I Think She Looks Like Me.

Out of my three kids, I think Brooke looks the most like me when I was a baby. 

What do you think? 

I found that picture of me and I was amazed at the similarities. 

I was looking for a particular picture of Scott for a comparison, but I can't find it anywhere...

I'll keep looking.  I hope I can find it. 

January│Crappiest Month of the Year

January has got to be the crappiest month of the year! Hibernation.  Yes.  That is what we are doing here.  Thank goodness we have been spared of any major sicknesses.  

We've had some runny noses here and there...which I think I attribute to this horrible Salt Lake Valley awful inversion (a.k.a smog).   

It is so bad that it hurts to breath and my eyes are a constant red mess.  

We have such bad air quality here during the winters. 

Not a fan.

We have some pretty amazing icicles though, which Scott claims are the coolest he's ever seen.  

They are a bit scary, if you ask me...I just hope one doesn't fall on any of us one of these days...

We had a pretty good storm a couple of weeks ago and we got over a foot of snow.  

I was amazed that the world kept going! It was like nothing was happening! 

School didn't get cancelled, everyone went about their business and just dealt with it.  

Utahns know how to do snow...

One morning, the children had to wear their snow suits to go to school! 

It was quite the adventure walking to school that day. 

 The temperatures have been so frigid, I've hardly been outside, other than to walk the kids to school in the morning.  One morning I literally thought my face was going to fall off, it was that cold...(almost as cold as Rexburg...)  

After being in my cave for far too long, Brookie and I ventured outside.  She couldn't stop eating the snow.  What is it with my kids and eating snow? Do all kids do that or is it just mine? 

Amidst our hibernating:

We had some fun visitors at the beginning of January, the Henshaws minus Gus.  It was so fun to see them and spend an afternoon just hanging out chatting.  I always have a good time with Jenny and Brielle and Braden adore Lilly and Leo! 

So glad we got to see them! 

That picture of Brielle and Lilly is hilarious! Those two have so much energy! Wish I had that kind of energy!

I put up our Valentine's decorations far earlier than I usually do...all the Christmas stuff went down the day after Christmas and a few days after New Year's these went up.  

A bit too early? 

Ah well...

We went to Scheels.  This humongous Cabela's-like store...instead of museums, here in Utah we go to Scheels...we are in the west my friends! Our favorite part was definitely the Ferris wheel.  

It's only a dollar and it is pretty exciting.  

We've been having chocolate chip cookies...because what do you do in the wintertime other than eat??? 

Something is majorly wrong with me because I very seldom crave baked goodies...but that's all I want to eat these days...and no I am not pregnant! 

I think I have a bad case of the winter blues...

...and a bad case of dried skin...my hand cracked and it hurts...:(

We played Monopoly with the kids for the first time...it was definitely a hit! 

Best fun you can have indoors! 

...aside from eating a good chocolate chip cookie...

 Braden has been putting his time inside to good use...he made this Foosball table (with little help from Scott).  This boy is so good with his hands, he loves to make things...He amazes me with his imagination.  

Brielle is such a good big sister and indulges her little sister in being part of everything she wants to be part of...in this case doing homework with Brielle. 

Later that night, Brooke found a red marker and you can see what she did with it...

  The most exciting thing I've done since the January arrived is hold my precious little niece again and have a little photo session with her.  She is so darn cute, I could eat her up in little pieces and maybe want to make one of my own...because let's be honest, newborns are these perfect little creatures...until they decide to crawl and walk and then it's a whole new level of crazy! 

...and scream to get what they want...

My kids loved to hold her and I am so glad that we are close enough to make a trip to see her! 

Is Spring almost here?

Crazy Hair.

I was looking through some photos from a couple of weeks ago and I found this little gem.

This is right after a bath and look at that crazy hair! 

Her favorite game to play after bath time is running away from me 

and not letting me put her diaper and pajamas on.  

She thinks it is hilarious...me, not so much. 

But I love her to pieces and deep down it makes me laugh.

I almost wish I could freeze those crazy, chaotic, right-before-bedtime moments.  

I wish my body wasn't so exhausted at the end of the day, 

so I could enjoy those moments more thoroughly. 

For the grandparents and Tio Kemchu.

We don't have an infant anymore and I don't really know how that happened, it's been that way for a while now but I haven't been able to come to terms with it.  

Brooke has entered toddlerhood and she is full into it.  

She'll be 18 months exactly one month from tomorrow.   

That means she'll be in nursery.  

How is this possible?

Happy New Year 2013.

We had plans to ring in the new year with the Friels but one of their kiddos got sick and we all decided it would be best to call off our party with them.  I was bummed! Scott had to work on New Year's Eve and I refused to cancel all plans.  I called my nice friend and neighbor Stephanie, whose husband was also working late at the hospital.  She was home with no plans as well.  So I put together a little New Year's Eve party, we also invited our next door neighbor Zoe and her friend.  We had root beer floats and played some minute-to-win-it games. A little later into the evening, our husbands came home, we took a few pictures with some fun props I had.  We wrote some resolutions...which by the way, we are into the 14th day of January and I haven't been very good at drinking water...shame on me...Braden is also still working very hard on his, good luck to my awesome hard working husband on making more money as a resident and playing more with the kiddos working 15 hour days...the only one determined to keep her goal is Brielle.  What a good girl she is! and Brookie, well...that little girl has been keeping me on my toes and I think she has determined that to be her New Year's resolution.  

My good sport husband, let me blast the music and have a little dance party with the kiddos despite him being exhausted from his oh so glamorous job as an intern (if I ever sound a bit negative, just know that it is not often that I feel this way.  Most days I accept this 'glamorous' life we live as wonderful and other days I get a bit worn out!) :) 

My husband went Gangnam style and I have videos of his moves which I'm too lazy to post, but let's just say we all had a grand time and enjoyed our dance party. I'd like to emphasize that life is much, much better and so much more fun when Scott is around.  He makes me so deeply happy and brings so much laughter when he's home.  I love his goofiness and my life would be terribly gloomy without him.  

We sent everyone to bed at 11pm. and Scott and I were out by 11:30pm.  

Welcome 2013! 

Technical Difficulties.

I've been having technical difficulties inviting some people to the private blog, so things are back to public.  Blogger can make life complicated sometimes.  

I like the idea of privacy but it just turns out to be more complicated to people...and for me!:)

So, there goes my attempt to be private!
...not very successful.

Reminiscing.

The other day as I looked outside at the ground covered in snow I reminisced.  I was reminded of a time that seems so long ago, when I was a university student at BYU-Idaho.  My memories brought me back to sophomore year of college, humanities class with Brother Flora.  This humanities class has become a class I remember with fondness.  I learned the word, aesthetic, I not only learned the meaning of the word but I learned to incorporate it into my daily life. I knew about Beethoven, Mozart and Bach...but in this class I was introduced to Debussy and his Clair de Lune and Rodrigo's Concerto de Aranjuez and many other incredible composers.  I fell in love with learning about the humanities, so much so, that for a moment I thought how sophisticated it would be to major in it...but that only lasted a moment when I realized that I probably couldn't make a living if I majored in humanities.  In this class I was also introduced to the poet Robert Frost and when I admired the snow on this wintry day of a different life I have now, I was reminded of the poem I had to memorize for Brother Flora's class: 

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is a mistake
The only other sounds's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

I'll admit that I had to google it to refresh my memory.  But as I read the words it all came back and I started to reminisce again.  About a time even longer ago, than my sophomore year in college, when I was a child living in my birth country of Perú.  My mother was good at visiting her parents who lived in a province close to the Andes Mountains, 8 hours north of Lima, by bus ride.  The bus ride was quite the experience.  Riding in very narrow roads of the Pan American Highway was at times frightening and the change in altitude from Lima (which is at sea level) to Caraz (over 7000 ft. above sea level) was quite dramatic.  We often experienced soroche-altitude sickness.  But the 8 hour bus ride and the soroche didn't discourage us from going to this charming and picturesque little town up 7000 ft. above sea level to spend time with my grandparents.  The memories I have there are a treasure I carry and will carry with me forever.  One of those memories is a tradition of memorizing poems and everyone gathering in the living room after dinner and then reciting with as much enthusiasm as we could the poems we had memorized.  After finishing we would take a bow, everyone would clap and my grandfather would reach into his pockets and take out what seemed like hundreds of coins to give to us as a tip of our 'good' performances.  

The recollection of memories is an interesting thing and as everyone, I have many of them. 

Sledding.

Scott had a golden day (this means he doesn't admit anyone on that day, he just manages the patients who are there and doesn't get any new ones) a few days after Christmas and we headed to Sugarhouse Park to go sledding.  

We had had quite a few storms so there was plenty of white stuff on the ground.  

It has been so cold, I am on hibernating mode.

Winter has definitely arrived.  

So, it was nice to go do something active with the children and I'm so glad Scottie had the afternoon off.  He makes our lives so good when he's around.  I've been feeling so lonely without him.  I hate to admit it because doctors' wives are just supposed to take whatever comes otherwise we'd have a pretty miserable existence...and most of the time I feel like I am pretty independent and I just have to live life and make plans with or without him, (I know that sounds harsh but that's just how it is.)  But I have to say that I miss him so so much when he works so many hours, I mean seriously 12-15 hours days/6 days a week...you do the math...

so yeah, this outing was good for us, for me...

The kids had the time of their lives.  Sugarhouse Park has perfect hills to go sledding. 

Brielle and Braden are so brave going down those hills...

I on the other hand, I am the biggest wimp ever! 

But I LOVED it! 

We brought our cute neighbor Zoe along.  

I'm so glad we got to spend time outside.

Christmas 2012│The Report

Christmas day has come and gone and all of the effort to make it special for the children paid off.  

I have a million pictures of excited children opening presents but these are my favorite ones of our fun morning...

I didn't quite realize that Brookie would be so into opening presents...but she was and it was so much fun to watch her.  I loved that Brielle and Braden were so excited when she was opening her presents.  

She loved this slinky that the older kids got in their stockings. 

Giving hugs to abuelita for a present.  

We loved having my mom with us.  

More present opening...

My favorite present! My mom got me that awesome coat...I have to say, it is so warm! 

Santa did well and children were happy...and we felt truly blessed with all that we got.  After opening presents, we had a nice yummy breakfast and the rest of the day was spent playing with new toys. 

Later, we had a Christmas dinner and I enjoyed every bite.  

I tried a new stuffing recipe (which I had at Scott's mom's house on Thanksgiving) and man oh man! It was to die for! I will never make stuffing any other way. 

I saw this awesome, creative idea on pinterest and I LOVED how it turned out.  Easy and cute!

Our dinner was delicious and we enjoyed Penny and my mom's company...and I especially enjoyed my Christmas miracle (Scott being with us the whole day!!!) 

After dinner, we decided to be brave and go out in the freezing cold to Temple Square to see the Christmas lights.

We all bundled up and it was bearable. 

My mom takes 'bundling up' to a whole different level! ha ha! I love her! 

The lights were beautiful! 

These are a little blurry, because the flash is my enemy! 

(I need an external flash, it does a much better job than the one already built-in the camera.)

This is cliché, cheesy and completely redundant to the theme of this blog, BUT these three little people are and will always be my most precious treasures.  Aside from the gift of our Savior, they are the greatest gift and why Christmas is so special to me. 

We had another successful Christmas here at the Jensens.  

We had the perfect ending to a wonderful day when my mom volunteered to watch our kids so Scott and I could go to a late showing of the Hobbit! 

Merry Christmas to us!:)