Jenna Fifth Grade Graduation from Arrowhead Elementary

My baby girl just graduated from Elementary School! I am excited to see my little girl move on, but I am also sad to close this chapter of my life. All seven of my kids graduated from Arrowhead Elementary School and so this school will always hold a special place in my heart! I am grateful to the amazing teachers and staff at Arrowhead! I will miss them! I will miss everything that accompanies elementary school -- the classes, the programs, the field trips, the holiday parties, the choir performances, the plays, the music demonstrations, the field days, the fun runs, the family weeks, the competitions, and even the Science Fairs! I will miss spirit-day on Fridays and the Halloween parade around the track. I will miss walking through the hallways and seeing art work on the walls. Arrowhead Elementary was built in 2005, the year my son Jared started kindergarten. So even though all of my kids graduated from there, he was the first one to attend all six years there, followed by all the rest of my kids. I will always have fond memories of the fifteen years my children attended Arrowhead! Farewell Arrowhead Elementary! We love you!

Because of restrictions due to Covid-19 the fifth graders had a "drive-through graduation." We all drove up to the school and hopped out of the car to take a picture of our son or daughter with their teachers, watch them receive their awards, and then take a few more pictures in front of the school. A few days ago this cute "Give Me Liberty" sign showed up in front of our house. So fun! Jenna made these cute little clay figures for each of her teachers -- one for Mrs. Sparks and one for Mrs. Ping. She loved both of her teachers! Mrs. Sparks had several of the Jensen clan pass through her classroom through the years. We will miss her! 

Clarissa's mom, Allison, sent me this cute picture of Clarissa and Jenna on their first day of school when they were starting kindergarten and their last day of school, graduating from Fifth Grade! I am so glad that these two are still best friends!

And some pictures of Arrowhead...

The Truth Revealed (Jenna Catches the Easter Bunny)

We have never emphasized the Easter Bunny at our house. In fact we have hardly ever even mentioned the Easter Bunny so as not to take away from the true meaning of Easter. We still do Easter baskets and dye eggs and have Easter egg hunts, but we don't say things like "Aren't you excited for the Easter Bunny to come tonight?" In fact when Jenna stumbled upon some candy in my closet and asked what it was for I told it was for the Easter baskets. She said, "I thought that the Easter Bunny filled our baskets!" I didn't affirm or deny that and when she asked Rick if the Easter bunny was real he just waved his hand and scoffed and said, "no." She refused to believe that and set out to write a letter to the Easter Bunny. 

She wanted a way to prove the Easter Bunny was real and Rick suggested that she set up a camera that would supposedly take pictures during the night if it detected any movements (as if that was a thing) to "reveal the truth." After she went to bed Rick thought it would be funny to have he and I pose for the pictures as if we had been "caught in the act." I know that sounds a little mean, but we decided at ten years old she should probably know the truth about the Easter Bunny and so we decided to go ahead. She was singing a duet with Rick in Sacrament meeting on Easter Sunday and so I told Rick not to show her the "the footage" until after church so as not to upset her right before her musical number (which was absolutely beautiful by the way!)

After church she asked to see the "footage" and we showed her. She burst into tears and ran into her room. I went in to hug her and she said that we had lied to her. She said, "That means nothing is real -- Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, nothing!!" Then she said "you could have at least taken a picture of a stuffed bunny or something!" I said, "Well wouldn't that be lying?" I explained that Jesus was real and that Easter was a time to remember and celebrate His atonement and resurrection. Of course she already knew all that but I guess she wasn't ready to give up the fun and magic of the rest.  Later we found that she had written little messages across her can of Stax potato chips such as "Easter Bunny not real," "All a lie," "Drawn (her spelling) away from my childhood," with pictures of frownie faces with tears coming down. She is so dramatic!! 

First Day of School!

Jenna was in preschool last year with Mrs. Kathy.  Since Kathy and Clark Ence are leaving on a mission soon I had to find a new preschool for Jenna.  I decided on the Washington County Preschool since it is close and reasonably priced and it looks like they have a good program.  Today was her first day and she did great!  My mistake?  Letting her eat a chocolate bar right  before taking her picture! (And I didn't ask her to pose --she does that all on her own!)

Happy Baby!

Here is our happy baby -- four months old!