Jensen Update -- September

Homecoming: Jaiden was on Homecoming Royalty and so she was in the Homecoming Parade and Homecoming Assembly, and then she ended up winning Homecoming Queen!! Click HERE for the full post. The video is below (scroll in 3:00 for the announcement):  

Jaiden went to Homecoming with Lane Reeves and had a great time. 

Janika and Brandon came down for the weekend and went to Count of Monte Cristo at Tuacahn Saturday night. 

Evan's Baby Blessing was on September 5th so it was nice that Janika and Brandon were with us for that! 

Jenna sang a solo at the Stake Baptism and did a great job (I accidentally put that down in August, but it was actually September.)

Our family helped put up and take down flags for Labor Day. 

The YM/YW went boating. Josh missed it due to work. Jenna was able to stand up to surf holding the rope and Jaiden was able to throw in the rope and surf. 

Jaiden retook the ACT. She went up four points in Science, but down two points in English. The other two remained the same. So her superscore was two points higher overall and her regular score was one point higher overall. 

Jenna's choir sang at the 9/11 Commemoration at the Town Square. 

The girls sang, "I'm Trying to Be Like Jesus" in Sacrament Meeting. Click HERE to hear their song.

Josh has been busy with soccer. He is on two teams and so he has several hours of practice a week along with a few games each week. When he doesn't have practice he sends out a text to a group text list asking who wants to go to the high school to practice even more soccer. 

On September 17th Rick and I went to hear Jaiden and Janelle sing the National Anthem at our local "Constitution Day" at the Santa Clara City Hall. 

 

 Jenna and I came up North for Evan's Baby Shower. It was well attended and turned out very nice. It was nice to have a little get-away and visit with family! 

Grandma and Grandpa Westra came down the next week. They came to see Josh's soccer game on Monday night and then went to see Count of Monte Cristo at Tuacahn on Tuesday night. Scott stopped by for a visit on Wednesday, since he and Amy were also in town, and then Dad and I went to see Josh's other soccer game. Thursday we brought Mom and Dad to see Jase and Ellen and Evan and their apartment. Jared came over also in order to visit with them. It was fun to have them come! I just realized that I didn't take any pictures to document their visit! That's not like me! 

Janelle and I went on the Temple Quarry hike. Go to the blog for more pictures and details!  

The next weekend was Swiss Days. Jaiden sang with the Madrigals and Jenna sang with her choir.

This was the first year that no one in our family has run the Swiss Days 5K! Josh probably would have, but he had a soccer game in Cedar City that morning. My friends and I hiked the Kanarra Falls. Click HERE for pictures. 

Rick and I were the sacrament speakers in the ASL Branch. I used my hike with Janelle as the object lesson for my talk! (Click HERE for my talk).

I had really been enjoying interpreting for several classes at Dixie State University. But then two students dropped out and I lost all of my classes. I was SO disappointed! I still have plenty of interpreting jobs, as always, but I really loved those classes! 

Janelle and I both happened to have the same day off and so I went walking at the sand dunes at Snow Canyon with my friend and then brought Janelle shopping for shoes for her mission. I brought Janelle walking with us last time we went. 

A friend of mine (another interpreter who is a young mom with three young children) asked if I would present at a little mothers group that she held once a month. Since this was a group of younger moms I  I presented about the ticket system that we did with our kids when they were younger.

That is our September!! 

Jaiden Leadership Conference at SUU

(Jaiden) I went to a leadership camp at SUU! There we had some key note speakers, who gave really good talks about social cues and the little things that make up a good leader, and how we need to act as a group instead of alone! At the camp we got the chance to talk with other schools about challenges or problems our school was facing, and then together we came up with plans and ideas to fix them. We also played lots of fun games and had different competitions for prizes. It was a super fun day and I loved it!

Jaiden: Football Games!!

August 13:  Today's theme must have been tourists!

August 20: Tonight's theme was Camo!!  

September 3: (Homecoming) Red-White-and Blue -- Out!!

Kanarra Falls

A couple of months ago one of my friends sent out a group text to our "Girls' Night Out" friend group (this group is mostly interpreters, but also includes a few deaf and hard of hearing friends). She asked if anyone wanted to hike Kanarra Falls, which are in Kanarraville, just south of Cedar City. She said that we would need to buy a permit for $12.00 and that they sell our really fast. So we all snatched up a permit. Several ended up cancelling, but we still had a good group. It was so beautiful and fun to visit while we hiked. 

This particular hike goes through narrows and so a good portion of the time is wading through very cold creek water! But it wasn't too bad since we were in and out of the water and not waking through it the whole time. We are actually standing in water in the pictures by the falls. Our feet were freezing and so we were trying to hurry and take the picture so that we could get out of the water! In the picture of me standing by the falls you can barely tell that my feet are actually under water! I knew the others would be wearing Chaco type sandals, but I didn't think I could do a whole hike in sandals and so I opted to wear my running shoes even though I knew that they would get wet. It turned out fine though and my feet were happy and comfortable on the hike. I was glad I went!  

 

Temple Quarry Hike

 
My appointments today cancelled at the last minute and so Janelle and I decided to go on a hike. It turned into quite the adventure! Rick and I had been asked to speak (sign) in the ASL Branch this Sunday and I so shared the experiences from our hike for my talk. Here it a portion of my talk!  

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A few days ago, my daughter and I decided to go hiking. It was a beautiful morning, and the planned hike was a simple two mile walk on a gravel path. We walked along the trail and enjoyed the beautiful view as we visited while walking. When we were near the end of the trail my daughter explained that this was a good place to hike to the top so that we could see the full view of the valley. This meant going off the trail and scaling the mountain. I looked up at the boulders and steep sides of the mountain and expressed my nervousness about attempting to climb it. But my daughter was confident and said that she had climbed it before with her friends and that the view would be worth it. I was hesitant but decided to go ahead and try it.  

As we started to climb, I looked down and started to imagine what would happen if we were to accidentally slip or fall. I was very nervous and said that I didn’t know if this was such a good idea. My daughter encouraged me to keep going and we finally arrived at the top. It was indeed a beautiful view!! We walked around and took some pictures and then decided that we had better get back. The sun was out in full force now and I no longer had any water left. I was tired and starting to get hungry and I hadn’t brought any food along.

I saw a dirt road and wondered where it led. Surely that would be better than having to climb down the steep sides of the mountain! We started walking on the dirt road. After walking quite a ways we could see that the road was leading us farther and father away from where we needed to be. So, we turned around and started the long walk back to the place where we were before. Only now we couldn’t find the place we had gone up and wondered how we would get back down. I was getting nervous and started to pray.

I realized that it had been a mistake to leave the trail to climb up the mountain with no one to guide us. But it was too late now and so our only choice was to hike back down. We needed help finding the location to hike down. I prayed and asked my daughter to pray also. We continued to search for a place we could hike down. Finally I looked over and saw a stack of rocks. My daughter had explained that a stack of rocks was called a cairn (KA-REN) and cairns were used to help hikers know where to go. I knew that Heavenly Father had answered our prayers by helping us to find the cairn. I felt happy and relieved. We were able to climb down and make it back to the trail safely, which was such a relief!    

I would like to compare our hiking experience with the Plan of Salvation. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ placed us here on earth to get a body, be tested, learn and grown and become more like them. They want us have joy and so they provided us with a beautiful plan called the plan of salvation.  

We can become disciples of Jesus Christ by following Heavenly Father’s plan. This plan brings us blessings, peace, and joy. His plan also includes commandments. This is similar to the hiking trail. When we walked on the trail, we were safe. We knew where to go. We were on the right path. If we went off the trail, we were in danger of becoming lost.  

Hiking up the rocks was stressful and dangerous. Likewise, if we decide to ignore God’s plan and follow our own plan, we can become lost. Some people think that God’s plan is boring, while going off His path may seem enticing and dangerous. Some may think that God’s plan is too limited with no freedom. However, following God’s plan actually gives us more freedom. When people don’t follow God’s plan, they often lose their freedom to choose.   

The good news is that God gives us many opportunities to repent and change even if we have already gone off the path. My daughter and I went off the path and then didn’t know how to get down. We needed to look to God for help to get back to the trail. God knew that His children would sometimes make mistakes and go off the path. So, He allowed His son, Jesus Christ, to atone for us so that we could repent. We can repent and ask for forgiveness and get back on the path. We all can become disciples of Jesus Christ. We might be on the path. We might be off the path. Wherever we are we can start now to move forward in the right direction.   

I am so grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know Jesus Christ has a plan for us. He loves us. He was willing to come to earth in humble circumstances. He was willing to give His whole life teaching and serving others. He was willing to suffer for all our sins and He was willing to die for us. I pray that we can all become disciples of Jesus Christ by following His path and His will.

Evan's South Jordan Baby Shower!!

Friday afternoon I watched Jaiden and Janelle sing the National Anthem at the Constitution Day ceremony at the Santa Clara City Hall. After that Jenna and I headed up north! We had stopped at the library and picked up some books on CD and ended up listening to The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson) since I had never read it before. Jenna practically has it memorized and so she let me know if the CD ever skipped or messed up! We stopped at Costa Vida in Fillmore on the way and I ran into Craig Johnson -- a former boyfriend from my USU days! So that was fun to visit with him and his wife, Jackie, for a few minutes!  

I dropped Jenna off to stay at her cousin Rella's house and Ani was invited to sleepover too. So they had a fun time! I headed to my mom's and we stayed up and watched a movie called "Gattaca," which was an older movie, but really good! The next morning Mom and I did an exercise swim. Later that evening we headed to the shower in South Jordan. There was a really good turn out! From our side of the family we had me and Jenna, Grandma Westra, Alicia, Adria, and Rella Westra, Danielle and Ani Westra, Kim Westra, and Jen Blackham and Sol Blackham. Gerilyn and Grandma Jensen came down from Ogden. They had more family and friends from their side of the family.

It was fun to visit with everyone and show off baby Evan! Ellen received lots of nice gifts for him! Unfortunately, Evan came down with Covid six days later and we wonder if he picked it up from the shower with everyone holding him and passing him around. But no one was sick that we know of so I guess we will never know for sure if he picked it up there or somewhere else.

Jenna went back to the Westra's house and went to church with them on Sunday and I stayed at my mom and dad's house and went to church with them. I left later than expected and Alicia invited me and Jenna over for a delicious dinner before we headed back to St. George. It was a fun little get away! 

Constitution Day

On September 17th Rick and I went to hear Jaiden and Janelle sing the National Anthem at our local "Constitution Day" at the Santa Clara City Hall. There was a short thirty minute ceremony and then everyone rang a bell. The ceremonies were held at various city halls throughout the area with everyone scheduled to "ring the bell" at the same time. The girls did a great job, but the ceremony was outside right next to the street and so it was very noisy and distracting with all of the passing traffic. The Mayor said that they wanted to make this an annual tradition, but next year they would block off the street for the thirty minute ceremony. 

Here is them singing the song at home:

Girls' Singing I'm Trying To Be Like Jesus

The girls sang in our ward today and did a beautiful job! I wish I had gotten a better video than this, I was standing next to the music and so it is hard to hear some of the girls, but better than nothing! 

Jaiden's Exec Sweater

Jaiden got her Exec Sweater! She loves it! I hope so, since our cost was for it was over $230.00. She thinks the school subsidized some of it too. 

9/11 Commemoration

Today was the 20th anniversary of 9/11. It was designated a day of service. Janelle, Jenna, and I went to join our ward in picking up garbage along Santa Clara Drive, but we were late and it was finished by the time we arrived. Then Janelle and I went to listen to Jenna's Choir sing "We Remember" at the commemoration ceremony at town square. They had a prayer by a Jewish Rabbi (who I believe was in New York at the time of 9/11) and a moment of silence and also a talk by someone in the police force who was also there. It was a touching service. I can't believe that it has been 20 years. I will never forget where I was and what I was doing when I heard about the horrific events of 9/11. 

Here is Jenna's Choir. I am off to the side and so at a terrible angle for filming. Jenna is on the front row, right next to the boys. Jaiden spent the morning taking the ACT again and Josh had a soccer game.

Janika and Brandon invited Landon and Sol over for a service project -- making a blanket for refugees. 

Homecoming Dance!!

Jaiden had a blast at both the day date (Veyo Roller Rink) and the Homecoming dance tonight! (Even if she did have to spend most of the day Friday setting up for it and a couple of hours after the dance taking down all of the decorations!) Drawbacks of being a school officer, I guess! I tried to get a picture of her with her Homecoming Queen crown on, but she wouldn't let me -- said it would mess up her hair! 

                                                                    We LOVE this picture!! 

Evan's Blessing Day!!

Today Evan was blessed in his mom and dad's ward at noon. Some of our family members from up north were able to join in via zoom. Ellen made his cute little blessing outfit! Jase gave a beautiful blessing. After church we had a luncheon at our house of pulled pork sandwiches, salads, and desserts. It was a beautiful day!

Bake Family

Ellen'a Grandparents on both sides were able to come. One from South Jordan, and the other clear from Idaho!! 

Jaiden Homecoming Queen

Gracie Newbie (Senior Class President) showed up on our porch dressed in a suit with a funny wig, asking for Jaiden. When Jaiden came to the door Gracie did a little dance singing, "You're on royalty, you're on royalty, you're on royalty!!!"  

Apparently being on royalty is quite a big deal here at Snow Canyon High School -- and it is actually a bit time consuming! Since Jaiden is the Activities Rep for SCHS, she already had an extremely big week ahead of her helping to plan Homecoming Week. And now not only was she helping to plan the Homecoming Parade and Assembly, she also needed to be IN the parade and assembly. 

I asked my kids how one comes to be on royalty. They said that they give out a list of all of the seniors to the student body, asking them to circle the top 5 or 6 guys and girls that they would like to nominate to be on royalty. Then all of the votes are added up and the top six guys and girls are the royalty for that particular dance. Then some members of the exec council set out to do silly announcements to the winners letting them know that they are on royalty.  This year those announcements included things like going into someone's room early in the morning to wake them up, shooting water or silly string at someone, dressing up in a gorilla costume, doing a silly dance on someone's front porch and so forth. They record all of these and make a video which they show during the Homecoming assembly along with a video of all of the interviews they do of the royalty members. 

The royalty members are divided into groups and are asked to plan a skit to be performed during the assembly. Rick and I came to watch the assembly. Jaiden had asked Josh to be her escort.  After the assembly they had everyone vote for a Homecoming Queen and King through a voting poll on their devices and planned to announce the winners at the homecoming game that night. 

The skits... Jaiden's group did a skit from Barbie Life in the Dream House. I had never heard of it but apparently they have. Who knew that high school students watch Barbie Cartoons?

Jaiden goes to every game she can and always dresses up according to the theme for that game. The theme for tonight was " USA Out!" Thus the red, white, and blue clothes and paint! At the beginning of the second quarter she changed and met the rest of the royalty at the end of the stadium. During halftime they announced all of the members of royalty along with their parents as they walked on to the field. Then Wally the Warrior ran back and forth behind the students, finally placing the crown on the winners! (Jaiden Jensen, Homecoming Queen and Spencer Hale, Homecoming King!) 

Then the royalty rode golf carts around the track...

(Pictured) Jaiden with the other girls who were on royalty (missing one). 

Snow Canyon ended the night with a big win and celebrated with fireworks. It was a fun evening!!