I cannot believe school started already...

on August 6th. The kids were somewhat excited but bummed that they did not get their full 80 days off from school if we would have been in Michigan. Just 6 days ago we moved into our new house in the wonderful neighborhood of The Shores (kind-a crazy that we just moved from St. Clair Shores to The Shores -- it will give me a little piece of MI home). The neighbors here are amazing -- too many goodies to even eat, stopping their car to welcome us, volunteering to watch the kids... the list goes on and on. The front office staff of the school was great too, making me feel confident that the kids will succeed there.

The night before school started the kids were total chatter bugs talking about what the new school will have in store for them. Addy wanted to learn to read and maybe even ride a horse, Hunter wanted to meet his teacher and learn lots of new things, Kadan wanted to make lots of friends just in time to invite them to his birthday party.

I had a fun conversation with Kadan about making friends. He was going through all the clothes in his closet, making sure he would have just the right outfit to wear at school. This is what he said:

"Mom, do you think I will look cool. I want to make lots of friends at school so I can have them come to my Chuck-E-Cheese birthday party (side note here -- there is no Chuck-E-Cheese 'round these parts --insert your best southern drawl here-- since we live in Poe-dunk-ville, but I did not have the heart to break the news to him just yet). I know... maybe I can get some breath sanitizer and squirt it in my mouth. Then I will be cool and have 10 or 20 girls that love me."

Ha, ha! He totally made me laugh. Where in the world does he come up with those things.

Well, the first day of school went by slow for me -- I missed my kids so much. The kids came home happy and tired and wanting a vacation but they all liked their teachers. The only mishap was that Addy got on the wrong bus to go home and almost 1 1/2 hours later she finally arrived back at the school. Needless to say, I was panicked but she had a great time.

Addy, sporting her cowboy boots and one white glove (a retro Michael Jackson look) is looking so "perty."Kadan is just too COOL! Mr Hunter -- you can't get any more sweet than that.Bo just had to get herself ready for school and get in the pictures too -- she is really going to miss these guys when they are at school.Hunter with Mrs. Pollock -- such a pretty and sweet lady.Kadan with Mrs. Seballos. She welcomed him with open arms.Addy with Mrs. Rienholdt. This is her first year back teaching after she retired a few years ago. She is just TOO cute with the sweetest voice and really pays attention to the kids.

Day 2 of school but first morning at the bus stop. At the top right corner of the picture you can get a little glimpse of our house -- a little country farm house with a warp around porch.

Some End of the School year party pictures...

just a month or two overdue.



If you didn't already know -- I just LOVE large parties. Parties where all of the kids and friends can get together for no real reason except to have a fun time being together. The more the merrier! This end of the school year party was definitely merrier. With Amy's and Lecia's help, we put on a real fun shin-dig with a moon walk, 2 blow up 10+ foot water slides, water balloons, tons of yummy food and Rosco the Clown. It was a blast to get together with all the friends for one last time. My only regret is that even though this party was planned months in advance, I did not get the party invites out until a few days before and many of my friends no longer living in the ward did not even get the message about the party. Here are just a few pictures of that fun day -- I have tons so I may be posting little by little as I have the time to look through them all.




First the close-ups... (you can get any more beautiful than these little munchkins -- I wish I was able to get close-ups of all the kids there but I was just having too much fun socializing)

Ouch-e-mama....

sometimes Lake Powell adventures can really hurt! These last few pictures of our trip need a little bit of commentary to get the full effect.

The last morning while many were helping drive out the houseboat and clean, Ian and I took our kids along with Kody, Danny Boy and Jerzie on the boat to knee board, wake board and tube just one more time before the trip was over.

Ian skied like a champ -- just look at his lay it down! (and NO -- just in case you are wondering -- even if I DID lay it down also, I will not embarass myself by posting any pictures of me in a bathing suit)

Kody took all the kids on the tub white houseboat was making it's way to the Marina. As the kids were getting off, Ian decided to play a trick on Kody, Hunter and Kadan. He told them to stand up for a picture. Well, as soon as they stood up -- he punched it. Off they tumbled with Kadan being the sole survivor (he was totally proud of himself).

Our last adventure was one of my favorites. Right by lone rock there is this amazing white sand hill. Let me just tell you -- it is a total BEAR to climb. The kids were troopers, climbing (racing) all the way to the top.

After carving our names into the rocks, Ian had an awesome idea that we would have a race down to the bottom. Now, let me explain something to you -- when you challenge any children with Jensen blood in them, you are in for a race of your life. They get lots of their competitive spirit from their mom -- I totally HATE to lose. The Brimhall side is competitive too so add a double dose of die hard spirit and you have my kids.

After I roared "on your mark...get set...GO" the competition was on.

The kids were slipping and sliding everywhere -- trying to get down to the bottom of the hill first. One little one got the worst of it....

Poor little Addy May -- she face planted, flipped and tumbled down the hill getting a face full of dirt and her dreams of being the winner CRUSHED. I don't know if the sand in her eyes or the shear frustration of losing made her the most upset. It was quite a dramatic moment -- my poor little girl!!!!

To end on a more fun note. Here a a couple last pictures of the crazy boys.

There is nothin' like the wind in your hair....

and the sun in your face as you run up and down the lake at Lake Powell. Lake Powell has always been one of Ian's favorite vacations. The kids totally have a blast and it is so fun to teach the kids all the water sports. This year the whole family was able to make it to Powell in honor of Claudette. Despite the houseboat being a little snug for 12 adults and 12 children, we were able to have a load of fun. Sherida was amazing -- planning the whole event and getting enough food and toys to keep us all occupied. We swam, slid, boated, knee boarded, wake boarded, skied, hiked, cliff jumped, tubed, jet skied, fished (Kadan was fisherman extraordinaire), made bouncy balls, sculpted sand, played cards (of course Holly kicked our tushes), watched fireworks (compliments of crazy Ian and Danny Boy), kicked the boy's rumps in Catch Phrase and ate our hearts out (thanks to Chef Broc). The boys became knee boarding champions (even trying tricks) and the girls would not come off the tubes. I was so thankful that all the kids were safe during this trip -- it is always a little stressful being in the water with kids that do not swim (Bo) but after lots of prayers, cool "Turtle" wristbands that will alarm when wet and very close supervision, we all made it without an incident.

To my Michigan friends...

I just received a message from one of Ali's friends. They have put together a blog for all those that would like to share a message or memory of Ali. The blog address is http://craigandallison.blogspot.com/. I hope you all have an oppurtunity to tell her family how much we love her and miss her.