Christmas Update

Alright, I know I'm a blog slacker, but I really do have good intentions. I was lucky enough to see a lot of friends and family over the holidays, which must be my excuse on why I'm so behind on blogging about it. :)

Christmas 08 was fun, cold, snowy and also done in shifts. This year each of our had slightly different agendas and in order to make everyone happy we "celebrated" with each child on it's own day.

As most of you know, Amanda LOVES horses. She has an Aunt and Uncle in VA that have horses, so she flies out there when she can to ride horses with her cousins, chase foxes and gets extremely spoiled (lucky girl!!) :). We celebrated with her about a week before Christmas and before I flew to UT.

Chase loves the snow, climbing and being with his best bud, his dad, Dave. They drove up (yes, they were kind enough to "demand" that I fly to Utah while they drove) and spent a couple days climbing on the way up. They had higher ambitions to do more hiking while in Utah, but because of all the snow, they didn't get more than a couple hikes and a ski trip in. Dave, Chase and I spent Christmas Eve with both families, Christmas morning with our family and than saw Dave's mom on Christmas as well.

Of course, we couldn't forget about Moni!!! Monica didn't get home from U Mass until Sunday (Dec 21st) due to a snow day on her last day of finals. What made her most happy was to be home in her own bed and be in the warm weather, so she passed on the trip to Utah. We drove back (yeah, I sucked it up) from Utah and she came over and we got to celebrate one more "gift giving" night.

It was fun to extend the holidays as long as we could. Holidays are such a great time to be near family and friends. Even though sometimes it's hectic and not a vacation, I wouldn't change the hustle and bustle for anything! All the craziness of our families, all the snow storms, all the thoughtful gestures is what makes Christmas memories.

Girlfriends Rule!!!

Can I just say I have great friends!!! I really enjoy going back to Utah and getting together with all my friends.
This year was no different. While in Utah, I had a chance to have a couple girls holiday parties with the help of some friends hosting their homes. I've been having a girls Christmas party for several years and we always have a good time with lots of food, fun gifts and alot of laughing. This year we had to brave a major snow storm, but once we got to Kristen's, her house was cozy and we partied into the wee hours. We had a group of seven friends and than a couple days later, another group of us got together at Katie's for more fun. We do a gift exchange...this year was "Some of my favorite things" and there were some great gifts- a coat, purses, gloves, make up, chic flicks, etc. I just want to send a shout out to all my girls for the good memories.

Happy Holidays

Wishing everyone a safe, cozy and wonderful holiday this year!

Being Grateful

So I've been a slacker on the blog front, but did want to share some of our memories of the past Thanksgiving week. Dave and I were lucky enough to host Thanksgiving for 13 people. After having it at my house for the first time (even with lots and lots of help from mom and dad), I have to say it maybe an overrated meal. I am one of those "chefs" who likes to make the dinner look gourmet, but isn't above buying my homemade rolls, finding the shortest recipes and outsourcing to others. I'd say I'm a half motivated Martha Stewart and I definitely couldn't have done it without dad and mom in the kitchen. There is a lot of work that goes into that 30 minute dinner, but definitely some good memories. Dave and I are really grateful we had so much family to share it with. Monica, we missed you, but were glad to have Chase and Amanda there. We also had Ryan and Jodi over, as well as our good friends Tawnie, Ed and Kenzie.

Mom and Dad and Megan and Cameron came down and spent the week with us. We had a nice time mostly chilling, eating out and seeing a few movies. I'm not sure who was more excited to see Twlight- me or my mom. She even read the book again to get her in the "mood". Megan didn't find it very exciting. We also had a scare with dad. We went to breakfast and on the way, he started to act funny (slurring his words and than walking funny and stumbling to the ground). Good thing Miss PA, Megan was there. She made sure we got dad to the hospital and we found out he had a TIA aka as a mini-stroke. He's okay now, although we are all hoping dad takes care of himself so there are no repercussions from this.

As this holiday and crazy week came to a close, I realized that I have alot to be thankful for. I have such a wonderful, unselfish and giving husband with great kids. I also have a family I wouldn't trade for anyone's- chaos and all!! I realize at times like these, that love, family, good friends, and health are things we may take for granted, but I'm really blessed. Thanks to all who shared this great holiday with me.

Run Baby Run

Dave and Cameron were quite the motivated people, waking up around 4:30 am on Thanksgiving day to run a 10 mile race. It had been raining the day before, but the weather was pretty good and the boys finished in less than an hour and a half. I'm proud of you guys!!!!

The "mom's" visit

Dave and I were lucky enough to have both of our mom's make a road trip down to AZ to visit us. We sure like that they are good friends and it made for a fun trip. We did the typical Jensen outings- went out to dinner at The Cheesecake Factory, Cafe Rio and Ling and Louies (think Thaiphoon). We also went shopping with Ryan as our tour guide, the moms knitted, diane (the energizer bunny) went to the gym daily and also enjoyed the sun, they cooked us dinner and mom made lemon bars, but the main event they came down for was Chases' football game. We had a great time at the game. Ryan and Jodi came with us and while it wasn't the high scoring game that it typically is, it was a a close game which makes things exciting. It was 7-0 for us with about 2 minutes left, when the other team scored. They decided to go for 2 pts to get the win, but FH held them. Chase played well and was recognized several times for some really solid hits and plays. The weekend ended with a Sunday dinner and a flat tire...dave- were you trying to get out of church or just get us there on time? ;)

My Latest Home Project

Before...

After...

Here is my latest home project. I'd like to say I was talented enough to actually create and sew this ottoman, but I'm not. I am however, proud to say that I was resourceful and practical enough to update this room for just a few hundred dollars (including fabric, labor and new accessories). When we moved into this house, we were planning to get another couch for this room, but I had the two chairs that I thought were cute. That and coupled by the fact that we have yet to sit in this room, I thought I'd just update it. I was able to find the ottoman on Craigs list for $15(see original creme ottoman in the top picture and the room before) and found fabric and had it reupholstered. I'm really into the kiwi green right now and wanted a fresh look in the room. While the mom's were in town, we found the vases, bamboo, etc at Z Gallerie and Crate and Barrel (all on sale) and walla, here's how it turned out. This room is great because it has windows facing the pool and view so now Dave and I may actually have to enjoy a few sunsets in this room after all.