Janika and Brandon Adventures

Janika and Brandon were supposed to go on a cruise this month to Europe. It was cancelled due to Covid, but since they had the days off they decided to do a bunch of fun local activities that week instead. For Christmas they had told us that they wanted "experiences" instead of "things." So we had gotten them several gift cards for various activities such as indoor sky diving, a Chinese massage, a night at the Anniversary Inn, ice skating (they did that one in the winter). They also did some other fun things this week such mini golf and climbing wall. Brandon also got Janika to surf! Fun!

Homecoming Invitation!! Janelle and Jaiden

 Janelle got asked to Homecoming on Saturday and Jaiden got asked a week or so ago! These cute girls will have a great time!! (Janelle's invitation below -- from Taren Stout)

Janelle's response:

Jaiden's invitation below (from Lane Reeves) 

Jaiden's response poster below following the Chick-Fil-A theme. (If you say "thank you" at Chick-Fil-A, the employees say, "My pleasure" (instead of "You're Welcome"). The candy are "Cow Tales."

Besties on Picture Day!

 Waiting for the bus...

Cute Little Entrepreneurs!!

Jenna got a cute miniature snow cone machine with a hand crank a month or so ago. (You can see it in the picture with a white handle and green lid). She is constantly making snow cones and trying to sell them to family and friends. So when Cortnie invited her to help with her lemonade stand she jumped at the chance! These girls sold lemonade (and snow cones -- until they ran out of ice) for about an hour (in the heat) and made about $22.00. They split up the money and each walked away with $5.50. Guess what Jenna is saving her money for? A bigger and better snow cone machine!

Bryce Canyon (Janelle)

This weekend I was invited to go to Bryce Canyon with my friends Brea Bulkley (and her family) and Ellie Kenworthy! It was a super fun trip and I'm super glad that I got to go. Brea and Ellie both run cross country and had a meet in Cedar Saturday morning, so I started by going up with Brea's family to watch them run. They both did an awesome job! 

After the meet we headed up to Cedar Mountain where Ellie's family was camping, because they had invited us to go on Razor rides with them. We had expected it to be hot and dusty, so we were prepared with bandannas to cover our hair, but they turned out to be unnecessary. It had begun to rain a bit on and off throughout the ride, but still felt nice. We went to an area called Mammoth Cave, and decided to explore it a bit. But as soon as we got out of the Razor, it started HAILING, so that was exciting! We sought shelter in the cave and explored it for a bit. After that we went on a ride being confronted by heavy rain and hail on and off. It had gotten a tad chilly, and I usually had my arm out in the rain, so that didn't really help. But it was super fun and we had a really good time! 

After the Razor rides we headed to Bryce Canyon and checked into our hotel. Brea, Ellie, and I went on a hike/walk to a place called The Point, I think. It had a cute river on the way there and Ellie managed to catch a fish in her hands! It was super pretty. When we got back Brea's younger siblings wanted to go swimming, so we dropped them off and got food. We had planned on swimming but all of us were pretty exhausted so we decided to head to bed. There was also a cool firework show for the rodeo that we had a really good view of, so that was fun. 

The next day we all got breakfast and had a little time to go shopping, and I got a few cute shirts. When we had all packed up and headed out, we did a hike through Bryce Canyon called Navajo Loop. It was a lot of fun and really pretty! It wasn't very long but pretty steep so it was still a bit of a workout. After the hike the three of us and Brea's dad kept going to Inspiration point while the rest of her family met us there. It was such an unbelievable view! I kept taking pictures but the farther I went the prettier it got. The pictures really don't do it justice. After, that we split into cars and headed back home, well stocked with snacks. :) It was a super fun weekend and such a great way to spend time with friends while enjoying God's creations!

P.S. If you're wondering about the carrot picture, Bryce Canyon has tall spires called Hoodoos that have really cool shapes, and Ellie decided to carve a hoodoo in a carrot with her teeth. It was really funny :)

Swim Party

 Jenna recently met up with one of her former friends from playgroup six years ago! We all thought it would be fun to invite Cortnie over to renew some old friendships! They had a great time swimming, playing, jumping on the tramp, making snow-cones, and then making hot chocolate with marshmallows (because they were cold from their wet bodies and snow cones, ha ha!)

Josh Soccer

 Josh had his first soccer game today at 3:00 in the afternoon in 105 degree heat!! We receive notifications on our phone everyday that St. George is experiencing a severe heat warning. (Which is pretty normal for this area in the summer, but the heat seems to be lasting longer than usual). I can't even stand to walk to the mailbox in this heat, so I don't know how those kids can play soccer for almost an hour and a half in it! 

Rick and I didn't go because we had signed up for an online interpreting workshop that day and it was at the same time. I don't think I could have handled being out in the heat that long anyway. Josh said that they won the game, 3-1. He scored one of the goals and assisted in another. His team has been practicing for a while now and he is excited to finally start games! (Especially since the season came to an abrupt halt last Spring due to Covid.) Soccer season, here we come!! 

SHAC: Jenna and Friends

Sand Hollow Aquatic Center was closed a good part of the summer while the dome was being fixed, but opened back up in July. Allison offered to bring the girls since they all had a free pass on the starving student card that needed to be used by August 31. I am so grateful that Jenna has such good friends to spend time with! 

Back to School!!

 

The kids were SO ready to start school! And I was ready too! Janelle is now a Senior, Jaiden is a Junior, Josh is a Freshman (9th grade at the middle school), and Jenna is just starting Intermediate School at Lava Ridge. It was sort of a rough first day for Jenna. Since there was a problem with the bus and a problem with lunches.

I was really glad that the bus stop changed for Jenna and Clarissa. Josh, Jaiden, and Janelle all had to walk a half mile to the bus stop on Lava Flow drive and it was often completely dark outside. I didn't feel safe having them walk that far in the dark, passing a couple of sketchy neighbor's houses on the way, and so I drove them to the bus stop everyday. Allison and I even petitioned the bus department to allow them to go to a closer (and safer) bus stop, but they refused our request. So I was pleasantly surprised when I found out that the new bus stop for our girls would be on Vineyard drive instead of Lava Flow. Now we don't have to drive them -- and we can also watch out for them better. Jenna can walk to Clarissa's house and then they can walk to the bus stop which is only a block away. It is much closer and safer. Yay!! 

Allison said that she would walk the kids to the bus stop today to make sure they knew where to go. It is a good thing she did! The bus drove right by them and didn't even stop! The five or six kids who were waiting all had to cram into a neighbor's car for a ride to school. I called the transportation office and reported what had happened. She checked on it and called me back. Apparently the driver had missed two stops on that street. She said that she would call him to let him know and it should be better the next day (and it was).

Then when Jenna came home from school she said that she went to get her gluten free lunch and they told her that she would need a nurse's note. Jenna told them that the school had one, but the lady in charge of school lunches said that they hadn't received any information or requests for gluten free lunches. They agreed to go ahead and make a gluten free lunch for her, but since they were just starting it (instead of having it already prepared and ready) it took the entire lunch period. When it was finally ready Jenna sat down to eat and then the bell rang for them to leave for classes. So she was quite frustrated over that -- and so was I! (The lunch ladies probably were too!)

I was upset because I had just called the school a day or two ago to explain that Jenna was on the list for gluten free lunches. I said that she had a doctor's note on file at elementary school and asked if the note followed her to Lava Ridge or if I needed to update it or get a new one or anything. They checked her file and said that the note was in her file and so I was good to go and didn't need to do anything. That is why I was so frustrated that this happened on the first day of school. I called the school and explained the situation. They were empathetic and apologized, but I am sure they could tell that I was quite frustrated. They said that they would let the lunch ladies know so that they could be ready for tomorrow. (And they were -- they even called Jenna down during one of her classes so that they could see exactly what her needs were. So I was grateful they got it figured out!) 

A week or so later Jenna said, "Do you know why I had such a bad day on the first day of school?" I said, "No, why?" She said, "Because I prayed that I would have a bad day in order for someone else to have good day." I said, "Well, that is really sweet -- but don't offer that prayer again! Just pray for you -- and others to have a good day!" 

Missionary Wall Updates

I updated the Missionary Wall pictures before school started. The three oldest have the same pictures since they have already served missions, but I took updated pictures of the four youngest. I love how they turned out! 

And look how much these kids have changed in the past two years!! Janelle not as much, but the other three definitely have! 

Cabin on the Beach

 After the beach (and an attempt at naps) we packed up our things and said goodbye and thank you to the Jensen family and headed twenty minutes to the other side of the lake (in Lake Town) to Brandon's family cabin. 

Brandon's mom, Barbara, gave us a tour of the cabin -- it is amazing! They have a big front yard of grass and a back yard grassy area and then the beach! I should have taken some pictures of it! I am not sure how many the cabin sleeps, but it is a lot! The house has many bedrooms -- all with king sized beds. There is also a room with two sets of bunk beds and another twin bed. Upstairs in the loft there were several more bunk beds. 

Barbara fixed a delicious meal for everyone of Hawaiian Haystacks and fruit and ice cream for dessert. Brandon and his brother-in-law, Adam, then took the kids boating. They had a blast being pulled behind on the boat on giant tubes! Rick and I went to watch them and take pictures and videos (although working the camera on a fast moving boat made me really sea-sick and so I had to give the camera back to Rick). The kids loved it and we got some great shots! 

We weren't able to be out on the boat very long since it was low on oil and wasn't working quite right. Thankfully they were able to get it fixed up for the rest of their stay that week. Peyton and Taylor were really excited to be able to play with the girls and they all slept in the room with the bunkbeds.  

That night the kids played and the adults visited. I would have liked to stay up and visit longer but I was literally falling asleep after getting little sleep the night before. Thankfully we slept great tonight! 

Sunday Barbara treated us to a delicious breakfast of bacon and eggs and fruit. We had a nice sacrament meeting with the Jensons and I really felt the spirit! Adam's dad (Adam is Brandon's brother-in-law) made this cool creation to hold sacrament cups. I told Josh that he should make something like this for our family since we have the sacrament at home every other week (on the weeks it is our turn to stay home for church). 

Then we listened to a conference talk and then took some pictures and headed out. Peyton and Taylor were so sad to have the girls leave and Peyton was crying. They are such sweet, cute girls! 

We headed to SLC where my mom had prepared the fixings for lunch. Shane and Alicia and their family joined us and also Jeni. The kids were excited to see their cousins! We would have liked to stay and visit longer but we had a long drive ahead of us and a big week coming up. 

When we arrived home Jase and Ellen were over at our house with a bunch of their friends. Jared had moved his and Janelle's cars in the garage when we left on Thursday and so we had no where to park! Our driveway was filled with cars! Then Jared's former missionary companion, Cole Bolton, came over with his wife to visit Jared. So we had a houseful! We unpacked and then went to bed! 

Bear Lake Beach

The Jensens said that in order to get a spot on the beach at Bear Lake someone had to go right when it opened at 7:00 a.m.! So Craig and some others went early in order to secure a beach area for the family. They set up a big tent area over some tables and another smaller tent and we all brought camping chairs. Our family met up with them around 9:00. (Unfortunately Josh and Jared were not feeling well and so they stayed back the cabin). Apparently they had fun there also, playing ping pong and other games. 

It was still quite cold when we arrived at the beach and I was glad that I had brought a jacket and a blanket! It did warm up an hour or so later though. We had all brought food so that we could eat lunch at the beach. Janika and Brandon were staying at his family cabin in Lake Town and they came and joined us on the North Shore Beach so that we could visit and watch the children play.

Jenna had a blast playing on the beach with her cousins! (Actually all of the cousins are adults now with kids of their own and so they are actually Jenna's first cousins once removed. But it is easier to just say cousins!)  They built sand castles and tunnels with water going through them. As you can see from the pictures of London and Jenna below they also built mermaid tails!  

Craig brought two big paddle boards (the kind you stand or kneel on) and two kayaks. So that was fun for the kids. I went out on the kayak and also the paddle board. The kayak was easier and more fun. I have done paddle boards while standing up before, but it was at the Ivin's Reservoir with no waves. It was more difficult to keep my balance at Bear Lake due to the gentle waves coming in from nearby boats! It was also more tiring than I remembered. Maybe I am just getting old! Grandma Jensen went out on the kayak also-- with Chase nearby on the other boat to watch out for her. Way to go, Grandma!  

Bridgerland Adventure Park

This morning Rick and I went for a walk in the cool morning air. We came back to the cabin to a delicious breakfast which included bacon, eggs, pancakes, and fruit! Then everyone headed to Bridgerland Adventure Park in Garden City! The kids had a blast! Thank you to Grandma Jensen for helping cover the expenses and for Julie for doing the research and helping with the reservations! Unfortunately Jared was still feeling really out of it due to his cold and so he stayed back at the cabin and slept, which is too bad because he would have loved the activities! 

Josh, Jaiden, Janelle, and Brigham did the Aerial Challenge course (ropes course). They all also did the giant slide with tubes. For the slide they were allowed to go down 15 times! Jenna went on the giant swing with Julie and then later she went again with Troy. You can see her reaction when the swing suddenly drops in the picture in the top right corner below! Jenna also had fun going on the tubes along side London and Jhi and the other kids! 

Jenna told me that she wanted to do the huge zip line but I was hesitant because last night she asked me to come watch her go down the big slide in Grandma's back yard and she sat at the top for at least five minutes -- too scared to go down. So you can see my hesitation when she wanted to go down a 2400 foot zip line off of a giant tower! No one was doing the zip line and I wanted her to see someone else go first but no one was on it. She continued to persist and so I finally told her to go ahead -- and she stepped right off the tower with no hesitation at all! Crazy girl! Then after she went there was steady stream of others going on it too!  

Josh, Jaiden, Janelle, Brigham, and many of the other family members did the zip line also. I didn't know that Josh was doing it and didn't hear him yelling at me from the top of the tower and so I felt bad that I missed his big moment and didn't get any pictures or videos of him. I got a video of the three girls though and I did get Josh doing some fancy tricks on the bungee trampoline, including a double back flip!! Jaiden and Janelle got to go on the giant swing also and Josh and Brigham played some mini-golf. I would have liked to go on the zip line also since I like that sort of thing, but I didn't want to buy an extra pass for one activity. All in all it was a fun day and the kids couldn't stop talking about it! 

Josh, Jaiden, Janelle, Brigham, and I were the last ones there. We were there for over three hours! Everyone else had left to go back to the cabin for lunch. Some of the relatives came back and picked up Josh and Brigham and took them to go check out the booths and shops at Raspberry Days while the rest of us went and got some lunch, then Rick and I took a nap! 

Tonight we had a dinner -- macaroni and cheese and brisket. Janika and Brandon headed to the cabin from Logan tonight and arrived during dinner. After dinner Grandma had Jared give sort of a missionary homecoming report/talk. He did a great job (in spite of the fact that he still wasn't feeling well). After his talk he showed several pictures from his mission and then Rick showed everyone the homecoming video he had made with pictures and videos from Jared's mission. We then played a fun game called "Snake Oil." It was a funny game sort of like Apples to Apples -- but more entertaining since everyone had to come up with funny stories to defend their choice of cards. Then we all headed to bed! 

Bear Lake!!

Grandma Jensen had rented out a big cabin at Bear Lake from Thursday night to Sunday morning for the whole family to come stay. Some came for whole time and others only came for part of the time. It was a great idea and a lot of fun. Perhaps Mom and Dad Westra might want to think about doing something like this for all for the Westra family!   

Josh had come down with a cold a couple of days before we left. When Rick went to the train station in Ogden to pick up Jared (after staying with Ryan Dodson at BYU) it was apparent that Jared had gotten Josh's cold (they share a room at home). We were worried about going to the cabin and being around the whole family without having them tested for Covid first. So Rick called Curtis and arranged for them both to get the rapid Covid-19 test. 

Meanwhile Allison texted me and said that they were also having Clarissa (Jenna's best friend) tested in St. George at the same time the boys were being tested up here (hers was the regular test so we wouldn't find out the results for three days). Thankfully all three tested negative. Whew!! So although we were still worried about possibly spreading their cold, we could relax knowing that it wasn't Covid. It did put a damper on the trip for Jared though since he didn't feel well the first two days and pretty much skipped all of the activities and stayed in his room and rested. So that was disappointing! 

Thursday we left in the afternoon after Rick had returned from the clinic with the boys. I stopped in Logan to see Janika at her office. Now I can picture where she is at when she is at work. 

We all arrived in Bear Lake around 4:00. That night they had a delicious meal of Pulled Pork sandwiches and salads. They also had this huge snack table literally covered with snacks -- all sorts of candy, chips, and other junk food! The only thing that tempted me was those caramel corn puffs! Yum! That night everyone pretty much just relaxed. Rick led the family with some charade type games outside. The cabin had a ping pong and Foosball table and other games. 

 

Jared with Missionary Friends/Grub Club

This morning Rick and I both had interpreting jobs and then we headed up North in two separate cars (since we can't all fit into one car). My car dropped Jared off to BYU where he was meeting up with a former missionary companion (Ryan Dodson). A couple of other former companions met up with them and they all had a great time playing Spike Ball and hanging out. Jared stayed overnight at the BYU dorms with his comp and then caught the train to Ogden to meet up with the rest of us. 

Jared and Josh Bell

While I was dropping off Jared, Rick and Jaiden and Janelle stopped by Mom's to visit for a few minutes before meeting up with the rest of us at Murray Park where we were having a little get-together with the "Grub Club" (a group of friends we associated with when we were dating). All three of Rick's former roommates (at the time he and I were dating) came and another girl who was in the group.

We see Curtis and Steph all of the time, but the other three former roommates we haven't seen in probably twenty years! So it was fun to see everyone and catch up! Two of the wives didn't come though, so that was too bad as we would have wanted to see them too! We met at Murray Park and ate dinner and visited. The only bad thing was that our kids were bored and kept begging to leave and we wanted to keep visiting!  We then headed up to Ogden to spend the night before heading to Bear Lake!

(Rick Jensen, Curtis Healey, Gordon Jones, Eric Hoth) 

(Eric Hoth, Wendy and Rick Jensen, Curtis and Steph Healey, Gordon Jones, Marni and Shane Manning)