Christmas!!

Christmas morning we headed out to Ogden to visit with Grandma Jensen and Gerilyn and other family members you were at the house. We opened presents from Grandma. She made these darling wooden gifts for Easter for the kids' hope chests. She also made a beautiful quilt for me and Rick. They had tons of food leftover from the party last night and we ate both lunch and dinner there and just visited throughout the day. We were also able to call Jaiden over zoom. Jaiden was bubbly and had lots to say and funny stories to share. She had us all laughing! 

We wanted to see Curtis and Steph while we were up there, but Steph wasn't feeling up to it, so we headed back to Shane and Alicia's just in time for a second dinner! I told them that we had already had dinner, but we managed to eat a little more, ha ha! Then the cousins hung out and played video games and some of us watched a Christmas movie. 

Westra Christmas Eve Party!

 I will add some details later, but here are a few pics! 

Early Christmas at the Airbnb

 this morning...

Christmas Eve at the Westras!!

 (I copied and pasted this post from my sister, Jen!) 

Christmas Eve, with soup and the slideshow and the candy bar game, is an annual tradition for the Westra family. This year, everyone traveled to Alpine to gather in Shane and Alicia's lovely new home. Built for entertaining, it was a great place to get together for food, family and fun. 

There were several soups ...Jen's Chicken Noodle was not gluten-free, but all the others were! Kim's Ham and Bean soup, Danielle's Sweet Potato Sausage,  Janika's Cheesy Potato and Broccoli, Alicia's Creamy Chicken and Rice. There were gluten-free Brazilian Cheese Rolls, and gluten-full breadsticks, dinner rolls and orange rolls. The breadsticks and cheese rolls were baked on the premises (best fresh out of the oven) and Grandma's Kitchen (just a hallway away) came in handy, even with the double ovens in Shane and Alicia's kitchen. There were chips and dips and cheese roll, and SO many desserts!

There were several tables for eating. Plenty of space. Lots of food! Got some pictures in Santa hats and other festive accoutrements. Then it was time to review the past year ... the calendars were passed out, and the slideshow was up on the screen. This year's soundtrack was "Gonna Be Good" by Bloom and the Bliss, "Moments to Memories" by Adeline Hill, "Stars in the Sky" by Kid Cudi (Sonic Soundtrack) and "These Are The Best Days" by PinkZebra. Beyond the birthdays, holidays, school stuff, this was a big HOUSE year, with major moves and other renovations and remodels. See the calendar pages and a slideshow HERE. 

Then it was time for THE CANDY BAR GAME ...

The crew moved to the basement for a little more open an area.

Just to note, lots of things in the center were NOT candy bars.

... here's a little video of the action. 

https://youtu.be/cSj8K-bzn3M?si=ScpcPkoqx_mnQ1Xj

Until next year!

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a goodnight!

Jensen Christmas Eve!!

We celebrated Christmas Eve early on December 22nd. Jase and Ellen had come down the day before. We were worried because Ellen and Evan had come down with a bad cold and so we debated what to do, but they still wanted to come as planned and so they arrived on Wednesday. Thursday I prepared a dinner of ham, cheesy potatoes, pretzel jello, yams, vegies, and rolls -- which is more than I usually do for Christmas Eve. Jenna was a big help again and dinner was delicious! 

After dinner was cleaned up, Rick gave a very nice Christmas lesson. After his lesson he had the kids dress up for the Nativity. He had brought the manger over from the Seminary building and his bag of seminary costumes. The costumes were in pretty bad shape and so Rick dropped the whole bag off to the DI the next day, since he won't be teaching in the classroom any more. I realized that the headband Josh was wearing as Joseph was the belt to my bathrobe, which has been missing for years! I would have been excited about that find except for the fact that someone had cut it in half and so it no longer fit around my waist! Oh well! Jared and Josh were goofing off with the costumes... which is why Josh is wearing a French Beret (not exactly Bethlehem attire, haha) and Jared is wearing a sheep hat with a shepherd costume. Those two things ruined the effect, but baby Eli still looked adorable dressed up as baby Jesus!  

After the lesson the kids opened up their "home-made" sibling gifts. Jenna gave Jared a "dating kit." The basket contained home-made cookies, candy, and a jar filled with dating ideas that she had printed off. Jared wrote a book for Jase and Ellen, written from the perspective of Evan! It is pretty hilarious! Jase and Ellen made Jenna home-made soap in the shape of Phineas and Ferb! Jaiden made Janika and Brandon a Christmas sign (but gave it to them later when we went up north. Apparently I forgot to get a picture of that!) Janika and Brandon made Josh this awesome cute book. She had gathered up thoughts from family and friends of why we love Josh and added pictures and had the book printed. It turned out really nice! Josh made Jenna a "photo-shoot kit" with props for a photoshoot.  Then Rick passed out gifts to everyone, which was the matching hoodies you see below. It was a fun night! 

Jase, Ellen, Evan, and Eli in their matching jammies! So cute! 

SNOW!!

 The kids are always excited when it snows over our Christmas Break stay up north! 

Cousin Time!!

 One of the best things about Christmas Break is Cousin Time!! 

Layla made this darling picture for Jaiden! It is Jaiden as Spongebob with Layla! So cute!! 

Merry Christmas!!

Skyping our missionary, Janelle!! Janika and Brandon were able to join us over zoom, but we weren't able to get a hold of Jase and Ellen! 

Christmas Eve at Grandma Jensen's House

Rick found a dozen or so rounds of slides in his mom's basement and took them home and digitized them all for a Christmas present for her. He played a slideshow of them all during dinner and everyone enjoyed them. We had a delicious dinner and then Gerilyn taught a lesson and the kids did a little nativity. Then Santa came and passed out presents. Jared had the privilege this year and he was so hilarious! He had everyone laughing with his jokes and quick wit! 

Then we went into the front room for presents! This year Grandma made these darling patriotic signs for all of the grandchildren for their hope chests! Jenna and Jaiden had fun holding Chantel's baby girl,  Ruby!  

Early Christmas Day

Last night after we finished all of the Christmas Eve festivities I asked Rick, "Did you get anything for the stockings? Because I didn't!" He said he didn't either. Woops! I asked if anyone would be terribly disappointed if I didn't put the stockings out.  I mean I could always fill them with fruit from the fridge, ha ha. They said that they didn't care and so I just left them on the mantle this year. The married kids slept over and we all got up around 8:00 to open presents. 

The kids had picked out most of their presents and so there weren't very many surprises. The caroler sweatshirt for Josh was a joke. He ordered all of his gifts on Amazon and I mentioned that he wouldn't be getting any surprises. He still had a little bit of money left in his budget though and said that we could get him one surprise. Rick is constantly talking about the Hands in Harmony Carolers and saying that if only Josh would do it then he could have a caroling group again. So I joked that Dad would probably get him a Hands in Harmony Caroler sweatshirt. He totally thought I was serious and was whining and complaining over the very thought of that. I told Rick about it and he thought it would be funny to get him one. So he pulled an old caroler sweatshirt out of the closet and told her to add the words, "I want to be a (Hands in Harmony Caroler)." But this sweatshirt version actually said "Hands in Harmony Carolers," instead of "Caroler" and so she put "I want to be in (Hands in Harmony Carolers) 2022." The sweatshirt was from 2012 and so she easily turned the 1 into a 2! It certainly got the desired reaction out of Josh, haha, but before he said something he would regret, I assured him that the sweatshirt was NOT actually his surprise! The family did get a couple of surprise gifts, like the new Jackbox games. They had fun with that throughout the day. 

Janika and Brandon surprised us with this cute sign that says "Grandma and Grandpa's Treasures." It wasn't quite finished, but they added some ribbon and clothes pins so we can hang up pictures and drawings (someday) that they grandkids will do. We love it! 

Visiting the Grandparents

After leaving the cousins we headed to Ogden to go visit Grandma Jensen. She was ready with a nice dinner for us. After dinner she let the girls open their gifts from her. She had made these darling Christmas pictures out of wool for all of the grandkids! 

She also had a really nice Suunto watch for me and a soft minkie blanket for Rick and Christmas money for us. Grandma had cases of food storage as a gift for all of the grandchildren. We barely fit it all into our car the next day! There were six cases for each person! Whew! I am so grateful for Grandma Jensen and all she does for us. She really spoils us! Tonight we just visited and the kids watched the movie, Ratatouille. Our niece, Chantel, left two big boxes filled with hair products for the girls to take home. They had fun going through them all and choosing what they wanted! The next morning we visited some more and Jaiden helped Grandma set up her new watch. After lunch we headed to SLC to visit Grandma and Grandpa Westra. 

I forgot to get pictures at Grandma Westra's house. Grandma Westra spoils us too and prepared a nice roast beef dinner for us. For Christmas she had given us and our children money in their Roth account. I love how she is helping to prepare us and our children for our future by teaching us about finances and putting money away in a Roth account that can accrue interest through the years. Chris and Corin were there when we arrived and so we were able to visit with them a little. After dinner Alicia brought the kids to come visit. The cousins played on the Wii while the adults played Rummikub. Then Alicia brought Adria and Calder back home since Adria had to work the next morning and Rella stayed and slept over with the girls. We stayed up and watched a Christmas movie. 

The next morning I did an exercise swim with my mom. I always enjoy this when I come visit since we can exercise and get a nice visit in at the same time. The kids had fun playing with Rella and then we packed up and headed to Lindon to meet Alicia at a parking lot off the freeway to drop off Rella to her. Our car was so packed that we could barely squeeze her in! I was grateful that the weather was good and the roads were clear on the way home. The kids had wanted to be home in time for New Year's Eve. We didn't have our traditional New Year's Eve dance party this year. It is the first year in many years that we haven't had it -- so it was different. In fact, Janika and Brandon texted asking what time the dance party was so that they could skype in! I didn't really mind not having it since I was tired from traveling though. Jase and Ellen stopped by for a bit and so I gave them their gifts from Grandma. 

Josh went to a party at Lilly's house (I think). Janelle had to work and then went to a party at Brea's house. Jaiden went to a party at Emily's house and Jenna also went over to the Williams to hang out with Clarissa and then they came back here to ring in the new year! 

2020 Recap of the Jensen Family

Here is our Christmas Newsletter for 2020...

 2020 impacted us all with a worldwide pandemic, political and civil unrest, and the presidential election. But it was also a year that contained numerous blessings. Along with the shutdowns came a life with a slower pace, more family time, and more opportunities for reflection. In March we received a new daughter as Jase and Ellen were married in the Draper temple for time and all eternity. They were married on Saturday, March 14th. On Monday, March 16th temples across the world were shut down because of the pandemic. How blessed we were to be able to be in the temple with our family and friends to witness that sacred event! They had a beautiful reception. The St. George reception had to be cancelled, but we were so grateful that they were able to still have their reception in South Jordan and were still able to go on their planned honeymoon! 

A few days after their reception, those of us who stayed in Salt Lake experienced the earthquake that happened on March 18th. First a pandemic, and then an earthquake! Like the rest of you, we never came back to school in person after spring break. Although there were some stresses concerning the shutdown, it was also a time we enjoyed (at least I did). I was out of work for a few months and although I missed that income, I enjoyed being home. Church at home was a sacred experience. Our children really stepped up to the plate in planning and teaching their assigned lessons and we felt the guidance of the spirit. 

April brought Easter and our Masquerade Ball! Since Senior Ball was cancelled for Janelle we decided to throw our own family prom at home. In honor of Covid we made it a Masquerade Ball with home-made masks and a model run-way as everyone modeled their masks. We got some hilarious video footage from this event! 

May was Mother's Day -- which for the Jensen family means "Mother's Day Tea!" Janika and Brandon surprised me by driving clear from Logan for the weekend to celebrate Mother's day with us. 

At the end of May Jared returned home from his mission! He loved his mission and we loved his letters and phone calls each week. His return home brought additional insights as the family studied the scriptures. He also brought more energy and laughter, a much higher volume of noise, and the need to increase our grocery budget! 

In June, our family enjoyed Father’s Day Flee at a cabin in Pine Valley with our good friends, the Healeys. Then we had the opportunity to perform a special musical number with handbells for my dad for Father’s Day at our annual Father’s Day party in Draper! Click HERE to listen! 

July included a fun camping trip to Navajo Lake with our good friends the Williams! 

In August Grandma Jensen rented a big cabin in Bear Lake. We had fun spending time with the entire family and enjoyed great company, delicious food, a fun day at Bridgerland Adventure, and time on the lake! We also got to go visit Brandon's family at their cabin and go boating with them!  

August was back to school -- with masks and social distancing. We were grateful that both our girls were able to attend the Homecoming dance since many of the other dances were cancelled or postponed. Two or three months later our entire family tested positive for Covid (except for Janika and Brandon who were up north). The amount of illness ranged from no symptoms (Jenna) to almost all of the symptoms, albeit fairly mild (Wendy), to completely down in bed for two weeks (Rick). Josh was fortunate that he was able to finish his entire fall soccer season before getting Covid. Janelle had to miss 24 days of school due to quarantines! It was truly a miracle that Jaiden and Janelle (and the rest of the cast) were  able to still participate in their Musical Revue at the high school. You can listen to the girls' touching duet "Some Things are Meant to Be" from Little Women HERE or on Facebook HERE. 

Everyone was healthy for Thanksgiving and the week before Christmas Rick and I were able to go to Mexico! This was our first time trying out an all-inclusive resort (Ocean Maya Royale in Playa del Carmen) and it was so much fun! We were able to see the sights and swim in the rivers at Xcaret and go visit Chichen Itza. We also enjoyed just relaxing at the resort and eating all of the delicious food!   

So that brings us up to date for the year! Rick is currently teaching Seminary at Dixie High School and was recently offered a new part-time position in addition to the classes he is already teaching. He is now the ASL coordinator and adviser for the United States and Canada. He is excited and overwhelmed with this new opportunity! Rick also continues to work as an interpreter for the Deaf part time. He  serves on the High Council and Wendy serves in the Young Women Presidency. Wendy stays busy keeping track of the children's schedules and carpools and also continues to work as in interpreter for the Deaf.  

This is what the kids had to say about 2020...

Janika and Brandon: 

2020 has been a whirlwind, but we have been so incredibly blessed along the way!! Every night as I kneel down to pray my heart is just overcome with gratitude. We began the year with a trip to Kauai with Brandon's family that was a dream! A few weeks later life shut down and we were able to work from home together for about a month. Brandon graduated with a double bachelor's in marketing and business administration and kept working at Cache Valley Bank up until a few weeks ago. He recently accepted a job offer as the marketing operations analyst for JobNimbus in Lehi, so we packed up and moved just before another cold Logan winter! With this job came another surprise Hawaii trip, this time to Maui! I'm still working through my master's program in school counseling and will begin a practicum in the spring at a local elementary school. My classes have been online for most of the year, but I think I honestly like that format better. Now we're just adjusting to life in a new area and on the hunt for a new home. Stay tuned for when we become homeowners in 2021!

Jase and Ellen: 

The first few months of this year were a blur of wedding planning, apartment searching, work/school, and spending all of our spare time together. March brought Covid - but also our wedding! We were sealed in the Draper Utah Temple and were blessed to be able to share our sealing with many of our friends and family members. Following our sealing, we were able to have the most perfect reception in South Jordan, then leave for our honeymoon in Cozumel, Mexico. In Mexico, we were able to visit ruins at Tulum and Coba, go snorkeling, go swimming in a cenote, and enjoy lots of time on the beach. Due to Covid, we were able to celebrate home Prom with Jase’s family. In May, we adopted our cat, Sweet Pea, from the local animal shelter. Sweet Pea was scared of the other cats, and since adopting her, she’s gained plenty of weight and become excessively energetic (especially at 4 in the morning). Jase was also nominated to be the Chemistry and Biochemistry Student of the Year in May. During the summer we spent lots of time with each of our families. We celebrated Father’s Day with Jase’s Family; then, we spent time with Ellen’s family when they visited Saint George. During Father’s Day Flee, Ellen was able to enjoy shooting paintballs at an unarmed Jase wearing shorts, and when Ellen’s family visited, we were able to drive side-by-sides at the sand dunes. In July, we went camping near Duck Creek with our friends, Shantell, Brekkon, Liz, and Kendrik.

Once school started again, we got swamped; but in September Ellen’s sisters, Lexie and Sophie were able to visit for a sister’s weekend in Saint George. We spent the end of September and the beginning of October in quarantine after we got Covid-19, but after we were healthy again, we were able to visit Ellen’s mission in Jacksonville, Florida. We were able to stay with two families from Ellen’s mission as well as see some others. We were also able to visit some local historical landmarks, do some shopping (much to Jase’s dismay), and spend time running around on the beach. Jase also got to participate in a laser tag tournament in October. He was so excited and did really well - it looks like we won’t be done with laser tag anytime soon! In November, we got to spend Thanksgiving with Jase’s family and enjoyed a much-needed break from school. We are excited to be done with the semester soon, and we can’t wait for Christmas and more time with each of our families!

Jared:

2020 was quite a wild ride! The year started while I was still living the dream on the southside of Chicago. It was awesome to see miracle after miracle from my time there! Soon I was transferred to the North side of Chicago where I spent 6 weeks, then my time was cut short there as I was transferred to the middle of the mission to serve in the office working with the president. That's when Covid hit and my companion and I suddenly learned that we would be sent home three months early, so I was again transferred to serve way out in the cornfields for my last area. I loved each of the last few areas I served in! Even with Covid I was able to have great companions and enjoy the work I did with them. Coming home was an adventure and I was able to start working and attending Dixie State University and studying my generals. That's pretty much where my life remains, I've been working, studying, and enjoying my life! I'm excited to be done with my generals this semester and begin my major of Exercise Science next year!

Janelle:

I'm a senior at Snow Canyon High School this year! I am a section leader in Madrigals, Vice President of Seminary Council, participate in NHS and the school plays, and there are probably some other things that I can't remember right now! Even with COVID being a major wrench in everything a lot happened this year! I am an official adult now, for one, and have a betta fish named Desmond. I continue to work at Papa Murphy's and also currently do an internship for speech therapy at Vista School (when I'm not quarantined, which happened WAY more than it should've). COVID didn't stop us from having fun, however, and I took trips with my family for Father's Day Flee, Bear Lake, and I also went to Bryce Canyon with some of my friends. This year really made me appreciate school! All of the craziness added a little spice that made this year an adventure.

Jaiden:

I'm a junior at Snow Canyon High School! This year I am in Madrigals, Student Council, NHS, dance company, as well as studio dance, and the school shows! It has been a CRAZY year, what with the coronavirus and everything, but I've kept myself busy, and it hasn't been all that bad! When school was cancelled it was a tad bit boring, and having Covid wasn't the most fun experience, but overall it was a pretty good year! I went to my first school dance, became a Madrigals section leader, got my license, learned how to record songs in the studio, and got two new jobs! 2020 will definitely be a year to remember!

Josh:

In March all of the schools got shut down because of Covid and all of the students had to do online school. I liked it, but only because it was just one quarter. It was my birthday in April but because of Corona I didn't have my party until the summer. In the summer I also went to California with my friend and his family and it was really fun! I also started training for Cross Country at 6:00 a.m. every morning. My fastest time in a Cross Country meet was 18.56 -- much faster than last year! I still play soccer for both the 06 and 05 United FC teams, and I scored 16 goals this season. I have 8 games for each team, so that's really only one goal a game. But I scored 10 goals for my 06 team and 6 for my 05 team. I also got a job as a soccer referee, and I make $16 a game. I also got Covid at the beginning of November and still don't have my taste and smell back.

Jenna:

I am in sixth grade at Lava Ridge Intermediate School. In March we started online school because of Covid. I liked it because I finished school so fast everyday, but I missed my friends. This year I really got into reading. I read all of the Rick Riordan books -- starting with the Percy Jackson series. I am getting a camp half-blood sweatshirt for Christmas. I also like drawing and making things out of clay. Me and my friend started a little restaurant and made a special dinner for my mom and dad for a date. They loved it! I also got a snow cone machine and sold lots of snow cones. In October I turned 12 and got my ears pierced. I cleaned out our whole shed with my friends and turned it into a hide-out! It has been a fun year!

As I look back on this year I feel so incredibly blessed! I am grateful for my family and I am grateful for the extra time we were able to spend together this year! I am grateful for the chance to slow down and appreciate what is important. There were a few months this year where I felt like our family scripture study was the best it had ever been! We would read the upcoming chapter alone and then discuss it together and those scripture studies were filled with the spirit and revelation! I am grateful for friends, the gospel, and most of all I am grateful for the atonement of our Savior, Jesus Christ! As we look forward to 2021 and beyond, I hope we remember the many lessons that we learned during this crazy year of 2020. Love you all!!

Love, the Jensen Family