Jenna FSY 2025

 (Jenna) This week I had the incredible opportunity to go to fsy to me fsy has always been such an incredible place for me to be able to draw near to my savior. There is nothing like the feeling that you get when you’re there there’s nothing stronger than the relationships you build because they’re built through Christ. Going to FSY helped give me the motivation to keep on trying to show heavenly father that I want to come onto Him, and that I know the importance of living a virtuous life a life where I can make giving the Lord equal time, a daily habit, a life with pure desires, and a life of service. I came to know my savior even better on this trip and I’m so grateful that I was able to go. Every person I met and every lesson I learned will have a lasting impact on my life!

Gan en/Gratitude

Janelle and Bryton gave Rick and I a really special gift. It was a poem that Janelle wrote, with Calligraphy done by Bryton. The Chinese characters (gan en) mean "gratitude!" Love it! 

Janelle and Bryton at Lake Powell!!

 

Jaiden and Emily, Musical Number

 I felt bad missing and Jaiden and Emily's musical number in church today!! But I am SO glad that Jaiden got a recording of their practice to send me!! They sang, "How Great Thou Art," and it was beautiful!! 

How Great Thou Art

40's Hangar Dance

Jenna went to the 1940's Hangar dance with Ethan. Rick and I went last year and had a great time! I would have loved to go again, but it was the same weekend that Rick and I were going out of town. Jenna and Ethan went with Anna and Andrew. They all looked so cute!! 

Earlier that day...

Robbie and Deb Robinson!!

Rick has wanted to go visit Robbie Robinson for a long time and meet his new wife. Rick has always been really good friends with Rob and Michelle Robinson, ever since he met them on his mission. Some time after Michelle passed away, Rob met and married Deb. Since we were going to be in Vegas this weekend, Rick thought it would be a good idea to stay overnight at a hotel and then catch a flight to California go visit Rob and Deb. So that is what we did! We flew to California and rented a car and drove it to Upper Lake, which was quite a ways away. We met them at their trailer home and then went to a nearby diner for lunch and had a nice visit! Then we went back to their home and Rick felt prompted to offer to give them priesthood blessings. They accepted and were extremely touched. It was a neat, spiritual experience! On the way back Rick thought it would be fun to stop by the Cannings home to surprise them. I tend to think it is always better to call or text first, but Rick is a "drop in" kind of guy. Well, unfortunately they weren't home. That is why it is a good idea to ask first! Rick took a picture of us in front of their home and sent it to them. We stayed overnight at a hotel and then flew back to Vegas and drove home Sunday night. (Hopefully I have all of my facts straight. I am writing up this post several months after it happened.)

Josh Groban Concert

Rick and I went to Las Vegas for dinner and the Josh Groban concert with our friends, Laurie and Kyle  Larsen. Laurie was in Sunburst Singers with Rick in college. The live in Henderson and so we thought of them when booking our tickets and asked if they would want to join us! 

After dinner we were just chatting it up at the restaurant thinking we had plenty of time (we had checked the distance from the restaurant to the concert and it was just a few minutes). But we didn't take into consideration that we were walking, not driving!! So then we were booking it, walking as fast as we could, to get there on time! We barely made it into our seats just before the concert started! 

Josh Groban has such a beautiful voice and we love his music! We enjoyed the show, except we didn't enjoy Josh Groban's language! There were times when he threw in swear words that I felt was totally inappropriate for a nice concert! So we probably won't go again because of that. But other than that it was a fun getaway and double date! 

Southwest Choreography Showcase

Tonight we had the opportunity to watch Jenna dance at an end of year student-run showcase for the level 5 and 6 classes. Since there were still three weeks left after the final dance concert, the instructors decided to have the senior girls choreograph numbers for the level 5 and level 6 classes. They split the girls up into three groups and each group had two senior choreographers. They did a great job and it was fun having the opportunity to watch Jenna dance again!

   

Mother's Day Tea!!

We decided to do something a little different this year for Mother’s Day Tea. Last year we combined it with Father’s Day Flee and just dressed up in various hats and took some pictures. But it felt pretty anticlimactic, and the younger girls wanted to go back to how it was before. So, we decided to have our regular Mother’s Day Tea and dress up. 

However, we wanted to make it more of a celebration of our moms (and moms to be) than in the past and so we decided to have a “runway” where the girls could show off their costumes and pose while the host (Rick – “Shimmy Shawn,”) read a list of accomplishments from the past year with contributions from the husbands and kids. (You can read the script, which includes the list of accomplishments below). Rick had purchased balloons and sticks and put out a "red carpet" with a couple of our maroon blankets. 

We had some technical difficulties (the battery died in the camera, and we tried a couple of different phones. Jenna had to do her “runway” like three times. So next year I will need to make sure it is fully charged!) We also may have to shorten it a bit. After the runway we came upstairs for our tea party which included four step pudding and peanut butter bars (both made by Jenna yesterday) and fruit. I had a few bags of candy that I was going to pull out and then completely forgot!!

I think the best costume this year had to be Jenna, dressing up as me, from my wedding! 😂 She looked great!! Jaiden also killed it as Ken from the Barbie movie, and Janelle and Bryton looked great in their biker get-up. Jase and Ellen's family were so cute as the Little Mermaid characters, and I was Wendy (as in Wendy's hamburgers), and Rick was a random music artist from the 60's. He named himself "Shimmy Shawn." It was fun to get together and laugh at everyone's costumes and characters! 

We did our zoom call with Josh and talked to him for a while and then just chilled the rest of the evening. It was a fun day! 

Model Mothers Runway tributes 2025

Welcome to the first annual Model Mothers Runway show.  This event is a showcase of our mothers and mothers to be.  It displays the outstanding accomplishments of each of these women who have added so much to the world around them.  Before the show begins we’d like first acknowledge the mothers who were not able to attend this event.

·       Marjorie Westra

·       Carol Jensen

·       Janika Jenson

·       Hallie Jensen

We wish them a Happy Mother’s day in their respective places.

Now, onto the showcase of exceptional accomplishments, daring feats, and challenging obstacles that these women have faced within the last year.  The writeups of this program were created by those who share their love for these outstanding women.  We will begin with the potential modern mothers.

The potential Model Mothers

Janelle

Janelle has had a whirlwind of a year.  Currently she is attending BYU as a sophomore, studying Chinese and psychology.  Her hope is to obtain a MA degree in Occupational Therapy.  Though school has been a priority for Janelle, (and she does continue to get good grades even though there are constant complaints about her failing her Chinese tests), she did manage to land one of the most eligible and fantastic men at BYU.  Upon meeting this spectacular gentleman, she set up a date with him and challenged him to kiss her.  He was no match for her Hallmark strategy, and soon, she was able to affix a beautiful diamond on her ring finger.

Her biggest accomplishment of the year was to plan a wedding reception and wedding in St. George without actually being here. She and her new husband were also able to travel to exotic destinations while on their honeymoon, where they experienced various cultures, but most importantly, each other.  He provided me a list of Janelle’s accomplishments in no particular order: 

·       amazing academic report

·       best wife ever award

·       become successful at a new, challenging job

·       weekly temple attendance!

·       advanced mid on the Chinese test

·       started running and already passed me up

·       planned and helped make our wedding happen

·       moved to a new house and made it a home

·       learned how to cut my hair

·       written 2 papers that are super professional and took a lot of work

·       makes me feel like the luckiest guy ever every day!  

Congratulations Janelle on your outstanding year!

Jaiden

Since last Mother’s Day, Jaiden has been serving her mission in Mongolia! She turned 20, rode a camel, celebrated Naadum, ate sheep head, was involved with several baptisms, and was surprised with a Tsagaan Sar farewell party! Since returning home, Jaiden has been attending the temple almost every week and working as a Paraprofessional working at Arrowhead elementary in SPED. She has changed poopy diapers of both nephews, niece,  and students – which will prepare her for the challenges of motherhood.

Jaiden is currently looking for her true love. Though she thought she found them in the mission field, wearing a black name tag -  (both of them), her eyes will now be wide open as she embarks to FSY,  with young men wearing a new white name tag. She will be preparing to be an FSY counselor and will return to SUU in the fall, where she may meet someone with no nametag. We wish her the best of luck in her search in finding her true love.

Jenna

The youngest of the potentials, Jenna Jensen, believes she has different opportunities than her predecessor siblings. She believes this has caused her to excel in many areas.

·       In the past year Jenna danced with both Westside and Southwest dance and started working at Tuacahn.

·       She received the departmental award for Chinese and ended the year with a 4.0!

·       Her summer included FSY, Girls’ Camp, and a Church History Tour! 

·       Jenna auditioned for and made it into Madrigals

·       Jenna started dating and driving this last year!!! She is currently pinning her hopes and dreams on one local boy, but with her looks, personality, and creativity noticed by many young men (even in out of town restaurants), she has the potential to meet and date many more admirers.

·       During the past year Jenna and her friends went to the temple almost every Friday morning.

·       Jenna is finishing her sophomore year with 14 college credits! 

Way to go Jenna!

 

Ellen

This year has been a full and productive year for Ellen. Since last Mother's Day, she walked for her Masters Degree from SUU in professional communications that she received the previous December. With that degree she learned necessary skills for marketing and used that in two businesses she helped start while being a full time stay-at-home mom.

As a mother this year, she accomplished the following feats

• She changed approximately 1237 diapers
• She performed over 300 bedtime routines
• She successfully potty trained her oldest (and most dramatic) child
• She underwent a full 9 month pregnancy and gave birth to her first baby girl and first full term baby
• She produced hundreds and possibly thousands of ounces of breast milk
• She made over 100 dinners 

Ellen Jensen has been an astounding mother and provider for her family. She has wanted to move to St. George to settle down for sometime, but her husband continued to discourage her, saying it would be impossible for him to find the right job. Yes, one of Ellen's greatest accomplishments this year was making even this dream come true by applying for and receiving her own dream job opportunity that moved her entire family down right where she and her family wanted to be. Her hard work and experience in marketing paid off and she now enjoys working as the marketing director for Liberty Village and being a focused mom, supporting her children whenever she is home. In the words of her children:

“I love my mommy because she makes me yummy ice cream and takes me fun places. She reads me books at bedtime and whenever I ask nicely” -Evan

“Mommy is very nice and makes me lots of yummy food. She is kind and reads me stories and plays with me. I love to snuggle with my mommy.” -Eli

“Eeeenglurah” which is interpreted “I love mommy because she focuses so much on me. She makes me yummy milk and loves to hold me and play with me. I love when she comes home from work and gives me all the attention. My mom is so pretty and when she smiles it makes me smile. I could look at her all day” -Elsie

Congratulations on this astounding year Ellen. We look forward to hearing your accomplishments next year.

Wendy

What an outstanding year for this mother of 7 and grandmother of 5.  She makes her debut on the “Model Mother Runway” as someone whose experience and hard work is paying off in droves.

Wendy Jensen’s children have the following to say about their Mother’s accomplishments this year:

·       Janika says:  She has sent less accidental Marco polos to the group  hahaha but really she has given so much love to her grandchildren this year, they adore her. She has done tons of interpreting, serving in callings, and taking care of her family! We love Mom!

·       Jase says:  She has been so willing to help out with her grand babies since we’ve moved to St. George and even coming up to help out when we had Elsie. She has made our transition so easy. She has also been busy interpreting and serving others helping them feel supported

·       Jared says:  Mom has always been the best mom, but lately she has been showing she is the best grandma! She has accomplished many of the amazing book series I’ve recommended to her  but more importantly she always shows she’s a great listener and talks to me about them! I love mom!

·       Janelle says:  Mom has been a huge help for me making big changes in life and always being a listening ear when I was preparing to get married, even when I was a total mess. She has accomplished so much with interpreting and getting into different environments to work, like cruises! I am so thankful for Mom!

·       Jaiden says:  she has been working so hard and being so supportive, helping me to understand my goals and who I want to become and pushing me to achieve them. She was also a huge help to me on my mission, making sure I had all I needed and helping me feeling supported!

·       Josh says:  Mom has accomplished a lot this year -- one of her kids leaving on a mission, one returning, two getting married and having weddings, more grandkids being born, watching the grandkids and helping Jase and Ellen move to St. George, and also working at the same time! Mom has accomplished a ton this year.

·       Jenna says: This year I think that mom has achieved many things. She is so great and the most thoughtful mom anyone could ask for. I love my mom so much she has also become the most sweetest caring grandma. I love all of the long talks that we have. She is so beautiful and my best friend!! I love mom so much for how she always does everything that she can to help me with everything I do. I can remember her spending countless hours helping me with school projects and teaching me patiently to drive. I have also had so many crazy things happen with friends, but she has always been there to listen to me and I am so so thankful for that. Thank you so much mom for helping me with my goals and showing me the type of mother that I wanna be. Happy Mother’s Day!!

·       Her husband says:  Every mother’s day I’m grateful I chose you to bear and teach our children.  You have been and are a magnificent mother. Keeping track of all 7 children’s schedules, through marriages, missions, births and birthdays has been a milestone.  Well done MOM!

 

This concludes our Model Mothers Runway show.  We wish all of you a Happy Mother’s day!