Happy 18th Birthday, Jaiden!!

Facebook Post: This beautiful, bright, vivacious girl turned 18 today!! We used to call Jaiden Jensen our "little tornado." When she was a toddler, she was always on the go -- climbing, jumping, twirling, and creating havoc wherever she went! Today she is still constantly on the go with a myriad of activities. She is still leaping, twirling, singing, and creating! But these actions have been channeled into the beautiful art of performing and accomplishing great things, not only in the arts, but academically, and as a leader as well. Jaiden has always been brimming with personality and keeps us laughing with her fun sense of humor. She recently graduated from Snow Canyon High School and will attend SUU in the fall, majoring in Exercise Science. Our home will be way too quiet without her! We love you, Jaiden! Happy 18th Birthday!!!

Last Saturday I brought Jaiden birthday shopping at Runway Exchange and she bought a bunch of clothes. She also picked out a big yellow water bottle for her birthday. For her birthday dinner on Sunday she wanted pork tenderloins and so I purchased all of the ingredients for the meal and cooked that for our Sunday dinner. 

Jaiden spent the entire day of her birthday at an all-day dance rehearsal for her upcoming Senior Concert!  Then we had a family dinner and her friends, Emily Williams and Lizzie Bryner both brought over birthday gifts for her. The RS and YW presidencies also brought over treats. To celebrate tonight she and Maddox went to go see “Wonderland” at Tuacahn! I think she had a good birthday in spite of a busy day and being somewhat sick with a cold! Happy Birthday, Jaiden, we love you!!

Baby Everett is here!!

Everett Hayes Jenson: Born May 30, 2022 

Brandon sent us the following text Monday night: “Baby Everett came and hour or so ago. He gave us quite the scare when his heart rate dropped out of nowhere, low enough that about 6 nurses came into the room and then whisked Janika away. Once she got strapped to the c-section table his heart rate started to stabilize a little bit and we waited to see if he would continue to improve. Luckily, he did, and they never did figure out why that happened. They gave us the option to either go back to the room and wait it out and see if it happened again, and if it did, they'd rush into emergency c section again, or we can just go ahead and do a c-section now. We said a quick prayer and decided to just get a c-section right now, and all went well. Scariest hour or so ever though. Everett Hayes Jenson is 7.0 lbs even and 20 inches long, born at 6:17 PM.  Everyone kept commenting on how sometimes they get some not very cute babies but this one is so cute! We are so happy to have him here!!!!”

Brandon said later that the medical staff said that if they had decided to "wait it out," it might be another 12 hours of labor or more and that it is better to do a c-section while the baby is stable, rather than struggling). Since Janika had gestational diabetes, they were planning on inducing her a week early (her due date was this Friday), but then she tested positive for Covid. Then Brandon got it a few days later. So, they postponed her induction date a few days. Since Janika did such a great job of managing her blood sugars, I wondered if they would have her wait even longer until they were both over Covid for sure, but I am not sure what the protocol and reasons are for inducing early for pregnancies involving gestational diabetes. 

Having Covid complicated things. Because of that, there were no visitors allowed (besides Brandon) during her long night/day of labor and delivery, or in her recovery room. Janika and Brandon said that the medical staff were pretty chill in the labor room and they didn't have to wear masks in the room (I think they did when the medical staff was in the room), but in the delivery and recovery room they were very strict and the nurses and doctors had to wear full protective gear before coming in to the room and the baby was not even allowed to go to the nursery. So, Janika and Brandon had to start right off the bat taking care of him in their room in the hospital. It has been stressful, but so grateful that he is safely here!!! And he certainly is a cutie!!! 

Funny story -- Janika had a job interview scheduled for Thursday. She had asked if she could do it over zoom since she knew she would be giving birth a few days before. But she didn't know that she would have a c-section and still be in the hospital. She decided to go ahead and keep her appointment and do the interview over zoom from her hospital room. Thankfully she had a nice top she could wear, and chose a place that didn't show any hospital equipment. The interview was going along when she unknowingly lifted her hand up to her face. The interview stopped her and said, "Wait, do that again!" She was confused but lifted up her arm. He saw the hospital wristband and said, "Are you at the hospital?" She admitted that she was. He said, "You totally could have re-scheduled!" Well, two hours later he called her and offered her the job!" 

 

Janika's Last Day of Work!

Janika finally got Covid (the week she was supposed to give birth) and had to miss the last week of her job at this school, which was sad since she didn't get to say goodbye to anyone! 

Turtle Wall Hike

 Beautiful hike with friends! 

Jaiden's Graduation from Snow Canyon High School!!!

Jaiden graduated from Snow Canyon High School this morning! Jaiden has done very well in high school! She was incredibly involved (a little TOO involved) and accomplished a great deal! When she was doing Sterling Scholar the instructions said that they could link to one on-line document in their portfolio. She could have added a link to a page on the Distinguished Young Women website that had a nice picture and bio of her. That was one idea. Another idea was to link to a blog page. I recommended this to her because then she could basically copy and paste her entire resume into it and easily update it. So check out her blog: JaidenJensen.blogspot.com to get an idea of just how busy this girl was all throughout high school! After Sterling Scholar was finished I added her Sterling Scholar portfolio and some of her other awards to the blog. It is just a fun way to keep everything in one place. 

Now for graduation. Last year was the first time they had graduation on the football field and we ended up on the west bleachers and it was extremely hot and uncomfortable! So this year I vowed to show up an hour early to get seats on the east bleachers. It ended up being more like 45 minutes early, but still early enough for the good seats. It was well worth the extra wait. We were in the shade most of the time and the temperature was very comfortable. Our poor graduates were another story! First of all, the turf is apparently way hotter than the surrounding area. I could feel the temperature rise as soon as we walked on to the football field after the ceremony. Second, they got new caps and gowns this year (I was sad about that because I had just purchased Janelle's cap and gown last year and figured I would get a year off from buying new ones, because I figured that Jaiden could wear hers). But alas, it wasn't meant to be. They changed the caps and gowns so that everyone has the same gown (instead of blue for the boys and green for the girls, like they did in the past.) The material is also much thicker material and so our poor graduates were probably dying! 

Since Jaiden was graduating with a 4.0, she got to sit on the front row and be in the first group of students to graduate. (She is the first child in our family to graduate with a 4.0. The older four children all had a 3.9, which is awesome too!)  She also sang the musical number with the Madrigals. I scanned in the entire program and put it in Dropbox if anyone is interested in it. I also cut and pasted a few things from the program into a collage for this post. After graduation Rick and I took Jaiden out to eat at a restaurant called Bishops. Then Jaiden took a nap and headed to a dance rehearsal. (The busyness won't let up for her until her Senior recital is finished next weekend!) Then she headed to Grad Night with her friends! Congratulations, Jaiden!! (And congratulations to us as parents -- five down, two more to go!!) 

I just have to explain the significance of her "splits" picture. Just a few days ago a "memory" came up on Facebook that I had written in 2010 after Jaiden's kindergarten program: 

Right near the end of her kindergarten program, Jaiden gets down on the floor (in her dress) and does the splits. Ummm...sweetie, I don't think that is part of the program! I think only those of us in the front row saw her but I was laughing so hard that tears were rolling down my face!

You can see that post here: https://wendyjensen.blogspot.com/2010/05/kindergarten-program.html

Senior Showoff!!

Today was Senior Show Off!! Jaiden sang "To My Angels" from SuperYou the musical, while her friend, Gwendolyn Dooley played the piano!  

Executive Council Dinner

All of the executive council members and their parents were invited over to the Student Body President's house tonight for a nice catered dinner and humorous awards. It was nice! Rick and I commented on how we really didn't know most of these kids! Jaiden got the award, "Most likely to sing the national anthem at next year's opening assembly." It was fitting because Jaiden sang the national anthem SO many times at school events!! Jaiden enjoyed being on the executive council this past year, although it was A LOT of work!! 

Seminary Graduation!

Tonight was Seminary graduation for Jaiden! Jaiden and Emily were asked to do the musical number and they sang Rick's arrangement of "Israel Israel, God is Calling." If I am able to get a video of them singing it some time I will add it to this post. 'They did a nice job and the speakers did a good job also. I am so grateful for Seminary!! 

Jaiden -- Pre-School Graduation and Seminary Graduation! 

(Jaiden and Emily -- 5th grade and 12th grade!) 

Josh -- Student of the Year in Science!!

Josh got the "Student of the Year" award in Science for the Sophomore class! Way to go, Josh! He got 99% in his concurrent enrollment Chemistry class and finished the year with a 4.0. He also lettered in soccer! Congratulations, Josh! I went to the high school Academic Pep assembly to watch Josh and Jaiden get their school awards and Rick and I went to Josh's end of year soccer banquet in the school media center. They honored the seniors and served a delicious meal of teriyaki chicken, shredded pork, rice, salads, and desserts! Jenna had a "parent night" for her Leaps and Turns dance class at the same time and so I felt bad about missing that, but Jenna didn't seem to mind and they have their concert coming up next week anyway! 

Senior Spotlight

Tonight was a combined RS/YW dinner and program where they honored the young women who are graduating from high school and also graduating from Young Women and entering into Relief Society. The RS went all out! It was in the Parry's backyard and they had a full Luau with sticky rice, teriyaki chicken, shredded pork, cucumber salad, macaroni salad, fruit, and Allison's mini key-lime pies for dessert. The decorations were beautiful and they even had hula dancers! (One lady and a darling little four year old girl who also performed). 

The three graduates (Jaiden, Emily, and Alivia Erickson) sang "Glorious" while Brynn Wilde played the piano. Then we spotlighted the girls and they showed a video of pictures of them throughout the years. 

Senior Spotlight Questions:

Name: Jaiden Jensen

Favorite book: Catch Me If You Can

Favorite place to eat: Chick-Fil-A or Costa Vida

Hobbies/Talents: Singing, Dancing, Acting, Tumbling

Activities: Musical Theater, Madrigals, Executive Council. She also completed an Internship in Athletic Training. She dances with Southwest Dance and is currently preparing for her Senior Concert.

Favorite movie: Doesn’t have one, but her favorite Broadway play is Hairspray!

Biggest Fear: Spiders

Describe your daughter in 3 words: INVOLVED!!! Enthusiastic, Compassionate   

Interesting Fact: Jaiden played the part of SpongeBob in The SpongeBob Musical at Snow Canyon High School this past Fall. She was also 1^st Runner Up in Utah in the Distinguished Young Women Program. She is the Sterling Scholar for Speech and Drama, and recently won Runner Up in Region.

Plans after High school: Jaiden plans to attend Southern Utah University with the President’s Scholarship, rooming with her best friend, Emily Williams. She wants to major in Exercise Science.

What is your favorite thing about your daughter?

Jaiden is fun to be around! I love hearing about everything she is involved in. She is very passionate and has this beautiful smile that just lights up the stage. She loves to perform, and I LOVE watching her perform!   

Anything else you want to tell us about your daughter?

Jaiden cares about other people. She has been “blessed with the spiritual gifts of leadership and service.” She has been heavily involved in many fund-raisers and service projects this past year. But more than that, she reaches out to “the one.” She is very inclusive and goes out of her way to be a friend to others and treats others with respect. We are very proud of Jaiden and the amazing young woman she has become!

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Side note: For Sterling Scholar Jaiden had to get several letters of recommendation, and every one of them commented on her qualities of leadership, service, and friendship. One said, “Through her efforts over the years she has helped raise over $30,000 for those in our local community that were in need of assistance.” Another said, “she goes out of her way to be a friend to those who need a friend” and “She treats others around her with respect and is very patient with others.” Another said, “She can often change the mood of morning rehearsals by being present.” I love that each of these letters not only focused on her many achievements, but also her character and the way she treats other people! We love you, Jaiden!  

 

Senior Honors Night

Tonight was Jaiden's Senior Honors Night! We were a little worried because we "heard" that it could be up to three hours long! But it was only 90 minutes long, so we survived, ha ha! Maybe they spread that rumor so that people are pleasantly surprised when they get out "early!" 

Jaiden was awarded with lots of awards:  Academic Letter, Gold Warrior Shield, Eagle Warrior Award (Executive Council Leadership Award), Student Ambassador, Sterling Scholar, Academic All-State in not only one, but TWO, categories (theatre and vocal) and the Seal of Biliteracy! She was surprised when they informed her a few days ago that she was getting the Seal of Biliteracy. She had three years of Spanish in high school, but didn't think anything of it. But apparently her AAPPLE score earned her this award, along with just 12 other Seniors. She also received certificates for all of the college scholarships she was offered (along with all of the other Seniors on the program).  

Jaiden and Emily were asked to provide a musical number and they sang "Found/Tonight" an arrangement combining "You Will Be Found" from Dear Evan Hansen with "Tonight" from Hamilton. It was very pretty!

I was really touched at the end of the awards night when they announced the "Heart of a Warrior Awards." One in particular was a Hispanic girl who moved here from Honduras. The person announcing her told a little of her story. When she moved here she only had ten credits and so she was really behind. She also didn't speak any English. She passed her classes here by taking a picture of the assignments, translating them unto Spanish, doing the assignments in Spanish, and then translating them into English. She did this for EVERY ASSIGNMENT! I am not sure how this was done (Google Translate maybe?) The person explaining all of this leaned over and whispered something to her and then said "I was just telling her that I would explain all of this to her in Spanish later." 

Since I work as an interpreter I was shaking my head and thinking, "Why didn't the school bring in a Spanish interpreter for this awards ceremony? Here she is getting this really awesome award and probably doesn't even know what is going on!" She was standing on the stage in a full-length red satin prom dress while the audience was cheering and clapping and giving her a standing ovation. I had no idea who she was, but I was so touched by her story that I had tears running down my face. I get so excited about all of the awards and accomplishments that my children receive, but forget that there are so many students who don't have the same kind of privileges and support that our children have. Tonight was a humbling reminder of all of students that go to our school that struggle everyday in areas that we simply take for granted. I felt grateful that we could be there to see her receive this honor. As Auggie Pullman stated in the book Wonder, "Everyone should get a standing ovation at least once in their life...!"