Miracles

How can I tell you what it means to be a grandma?

How does a parent really express the wonderment of being a parent?


I do not know how to describe it other than one word...miracle. It is a miracle given to us by heavenly Father that we have the ability to create bodies for these beautiful spirits. And it is perfect the attachment that we have to one another...forever.


I love all the miracles in my life! Thanks for being you!

Great Horned Owl

Jenna and I went on a long walk the other day around her neighborhood. The fall weather is just beautiful and we have really enjoyed getting out and about with baby Carter. We were walking past some of the huge homes in her area when we noticed a large bird perched on the roof of one. "That looks like a great horned owl" say I...expert on birds that I am...ha, ha.
We were very impressed at our luck when we notice the next house also has an owl on top as well, and then yet another. Wow, this was our lucky day! We discussed our luck and kept walking only to discover upon our return that the amazing owls were still all there, they had not moved a muscle! Well, hard to move a muscle that you don't have. All three were decoys, set there to scare away those pesky smaller birds that poop on expensive rooftops I guess.
We really laughed about our discovery. Now I know the perfect souvenir to bring back from my trip to New Jersey!

We Are GRANDPARENTS

And we can prove it! We have received our first "grandparent-type" gift...from Austin and Laura when they went to St. George on vacation. I Love It!!And I love this little guy in his BYU onesie.
Here is more proof! Just a few pictures of our beautiful grandbaby Carter Tyrel Jensen born August 22, 15 days early at 8.2 and 21". We are so excited to go see him in person! If you want to see more pics, check out Jenna and Ty's blog at: tyrelandjennajensen.blogspot.com

Congratulations Jenna and Ty on a job very well done! He is beautiful!

Braden's Eagle Project is COMPLETE!!

Here is the finished product from several months of work by Braden and yes, his family and a whole bunch of neighbors!

Austin designed the lettering on the stone sign, pretty cool huh?
We cleaned up and dry landscaped two pieces of property in the entrance of our neighborhood. Below is Braden with a YW group that came to landscape fabric the smaller piece of property.
This is the day the sign was delivered. It was something like delivering a baby...we worried and watched as they hauled it out of the truck and worried it would fall or get broken. But the monument company were great to work with, and did a great job!
We had a crew there to place cement all around it...then pose with the sign!
Last night we got the load of red lava rock for both pieces of property. Look how hard Dad Scott is working!!
And how hard scout Braden is working too!
Braden got to be there most days when there was something going on. He got to help brace the sign...
Great work Braden...and a sigh of relief from Mom and Dad that the manual labor stage of this project is done!!! We will love driving into our neighborhood and feel a sense of pride each time we go by this sign...as will all the hundreds of neighbors that logged over 500 hours helping with this amazing project!

First Day of School

I about forgot to post Braden's first day of HIGH SCHOOL!!! And the sad thing is...he looks old enough to go there! No worries about him getting crushed by all the bigger kids...he is one of them!

Our baby is starting high school! We had to go in the first day of school and tweak some classes to get a couple of different teachers, and we think it was worth the huge wait in the counseling center to do it. And we have already had to pull him from class to get his football physical!

Welcome to Provo High Braden!

First Game of the Season

Number 54 in this top picture is our baby boy!!
Braden started off his football season by heading to Springville. He looked pretty sharp in his Provo High green!! And, yes, he is posing here.Braden played all offensive line and some defensive line. The bulldogs played very strong, but ended up losing by just a couple points. There were some really great plays, and it was a fun game to watch.

We had Austin, Laura and Breanna join us at the game so it was really fun to be there as a family...and they all wore green!!

GO BULLDOGS and GO BRADEN!!

A Visit to Missouri

I had so much fun visiting Susan and Jordan in Missouri this August! It made me wonder why I waited so long to get there! Marty and Amanda were still in Japan when I went, so it was mostly Susan and I doing our thing...a lot of walking/running and shopping!!One purchase made us laugh so hard in the store, that we just had to buy it...the strange bird you see Jordan holding. It was worth the 2 bucks it cost for the impact value. Have you ever seen a stranger yard ornament...other than the bird I bought for our yard that is?
Susan and I did not sit around at all!! We took on the project of painting her bathroom. The entire house had been painted an interesting shade of brown before they bought it, so it was in desperate need of some color. Susan chose a beautiful light avacado color that matched her favorite shower curtain. We found some nice flowers to match and she had some gorgeous purple towels, and it really took shape! Hmmmm what can we paint next year?
Susan and I spent the first day together in Kansas City. There was so much to do there!

We found the Nelson-Atkins museum that was really cool...and free!
We loved the City Market area. There were some little shops and fresh veggies for sale really cheap, and we discovered a great little arabic restaurant and market where we went twice!! We stocked up on some spices while we were there too and then tried them out at home. Yum!
We went to a botanical garden for a long time as well, and we found the Lewis and Clark monument and park where the famous group went into the rivers there heading west on their explorations.
It was a great visit with Susan. She is an amazing person, so much energy for a "big sister."

Looking forward to more visits in the future!

Training with Jan

Braden had a unique opportunity to have some personal training with Jan Jorgensen of BYU football. They had about 6 lessons with Braden and a friend. I think it gave him an extra boost for when he started training with the PHS freshmen. How many guys do you know that get to have personal training with college players?
We were really grateful for the chance for Braden to do this. And now we have one more BYU player to watch with interest this year...GO BYU!

Starvation Outing July 24

Dad and Carolyn invited us up to their cabin near Starvation on July 24 so after the 10K race was over and we got cleaned up, we headed there. We had a wonderful day of picnicking and 4-wheeling!! They now have 3 4-wheelers so we a lot of us can get out at the same time!Austin and Laura rode for a while until they had to leave with Scott to cover a soccer game in SLC.
We all looked very tough in our masks and goggles!!
Although some looked more beautifuller than others...I mean Laura of course!!
I ditched my helmet partway through because it was giving me a huge headache, it was so small!
We rode a long way to the pinnacle...it was amazing! Tucked away in the middle of nowhere...and they have a lodge there that you can rent for family reunions! Cool.
This is the group at the reservoir. It was cloudy and a little rainy, but that did not stop us! We had a great time and were grateful for the cooler weather the rain brought.

Thanks Carolyn and Dad for a wonderful day!