Rite of Passage

Today we undertook another rite of passage. We visited the Orthodontist. Looks like we will begin this new venture on the 6th of October. My sweet little boy will no longer be little any more. He will join the ranks of millions of teens around the nation and sport a shiny silver smile. He is ecstatic. Wait until he figures out they have to be on between 1 1/2 and 3 years.

16 Years

16 years ago today I married a 26 year old man from St. Anthony, Idaho in the Jordan River Temple. I never thought we would be at this point so quickly.

Since we have been married we have:

*Moved to college

*Moved to a trailer

*Had the trailer burn while on Christmas break

*Moved to college housing

*Had our college housing flood

*Spent two months in a dorm room

*Graduated from University of Idaho with Bachelors and Masters degrees (way to go Sharman)

*Moved to St. Anthony

*Bought our first house

*Had our first baby (who isn't so little any more.....Mr. 11 year old!!)

*Sold our house

*Had our second baby (who is in 1st grade this year)

*Changed jobs numerous times

*Built a house ourselves

*Saw the passing of three of my family members (Grandma, Ben, Dad)

*Saw the passing of two of his family members (Grandpa and Grandma Martin)

*Attended many a family reunion

* Travelled to Las Vegas and Hawaii together

*Attended many school performances and field trips

*Graduated from BYU-Idaho with a Bachelors and two Associate degrees

*Housed many pets (both domestic and wild)

*Enjoyed hunting, camping, fishing, laughing, reading

*Purchased enough vehicles to have our own used car lot on our property

*Planted gardens

*Watched the seasons change way too quickly

*Experienced the attacks of 9/11

*Watched the Rexburg Temple from announcement to dedication

*Started our own business

*Made many friends

*Ride Motorcycles

*Become Aunt and Uncle to incredibly adoreable nieces and nephews who we love beyond measure

*Worked hard and played hard

And to think this is the beginning of eternity. Yep, there is still so much to do and so much to experience. I am glad I have eternity to spend it with you sweetheart. There is no one I would rather enjoy the journey with.

Private

The controversy over whether or not to go private has finally landed in my lap and I have decided to go private. If you want an invitation, let me know. Email me at jensens@byui.edu or leave your email on the comment section. The big event will likely take place on October 1st!

Lost!

I do not do well with stressful situations. I am fine for a while and then all sense of coherency leaves and I become a total idiot. Just as a case in point, when my Dad was in the hospital the day before he passed away, they told me to sign in. That is just great.....why did they have to ask me to do something hard.....LIKE SIGN MY NAME!!! Then they told me to use the elevator and go up one flight to the second floor......fantastic.......HOW DO YOU OPERATE AN ELEVATOR?!!!

Yesterday was a horrible lunch hour for me. I was headed to Sugar City to register the kids for school when I got a phone call from the hubby asking if I had heard from Zack. Well why on earth would Zack call me? Of course I hadn't heard from him. He was attending a soccer clinic from 8 a.m. to noon. Sharman had gone to pick him up and he wasn't there. I told him to look around and wait for a bit as he might have gone to get a drink or use the restroom.

Sharman went home to check to see if he might have either ridden his bike home or caught a ride with someone. Nope, no Zack. He then stopped to ask Aunt Lisa if she had seen him and then stopped by the Byrds to see if he had gone there. Again no Zack.

I got to Sugar City and Sharman still couldn't find Zack. I registered Sydney for school (not very coherently) thanks to much help from my good friend Melissa (you are a life saver!!). By now Zack had been missing for almost an hour. We had called friends, neighbors and anyone else we could think of. The soccer clinic coach had also stayed and was assisting us in looking. I was now beyond frustrated and felt we needed to get additional help. We called the police and reported him missing.

Like all stressful situations, I couldn't remember how tall Zack was or how much he weighed. Now they are asking me what he was wearing. Since I left before he did, I have NO idea what he was wearing. The only identifying feature I can think of are three little red marks in the center of his forehead where he recently had warts frozen off. I am a HORRIBLE parent! The police tell me to stay at the school and they will send someone out.

Meanwhile, on a fluke, Sharman calls Zack's regular soccer coach. Yep, that is exactly where he is. I break down crying. Sharman tells me to call 911 back and tell them he has been located. Ok, no problem. What is the phone number for 911? I cannot cognitively think through the numbers. I can see them and cannot for the life of me figure out what numbers to dial and in what order. After several deep breaths and a knowledge of Zack's safety I realize I can hit redial and don't have to really think this hard.

Zack is safe and sound and I found my mine again. One thing is for sure......I hate it when I cannot find my kiddos! It insights utter panic in me.

Pay It Forward

I am a firm believer in paying other people compliments, especially strangers. After all, a stranger is more likely to tell you the absolute truth. They have no alternative motives.

Normally throughout the day, I will find opportunities to tell a random stranger how nice their outfit, hairstyle or appearance is. I think everyone can use a little pick me up.

The other day (which was a completely stressful day for me), I went to go get pizza and as I walked in, a total stranger complemented me on my skirt. I walked away smiling and feeling really good.

The power of paying it forward really is a wonderful gift.

It is a CRAZY life....but it is MY life

The other day I was trying to remember everything I had to do and decided I really have to get a new day planner.

Here is a brief look into my CRAZY life.

Aug 1 - Family Reunion, Sirri's Friends Party (remember to get Syd a gift to take), Byrds for dinner and playing in the pool
Aug 2 - Fast Sunday, Sirri's Family Party, Put together basketball stand from Zack's birthday presents
Aug 3 - Work, return books to library, return food containers to catering, take Zack to football practice, make dinner for Syd and I, get couch for Jared, clean batteries (3 hours), do dishes, cut Zack's hair, tuck in kiddos
Aug 4 - Work, lunch with Melissa, take Zack to football practice, Zack and Syd have a soccer game (both at 6 p.m.), figure out dinner somewhere in there
Aug 5 - Work, take Zack to football practice
Aug 6 - Work, no lunch, take Zack to football practice, Zack and Syd have a soccer game (both at 5 p.m.), figure out dinner somewhere in there
Aug 7 - Work, take Zack to football practice, help serve at a friend's reception
Aug 9 - Teach Primary
Aug 11 - Work, take Zack to football practice, Zack and Syd have a soccer game, try to register kiddos sometime between now and the 13th
August 14 - 18 Family Vacation in Utah
August 19 - Office Service Project, take Zack to football practice
August 20 - First day of school for kiddos, Dentist, Soccer game for both kiddos, Take Zack to football practice

Pretty much every Tuesday and Thursday from now until September 1 look identical with additional miscellaneous things thrown in sporadically.

Yep it is a crazy life, but it is MY life.

Help!

Ok, so I planted a garden this year. Hurray!!!! Yes, I know that is truly the exciting part of this entire thing.

I love being out and weeding my garden. The kiddos and my sweet husband will come out and visit with me while I do this and I really enjoy the feeling I get when my garden actually looks like a garden and not a weed patch.

Now comes the part that I am in SERIOUS need of help. I can plant the garden, weed the garden, and harvest from the garden. What I cannot do is preserve what I have harvested. If you have any ideas of how to store what I have let me know. And yes, Lisa I do need you to repost the steps for blanching peas. Although I know now, next year I will have forgotten again.