Thanksgiving 2011

Yes, I'm being very original with my blog titles. I'm just keeping it simple. I don't want to confuse anyone as to what the post is about. This year, we had a nice, small, quiet gathering at our house with Chad's parents and grandma. Peggy and I split up cooking duties. She did the turkey...it was picture perfect as you can see. She also brought rolls, stuffing, pumpkin pie and her delicious banana cream pie. I did the appetizer, homemade cranberry sauce, yams, green beans, green salad, mashed potatoes and apple pies. We had enough food to feed a small army and we sure enjoyed trying to put a dent in it!

After dinner, the kids had a great time playing games with Grammy and G'ma Ginger. We all had some good laughs playing around with the "Fat Booth" app on my phone. I am pretty sure that is the hardest I have every seen G'ma Ginger laugh. It was wonderful to see her enjoying herself so much.

Halloween 2011

We had a great halloween this year. Everyone enjoyed the traditional halloween party at G'ma and G'pa Jensen's house. They always go to so much work to make it special and memorable for everyone. There were many games and lots of food.

On the home front, I gave the kids the chance to experience pumpkin carving first hand. I think the photos speak for themselves. Yes, that is a genuine dry heave I captured on Sarah's face (Yes, I'm an awesome mom like that). Even though Josh is past trick or treating :( I still had to include him in the obligatory front porch photo. This year, Andrew was all big and cool and went out with friends. I took the girls around the neighborhood with the Scott's. They had a great time. Jenna almost made it around the whole neighborhood, but pooped out w/ a couple streets to go. The neighborhood was extra busy this year (and I'm sure for years to come). We have several house that go all out and I mean ALL OUT as in graveyards and Thriller performances. Chad joked that we should have them pay for all the extra candy we have to buy to accomodate all the people that drive into the neighborhood.

Thanksgiving highlights 2010

The food was devoured before I thought to take any nice food shots so, I guess that means it was good! I did however, get some pie photos. Dessert is what is most important, right?

I think I was a little stressed to be focused on photos. Our pipes were frozen at home so my mind kept drifting to thoughts of bursting pipes or no water. You have no idea how much you take running water for granted until you don't have it. You also have no idea how easy it is to be taken advantage of (try $800 from Neerings Plumbing).

Oh wait, this post was about Thanksgiving wasn't it? In spite of the looming stress, I was very grateful to be with family (and yes, thankful for pex pipes that don't burst).  It was wonderful to have Chad's parents and G'am Ginger join us. We also loved hanging out with Jason, Jana and their kids. Full bellies and family....all in all,  a great Thanksgiving! I almost forgot the best part of Thanksgiving: not dropping a full dish of yams and sparing myself from being a screaming, swearing lunatic (ie. last year's Thanksgiving). Yes, I think my family was very grateful for that.

A little love....

We started the day with a favorite tradition: pink heart pancakes and pink milk. The kids love it (and it's easy, too!) This year the plates greeted them with special certificates and a favorite magazine. (I did say "little" in the title, didn't? lol I'm all for keeping things low-key.) When I was trying to think of a little something to give each of the kids, there just wasn't anything I felt was worth spending money on. Besides, what is Valentine's day all about anyway? What better than a little one-one time with each parent? I think the time spent will be much more rewarding that some silly gift or over-priced game we could have given them. Chad and I said, "No gifts." Apparently, Chad doesn't know what that means. He treated me to my favorite "V" chocolates. I, on the otherhand, am a woman of my word....I gave him a card.
After church, we headed up to Kaysville for a Valentine's dinner and FHE. Crazy and yummy as always. It wouldn't be a Jensen gathering without something spilling, breaking or melting. This time, it was a plastic bottle of sprinkles melting all over the stove. Cameron headed up a great FHE discussion on emergency preparedness. I feel pretty okay with the efforts I made so far, but got some great ideas for improvements and additions. This discussion also served to sufficiently freak out Sarah. lol All in all a great night!

Earlier in the week, we had a great time decorating cookies with Grammy and Papa. G'ma Ginger even came, too! Midweek was consumed with getting the valentine cards filled out and the boxes done. Sarah requested a cupid this year and Andrew really wanted his box to feature D.A.R.E. (the anti drug program he just completed at school). Jenna's preschool teacher requested that the kids not only write their name on all the cards, but the names of the classmates as well. I was so impressed with how well Jenna did...that was a lot of writing! I had a 'sweet' surprise when Andrea dropped off some of her super gorgeous sugar cookies. They were almost too pretty to eat...almost.

The Christmas Spirit is alive and well at the Medeiros home

I wasn't quite sure where the Christmas Spirit was around our house and then....there it was! Right there on my pillow! Last week, as I was getting into bed, a cute little note full of flames and pizazz was waiting for me on my pillow. Maybe I had been particularly grumpy with the kids and Sarah thought I needed a little holiday encouragement. Maybe she just wanted to spread some holiday cheer. Either way, she felt it necessary to make sure I knew where the Christmas Spirit was...and it certainly filled Chad and I with holiday cheer and laughter. I have no doubt that there was even more Christmas Spirit in our house after it was found on my pillow.

Christmas Eve is always the pinnacle of the holiday season for me. This year, we kept with tradition and headed to Kaysville for the our fish dinner by candlelight and our little Nativity presentation.  I'm not sure that the Savior enjoyed salmon and shrimp cocktail, but they've been added to the menu nonetheless! This year, I contributed my marinated Tilapia and I think everyone enjoyed that. With some of the cousins getting older and others not old enough, we had to do some creative casting for the Nativity program. This year we had a cradle-robbing Joseph (Tyler) and a very young Mary (Jenna). New this year was the fabulous addition of a camel (Conner). After opening jammies, it was off to our own homes to tuck the kids in.

This year, brought new skepticism about Santa. We had quite the little tester in Sarah. On Christmas eve, she left out a box with small gifts and a little note requesting a signature from the big guy. The gifts were gone and the "signed" note was left behind in the morning. A Dorthy (from the Wizard of Oz) Barbie, a holiday Barbie, a school play-set, Wii Sports Resort, the Far World books, a wah pedal and guitar case were among some of the favorite gifts with the kids. Jenna gave me a big hint about my gift several weeks earlier and I was delighted to open a digital SLR camera (thanks Chad and Heather!). I have already had so much fun playing around with it....lots more to learn....lots more to learn. I was so proud of my parents, for the first time, they left Kaysville on Christmas day and headed our way to spend some with us. We had breakfast with them and they got to watch us open some gifts.  Definitely something different for them, but I think they really enjoyed!  Now I, on the other hand, pulled off the biggest Christmas surprise Chad had ever had. It's always the other way around, but this year, I got him good. With some help from the parents, I  was able to pool our efforts and get Chad a snow blower. We've resisted for years...bound and determined to shovel. One north-facing home, and two corner lots later, our backs hurt and we are ready for some relief....especially Chad. Several weeks ago, I purchased the much-researched snow blower and tucked it safely in the Fletcher's garage. After all the hoopla of Christmas morning, I mentioned to Chad that Fletcher's wanted us to come over to see what they got. When we got there, Dorick announced he wanted us to see a new gift in the garage. Chad said as we entered the garage, he just knew Dorick had gotten a new snow blower. Now while, he was happy for Dorick, his heart sank and he was a bit envious. As we were all surrounding the shiny new machine and Chad was fighting back envy, I announced, "It's yours!" Ohhh, you should have seen the look on his face!! I know it's just a snow blower, but my eyes got misty. I have never pulled off a surprise like this before. It was a "red ryder bb gun moment" for sure. Love it, love it, love it!!! He had a smile on his face the rest of the day. Since we stayed home for the whole day, it was so fun to have the Madsen's over for dinner. It was so wonderful to have someone to share our Honeybaked ham with. What a great way to end the day!

A full month of fun!

December is always hectic for sure and sometimes you can see through the stress to realize there is a lot of fun to be had. A few of our December highlights so far have been:

-Ward/neighborhood party: It was catered by the Goodwood BBQ (wow! the church does that? what a fun change!) We also had a visit from Santa. This was fun to watch. At first, Jenna was too scared to see him and Sarah and Andrew were too cool to see him. In the end, none of them could resist the pull of sharing wishes with Santa

-Friend party: The Fletcher's hosted a party this year. Great food and crazy games. Just check out the picture of the guys with deer antlers (ie. panty hose stuffed with balloons). I think adults have more fun playing games than kids do!

-Shopping at the dollar store: This is fast becoming one of the kids favorite traditions. We give each of the children $10 and set them loose to shop for the family at the dollar store. They dodge and hide from each other, then they rush home to wrap their gifts. There are always some fun and interesting gifts. 

-Open houses: Megan and Cameron hosted their first holiday gathering (the first of many, right??). Go Meg and Cam on the domestic front...wassail, treats and a yard full of lights (and one big penguin!).

-Neighborhood parties: The Madsen's hosted a recital with some of the neighbors. The recital was even complete with roses for the guests to throw when the performers were done. From singing, piano, trumpet, to violin...what talent and fun was shared. Such a great event, loved it!

-Relief Society party: What a beautiful party...it looked like a wedding reception...complete with a live nativity on the stage.

-Gingerbread houses: It's become a tradition to decorate a gingerbread house with g'ma and g'pa Medeiros. This kids always look forward to the licking, tasting and time with the g'parents. This year, the kids got to open one gift from them since they will be gone on Christmas.

-Visiting the homeless shelter: The kids and mom had the opportunity to visit the shelter downtown to drop off some donations. This was such a good experience for them. Unprovoked, Sarah donated all her money. I even suggested any donation amount was wonderful, but she didn't hesitate to give it all. The kids were thrilled to be invited inside where they were treated to a photo with Santa and some hot chocolate.

Happy Halloween!!

Ominture/Adobe Halloween party last night....check (photos to come...maybe)
Halloween Half-marathon....check (awesome job, Chad...more to come!)
Candy ready (I think I bought way too much this year)....check
Messy house....check
Pumpkin-shaped pizza....check
Witches brew (dry ice!)....check
Make-up....check
Obligatory photos (I love that group shot)....check
Trick or Treat.....GO!

Blog post....check
I figured getting my blog post done would make the night go more quickly. I think I'm anxious for the holiday to be done...we've packed in a lot of Halloween stuff this year. Yes, it's been a slow start for trick or treaters tonight and I'm on door duty.  Maybe I'm a little bored. Chad's out with the kids and Josh is at a party with friends (talking to a certain girl I'm sure!) Which do you prefer; door duty or walking the neighborhood? Neither?

More Hallow-een fun...

It's always fun to enjoy the Halloween traditions we've started with the grandparents.  G'ma and G'pa Jensen hold a big party/FHE each year complete with spooky food and games. This year, the kids loved playing the "head on a platter" and eye ball relays. They also loved popping the balloons to find the treats inside. (I love the photo of Sarah sitting on her balloon...an instant before it popped!) This years backyard spook alley attracted even more friends and neighbors than last year. Ron is always a huge help with that. With Grammy PJ, the kids love creating a graveyard cake.Or you could say, a cake with every bit of Halloween available sprinkled on top! Thank you to the grandparents for all your efforts to make the holidays so fun and memorable...we love you!

Happy *Heart* Day!

Sending out a little Valentine love. Cookies have been frosted with Grammy and Papa. Valentine boxes and class parties were done yesterday. This morning a little sleeping in and breakfast at Mimi's with Chad. Now, it's time to dip the strawberries and get the heart shaped pancakes ready for the kids. Then it's off to the movies with Chad!

A wonderful Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful day yesterday. I hope you did, too. It was rather low-key, but equally enjoyable. We had Chad's parents over. We spent the day watching movies, playing games, putting up the tree and talking. Always a bit of Medeiros humor(notice the picture of turkey). I think I've found the key to the perfect, low stress Thanksgiving dinner: part homemade....and part, well, not homemade! Seriously, if you can find delicious rolls and potatoes made by someone else, why not? Cuts my time and stress way down! I did however, make the turkey, stuffing, apple pie and appetizers. Chad's mom helped with the yams, cranberry sauce and other treats. It was a delicious dinner. This year, my friend suggested I add sausage to the stuffing. Have you tried that? Mmm...very good! We really had a great time just hanging out together. At the end of the night, Peggy and I made a pact to go two weeks without sugar (I have to take baby steps!). I have never, ever committed to something like this...please wish me luck!

PS...Can anyone help with Photoshop? I went to to my normal canvas/photo collage and after cropping the photos and trying to move them to the new canvas, they are huge! I checked the crop and canvas size and everything looks right...any suggestions?? I hate not being able to do the photo collages.

The Never-Ending Halloween!! (mega post)

{ Chad...always the rocker. This year w/ a political twist to go w/ his department's work theme. Mom...trying to be a witch. And, no, that scratch on my chin is not part of the make-up. Just had a little trouble getting dressed.) Josh...like father, like son! He loved bringing "Slash" back. Andrew...what a charming Indiana, don't you think? "S" is for Super Sarah who wouldn't wear the cute boots that were part of her costume!! And "Grrr..." is for the growling Jenna! She's be practicing her growls all month while watching 'Open Season.' No, cutesy bear here! }

WOW! I think it's fair to say we made the very most of halloween this year. (and I'm tired!) We had several parties with friends (We have neighbors who have a full size coffin in their living room...and that is soo only the beginning!), family, work (The Omniture party left me wondering how many days it's been since the employees actually did any work! It was amazing) and school. Here are a few highlights.

Jenna had to be the doorbell ringer this year...it was so cute to watch! She also loved all the scary decorations (our street goes all out!). And Sarah? She wasn't loving the gore so much this year. lol Noticeably missing from the door to door walking was Josh. Yep. He's old, remember? He was "hanging out" with friends. He did hit a few houses. The night ended a bit early with Sarah feeling sick (toothache...thanks mom for the great teeth)


Remember what a big deal the costume parade was when we were young? Well, it still as...at least with all the parents and g'parents! The gym and hallways were packed. Then, it was off to class parties. It's always fun to be in the classroom with the kids.


Every year G'ma and G'pa Jensen put on a big party for all the grandkids. They seem to step it up every year as was definitely the case this year! The food was (almost) too cute to eat! Fun games and activities....and the SPOOK ALLEY in the backyard!! That was just awesome this year. Buried bones, hiding monsters (neighbor kids), a mad scientist (Uncle Ron) and a gruesome BBQ. It was fantastic!


Looky here....the Jensen's all dressed up! A Sushi chef, Obama (a la horns and pitch fork!), a whoopi cushion (with sound effects), a 70's basketball star and a cuddly bear just to name a few.


(over)Decorating the cemetery cake is a favorite tradition the kids love doing with Grammy each year. Grammy doesn't hold back bringing the candy and sprinkles! I know the kids love having carte blanch with the candy and frosting! Mom and Dad even got lucky this year. Grammy brought dinner...the best soups...mmmm! Thank you soo much Grammy...we had a great time!

Thank you so much to all our family and friends who went to so much work to make Halloween so fun and special for us. We hope you all had a fun and safe Halloween, too!

On the 17th our ward had our "Super Saturday"....on Friday night. I was asked to teach a pumpkin carving class. Really? Yep. Who knew I was an expert on pumpkins...not! However, in preparation for the class, I did come across some cute ideas and great tricks for carving. My favorite two tricks this year?

1) Hollow out your pumpkin from the bottom. Looks so much cuter w/ the stem area untouched. And easy peasy for the lighting...just place pumpkin on the lit candle (no reaching inside)
2) The apple corer!!!! This thing makes the best, most perfect circles!

I had fun with the spray paint and craft paint...even added some rhinestones. If you really want to go crazy try carving only the outer flesh. It took me awhile, but I love the results. Happy Carving!

Valentine's Day 08

Snow, cookies, school parties, heart pancakes, pink milk, heart brownies....I'm ready for bed! Happy Valentines Day!

(let me revise...free cookies from the lunch ladies at the school for the kids to frost at one party and I only brought apples to the other class party. The pancakes are add water! Believe me, I take the easy way out whenever I can. ;) lol)

Sugar cookies and more snow

Grammy came over this afternoon to make Valentine cookies

with the kids. As always, they are thrilled to have time with any

of their g'parents. Unfortunately, an afternoon snowstorm made

for a record-breaking frosting session

(Yes, more snow).

The kids had a great time making a mess and eating cookies...thank you so much Grammy! :)

ETA: Wow, what a snowstorm. We got blasted. It was so much the amount of snow that was a problem, it was the WIND and the timing (afternoon rush hour) that it hit. It literally took Chad 4 hours to get home from work last night. He left Orem at 5 and got home at 9! In Alpine, there were 3 bus loads of kids that couldn't get home and had to spend the night at the school. People were even spending the night at gas stations. Craziness, pure craziness.

Totally 80's....like, totally fun!

So, for New Year's this year some friends of ours threw an 80's party. What a good time it was! Half the fun was getting ready for the party. Chad and I headed to the DI to do some shopping. It wasn't too hard to find lots of possibilities. I found an awesome prom dress that I really, really wanted to work out, but alas, my hips have birthed 4 children. So, I found an awesome dress and cream pumps (completed w/ cream nylons)....think circa 1987 fireside. It was perfect! Chad went for the Miami Vice theme. He found a great linen blazer and pants, a turquoise t-shirt and some great shoes. Of course, the pants had to be tightly "pegged" at the bottom. It was so much fun that I had to do a "dry run" on the hair and make-up as soon as I got home from shopping. The kids were so confused....wondering what in the world happened to their mom! On the night of the party, Chad watched with perplexity as I got ready. He asked, "Did it take that long to get ready in the 80's and did you use that much hairspray?" Yes, I think I did! These pictures don't do the look justice. My hair had the "wings" on the sides and the nice puff or "claw" of bangs on top. The look was completed with teal eyeliner, extra thick mascara and a thick line of blush below the cheek bone. Ohh and you cannot forget the frosty pink lip gloss! We had such a great time at the party laughing at everyone else's interpretation of 80's fashion. Who knew there were so many options in the 80's??? Man, there was really a bit of something for every personality and every facet of society! lol We did a lot of reminiscing and laughing at dance pictures and yearbooks. We also busted a move on all the old dance moves. Chad and I even practiced our best school dance pose and faces for the picture at the top. Good times!

Holiday Highlights...

So, the holidays have come and gone. So much anticipation, a moderate amount of stress, not enough sleep and definitely not enough Christmas music (but you just can't listen to it once Christmas is over!) All that and then....it's done. Now to un-decorate the house and get back on a schedule. The kids started school today, but I let them stay home (yes, I know, I'm a cool mom...ha) because their cousins from CA spent the night last night. All in all we had a wonderful holiday. Here are a few highlights (in no particular order):

--Megan taking out her Endowments and getting married to Cameron. It was a beautiful wedding...Heidi did gorgeous flowers and Heather took amazing pictures.

-- Christmas Eve at G'ma and G'pa Jensen's house. Even as a little girl, Christmas Eve was the pinnacle of the holiday for me. It's the day/night we focus on the Savior. We enjoy a dinner of fish, grape juice and bread...eaten by candlelight. A dinner maybe a little reminiscent of what Christ would have eaten. Then, the Nativity story that the kids dress up and act out. Love this tradition...hands down my favorite.

--Christmas Eve breakfast with friends. We've been doing this for years with whoever happens to be in town. Love this opportunity to catch up! Numbers were small this year, but not any less fun. For those of you who weren't there or haven't been back to UT for Christmas in a couple years, I missed you!

--Watching the deer in G'ma and G'pa's backyard...they come to eat the birdseed almost daily!

--Sarah being so consumed with excitement on Christmas Eve that she couldn't sleep. The kids slept in our room...fun for them...not so fun for mom and dad.

--Volunteering at the Bishop's Storehouse with my kids. We peeled skins off onions and packaged toilet paper. They loved it...well, not the onions so much. They want to go back...I think we will make it an ongoing off-track activity.

--Learning to play Guitar Hero. This was Josh's biggest wish on his Christmas list and Santa came through. He watched GH3 clips on YouTube for weeks before Christmas to prepare. I've given it a try, too....this game is harder than you think. I've become adequate on "Easy," but still stink on "Medium." Fun stuff.

--The Christmas program at Church and Relief Society this year was amazing. Loved being filled with the holiday spirit and listening to and singing such beautiful music. Like I said, I didn't get enough Christmas music.

--Honey Baked Ham and funeral potatoes. Need I say more?

--Eating an entire box of Fernwood mint sandwiches....yes, I did and I don't regret it.

--Frequenting the gym to keep up with my holiday appetite. AND...running for 24min/2miles straight without stopping! I know, it's a 12 min mile, not great, but this was a big mental step forward for me. A long ways from a marathon, but a step forward nonetheless.

--The 80's New Year's Eve party....serious fun! I will post more later.

Christmas Cuties

A quick photo of the kids before church today. Sarah and Jenna loved the their dresses from Sidney and Gabrielle (thank you!).

ETA...I am totally chuckling. I just noticed Sarah added her necklace and hot pink ornament to the tree...that is so Sarah! lol

One of the best things about the holidays

is definitely the Christmas cards. Really it is, don't you think? I stalk the mailman each day waiting to see what cards will come. I anticipate photos and family updates; waiting to see who has a new edition, whose moved, whose kids have change the most. It's kind of like a yearly roll call to make sure all my family and friends are safe sound!

Home for the holidays...

I love looking at all the things friends and family do to adorn their homes for the holidays. It's so fun to see their creativity and personalities come through in the way they decorate. I've enjoyed being inspired and filled with the holiday spirit as I've gotten peeks into the homes of friends and family. Here are a few photos from around our home. Certainly nothing spectacular, but just right for our family to feel the holiday spirit.