Carly Christmas Program

 
Yep.  That's what it was.  A Christmas Program.  Carly sang. She smiled. She was amazing. I loved it!  My favorite was "Santa's name has no L", sung to the tune of NOEL.  Here are the lyrics...very entertaining.

To spell Santa's name, is easy to do...

You write S, A, N, T, and another A too...
But No L, No L, Santa's name has no L...
And he wun be too pleased if you don't learn to spell...

Jack and Jill went up a hill to fetch water from a well,
But when neither one could find it, Jill started to yell...
"No well, no well, can't believe there's no well!
We walked all the way here and I'm mad can’t you tell..."

Captain Ahab took his crew his harpoon and set sail...
And he called out to ships "Have you seen the white whale?"
"No whale, No whale, No we ain't see no whale...
Saw a couple of dolphins, and a big yellow tail..."

If you listen to this tune, then you probably can tell...
That you've heard it before, it's a song you know well...
Know Well, Know Well, it's a song you know well...
And we've ruined it completely so we all say "Oh Well"
Oh Well, Oh Well, we just say fare thee well...
Merry Christmas to you and a joyous Noel...


It's been way fun for Carly and Hannah (cousins) to be in the same class this year!

A Jenson Christmas

The kids have been waiting all year for this party.  And of course, the morning of, Chase throws up, then me... :(  Carly had been practicing "Santa Baby" for over a month, and when she found out I might not be able to help her, the look on her face about broke my heart.  So....I went in my pj's, kept a low profile, and toughed it out.  My new baby nephew was the VIP...



I kept my distance :(  We (or should I say THEY) enjoyed the traditional Jenson family dinner.  Ham, cheese, rolls, cheese ball, crackers, christmas jell-o, slush and all sorts of goodies.


After that, we all meet downstairs to watch a short nativity movie, then it's on to the beloved talent show!  It's more descriptive name is probably a VARIETY show.  Logan did "The Enlargenator" where you put up a big curtain and throw something behind it, and it comes out the other side bigger.  Carly sang "Santa Baby" (her choice) which she memorized and practiced dilligently for at least a month.  Chase couldn't decide, but he'd heard Carly so much, that he ALSO had "Santa Baby" memorized, so he did a lip sync to the same song.  No pictures of my kids because I was video taping and Frank refuses to participate in any way :(

There are instruments, tumbling, dancing, jokes, singing, but one of the great originals this year were Jason and Adam's Chins singing, "My Hearts a Stereo"...Hil-ar-i-ous!

 And last....the white elephant.  Everyone is supposed to bring a $5 gift.  With 30 grandkids, this takes a while.  We love watching the little ones get so offended when someone actually dares to take away their gift!

Crepes With Friends

When our friend Lindsay moved to Seattle over a year ago, we have all been getting together everytime she comes into town for some breakfast.  We usually stay so long, you could practically call it lunch too.  We have so much fun!  This time breakfast was at my house since none have them have been over yet.  I decided on crepes.  My sister gave me recipes for some mac daddy toppings (and even helped me make them)...thanks Stacy!  We had:

Caramel Sauce

Hazelnut Spread

Vanilla Custard

Lemon Curd

Triple Berry Sauce

Sweet Cream Cheese

Bananas

Strawberries

Whipped Cream

Everyone could create their own concoction, and you really couldn't go wrong.   Wish they would have finished it all off though...pretty sure I gained at least five pounds the following week!

Here's our darling Julie doing what ever it took (even stacking wii games and nativity blocks) in and ATTEMPT to capture the "pefect" group pohoto...

...too bad she has these yayhoos as subjects!

Sweet Sixteen

My Great Grandma Fairbanks (Madge) from Canada had 10 kids.  She taught kindergarten and piano, but still needed some extra cash to send their youngest on a mission.  So, Madge started her own business called Sweet 16 from her own little kitchen.  She called it that because she made 16 varieties of chocolates.  She was very successful, and passed the receipe down to her kids who passed it down to her kids who have now passed it on to me!

In past years we have each made two batches of fondant prior to meeting up to cut, roll, dip and package - which took at least 12 hours.  So this year, we still made the fondant ahead of time, but figured it would probably be more fun and relaxing if we could spread the work out over two days and sleepover at mom and dad's (pretend like we were the kids again).  It was my mom, me and Stacy, and my dad was "gopher", putting our hair in pony tails, taking pictures, bringing us drinks... and stuff like that!

So the first night when we finished, the four of us went out to dinner at a BBQ place, then watched movies til we fell asleep...way better than having to drive back home wasted!...and by wasted, I mean tired of course :)

The next day was full speed ahead.  Made 90 boxes of these bad boys!

Alot of work...super fun.  I'm pretty positive the ancestors didn't use this 3 ft custom candy paddle on their behinds like we did!  But they should have...so stupid, it's funny :)

(p.s.  for those lucky friends who received a box of chocolates, you will be relieved to know that the paddle never touched the chocolates, only my sweet derriere!)

...until next year ladies!

Park Citay!

We SOOOOOOO needed this.  About a month ago, Frank invited me to lunch and surprised me with a little vaca to Park City.  Just one night.  So we left on Friday, and Stacy took Carly and Logan, and Chase and his cousin Jason stayed with my mom.  It wasn't a fancy trip, it wasn't an expensive trip, it wasn't a long trip, but it WAS the perfect trip!

To start our day, we needed to get some new tires at costco (to be ready for the big storm since we were "supposedly" driving right into it).  We had and hour or two to waste while we waited, so we looked, and shopped, shopped and looked, and then had some good old fashioned Costco lunch (which I don't much care for, by the way)!

After that, we left for Park City.  We stayed in a "suite" at Park City Peaks.  Sounds fancy, right?  Well, it wasn't.  When we walked in, Frank said, "Wow, they put a whole bunch of awesome pictures online that didn't look anything like this place".  He bought it on ksl, so it included a steak dinner at the bar upstairs and a free bottle of Martinellis!  Oh ya...I know!  Funny thing though, I feel really at home in these kind of humble rooms...mismatched drapes, stale carpet, and heater on the wall (my favorite part).

You can't visit Park City without hitting the outlet mall.  We bought some fun stuff but really just had fun (which is unusual...Frank ususally hates shopping).  After that, we bought us some room treats at the Wal Mart and headed back to get ready for our "fancy" dinner.  It was yummy.

Next day, we walked main street, had some breakfast, went back to the outlets to buy a few more things we passed on the night before, and PARTY OVER :( 

Nutcracker 2011

This year, instead of just me and Carly, we attended The Nutcracker with my sister and her two girls, and her friend Jodi and her two girls.  We got all dolled up and had dinner at "Noodles", then headed off to the show.  I always love watching Carly watch The Nutcracker.  She gets so into it!  Even during intermission, she drew her own version on the back of the program...super fun tradition...love my girl!

Dear Santa...

Dear Santa,

I really, really, really need this super rad tool belt...

And wouldn't this dinner bell be so so fun....maybe even fun enough to make we wanna cook, just so I can ring the bell! 

Shhhhh....don't tell, but they're already in transit!  Suzie's always on the nice list :)

Four Eyes

The Cutest Four Eyes I Ever Did See....

...BUT only after trying on about 100 pair.  He was very particular about he wanted...and SO excited!  He said, "this is the best thing that ever happened".  When he finally decided what pair he wanted, and Frank did the neccessary research to make sure we got the best deal, the two of them headed out to Fashion Place Mall to make the order.  They would be done in an hour, so they made a guys night out of it and went to dinner while they waited.  It was so cute to see him when he got home...actually he didn't even wait til he was home, he called me in the car on his way home to tell me how cool he looks.  He would catch his reflection in the kitchen window, and say "ahhh...I look so cute"!...love that kid like crazy :) :)

Downtown Staycation

Now that we don't need to spend our weekend, tiling, doing trim work, painting, installing sinks, fixing roof leaks, landscaping, etc., we don't quite know what to do with ourselves.  So, we decided to have take a mini staycation just for the fun of it.  Here's what we did:

• Texas Roadhouse...YUM!
• Marriot Downtown - 12th floor (first time I've ever needed a key to punch the floor button!)
• Hotel Swimming
• Bed Time - very late!
• Breakfast buffet at hotel
• More hotel swimming (needed to make sure they hadn't forgotton from the summer)
• Temple Square (looked at paintings, christus, and watched the Joseph Smith movie - called it church since it was our stake conference that day :)

Pretty darn fun for a Staycation I must say!

This is Halloween!

Chase's 9th

Here's the play by play...

Chase woke up to "Birthday Song" by the Beatles.
His breakfast of choice was homemade scones and orange julius.
Got his beloved ipod touch!
Had a fantastic day at school.
Cousin Jason walked home with them.
Whole family (including grandma and grandpa Jenson) went to watch Chases final soccer game.
Went to Chuck-a-rama for his b-day dinner.
Had a sleepover with cousin Jason.
Woke up the next day and went to Lagoon :)
Came home and had his green coconut birthday cake.

DING, DANG...DONE!

Frank's 30-whatever

As you can see with the candles, it's just too many to count!  ;)  Anyway, for Franks b-day we all went to breakfast at Grannie Annie's in Kaysville.  Never been there before, and had to check out the local cuisine.  Scones as big as your head!  Oh, and while we were driving, here was our backdrop...so pretty!

Frank wanted to make his own Birthday  Steak Dinner on his new BBQ.  He invited our new neighbors and Stacy and Cade over, but didn't want the neighbors to know it was his birthday, so we all had to keep our mouths shut.  My neighbor Melyn asked if she could bring anything, and I said no, but she insisted on bringing dessert.  I couldn't tell her it was Frank's birthday, so I just let her bring a dessert.  Funny thing was she ended up bringing a chocolate cake!  And a fabulous one at that...she's an amazing baker!  We had all the food spread out and she said "this looks so good...like it's a birthday dinner or something".  Me, Stacy and Frank all look at eachother trying not to crack up.  Needless to say, the secret was out, so we put on some candles and made it "The Birthday Cake"!  Thanks Melyn :)

Mom & Dad's 40th

For my mom and dad's 40th Wedding Anniversary, me, Stacy, Brad and Kevin took them to the "Roof".  Actually the first time I've ever been.  Pretty cool atmosphere!

Jenson Family

Since everyone was together, my mom set up a photo shoot since we haven't had one since I was pregnant with Logan 10 years ago!  I thought I'd share...

Here's just the Jenson siblings...



Here's with the spouses...



And here's the couple who started it all!

The Classic

My sister Julie asked if I would help decorate for the Country Club Classic this year.  It was fun working with her.  We decided on deep purples, and lime greens mixed with the white birch tree trunks for a fresh summer palatte.  We bustled the table linens, cut the trunks for the centerpieces, spray painted curly willow a cool green, and even had someone at the club cut our the insides of the smaller branches to use as votive holders.  On the back, we draped burlap and tied it around the columns for a sophisticated look but with the natural fiber.  The contrast was awesome!  I wish a had some better pictures, but we were kinda busy that day :)

Fall Decor

I did this set up for my friend Sarah in her entry and kitchen, and I think it turned out so pretty...mercury glass pumpkin on a tiered cake stand, bling candle holders, mirror, silver golds, rhinestones mixed with earthy twig pumpkins, gourds, and mini pinecones.  Now I need to do something in mine!

Summer Fun at the Gardens

Red Butte Gardens.....B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L!...and the kids loved it too.

1st Day of School

Well this summer has been a whirlwind!  We moved from the house in Bountiful at the end of the school year and made our temporary home in the Centerville apartments until we could build a home in West Kaysville.  The plan was to have the kids go to Endeavour Elementary in West Kaysville where we would be building a home.  We took the kids there to play so they could get used to the idea.  Then, just a couple weeks before school was to start, we decided NOT to build.  I was panicked...do I take them back to school in Bountiful?  Do I start them in Centerville even though I know it's temporary (for how long, I don't know)?  I was really getting worried for my kids.  Then we decided to make an offer on a new home in Kaysville.  We would be able to move two weeks AFTER school started.  I didn't care, as long as we knew where we were going.  And it just so happened that they would be attending the same school as their cousins!  Carly even got the same teacher as cousin Hannah!  The transistion was seamless...the kids felt right at home :) YAY!

Gutter Ball

Who knew gutters could be so much fun?  Kids had a blast chasing balls down the water at Liberty Park.  My sister Lisa was here from Arizona with her Family, and Mark with his from Louisiana.  Cousins = FUN!

St. George Action Items!

Okay, okay...I'm WAY behind.  Here's me trying to catch up!  Our trip to St. George this summer was way too fun to not blog about it, so here it goes...
Our trip started with us dropping Frank off in Cedar City for work, then me and the kids headed over to St. George to hang out with the BFF's.  Steph took me to this cute little vintage shop called "Urban Renewal" where we picked up these lovely ladies...

Now, you may say these look a little tattered, torn and out-dated, but DIAMONDS I tell you!  We had fun with our little "fashion show".  We'll fix 'em up....a belt here, a scarf there, and VOILA!...just wait, you'll see :)

Me and Steph took Carly to see "The Little Mermaid" at Tuacahn...amazing!  It was so pretty and fun...if you could see past the thousands of gnats!

We vistied our regular splash pad for pizza and play...

Then we picked up Frank in Cedar and headed over to Brian Head Ski resort for the weekend with Steph, Brandon, and their friends. 

Frank learned to play NERTS....

We had a little surprise for our Birthday Girl when she got back from running the half marathon...

And I have about a hundred pictures of "baby Whitney" Carly took.  She loves her in the car, she loves her on the floor, she loves her at the cabin, she loves her in the water.  She could love her ANYWHERE!  Especially since Carly's convinced that she's the only one who can make her happy.... :)

Zoo Animals

Summer just wouldn't be summer without a cousins trip to the Hogle Zoo...

AND THE MAIN ATTRACTION????

Watching this big guy eat his poop...yep, don't make me say it twice, you heard me!

Kaysville Parade

I know by now you're thinking we crashed every parade in the valley...and we very nearly did!  We couldn't miss the Kaysville parade though.  It's tradition.  Not a lot of floats, but uber amounts of candy and other prizes flying in all directions.  They love it especially because they get to go with their cousins!  Oh, and Chase is crying because Frank wouldn't let him stand so close...mean dad!


Later that night, me, Frank and the kids put on our boots to "cowboy up" at the RODEO...YEE-HAW!