Fall Carnival

Tonight we went to our neighborhood Fall Carnival. This includes the annual chili cook-off with chili, desserts, dunk tank, face painting, cotton candy, and cake walk. I stuck to chili that I KNEW was gluten free since I had a reaction a couple of years ago. Jenna had been SO mad that she had a Madrigal performance right during this party. She and Clarissa had even ordered Halloween costumes for the event. Jenna came right over after her performance and was still able to get some food and hang out with friends for a bit. She came right in time to dunk Ethan in the dunk tank, ha ha! He started to go after her but I said he absolutely couldn't get her madrigal dress wet! She headed home in order to get ready for dance. Busy girl! 

Dunk Tank

Beware of water, snow, and wheelchairs: Jensen Weekly

Here are some of the happenings for this week in the Jensen household!! 

Ellen came down with her family for their Fall Break. They stayed at an Airbnb for the week. Jase came and joined them on Thursday night and we celebrated Eli's first birthday over the weekend with a barbeque and family and friends! Happy Birthday, Eli!!!

Jared had come down for his Fall Break last weekend, and is back to work and school this week. I didn't get any pictures from him this week, sorry! 

Janelle is loving teaching at the MTC and had her first district come and go! She came down with Logan for the weekend to attend her friend, Anika Boettcher's wedding. She and Logan went to the temple open house while they were here. 

Jaiden arrived in Mongolia!!! We are grateful that she and the other members of her district arrived safely!! We are excited for her P-Day so that she can catch us up on everything! The tidbit I did hear was that all of the missionaries had to go to the hospital to get x-rays and blood drawn to make sure they don't have TB or something!  

Josh is in the middle of Water Wars at the high school. Water Wars is not an official high school activity, but a student run event that lasts several weeks -- or until there is only one team left. The students choose others to be on their team and then they pay a combined amount of $20.00 for their team of around four people. It seems like practically the whole student body is involved. They all get wrist bands and have very specific rules to follow. They get members of opposing teams out by squirting them with a squirt bottle. 

Each team has to get someone from a different team "out" during the week or their whole team is out. Each person who gets another person out has to catch it on video so that they have proof. Inside the school or church is off limits, but inside someone's home is not. The winning team gets all of the money, and it is like $2000.00 or something! So it gets extremely competitive!! Josh carries around a squirt bottle wherever he goes and makes us lock the doors whenever he is home. I remember Jared being involved in this also, so apparently it has been going on for years! 

We are constantly getting emails saying that more volunteers are needed at the temple open house. It was Josh and Jenna's turn last Saturday.  The other available times for them were either during school or during evenings when Jenna had dance and Josh had work, and so we had grabbed the only Saturday shift for shoe-coverers that was assigned to our Stake. 

They had both signed up to be shoe-coverers, but then someone there assigned Josh to wipe down the wheels of visitors in wheelchairs, which apparently wasn't nearly as fun as putting shoe covers on people's feet. We were glad that they could serve, but sad that their service time ended up at the same time as Eli's birthday party. They would have loved to be there for the party, but they had signed up two months ago and we didn't feel right about backing out at the last minute. Jenna said it was fun and offered to come again. 

Josh came home completely grumpy and hangry. The shifts are almost four hours long and Josh was tired and starving. It was almost time for them to finish their shift and Josh was counting down the minutes when he was asked to push an older lady in a wheelchair through the entire tour -- tacking on an extra hour to his shift. He apparently accepted, but very begrudgingly! The others couldn't find him and had to wait the extra hour for him as well. Luckily we had extra hamburgers and hotdogs from the party waiting for the kids when they got home! 

Saturday night Josh went to his soccer Halloween party. He said it was fun but he was disappointed that he didn't win any big prizes. Josh got sick the next day -- he went to church, but soon after he was complaining of fever and chills, and was blowing his nose and sleeping all day. He said that it must have been from wiping down all those wheelchair wheels yesterday -- or the party outside in the freezing cold -- or a combination of both. Rick sang in church -- his arrangement of "Did You Think To Pray." It was so beautiful!!

Josh stayed home from school because of his illness. He also missed his last soccer game, which is okay with me because the weather suddenly turned cold tonight. We had our ward Halloween party and chili cook off. (Chili, dunk tank, cake walk, pumpkin painting...). Jenna dressed up as a devil for the party and her friend Clarissa dressed up as an angel. Josh managed to feel well enough by that time to at least go try a few bowls of chili. When I got home he and several of his friends were in the house saying that they couldn't leave or someone might "get them out" (water wars). They eventually left. 

I had tried a couple of bowls of chili at the Fall Carnival and then brought Jenna shopping for her Halloween party -- nothing like waiting until the last minute! We went to several stores looking for a red dress for her costume (Kiss, Marry, Kill) and having no luck I put a request out on our RS GroupMe chat asking if anyone had a dress she could borrow and soon had the perfect dress. 

I started to feel sick while we were shopping and realized that I was having an allergic reaction to something I ate at the party. My chest hurt and the skin around my eyes swelled up. This is the second time that has happened. It happened a couple of months ago the day before we left to bring Jaiden to the MTC after eating some soup at a work meeting and it took two full days for the swelling to completely go away. It has been the same this time. It is so frustrating -- and I don't even know what is causing it! (This one took three days for the swelling to completely subside!) I also feel like I am coming down with whatever Josh had and am praying that I don't get sick! Rick is going to Washington DC with Elder Peter Johnson this coming weekend for Seminary and Institute recruitment and so we are praying he stays healthy too. 

Neighborhood Chili Cook Off (Halloween Party)

Tonight was the annual Chili Cook-Off in the Bishop's Cul-de-sac -- lots of yummy food, dunk tank, painting pumpkins, games and more! Jenna got permission to leave her rehearsal for Into the Woods an hour early in order to go. She dressed like a princess in Janika's former prom dress and looked SO pretty! 

Janika wore this princess dress to her Senior Ball on April 14, 2012 and also when she won Santa Clara Princess April13, 2013! 

Clarissa also donned one of Janika's former dresses and looked very pretty also! Jaiden and Emily also went as princesses in 2019 and so I will include one of their pictures just for fun. Jenna is wearing high heels and so she is actually as tall as Clarissa in this picture! 

Neighborhood Halloween Party

Tonight me, Jenna, and Janelle went to the neighborhood (Ward) Halloween Party! Rick was in a meeting, Josh was at his soccer game, and Jaiden had dance and a Madrigal Party. They had the traditional Chili cook-off, dunk tank, decorating pumpkins, and so forth!

  (Pictured: Grace Freeman, Clarissa Williams, Jenna Jensen)

Fall Carnival

I was a little surprised that our ward went forward with the annual Fall Carnival since Washington County has been moved to a "High Transmission" area (for Covid). However, they did take several precautions. Everyone was asked to wear masks (except while eating of course) and it seemed that most people complied. All of the food was served by assigned ward members who wore gloves and masks. They had the tables spread out for social distancing. I went with Jenna and Josh. Rick was going to come but ended up staying home because he wasn't feeling well. I brought him home some chili, breadsticks, and salad. (We remembered that last year we were all stressed, trying to finish painting the basement right before this party. Rick had paint ALL over his clothes from painting and so instead of changing he just showed up as a "painter!")  

There was the annual chili cook-off, a dunking tank, fishing booth, and pumpkin decorating. Janelle opted to go to Staheli Farm with friends instead and Jaiden worked at Tuacahn. So Josh and Jenna and I only stayed for a little over an hour and then headed home. After the party I headed out to my "Girls' Night Out" with interpreter/deaf friends. I didn't even think to have us take a group picture! We chatted and played "Cover Your Assets." Jenna was anxious to have Clarissa and Anna over to continue playing in the little "house" they put together  behind the shed (I will explain that in a separate post).

Here is Jenna, Clarissa, and Anna in their fun 80's costumes that they put together all by themselves! They turned out really cute!! 

Here is Jenna, Clarissa, and Anna in their fun 80's costumes that they put together all by themselves! They turned out really cute!! 

Ward Halloween Party

Tonight was the Ward Halloween party, which included a chili cook off, pumpkin decorating, costume contest, children's train, dunking tank, and fish pond. We were all a bit stressed because we had spent most of the day painting the basement and were rushing to finish in order to get dressed up and go! Rick finished up the painting just as we were getting ready to go and said he would go change and get ready. He was covered in paint! We said that he might as well just go as he was and say that his costume was that of a painter! So that is what he did! I should have gotten a picture! Janelle had to work and so she isn't pictured. Josh choose to C-pass on the 05 soccer team for their game that night and so he isn't pictured either. So it was me and Rick and Jenna and Jaiden! Jenna went as a creepy doll and Jaiden went as a princess.