The Jensen Hoard Survived!!!

We have returned to a snow covered yard and cold, miserable weather. It is even harder to handle being stuck indoors after having enjoyed such good weather down in St. George. Our trip started out a little shaky with the drive down. What used to take us 4 1/2 hours, took us 6 hours. We had to stop for dinner, stop to feed girls, and multiple potty stops, which didn't seem to matter, because Andrew had 2 number 1 accidents and Aiden had a number 2 accident. After the trip down I was worried that we made a mistake trying a road trip with our group, but the rest of the trip was very enjoyable. Grandma Veigel was so nice to take all of us in and feed us. It was good to have my kids spend time with Grandma "Beigel." We also got to spend time with Brooke and she was even nice enough to watch all the kids Friday night while Trent and I went to dinner! Thanks Brooke!

Here is our car full. Unfortunately, you can't see my girls, only their car seat handles. But you get the idea of the overflow of kids.

My cute girls with the Great Grandma Veigel.


My mom and I came home from shopping Saturday morning to find this. It was only 11:00 and they were both out.

Andrew looks so huge on top of little Grandma Veigel.

While the boys went to work with Trent, Brooke blew bubbles with Oakley. I have a ton of cute pictures. It was hard to just pick one!

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The first day of our trip we took advantage of the great weather and went to the park. My kids had so much fun. We were all in shorts, sandals, and no jackets. It was great!

This is one of the few pictures that I have with my girls. I am usually the one taking the pictures.

Oakley went down this slide about 30 times. She loved it!

Aiden is our little monkey and isn't afraid of anything.

Andrew was trying to copy Aiden's climbing ability.

My girls loved sitting outside. I really can't wait for summer to get here.

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One of the main reasons for our trip down to St. George was to see the house that my parents bought. It is beautiful! It felt very comfortable and relaxing, even with all my kids there. Now we won't have to invade Grandma Veigel's space. Congrats Mom and Dad!!!

All in all, it was a great trip. Sorry for the overload of pictures! It was good to escape our everyday life and spend time together with grandparents, a great grandma, an aunt, and our little family. I am already looking forward to the next time we can journey down south!

Getting away from snow!

Today we are making our way down to sunny St. George to visit Grandma Veigel and Brooke. This has been a long, hard winter for our family and we cannot stand being stuck inside anymore. If we don't escape this house, I fear there might be 2 crazy parents checked into a mental institute. We woke up to about 3 inches of snow this morning, which only confirmed the need to get outta here. I tried, unsuccessfully, to get a picture of all my kids and the fresh snow outside. Unfortunately, you can't really see the snow because of the light behind my kids and the fact that the windows are disgustingly dirty. Hmmm, maybe I should clean windows instead of blog. Nah.

Sugar High

Easter weekend was full of egg hunts, candy, family, food, candy, Easter Baskets, candy, new church clothes, and more candy. Easter morning, after church, Trent said he was already sick of Easter and it had actually just officially started. Our kids had already consumed half their body weight in candy and were bouncing of the walls with a sugar high. In spite of Trent's Easter blues, the kids had such a good time. We all enjoyed an egg hunt and dinner at the Jensen's Saturday night. Sunday morning we did our own little egg hunt and Easter Baskets, then later that day we enjoyed another egg hunt and delicious dinner at Dodee's! Unfortunately, as soon as we got to my parents house, I received a work call and I had to go clean up some throw up and pick someone up off the floor. So, we didn't get to spend too much time with the Veigels. But, overall it was a GREAT Easter!

Oakley got some cool shades in her basket at the Jensens.
Aiden and Andrew finding eggs.

My cute girls just watched everyone else find eggs. Next year they can share in the madness!

Easter Morning at our house.

Oakley searching with Brooke at Dodee's.
Aiden and Andrew found their cool sports Easter eggs.

Cousins group shot after the frantic egg hunt at Dodee's.

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Thanks to everyone who did so much for our kids. You made it another memorable holiday!

Things you probably don't care if you know or not...

I was tagged by Melissa and like her I had a hard time coming up with things people don't know about me. So, here are 7 fascinating facts about the Amy Jensen:

1. I hate moths like most people hate spiders. I don’t know where this fear came from but they give me the willies. I think it must be their big furry worm-like bodies and how they just flap around aimlessly. Gross.

2. I love wrapping presents. It is almost as fun as buying the gift itself. If anyone wants presents wrapped bring them to my house anytime!

3. I love watches. Most girls love buying shoes, but I would rather get another watch. My new favorites are the fossil watches that you can buy one face and a bunch of different bands to go with it. You can just switch the band depending on the outfit you are wearing. Of course, my outfits consist of pajamas, but I do have a watch for each of my pjs!

4. My new favorite show to watch is Dexter. It is about a serial killer that works in a forensic unit. Trent and I think the character is hilarious. It has been good to have a new show to watch, especially with The Office being gone for so long!

5. I love mowing lawns. I used to do it for a job in Jr. High and High School. I love getting a tan, watching the clean cut lines form behind the mower, and I find it relaxing walking back and forth across the lawn. And who doesn’t love the smell of fresh cut grass?

6. I love peanut butter. Peanut butter sandwiches, peanut butter on celery, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, or just a spoonful of plain-has to be creamy-peanut butter. Jill has somehow found it necessary to buy me the Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs, all the time. And I wonder why I can’t lose my last 15 lbs of baby weight. Thanks Jill!

7. Speaking of losing weight, here is my last little factoid about myself. I love to feed people. I love having people over for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Hey, even just a bowl of ice cream, right Luke? Our first house in Kaysville was nicknamed the fat house because of the mass consumption of food. One of my all time favorite things is a good old barbecue. I love the grilled meat, all the different salads, fruit, warm weather, and the general feeling of having family and friends around. Can’t wait to have our first barbecue! Anyone interested?

If anyone wants to participate consider yourself tagged.

I have a witness.....

Cecilie was hanging out with me making some of her cute cards and we were having a grand old time, then Oakley fell down and got a bloody lip. I started cleaning her mouth and noticed that 3 of her 6 teeth were chipped. Amazing. So, now, Cecilie can testify on my behalf if I am ever charged with child abuse.

Fashion Show???

On Saturday the Jensen girls went to the Macy's Fashion Show. I know most of you are thinking, "Amy at a fashion show." I AM the least fashionable person there is. If the show was full of lounge pants and pajamas, I would definitely be the master, but it consisted of the usual things, clothes that only a size 0 would look good in, clothes that you would only wear on a runway, and clothes that no one should ever wear anytime. However, the event was fun, especially with all the Jensen girls (minus Jamie because she was taking care of her cute little Annie & Brooke who was enjoying California).

After the show the different make up booths were giving free makeovers. I have always wanted a makeover because I am clueless when it comes to makeup. So, we went over to Estee Lauder's counter to give it a go. I told the "makeup artist" that I wanted a natural look. Tell me what you think. Here is the before and after.

The ugly mug shot before.

The ugly mug shot after.

Umm, I said natural lady. This is what she did to me! There is nothing natural about this makeup job. I guess, if anything, I may look "natural" in the world of the hookers! Horrible.

I think Teri described it well too. She said it looked like a make up job for a dead lady in her coffin. You know, like in the movie, My Girl, when Jamie Lee Curtis makes over the preachers wife or something.

Anyways, I had a good time getting out with the girls. Thanks to Teri for getting us tickets to the show, for lunch, and an all around good time! No matter what you do with the Jensens it always ends up fun!!!

New York, New York

Jake is going to be ditching the New York scene and heading to St Louis in a couple months. He needed someone to help him move and make the journey to the Midwest. Trent was more than willing to help and I was more than willing to take a vacation to New York. Trent and I are going to check out Jake's crib, see the sights, attend some plays, eat, and shop. I will be flying home early to rescue our babysitters and Trent and Jake will do a road trip to St. Louis. Their trip is going to include some Major League baseball games on the way, which makes driving across half the country worth it. We are excited for the trip, not only to see Jake and New York, but to get a little break from all our kids. Thanks to EVERYONE that is helping watch our kids! It definitely takes a lot of babysitters to make this happen!

Bruised Noggin'

Oakleys had a rough time with her head the past week. She fell out of our neighbors car for one of the goose eggs and who knows how she got the other one. Although, I think the two bumpy bruises makes her two times cuter!

Just a Peek...

Trent was sitting at the counter and looked over and saw Paige and Morgan peeking around the couch. I thought it was such a cute picture that I had to share it with everyone!

Tending Roses...

For Christmas this year, Teri gave me the book Tending Roses. I finally started it a few days ago. I usually only read murder mystery books, so this one was kind of out of the norm for me. However, I really enjoyed it. I think any Mom should read it. Actually, I think that is what Teri told me when she gave it to me. It really made me think about my priorities and how I have let my appreciation for my kids and my life slip away. Anyway, I think it is a good read and I was a lot nicer to my kids after I finished reading it. Well, somewhat nicer. So, if anyone wants to read it you are welcome to borrow my copy!!

Swimming!

Last night we needed (I needed) a break from sitting at home watching kids, so Trent planned a trip to the indoor swimming pool. I had to go to work, so being the good husband that he is, Trent got all the kids in their suits and went to the pool. I met up with everyone a little while later. Luke and Kim were nice enough to come and even the playing field. It is impossible for us to go the the pool by ourselves, so thanks Luke and Kim! Trent took a pic of everyone before he left. We don't have any pics from the pool, but I am sure we will be swimming again and soon. Our kids loved the playground, the shallow pool, and going down the big yellow slide with Luke and Trent. So, I will get some cute pics next time!

Jeepin' & Shootin'

On Saturday the boys went to the West Desert to enjoy some jeep trails and some shooting. Aiden and Andrew were so excited to go with Grandpa in the jeep. They came home telling me all about it. They got to ride in the jeep, shoot guns, and, the best part, they got to eat their treats in the jeep! Anyone who knows Trent knows eating food in the car never happens, so the boys thought it was pretty cool. Everyone had a great time. The boys are already talking about shooting guns with Grandpa again.