Love this face!

You gotta love a snow cone at the carnival!

You don't have to push a handcart...

But you do have to dress up, look cute and ride a bike or scooter! Yes, that's right. It's like Halloween in July at the Primary pioneer parade! Last night my mom whipped out this little skirt and we fixed up the bonnet for Megan. Pretty good for a very late night, very last minute project! What a woman, I tell ya. This was the first time I dressed them up for a Pioneer Day activity. Tanner sort of resisted the dressing up part, but I convinced him to do it! Besides the fact that we couldn't find our dress up hats for the boys, I thought they all looked great. Zach looks a little pained in the pictures, but he really did enjoy it. His face is also a little dirty...kind of looks like a real pioneer child! :)

What do you want to be when you grow up? July '08

Tanner's answer: "I want to be a jungle explorer!"

Megan's answer: "I want to be a mommy."

Zachary's answer: "I want to be a train driver. The train driver that drives the train at the zoo!"

He he he. Well Zachey, I'm not sure if it is the most lucrative, but it's sure cute bud! And there's lots of time to change career paths! Kids rock.

Is there anything we won't do for our children?

Tanner(in the blue car #1) wanted his Dad to race with him, so of course Brandon did it. At about 11 seconds into the video, here comes Brandon(in the orange car #10) over the little hill, and I could hardly hold the camera I was laughing so hard! At 18 seconds into it, you can hear Megan say, "Daddy, yours is slow!" I have been laughing all night about this!

Lagoon!

We had a family BBQ on Sunday the 29th and we also went to Lagoon last Wednesday as part of last week's fun events. We had a great time at Lagoon(Gavin stayed with his Auntie V). We enjoyed the new Odysea ride, and I was pleasantly surprised that it was so fun! We also got really wet on Rattle Snake Rapids, and it was a nice break from the heat. I have always enjoyed getting ice cream in Pioneer Village since I was a child and I have also always loved all the little stores and such on the little Pioneer street. Tanner says his favorite is the dentist's office just like mine has always been. Gotta love these modern times when you see that dentist's office! Tanner and I went on The Spider and we LOVED it! I have definitely gotten to be a wee bit more of a scaredy cat in my old age, and Tanner was reassuring me the whole time-I was touched! Is it the getting older or giving birth part...or both? I'm not sure! (I think my gag reflex is permanently changed forever since having the twins, but that is a whole different story!) Tanner is now tall enough(and quite proud) to go on several more rides this year! Everyone had a great time. The kids are always so happy to ride on rides and the twins were a bit disappointed they couldn't go on some of the rides that Tan was able to go on. They have always been such daring and adventurous children! Zach's favorite ride this year was the Tidal Wave and The Bat. Megan's favorite was Ladybug Bop and The Bat, and Tanner's was Odysea and The Spider. It was sure a fun day!

Happy Birthday America!!!

To start off this holiday which is truly my most favorite, Brandon made us a yummy French toast(French??? ha ha) and egg breakfast. Later on, we had a fried chicken lunch and headed off for a family bike ride with our new bike trailer. The twins sat in the trailer, Gavin rode in a little seat on the back of my bike and Tanner rode his own bike-what a big kid! We had hopes of heading up to the canyon, but we like to work around Gavin's nap, so we'll do that another day. It just makes for a happier day! Someday, it will be fun to go to the parade, but there is a time and a season for everything...and this is not the time! Later on, we invited my Mom over and Brandon worked some grill magic and grilled chicken, hot dogs and corn on the cob and we had strawberry shortcake for dessert. Yum! Later on, we headed off to watch the big fireworks. Tanner was pretty disappointed about missing our own little "cul-de-sac of fire" show that all the neighbors do, but we loved the big fireworks and the kids had a great time with cousins and the fireworks were so beautiful!

Nebo Loop drive

On Friday evening we decided to go get ice cream and take a drive. We enjoyed driving up the Nebo Loop which is something we hadn't done as a family before. It was very pretty.

By the time we got up there and got the kids out for a little hike, it was getting dark. So about 5 minutes later, here come the mosquitoes! I hurried and took some pictures before running to the car(we obviously didn't bring repellent) and you can see one on Gavin's head in the last picture of the kids... and one on Tanner's nose in the one just below.

Tanner's eyes crossed looking at the mosquito right on the tip of his nose!!!

It was fun despite Gavin's screaming in the car. He is a car screamer! So it is hard to travel anywhere, because he'll throw the bottle and start the ear piercing screams. We don't know why because he is a darling boy and can say a few little things. We are going to do it again though. The twins are finally at an age where they can take little hikes and actually enjoy it!
So we are planning another outing like this one, getting out into nature. But this time we will go well before dark!

Jen's Birthday...man I feel old...but it's all good!!!

Another year...another birthday! We celebrated my birthday this past week. I enjoyed celebrating with the kids on Monday. The little cake was just as cute as can be and it was an ice cream cake to boot! Baskin Robbins mint chocolate chip...it was well worth the calories! On Tuesday, Brandon and I went to eat at Bajio and to see the new Indiana Jones movie. Harrison Ford is still so fun to watch! We are also going to have a family dinner and cake on Sunday. It is sort of a week long birthday.

The Party was a success...

All the Knights and Maidens in the land came to our party complete with making crowns, a balloon catapult, treasure hunt, cake and presents.











It was a great day at the Jensen Castle for the Princess and Prince. The King and Queen were very tired afterwards, but it was all worth it when before going to sleep, Prince Zachary said,
"Mommy, I really loved my party."

THE TWINS ARE 5!!!

In January 2003, we found out our lives were about to drastically change. Tanner was going to get not just one sibling, but TWO: a brother AND a sister! Megan Alanna and Zachary Brandon were born on June 16, 2003 at 8:30 and 8:32 p.m. Megan was born first weighing in at 6 lb. 10 oz. and Zachary at 5 lb. 4 oz.

They were both healthy and adorable!!!

Megan is our wonderful, beautiful, smart little angel girl. She is a sweetie and loves to help Mommy with Gavin. Can I just say how cool this is? I have never experienced this before and I appreciate her so much. She is a fierce protector of her brothers, even when they may not deserve it all the time! She loves to do girl things and play with dolls. She is a Daddy’s girl. She is very bright and is very ready for Kindergarten. She was a wonderful baby and is a wonderful girl and we are sure grateful for to have her.

Zachary is our terrific, fun, adorable, smart little “moosie” boy. He has the biggest heart and is full of energy. He has a lot of love to give and loves to hug and love on everyone. He has a fabulous memory and is a brave kid. He loves to do things with his twin sister and makes sure she is taken care of. He is excited to go to Kindergarten. When Zachary was a toddler we had some close calls in regards to losing him. There is NEVER a day that goes by that we are not thankful for his life and that he is with us! We believe his Grandpas are his guardian angels and they have been very busy. He is a wonderful boy and we are so grateful he is ours.

Time sure flies when you are busy, and it has done that for us these last five years. It has certainly been a bittersweet experience to watch my twins grow. Lots of work, but then as I watch it get a little easier, year by year, I also miss some of those times. I often wish I would or could have savored more moments in the midst of the chaos. Believe it or not, it almost seemed easier to have three in diapers at one time and no where to have to go every day. Life is more fast paced now. There has NEVER been a dull moment but we wouldn’t trade the ride for anything.

HAPPY 5th BIRTHDAY

MEGAN and ZACHARY!

WE LOVE YOU!