jessica and their 2 boys live in Columbia, Missouri. So last Thursday we woke up at 4:30 am to catch our 7:50 am flight from SLC to Denver and then onto Kansas City. We were delayed in SLC 2 hours due to mechanical stuff so therefore, we missed our connecting flight in Denver. Now it was 11:30 am. After Shane stood in line for 1 1/2 hours, we found out the next flight we could catch wasn't until 8:30 that evening. What do you do in an airport for 8 hours with 4 little kids? We decided to rent a car and explore Denver, CO. We hit the Children's Museum and had a great time and then drove around for a while so the kids could get a nap. Then we hit Target to restock on diapers and treats. We then flew into Kansas City at 11:30 that night. We went to rent our car and they didn't have a car seat for Libby so at midnight we hit the Wal Mart to buy a car seat and then we drove 2 hours to Jon's house. We arrived at 3:00 am. It was quite the eventful day and the girls were extremely tired but they were exceptionally good! Thank goodness! We had a great time with Jon, Jess, Griff, and Max. We were spoiled with Jessica's great cooking and we had fun celebrating Max's birthday with him. He's grown up so much and is so adorable. We went to Going Bonkers, swimming, Bass Pro Shop, Jon's school, the frog pond, ate BBQ and frozen custard and played, played and played. No wonder it's taken me 3 days to recover from this trip. Our trip home was only delayed an hour in Denver. Thanks to Jon and Jess for being such great hosts and we wish we could've stayed longer. We hope they move back to Utah after school so that the kids can be close to each other. They had so much fun together. It was a fun adventure but I think we'll stay grounded for a while now. We'll enjoy this summer camping. We did get flight vouchers due to the long delay so I think we may go to Cancun after Christmas- anyone want to go? No kids this time!!!!

Lexi playing t-ball

Lexi LOVES t ball. She loves seeing how far she can hit the ball and I'm just glad that she knows where 1st base is. She was so excited after her first game that she slept with her mitt all night long. She's such a crack up. She's on a team with a bunch of neighborhood kids and her cousin Jones. One of my favorite moments was at the last game when Jones crossed home plate and wound up and smacked the coach on the butt as he crossed home plate. It was so funny!! It's comical to watch these little ones play. I'm sure it's more for our enjoyment than theirs, but I think Lexi is really glad to finally be out there playing! That's my girl!

Libby and Laney

Libby and her little girlfriend Laney. Look out when these two are 16!!!

The Last Lecture

I don't know if any of you have heard about this man or have seen him on TV, but I watched Primetime the other night with Diane Sawyer and the show was about this man Randy Pausch and he is a computer science professor and has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and has been given 4-6 months to live. He has 3 small children under the age of 6 and he gave his last lecture and it has now been published into this book- AMAZING!! I am so inspired by this man and his outlook on life and this book is a book of lessons he wants his children to know about. It's a book for his kids to know him. I've cried and laughed and smiled while reading this book and if anyone is looking for anything inspiring to read this is a good one! One quote I really like is "Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted." This book makes me want to cherish every moment and be grateful for every moment with my family. Life is too short!!!!!

Blogging update

I've been going through blogging withdrawls. My computer has been giving me problems and finally last night Shane spent all night trying to figure it out and YEAH now it's working. My girls have been off track for the past 3 weeks and we've tried to keep busy. I just wish the weather would have been a little warmer, but soon, I hope! We saw Horton Hears and Who and Nims Island, both I would recommend. They played with cousins had sleep overs at Nanny's (Shane's mom) house, went to Jazz games, went shopping, had art class, etc. They are good to help around the house and for the most part play good with each other.
Last weekend was my mom's birthday and she's 59. She's a little funny about her birthdays and so she planned her own party and my dad through in his own twist by hiring an Elvis personator for entertainment that night. It was a surprise for my mom and she was a good sport and it was fun. Happy Birthday Mom!!!
My girlfriend Ashley and her family are moving from our neighborhood and we are so sad!!! We had a luncheon here at my house this past week to say good bye to her. It was fun to hang out and chat with everyone that came. There's 5 of us that had baby girls all within weeks of each other and here's a picture of all the little girls now 1 year old. They are so darling and it was so cute to watch them walk around and jibber jabber at each other. I think all the little girls resemble the looks of their dads- what do you think Camile and Jen? I think they are so cute! Fun times ahead with these little ones! Here's a cute picture of Lexi with her little boyfriend Rayce. His mom is Ashley and they are moving and Lex is sad they won't have any more Jeep riding dates! Those two in their Jeeps are crazy!
The last picture is of my girls and myself with my mom and my Grandma- 4 generations. My Grandma is living at my moms house for a few weeks and every Monday my girls and I get to spend the afternoon with her while my mom is at work. Grandma is almost 90 and in pretty good shape! She has a great smile and sense of humor and it's been fun to spend time with her and for my kids to get to know her.
Life continues to plug along and with spring comes soccer games for Shelby and Sage and Lexi start t ball in a few weeks and we're excited to get outside and do yard work and spend time camping in our new trailer. Life is good- can't complain! I'm excited that a lot of my friends are starting to blog and I've made connections with old friends through blogging! YEAH!!!! I love this!
Oh ya and by the way for my brothers- I'm surprised that I didn't receive any congrats phone calls for taking 2nd place in our family NCAA tourney challenge! That's right- 2nd place out of 50 or so. Go KANSAS!!!!

More easter pictures

Here's my little Miss Attitude!  I think this picture just says it all!  We love our Lexi!
This is Sage at the easter egg hunt in Grandma's backyard.  We just cut 4 inches off her hair and it looks so cute on her.  
I think Shelby looks so grown up in this picture.  It's happening right before my eyes.  
This is the Jensen girl trade mark!  I think I have pictures of this for all my my girls.  This one just happens to be Lexi-  gotta love the crack!
Grandma and Grandpa gave Lexi this shirt.  It says "Girly Girl- NEVER!"  Very fitting for my girls.  

Easter

We had a great easter.  We had an easter party Saturday evening at Shane's parents home and the kids had a great time.  Always good food and lots of people.  Then Sunday morning the girls woke to find that the Easter Bunny had come and their baskets were full.  They were so excited.  Libby found a Cadbury egg in her basket and that's all she wanted.  You can see in the pictures that she is consumed with getting the wrapper off of that egg.  Sunday evening we went to my mom and dad's for dinner and shared the day with Scott and Julieanne and Grandma Ahlstrom.  The kids had fun playing in the bounce house and looking for easter eggs.  It was a nice day-

She finally got to the egg and ate the entire thing.  Finally someone else in the family that loves those cadbury eggs.  I love them!  
Here's the girls in their easter dresses.  Libby found another egg right before we took this picture and so again she is consumed with it.  I didn't let her eat that one.  Per Shelby's request, no matching dresses this year.  It was funny how she made that clear to me this year.  They all looked so cute!
I love this picture of Libby!  And look Katie and Leslie, she has a bow in her hair!  My 2 sisters know that I'm not much into bows- I think they are adorable on little babies- but it's just never been my thing.  But I did get one to match Libby's dress and she looked so cute.
These two monkeys are the best of friends.  They look out for each other and play so good with each other.  

Shelby Girl!!!

These are two pictures of Shelby.  Who knew she spent some time in Paris seeing the Eiffel Tower?  Wish I could've gone with her!

Sage loses another tooth

Sage lost one of her front teeth a few weeks back and the other one has been a little loose for the last few days. So, last night Sage and I were at the church for YW basketball and during half time she and I went on the court to play ball. Leave it to mom to pass the ball a little too hard and it popped Sage right in the mouth. Her bottom teeth cut her lower lip pretty good and the ball knocked her top tooth quite loose. There was quite a bit of blood and lets just say chalk one up for mom. Anyhow, today that tooth came right out. Hardly any blood- and for those that know how my girls react to blood- that's a good thing! Here's a sweet picture of Sage without her two front teeth! She's a cutie! : )

Moab 2008

Before Christmas a few of us in the neighborhood were talking about running and this Canyonlands Half Marathon came up and we decided to put in for the lottery.  I didn't think we stood a chance getting picked because there are 12,000 people that try for this run and they take 4800 runners.  Lo and behold right before Christmas I got the email saying that we were in.  So this last weekend we were in Moab for the run and had a great time.  I haven't spent much time there but it sure is beautiful.  The run was in a canyon along side the Colorado River with red cliffs lining the river- spectacular!  They bused everyone to the starting point so we got there by 8:30 or so.  The run didn't start until 10.  It was overcast and 40 degrees and a small canyon breeze- a little chilly.  We were actually freezing at the top until the race started.  Thank goodness it warmed up when we started running, otherwise it would have been a long 13 miles.  Anyhow, I made it across the finish line after 2 hours and 6 minutes.  It was a good run and I actually felt pretty good when it was all over.  I'm a little sore today, but not bad.  My friends all did great too.  It was fun because I ran into 2 of my cousins there who ran the race as well, Jayme and Holly.  Aunt Karyn and Uncle Richard were there and so was my Aunt Jalyn.  It's fun to see familiar faces.  Anyhow, it was a great weekend and thanks to Scott and Julieanne for watching my little ones here at home while we were gone.  I don't think they missed us or even noticed we were gone.   Also, thanks to my great husband who always supports me and always tells me how proud of me he is.  Thanks for being my biggest fan Shane!   Here's some photos of the run and also of the scenery along the way-   

My Girls

I often think about being a mother of 4 girls and how overwhelming that sounds.  But I must admit that it's been the greatest blessing in my life.  My mom use to always tell me that she could see me with 5 little boys; I think she jinxed me.   I love my 4 little girls more than anything and I feel blessed that the Lord has given me this opportunity to be their mom.

I love Shelby for being my first born.  She's allowed Shane and I to learn and grow with her.  She is patient, caring and so obedient.  She'll go to a friends house and I'll tell her to call me at a certain time and the moment the clock turns to that time, the phone will ring.  She tries hard to do what's right.  She's a great student and things seem to come to her naturally.  She's a friend to everyone and her little sisters adore her, so does her dad and I.

I love my Sagey because she's my little buddy.  She's not shy and loves to laugh and have fun.  She and I are together some mornings alone while Lex and Shelb are at school and Libby is taking a nap, so we have some great one on one time.  That means we are either in the kitchen creating a new recipe, playing a game, exercising together or reading together.  Sage always surprises me by making my bed in the morning or doing little secret acts of service.  She's sensitive and is always thinking of how she can make others happy.

Lexi Lou- where do we start.  She is my ball of fire, fun, laughter and pure energy.  She doesn't forget when a promise has been made- like swimming at Aunt Karyn's- she's only talked about it everyday since we were sledding at her house in January.  She is athletic and throws a ball, kicks a ball and runs around the house all day long.  She is playing t-ball this spring and can hardly wait.  She is sweet and tells her sisters that they're all "Best Buddies".  She always asks when she's going to grow big and I just hope it doesn't happen too fast.  

Libby is my mamma's girl.  She loves her mommy and that's okay with me.  She just learned to walk and is always a few steps behind me.  She has a funny deep giggle and it is so contagious.  I sometimes find myself laughing just as hard.  She has this expressive face and her eyebrows often look like she has one big unibrow.  She is adorable and so much fun.   Do they come any cuter?

I feel blessed to be a mom of 4 beautiful, healthy, happy and fun little girls.  I'm enjoying them as little kids and know that the good times will continue into teenage years and then into adulthood.  I call them my 4 best friends and truly do mean that!  

Sorry- but just have to do a few more!

We had a birthday party last night here at the house for my dad and after cake and ice cream, the cousins started messing around with the photo shop and we were all cracking up.  This program came with our Mac computer and it has been lots of fun to play around with.  This is how exciting it is around our house these days.  My brother Jon says I'm easily amused and that I am!!

The top picture is my nephew Asher and my little Lexi.  The next picture is my other nephew Jones and Asher is with him as well. Jonesy was laughing so hard.  He was having a great time.  The bottom two are of my two girls Lexi and Sage.  You can hardly tell who's who.   Just done in good humor!

More photo booth fun with Shane and Lyns

I Love PHOTO BOOTH.  I have not laughed this hard in such a long time.  The photo images are hilarious- I wish I could post them all.  I'm sure there will be more in the future!

Shane finally got his BOY!!!!

You know what they say about guys with big bad A trucks?  They're compensating and Shane isn't afraid to admit it!!! That's right, after 10 years of always driving the beater in the family, Shane bucked up and finally bought his dream truck.  This thing is Big and Bad- just like it's driver.  My head is the same height as the top of the hood.  I won't be climbing in and out of the bed since I need a ladder to get into it.   The girls think it's pretty awesome.  I'm not sure what time he came to bed the first night he brought it home.  In fact, did he ever make it to bed that night?  Probably just slept with his new found love.  He's worked hard and he deserves this more than anyone so I'm proud of him.  Better pictures to come.  It rained and snowed today so the truck was wet and dirty when I took these.  Let the good times roll!!!