Jensen Clan

Grandpa Chavez Book

2010-09-24T14:56:00.000-07:00

Who gets to hold Ainsley?

2010-04-14T14:15:00.000-07:00

All the kids get excited when they hear Ainsley wake up. This is how most mornings are with Ainsley... a race to see who can get her first.

Grandpa Ike

2009-11-30T17:12:00.000-08:00

More pics of Ainsley

2009-10-08T11:53:00.000-07:00

Here are a few more pictures of Ainsley and family when she was 2 weeks old. My friend Randi came to our house to take them. Ainsley was not cooperative so we're really happy we got some good pictures out of it. She looks happy, but she cried most of the time.

Ainsley's baby pics

2009-10-07T21:36:00.000-07:00

These are just a few of the pictures that Whitney Baldwin took of Ainsley while she was out here visiting for Ainsley's baby blessing. Thank you Whitney!!

Grandma Baldwin surprised us with this beautiful blessing dress. Thank you!

Ainsley Joy

2009-09-11T09:09:00.000-07:00

We were determined to have this baby 2 weeks early, which happened to fall on 9/9/09. My plan was to take castor oil in the morning after sending the kids off to school. (This worked for both Addie and Chase). However, this time around, it didn't work. Don't worry... I had a back up plan. I had scheduled a Dr's appt. that afternoon to have my membranes stripped just in case the castor oil didn't work. After seeing my disappointment, my doctor stripped my membranes and called in a favor to the hospital. He sent me on over to be induced.

Ainsley Joy arrived at 7:22 pm on 9/9/09

7 lbs 8 oz - 18 inches long

Addie and Chase missed school the next day and spent the day at the hospital with us.

I had hoped for and had several dreams about this baby having hair, but never thought it would be possible. All of our other children were bald. This is so exciting for all of us!

Breck and Ashley were so busy with school and after school sports that they didn't get to see Ainsley until we brought her home. (24 hours after birth)

Our first night home with Ainsley was quite tough for me. I tried my hardest to feed her before I went to bed, but she didn't cooperate. So I just went to bed knowing she'd wake me up when she was ready. At about 11 pm she had me up, but she kept me up until 3 am. All she wanted to do was eat. It's now 10 am and she's still sleeping. I'd better change me sleep schedule.

Tonsils and Adnoids removed!

2009-09-11T09:02:00.000-07:00

Chase and Addie both had their tonsils and adnoids removed on August 31, just one week before school started. They did so good and we enjoyed one very quiet week at our house.

They enjoyed their ride out to the car in a wheel chair.

My Little Helpers

2009-08-23T19:18:00.000-07:00

Chase and Addie are so excited for the arrival of their new little sister. Yesterday our family went to Babies -R-Us to find a car seat and stroller. We left the boxes in the garage knowing we had a couple of weeks still to assemble everything. But Addie and Chase just couldn't wait. They carried the boxes inside and began putting them together as soon as we got home from church today.

"Ta-Da"

My Baby Shower

2009-08-23T19:09:00.001-07:00

Would you believe that this was my first baby shower? I felt a little spoiled having a shower for my 5th child but I'm grateful for such wonderful friends who attended. We're off to a good start for starting all over:) Thank you everyone!!

The Baby Room is ready!!

2009-08-23T18:56:00.000-07:00

I know you can't see much with the sun glaring, but you can get an idea of how the room is set up.

The baby's room has taken over my office. This is the couch that was in my office and is now staying in the baby's room. I had to cover a couple of the pillows, they used to be burnt orange and gold.

This is the quilt, bumper pad, and pillows that I made. I sewed everything together, then sent it to my mom to have quilted. They turned out great.

Happy Birthday Chase!

2009-08-09T20:23:00.001-07:00

Wow... 7 years old! The hardest thing about being pregnant is knowing that this cute little boy will no longer be my baby. Chase keeps reminding me, "I am not a baby anymore." But I still take every opportunity to hold him. I held him during church today, but he mentioned that the baby takes up a lot of his space.

We took Chase shopping for his birthday yesterday and the only thing he really wanted was to go to Build a Bear. Here he is with his new dog Fluffy. Oh, we even pulled his tooth today.

Girl's Camp

2009-08-09T19:42:00.000-07:00

Ashley with her friends, enjoying some free time at camp.

Yes, I went to camp as well. Almost 8 months pregnant!! I was one of the photographers. Most people said I was crazy for this, but it kept me busy and got me one week closer to my delivery date. I have to say that I enjoyed camping more that I thought I would.

This was our team of photographers.

I was on my feet most of the day, sitting was uncomfortable. By day 3 my ankles and feet began to swell. The days were extremely hot and our tents were too hot to rest in. By orders of our camp nurse, I needed to put my feet up and rest. Still hot.... but the coolest spot we could find.

"Baby Belly"

2009-08-09T19:16:00.000-07:00

I promised a few people some "baby belly" pictures. The one on the left is at 30 weeks and the one on the right is at 34 weeks!!

Basking in the Sun

2009-06-14T20:45:00.000-07:00

No, this is not a dead rat! This is Tica, our dog, and she loves the sun. She'll sit by our back door as long as she possibly can to enjoy the sun that comes through the window.

My New Calling at Church

2009-06-14T20:24:00.000-07:00

I was sitting in church today as I noticed Eden (left) wiggling her tooth. I leaned over to tell her that I had pulled 2 teeth of Breck's just a few days ago and that I would love to pull hers if she would let me. I never thought she would actually consider it. But to my surprise she said "yes". We walked to the girls bathroom before primary where we quickly pulled her tooth. Then after church the mother of Kaitlyn (right) told me that she had a tooth to be told. Kaitlyn was a little hesitant, but she agreed. I think that both Kaitlyn and I panicked as we heard and felt the snapping of her roots, but we made it quick and hopefully painless. There were no tears:)

Ketchup!!

2009-05-29T21:49:00.000-07:00

We had asked Chase to take a big container of ketchup downstairs to the storage room. It didn't quite make it. Instead Chase began playing around with it and gave it a few kicks with his foot before it exploded! We had ketchup all over the floor.

Here's the BIG container of ketchup, we're glad it wasn't the whole container that spilled.

Here's the culprit! Cute little guy, all dressed up and ready to go to his 1st grade program. We were in such a rush to clean up the ketchup and still get to his program on time. He had ketchup all over his pant legs, but he said, "It's okay mom, I stand in the back row and no one will see my pants." Vaughn was so upset with the incident that he threatened Chase with not attending his program. Chase didn't like that and he cried and cried. For weeks Chase couldn't stop talking about his program. He said, "Mom and Dad, you are going to love my voice!" I heard this comment over and over in my head and knew that we couldn't keep Chase from attending his program.

How can you resist with a smile like this?

My heart couldn't take it!

2009-04-15T09:17:00.000-07:00

I know these things happen all the time, but not usually in your own back yard.

This poor, young deer had an injured leg and has been hobbling around our back yard for the past week. Yesterday, she found a nice resting spot near our back yard as she couldn't seem to walk anymore. It broke my heart everytime she tried, with all her might, to stand up. She sat here for hours. That's when I heard barking. I ran to my back yard to find 2 domestic dogs trying to drag the deer every which way. I couldn't take it, so I yelled at the dogs and scared them off. I felt so bad for this deer, yet it didn't make a sound. My neighbor called the cops and they came and put her out of her misery and drug her away. It was an emotional morning.

The News Is Out!!

2009-03-11T20:40:00.000-07:00

So maybe this isn't new news to all, but we're adding a new addition to our family! So why did I wait so long to post this news? Well, I think we need another lesson on the birds and the bees because we're still trying to figure out how this happened. We were done and happy with four beautiful children. But then Addie had to go ask Santa Claus for a baby sister for Christmas. We tried our hardest to help her understand that Santa can't provide those kinds of gifts, it's up to the parents. (Sounds like we'll be waiting a while to tell Addie the secret about Santa) She's a believer! It took us some time to get over the shock. I've spent most of the last 6 weeks in bed, very sick. So here comes the excitement now that the shock and the nausea is wearing off!

Family Photo

2009-03-11T20:24:00.000-07:00

These are just a few of the pictures that Natalie took of our family while visiting in Utah over Thanksgiving. Thank you Natalie!!

Addie's Baptism

2009-02-21T09:49:00.000-08:00

Family Reuonion scrapbook

2009-01-31T18:20:00.001-08:00

Disney Scrapbook in Progress

2009-01-14T22:51:00.001-08:00

This is just one of the many scrapbooks that I'm working on. If you want more info on Heritage Makers go to www.heritagemakers.com/332650 There are some great specials for the month January.

Snow Days

2009-01-06T22:00:00.000-08:00

We went on vacation for 3 weeks, returning home for one week of school before Christmas Break. But Christmas break came early because of all the snow. The kids were supposed to return to school Jan 5th, but of course it was canceled, along with Jan 6th and 7th. I think we spent a consecutive 8 days shoveling atleast once, sometimes twice a day.

So here we sit, watching movies, playing cards/games, or watching deer come through our back yard.

Posted by Melissa

Our 3 Week Vacation

2009-01-06T15:52:00.000-08:00

Our vacation started off with a week in Utah to celebrate Thanksgiving with family.

A Baldwin family tradition... making turkeys with apples and an assortment of candy.
Here Chase is helping us with the finishing touches.

There's a bit of an age between Ashley and all the other granddaughters in the Baldwin family. This is all of the granddaughters, excluding Ashley. They have a great time when they get together.

The day after Thanksgiving we flew from Salt Lake City to Orlando, Florida to enjoy a 7 day cruise on the Disney Magic. Complete with all the food and all the pampering you want.

The best part of the cruise was porting on Disney's private island, Castaway Cay, where we enjoyed feeding the sting ray, playing beach volleyball, and relaxing on the beach. We then spent a few days in Disney World. Our vacation ended with a day of flying back to Utah, then another day of driving from Salt Lake to Washington. I will post a slide show of our favorite vacation moments.

Posted by Melissa

2009-01-06T15:04:00.000-08:00

This was my first year of doing volleyball. Although I was only on junior varsity, I still had a great time. I was on a team with a lot of my good friends and really enjoyed the season. I only played a few games, and had 2 weeks worth of practice before my family and I left for our big vacation. Sadly, I knew that I would not be able to return home to help my team finish off the season due to missing so many practices. But my coach was nice enough to let me play in the last three games.

Posted by Ashley

A must read for runners ->

2008-11-01T12:21:00.000-07:00

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27460551/

Soccer Day

2008-11-01T09:23:00.000-07:00

Ashley calls her team "the Leftovers" an inside joke. This was their first win of the season and the smile says it all. Their team won 2 of their 8 games and tied atleast 3 games. Regardless of their wins, Ashley played great at every game, always a joy to watch.
Chase and his friend Will.

Addie's soccer team was undefeated! She's got a lot of potential... pretty sure it came from watching her older sister and brother play.

This was Breck's first year of Select Soccer. These boys were dedicated to their coach, practicing into the dark hours of the night.

Here's what a typical week of soccer looks like at the Jensen home:

Monday

Breck soccer practice 5:30-7:30

Ashley soccer practice 5:00-6:30

Tuesday

Addie soccer practice 4:00-6:00

Chase soccer practice 4:30-5:30

Wednesday

Breck soccer practice 5:30-7:30

Ashley soccer practice 5:00-6:30

Thursday

Chase soccer practice 4:30-5:30

Friday

A much needed day off (usually a date night for mom and dad)

Saturday On October 4th, 2008 this is how our day looked

10:00 am Breck's game (needs to be there by 9am)

11:00 am Chase's game

12:00 pm Ashley's game (needs to be there by 11am)

1:00 pm Addie's game (needs to be there by 12:30)

2:00 pm Breck's game - a double header

4:30 pm Vaughn and Melissa's game

We left at 8:30 in the morning and got home around 6:30 or 7:00 that night. That's a typical Saturday for us. Fun, huh?

Wow...

2008-10-26T15:17:00.000-07:00

Melissa took these shots not too long ago and I had to throw them up. Click on each picture for full screen, they are really quite incredible. Ashley and Addie are really growing up (much too fast, we both agree). I feel so blessed to have them a part of my life.

Some time away from home!

2008-10-26T14:25:00.000-07:00

I get to rewind the clock a bit for this post. Last year Melissa's hard work with her business earned us a trip to Florida for a week. Ever since we started heading out on longer excursions with just the two of us, we're always planning the next one when we get back. I highly recommend at least an annual hiatus with your soul mate of at least a week. Not only does it make the days at work fly by looking forward to the next outing in pent-up excitement, but it really does strengthen our relationship. Here's a shot of us enjoying an evening out, oddly it's a little cold in Florida - luckily we were prepared :)

Hood to Coast - Raw Footage

2008-09-18T09:19:00.000-07:00

RAW FOOTAGE That's our team name. No raw feet this year! But we got lots of raw footage with the camcorder. Check back soon for a link to the video Vaughn put together. Next year HTC is Aug 28-29. We're looking to put a team or 2 together. Let us know if you're interested in joining us, you can email me mraejensen@hotmail.com. Registration is Oct 15. See the fun video of this year's experience below! (Really worth watching).

2008-09-17T09:17:00.000-07:00

This is just one of the many (approx. 20) hornets nests that we've killed over the summer. This one happened to be inside our patio umbrella. I couldn't resist getting close enough to take a picture. This nest was about 5" in diameter. Just days before this one, our family was enjoying dinner out on the patio. We had a couple of hornets buzzing around us, so we thought we would quickly swat them to their death. When I came back with the fly swatter, the kids notified me that the hornets flew under the table. Yes, we had a hornets nest under the table, inches between Addie and I.

Miley Cyrus - Stadium of Fire

2008-09-15T16:44:00.000-07:00

The best part of our 4th of July weekend was the Stadium of Fire - Miley Cyrus concert, of course!! Although we already had our tickets for the show, Ashley was determined to find better seats. Just days before the concert Ashley found just 2 front row tickets on Ebay for a really great price. It was obvious that Ashley and Addie would get those 2 seats. They had the best seats in the house with no obstructive view whatsoever. They took several pictures and enjoyed every minute of it!

4th of July Weekend

2008-09-15T15:49:00.000-07:00

Here's Ashley, Ivy, Addie, and Chase at the 4th of July parade.

Toothless Addie

2008-06-24T21:29:00.001-07:00

Addie had a visit with her dentist today and here are the results. She lost one tooth on her own but she had a couple of permanent teeth coming in behind her bottom baby teeth. The 2 bottom teeth needed to be pulled, what's one more? So here she is, toothless and all smiles. I hope the tooth fairy has enough to give after the cost of today's dental visit.

Marmots... Argh!!

2008-06-23T22:56:00.000-07:00

Cute little guy isn't he? Not really. We have these little creatures living all around us. In fact, we have a home of them just beyond our backyard. We see them all the time, but not like this. Last week I took Ashley to get her haircut, several miles away from home. Chase and I sat and watched this little marmot (approx 3-5 lbs.) climb up underneath our car, poking his head out above the tires every few minutes. I thought for sure he would take off after starting the car. Didn't think much of it until we kept finding things tipped over in the garage. Boxes were shredded to pieces and the tape on our drywall was being ripped in every corner. I knew then that the marmot came home with us and was living in our garage for a couple of days. On Friday, the kids and I set out to clean the garage. We pulled out cars, bikes, strollers, etc. We pulled everything from the shelves (you wouldn't believe what they leave behind... gross.) As Breck went to remove the lawn mower the marmot ran, scaring the kids in the process. We had it cornered, we just needed to get it out. With the help of some nice construction workers next door, we got it out. But that wasn't the end. It then ran up under Vaughn's car. We pulled out the lawn chairs and lined them up at the front of the garage where the kids sat and guarded the garage for the next hour or so while I put the garage back together. Their job was to make sure the marmot didn't come back. Once the garage was put back together we closed the garage. Now it was time to get the marmot out of Vaughn's car. We opened the hood and sprayed it down with a hose, then we took a sprinkler and placed it under the car. Nothing! Either he's still in there or he snuck out without us seeing. Vaughn and I later went out for dinner and drove a good distance. It should be safe to park the car in the garage now, right? Little did we know, he was still in the car. We woke the next morning to find that he left paw prints all over our garage, messing things up once again. These creatures are very good at hiding, but as we searched and got closer it began barking at us. Once we knew it was no longer in our car we pulled both cars out and parked them a block away. It was time to tear the garage apart once again. That is the photo you see above. We got it out and hope to never see it again, at least in our garage or car.

Yellowstone

2008-06-23T22:31:00.000-07:00

After our 1/2 marathon, we spent a couple of nights in Jackson Hole. We spent a day in Yellowstone, hoping to see some really cool wildlife. That didn't happen, but we did get to see "Old Faithful". This was a new kind of vacation for the kids. We found that their not really into the nature vacations. Looks like we've spoiled them with wild rides and lovable characters:) All in all, we had a good time.

That's "Old Faithful". We got there just in time!

Teton Dam 1/2 Marathon - June 14, 2008

2008-06-21T17:01:00.001-07:00

Here we are at the start of our 1/2 marathon. (Teton Dam Marathon Rexburg, ID). In the first 30 minutes of the run we were getting passed like crazy. But we knew that if we kept a steady pace we'd be passing them soon enough. Sure enough, half way thru the race we started passing the very runners that were passing us early on.

We surprised ourselves with how much fun we had during the race. Training for it wasn't exactly fun or easy, but there's something about the adrenaline and the "gu" gel packs that get you thru. We made our goal to finish in less than 2 hours. Our time was 1:58 giving us an average of 9:03 minute miles. Next on our list of events is the Hood to Coast relay. Currious to know more? Go to hoodtocoast.com
We're still looking for runners, if anyone is interested:)

My first attempt

2008-06-19T20:05:00.000-07:00

This is my first attempt at adding a picture to our family blog. Vaughn started our blog a couple of years ago, now this is where I pick up and go forward.

This is a picture that Whitney Baldwin took of the kids while Vaughn and I were on vacation. They turned out great, thanks Whitney!

July 4th - 2006

2007-02-01T09:24:00.000-08:00

Here's a quick post of the gang. We had a swim party at our neighbor's house on July 4th. We'll be tossing more up in the near future, so stay tuned.