Twin Jensens (Twin Falls, Idaho)

More on Henry's Lake...

2009-06-18T21:42:00.000-07:00

I forgot to tell about a couple funny things - (we did see a baby moose wandering around the camp). But when we first checked into our condo, Lance's mom was unpacking some things into a drawer, and when she opened it, there was a giant size pair of men's poop stained underwear - ewwwww!!! They dared us to put it on the end of a stick & take the giant poo poo pants down to the office... maybe you had to be there, but it was gross! The guy at the counter apologized for the 'surprise' & seemed to give us pretty good service after that :-)

Henry's Lake fishing!

2009-06-18T21:36:00.000-07:00

Lance's mom's side of the family has a tradition of going to Henry's Lake in Eastern Idaho every June, since the 1940's. Grandpa Turner & his brothers were avid fishers & loved the outdoors. Henry's Lake is well known for its trout fishing. We had fresh trout, eggs, bacon, & hashbrowns for breakfast. We stayed in a condo that sleeps 22, down by the water. There were probably 50 of us there from the Turner's side. Lots of cousins to play with, ride bikes around the campground, go exploring, play games, etc. The weather was pretty nice. We had a great trip :-) Thanks Bruce & Darla for everything!

Henry's Lake ATV ride

2009-06-18T21:31:00.000-07:00

Leave it to us to get in some awesome four wheeling above Henry's Lake, then get pulled over by the sheriff for treading on a non-motorized path... We got off with just a warning, but need to stick to the designed ATV trails next time :-) Some of the ride seemed like straight up with loose rocks, but we made it up & down, safe!

BASEBALL SEASON in full swing...

2009-06-16T22:56:00.000-07:00

Tayson has enjoyed playing baseball in the summer through the Parks & Rec league here. He is quite a good batter & does well with catching too - our little athlete! Lance has spent some quality father-son time practicing with him. Here are some cute pictures of his team this year, the Orioles. (They are mixing 9 & 10 year olds).

Lance's Grandpa Jensen's Funeral

2009-06-16T22:32:00.000-07:00

Well, Lance's grandpa was 91 and had some health problems the last couple of years. He was getting weaker and in pain from arthritis - he passed away the end of May. His funeral was in Driggs, Idaho (by Jackson Hole) where they lived in the same house that he built for 60 years. Lance turned 37 the same week and was fortunate to have lived this long without losing anyone close to him, so up until this month, he has had all four grandparents living, relatively close too, in Idaho. We went to the funeral the first week of June. George Jensen was laid to rest with full military honors (having served in WWII), with the gun salute, flugal horn, & official flag presentation... It was an honor to be associated with him. We have many good memories.

Here are the pallbearers - Lance in the middle with his two brothers (the three tall guys), then three cousins.

These are a couple shots of the family luncheon following the funeral. Lance ended up sitting at the little kids' table with some nieces & nephews, then there is a picture of the 'adult' table.

Here is Lance with his sister Natalie at the gravesite....

END OF SCHOOL PARTY!

2009-05-29T21:16:00.000-07:00

Several families from Xavier got to play down at Bass Lake to celebrate the last day of school! (May 29th, 2009). It was toasty warm & the kids didn't want to get out of the water! The boys caught some fish, then put them back in the lake, but not before they put one down the slide :-) Silly boys. The girls went canoeing and capsized a boat or two... There was food, fun & socializing - hooray for summer!

McKenzie & Delaney

Ethan & Tayson

(The fish getting dumped out of the bucket, going down the slide...)

I thought of TJ & how he would love to go golfing, down in the canyon :-) ... it's a pristine golf course! Can you see the Perrine Bridge in the distance? Base jumpers can legally leap off here any time of year... Who knew you could have such fun in little Twin Falls, Idaho?

Xavier's Spring Concert

2009-05-28T18:14:00.000-07:00

Delaney playing a cello solo for Xavier Charter School's Spring Concert. She was so excited to put on "stage makeup" and her hair curled. Can you believe she just turned 12?

Tayson is on the far left, with the green striped shirt. His 4th grade class sang "And Here We Have Idaho".

Emma is in red. Her kindergarten class recited a poem about the months & seasons of the year.

Here is a video clip of Laney playing the cello with the strings behind her - yikes! Sorry - I know how torturous it can be listening to middle school bands! :-)

TWIN FALLS PARK

2009-05-28T17:57:00.000-07:00

We had a nice family outing to Twin Falls Park this May. There is a view of the lesser known "Twin Falls" (only one side of the falls is showing), and also a little waterfall coming out of the canyon wall... so close to home & such pretty scenery!

EMMA TURNS 6!

2009-05-28T17:46:00.000-07:00

Emma had a butterfly birthday party with some friends from church & school. We did butterfly craft projects, Kim tried to make a butterfly cake... the girls had a great time :-) Thanks to Delaney for being my right arm!

SERVICE PROJECT

2009-05-16T21:31:00.000-07:00

This project was called Join Hands Day, where many people donate of their time & funds to put together potted flowering plants to give to the elderly in the community. This was a good experience for the kids & adults. We had a memorable BBQ outside in the Idaho wind, & had such positive responses when we delivered the pots with service poems attached.

SCOUTING/ REPTILES

2009-05-16T21:24:00.000-07:00

Tayson's scout troop had an activity at the Herrett Museum where they keep quite a large collection of reptiles. Several were talked about & displayed for the children to touch... I thought about both of Tayson's grandmas & their fear of snakes... :-) It was very enlightening & memorable!

Tayson's 10th Birthday...

2009-05-16T21:08:00.000-07:00

Our dear friends the Olsens gave us free passes for Tayson's birthday party at Miracle Hot Springs :-) So we had a swimming party in April. There is a large dome with tables & chairs, which we used to eat & open presents in... The kids had a blast playing games in the water & soaking in the hot tub. We had to leave for home because they were getting hungry again and we had run out of food! Could have stayed & played - had a great time :-)

SEATTLE SCIENCE CENTER

2009-03-25T17:24:00.000-07:00

So here are some pics of us and our friends (from Twin Falls) the McKees - we met up to do some fun activities downtown... they even stayed over at my parents' home for a couple nights. All seven kids got along well & we made memories Seattle style (a little soggy at times)... Fun stuff!!

the Space Needle...
Touching critters in the tidepool...

a funky mirror...
a robotic arm for giant tic-tac-toe...

Grasslawn Park in Redmond, WA

2009-03-25T17:13:00.000-07:00

The kids got to play at a newly renovated park near my mom & dad's place, with spiderweb-like climbing ropes... cool!

Alice in Wonderland play, featuring Tayson as the Cheshire Cat

2009-03-25T16:45:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm catching up on blogging - this one is about Tayson being in the play at school - Alice in Wonderland. He was one of three boys dressed in 'purple' as a three-headed cheshire cat. Hmmm. Well, he knew his lines & looked confident & smiled at us... so I would say he did a GREAT job!!! Here - you can see our cute little kitty... Good job Tays & Mrs. Baird's 4th grade class!

LANEY'S FRIEND PARTY

2009-03-07T15:42:00.000-08:00

Well, Delaney had eight friends over for pizza, cake & ice cream sundaes, make up & nail polish fun, then some games & singing... Here are some of the highlights!

However, we think she is coming down with MONO because she mostly slept through her party!!!

Well, I've saved the best part for last...

*** POLICEWOMAN CALLS FOR BACK-UP ***

The girls were getting rowdy & wanted to paint their faces, then go TP someone!

Can you guess what happened next? The next door neighbor of the classmate the girls TP'd must have called the police, because after each girl had used up her roll of TP & hopped back into our van, we turned onto the next street & got pulled over by a policewoman! Yikes. She asked for license & registration, asked what was going on, then called for back-up... a couple minutes later a male police officer pulled up (both cars with their lights on at a prominent intersection in town)... they asked me to get out of the car to chat with them away from the 'children'... I had quite a 'talking to' about how I could get charged with damage to property & child endangerment (for having too many kids in the car without seatbelts). Yikes again. I don't know how many fines or tickets or whatever I COULD have got, but I was lucky to get off without anything :-) Thank goodness for a clean driving record & a heart of contrition. I promised to go straight home, then deliver the girls home in two shifts, so that they could be properly belted in. Talk about a humiliating not-so-stellar mother moment!

I told the girls in the car that I was sorry, that they weren't getting in trouble or sent to 'juvie', and I personally would talk to their parents when I dropped them off to explain what had happened. (Honesty is always the best policy, even when the policewoman is shining her flashlight in your car to count heads & see how much TP is in the trunk)... and I told the girls that it's okay to tell your parents about the incident, again apologizing for my lapse in judgment. Well, that about does it for Delaney's birthday. Anyone want to top that? :-)

After it gets around the school, I wonder if parents will let their kids come over to play at our house? Such wonderful supervision is provided... and Lance was out of town, so I was the only 'responsible' adult to account for the evening's conduct - wow. I feel a guest spotlight coming on for 'Mother of the Year', (or what not to do!) LOL. Just another teaching moment in the life of Kim :-)

Oh, and I promise never to drive again with more people than I have seatbelts for!

folding the dirty laundry...

2009-03-06T08:42:00.000-08:00

So I came home last night from a choir practice to find my cute husband trying to help with the laundry - and he had folded the four dirty piles!!! I had a bunch of loads sorted and sprayed, so he thought they 'smelled' clean from the spray n'wash... We ended up having a good laugh over that :-) Thanks honey.

Reminds me of another funny one - remember Build-a-Bear stores? Well, we have a Create-a-Critter here in Twin Falls. (They have different animals you stuff & dress up). Well, Lance was at work and one of his employees asked about an order. He told them he was going to deliver it to "Crispy Critters" (LOL). Sounds like a place you could eat at! It just came out wrong :-)

Oh well, wish us luck with Delaney's party tonight!

LANEY'S 12TH BIRTHDAY!!

2009-03-05T07:52:00.000-08:00

So Lance had the cute idea to take Laney out on a daddy-daughter date for turning 12. I think they went out to dinner & ice cream. Such a darling picture of them!

Then here are a couple pics of Laney's actual birthday (Wed. March 4th) where she opened some presents at home from mom & dad, Nana Papa & TJ - thanks guys!!! And we got a yummy ice cream cake from Cold Stone... But wait - the friend party is this Friday :-) (So excited because it's going to be low key and we didn't do one last year).

2009-03-05T07:41:00.000-08:00

SEATTLE TRIP

I (Kim) was feeling burnt out & needed a change of scenery sans children, so my friend Laura Olsen & I drove up to Seattle for a long weekend in February, for some R&R (and shopping!) It was a nice getaway. Thanks to bro TJ for his love of games & entertaining us with his fun friends! And to my ever gracious mom & dad, who always act excited to see me!

2009-03-05T07:21:00.001-08:00

SCHOOL SKI TRIP

I got to go with Delaney & Tayson on their school ski trip this year to Magic Mountain, up in the South Hills, about 45 minutes away. It's a great beginner hill and the price was right! They also have a lift for inner tubing! We will have to try that another weekend. So here are some pictures of the kids skiing, then hanging out in the lodge...

(Tays is wearing black & red, Laney has a blue hat in the last pic)

2009-03-05T06:58:00.000-08:00

PINEWOOD DERBY

So I need to catch up on some blogging! I've been discouraged at how slow our internet has been on uploading the pictures, which to me are almost the most important part! So here I go, patiently trying to upload...

Lance had the idea to take Tayson out to his grandparents' shop in Burley and work on his pinewood derby car together. Some quality father-son bonding time!

Here are a couple pictures from the actual Pinewood Derby...

Tayson didn't actually place well (like last year - he went to districts!) but they had a great time anyway. His car is the green one & he designed it by himself.

CABIN FEVER DAY

2009-01-10T17:18:00.000-08:00

Twin Falls has a Cabin Fever Day to get out of the house & do some free activities at different places around the valley... We went to Magic Valley Bowhunters, Hands On Pottery, & Skateland! Lots of fun :-)

STAR WARS CRASH

2009-01-06T13:45:00.000-08:00

Okay - so what are the odds of me slipping on the stairs, and landing on my bottom, smack on top of Tayson's new Star Wars Lego ship (that took him four hours to put together)? And mind you, he is a bright little builder. I had a pile on the stairs for each child to take up to their room, toys & clothes, etc. Well, the ship was pretty much smashed, but I don't think any pieces are broken :-) ... it's just going to take time (for Tayson) to put it back together again! I couldn't stop laughing - is that bad? WOw - I must have needed a good laugh. Emma was a witness to the whole thing. Hopefully this is one of those times where you have to view life as comical. LOL.

SACALUIGI

2009-01-05T07:12:00.000-08:00

So last night at dinner, Emma was trying to say something about the indian Sacajawea (sp?) and called her Sacaluigi! That started us laughing so hard! It must be a tribute to Nana, Papa & TJ's cat Luigi :-) So Laney said if we ever get another pet, she wants to name it Sacaluigi.

Tayson has been into building forts lately, and absolutely loves his Star Wars Lego set!

And since when did Laney start looking so grown up? Yes, she is this tall. She will be twelve in two months!!!

And yes, Emma still sucks on the tag by the care bear stuffed animal's bum, to help her go to sleep... only we got a different bear for Christmas, just to play with! (because it came with a necklace) :-)

It's Christmas!

2008-12-25T09:59:00.000-08:00

Well, it's finally here - it's Christmas! We went to Lance's mom and step-dad's in Rupert, Idaho for a lovely Christmas Eve Dinner, then the kids got to dress up & do the nativity. Lance's mom even sewed the costumes - so cute! There were some musical numbers to go along with a reading & it turned out pretty well. The food was yummy!

Then Christmas morning (back at our house) the kids found their Santa gifts - Emma even noticed that Santa used one of our sticker tags! And Lance turned on the fireplace, which melted the chocolate in the stockings! We made them have some breakfast, then opened the rest of the gifts upstairs by our tree... the kids were thrilled & excited & all smiles, until Laney opened up a long denim skirt ("mom - this looks like something the Amish would wear - it's so not in style anymore!"). Too bad it came from a Gap outlet in Utah! Then one of the shirts I had ordered for me didn't fit (it was "from" the kids - I love to pick my own gifts, which Lance hates) , so Laney got at least one article of clothing she liked after all :-) Even my mom picked two cute sweaters for me that fit! Laney will love the clothes from Grandma Darla - if she can wait to open them until we see them again tomorrow... (Thanks for the gifts mom & dad!) Too bad the roads were awful - we would have loved to have had you here :-(

So, I'm going to list our Christmas gifts for memory's sake, & you can tune out now if you want - blah blah blah... :-)

Basically, Lance got: two pair of pants from my parents (he's a special order 36x36 - preferably a 38" inseam), a robe, new socks, two pillowcases that say "always kiss me goodnight", a homemade calendar with our family pictures on it (he says this is his favorite gift & he puts it up in his office), a Chicken Soup for the Soul book for entrepreneurs, a book that interprets dreams & their meanings (a little out there), & he's probably going to get a new suit with the money from his mom & step-dad (it's only been 11 years since he got his last one, which is ripping). He was going to go to the BSU game in San Diego with a bunch of guys, but they drove a ways into Nevada & decided they could probably make it, but the chances of getting BACK in time for Christmas were slim... so they avoided the storm, turned around & came home :-( It was a nice thought!

Kim got: five shirts/sweaters, some black heels, new exercise shoes, some scrapbooking ribbon, & two cricut cartridges. (Is it too bad that there weren't many surprises?) I'm thrilled & can't wait to start scrapbooking again after the December madness! Yeah!!! :-) Thanks again mom for
picking cute tops - you know I love green!

Laney got: a new comforter/bed in a bag set (she's getting too old for pastel purple) - so it's black & white, which we'll accent with bright colors! (She wants her walls & decor to be turquoise, lime, orange & fuschia). Also a bead/jewelry making kit, the new JK Rowling book about Beetle the Bard, a cute crocheted hat with a layered flower clip & ribbon, a denim jacket & skirt (bah humbug), a jewelry set of interchangeable watch bands, necklaces & earrings from Nana & Papa Galbraith... am I missing anything else? I think some more clothes from Grandma & Grandpa Burtenshaw...

Tayson got: k'nex, a build a fort kit, guinness book of world records, book about constellations, sweatshirt, kung fu stuffed animal from Nana & Papa, DS game, probably another game & more clothes from G&G B!

Emma got: a different color crochet hat with chic flower clip & bling, magnetic dress up dolls, Little Miss books, sweatshirt & hat, blue teddy bear wearing a necklace, coloring book, a porcelain doll from Nana & Papa, and colorful building blocks (for making a castle or house). I happen to know that she is getting a digital camera with games on it from G&G B plus some cute clothes :-) Thanks G&G B :-)

Well, that's about it for Christmas morning - we'll eat, call our families, nap, watch movies, play games, sing songs.... maybe even roast chestnuts by an open fire! And it's a white Christmas! We are very blessed :-) Here's a toast to a Happy Christmas & a Merry New Year!