MONSTER TRUCK SHOW!

Last weekend we decided to forego a group date night and take the boys to a monster truck show instead. The boys love trucks, jumping, etc; so we figured they would be in heaven. They did not disappoint. They LOVED the show. They stayed up until 11:15pm and were not cranky at all. The boys kept their ears plugged most of the time because it was loud but they didn't mind it one bit. The kind man in front of us even offered an ear plug option, "Do either of you smoke? You can bust the butt end of a clean cigarette off and stick it in your ears!" Geez, thanks. When the show was over, Eli looked at me and said, "Mom, that was AWESOME!" That made it all worth it :)

Eli and Kiki on Big FootThe motorcycles really got Tyson excited! They did so many tricks and he could have watched them all night long :) Robosaurus! He breathes fire and eats cars - what could be better?! See, told ya :)The EcalonosThe JensensWaiting for the show to start while our daddys got dinner!This was Kiki and Eli's favorite truck, it looked like a dog and I have to say, it did do the best jumps and spins! "Look Dad, the motorcycles!"When the cars go by at 285 mph - it gets a little loud...

HE'S HOME!

Jared came home last Friday night. We made it 4 months. Some days were better than others, but over all it was a great experience for the whole family. Jared was able to go to Oregon and learn the things he needed to learn there without distractions from his family, I was able to gain more patience towards my kids because I knew at dinner time I would not be getting a break and I had to do it all myself, Emma grew up quite a bit and really stepped up to the plate and did a little bit of babysitting, Eli was a good big brother and great helper, Tyson started talking more on his own and didn't let Tyler do all the talking for him and all the boys did really great pulling together and relying on each other for love and support and tried not to miss their dad too much! (although, now that he has been home for several days in a row they do tend to freak out a little bit if they wake up and can't find him! - "Daddy no go back to Oregon!" they say).

I have to say how proud I am of myself. During the week we kept so busy that there wasn't time to sit around and be sad that Jared wasn't here, the weekends though were a little bit tougher, that's when we had some more free time on our hands and I would get bored and lonely, but lucky for me that was usually only every other weekend.

I had a great support system around me. My family and Patrice were always willing to babysit so I could go and do the things that I needed/wanted to do and couldn't take the kids with me. My friends and ward were amazing with text messages, phone calls, play dates, dinner invites, random dinners showing up at my door, Circle K drinks, treats left at my door, people being so willing to go and pick up Jared in the middle of the night at the airport or coming over here and sitting while I picked him up, etc. It was really great to know so many people loved us so much. (I would also like to Thank all the people who helped me gain 7 pounds while Jared was gone! ha ha, true story)

I am so happy he is home, but at the same time it is really weird. There is an adjustment period I have to go through. I lived with him for almost 11 years, but I got so used to him being gone and now that he is back, I have to figure out a new routine with him in it. I need to check with him before I go somewhere (not because he is that type of husband, but just out of respect), I feel bad sitting around at night watching my lame TV shows because I know he hates them, just little things like that.

This week Jared is giving me "time off" and since I am only getting a week I am enjoying it and using it to my full advantage (by the end of the week my house will be totally cleaned - woo hoo). Last night I told Jared I was leaving to run some errands and he would need to take the boys and go get Emma, Tatum, Sidney and Maddy from dance and take them all home - he gave me a look like, "what? by myself? all those girls and I have to take all the boys?" and I just get to look at him and say, "4 months, really?" and then he knows he gets to do it and I giggle, out loud!

I am actually grateful for the opportunity we had to do this seed assignment. It was great for Jared and his career and let's be honest, we benefited financially from it too. It was great for me to be more independent and not just dump on him when he gets home, it was sooo fun to have him come home and even though over half the weekends he was here we didn't get to spend time together because we were busy with dance - the weekends we were together and got to go out on dates were really exciting and it was like we were newly dating again and I would get all excited and put on make-up and perfume. I also enjoyed the text messages I would get as soon as he was on his way home from the airport and he would ask me if there was anything I needed him to grab from the store and for the first time in 13 years - he would actually go to the store for me in the middle of the night! (when I was pregnant I would ask him to run to the store and he never would) That was really fun while it lasted :)

People ask me if I would do it again, Yes, I would, we both would. It was great for our family. We grew stronger and closer and now we are excited to have him home and get back to normal!

EASTER WEEKEND!

We had a great Easter weekend. It was packed full, but we loved it. Jared came into town Friday night around 10:30pm and me and him got to hang out for a couple of hours watching our shows and just spending time together. Its always nice when he comes home.
Saturday morning we got up and headed out to Eli's basketball game. He is so fun to watch. Whenever he gets the ball and gets ready to pass it, he fills up his cheeks with air and keeps his mouth shut - it looks like its full of water, but its just how he gets ready to pass. He is such a great defender and always has his hands up during the whole game trying to block his guy or else he is shouting, "I'm open, I'm open!" We love it!After the basketball game we headed over to Nate and Jenn's house for the Jensen Easter party. We did an Easter egg hunt...TysonTyler (I love how his eyes are closed in this pic, I just think it's cute!)...Maddy and Emma...Ava and Eli...Tyson and Nashers...Isaac and Eli...After the egg hunting ended, we headed off to the park for a scavenger hunt with clues all throughout the park, the kids loved racing around and reading all the clues...At the end of the hunt, there was a goody bag waiting for all the kids. They each got candy, water guns, silly string and much more. The silly string has become a fun little Easter tradition with the Jensens and everyone loves it! I think the girl in the yellow might have wrestled the girl in the pink down to the ground...and then perhaps everyone gathered around and sprayed her with silly string :)After that we had a water balloon toss and then headed back to Nate's house for a yummy Easter feast!(look I found a pic of Eli and his basketball passing face!)After the Jensen party we headed home and then Grandma Jensen came over and babysit while Jared and I got away for a little date night. We went shopping and out to dinner and really just enjoyed being with each other and walking around. When we got home we found a note that Emma had left for the Easter Bunny, "Dear Easter Bunny, I would really like an Easter dress! Sincerely, Emma (P.S. Can I call you EB?) Good thing EB came through and got her an Easter outfit!

After church the kids came home and found their Easter Baskets (minus Emma, she found her's before church). Emma loved her new Easter Sunday outfit, her new swim suit (she couldn't believe he got her something from Justice) and the boys loved their movies. Eli was so excited he got "TRON magazine (legacy)", Tyson loved getting his new swim "soup" and I think everyone was just overall thrilled with their loot.
After nap time we headed over to Regina's house for the traditional Rodgers Easter get together. We had dinner and then headed outside to find the 500 Easter eggs waiting for them...There was a "golden egg" hidden that had $5 in it and I told Emma what area to head to so she hurry and hauled butt, sadly she did not find it but better luck next year!Sydney helped Tyson reach the high eggs he couldn't getEli was funny, all the kids headed over to the green belt, rocks, cars, etc to find all the eggs and ran right past Regina's front yard, but Pa told Eli to stay there and grab all the eggs so he did but was sorta whiny that he was missing out on everything that everyone else was getting, best part was, Eli ended up with double the eggs of everyone else!Emma and her basket...Tyler and his basket...After the hunt, we always gather on Regina's lawn and empty our eggs out and put our candy into the baskets. Eli was concentrating really hard on getting his egg opened...Score! Fake gummy teeth!Tyler and Pa...Tyson and Daddy...I am sorry but food in your teeth never gets old! Right Mike?!Whatcha got there Tyson?!All in all, it was a fantastic weekend! One of the best weekends we have had with Jared in town. Half of the time when he has been home on the weekends, we have not been able to hang out because me and Em, would be gone at dance, or we would be so busy doing other things we never got to spend some good quality time together. This weekend we put everything aside and just did family things. It was a super fun Easter weekend!

WHY DADDY WORKS...

Today when we left the gym the twins asked me, "where is daddy?"
Me: "he is at work"
Tyler: "why is he working?"
Me: "because he has to make money for us"
Tyler: "so we can get candy"
Me: "yep, so we can get candy!"
Tyson: "and Emma's dance!"
Me: "yes, and so Emma can dance!"

I am glad that the boys know that Jared goes to work so we can buy candy and pay for dance :)

The twins are creatures of habit. Every time we leave the kidzone at the gym, the first thing they do is grab antibacterial soap and rub it in their hands and then get another squirt and rub it in their hair. Today when we were leaving and their hair was all shiny with soap, Tyson looked at Tyler and said, "your hair is boot-a-ful!" (beautiful) They crack me up!

IT'S ONLY KINDERGARTEN...

I am learning as a parent there are many decisions to be made on behalf of our children. What clothes to wear, what to feed them, which toy to buy them, etc. Then later down the road they grow up a little bit and the decisions get a little tougher, which activities to let them do after school, which tv programs to allow them to watch, what are appropriate chores for their age, you know things like that. Then every once in a while you get hit with a little bit tougher decision to be made. It seems silly really, kindergarten or preschool?! Who ever thought that question would stress me out so bad. I mean the kid is 4 years old for crying out loud. It is not which girl should he marry, which college should he attend, something like that, just the basics...should he do another year of preschool or start kindergarten early?!
This next portion is a letter to Eli. I am writing this to you, Eli, because I was told by a good friend that she did not test her son early to start kindergarten and he is now in jr high and is not happy about it and wants to be in the older grade but she still stands by her decision and I wanted you to know that some day if you get mad or frustrated with me, I did not make this decision lightly, I stressed over it, I cried over it, I got sick over it, I prayed over it, I changed my mind a bazillion times about it, I talked to numerous people about it, you get where I am going with this buddy.Elias Grant, You mean the world to me buddy. You are the sweetest, most kind hearted kid I know. How you have grown leaps and bounds in the last 2 years and have completely changed from my unsocial, non-talker child to this boy who loves to chatter away to people and you make friends every where you go, even in the play area in Chick-fil-a, I love it and I love that about you.
The decision to start you early in kindergarten was not an easy one. I had to weigh all the pros and cons to it. On one hand, all your friends were starting kindergarten this year and you would be the only one not doing it. On the other hand, keeping you back a year would give you an advantage when it comes to playing sports - theory has it - you will now be the bigger kid which is the advantage. Starting early would benefit you because you are so smart, I think you get bored a little bit at home and need more challenging things in your day to day life. Then again, waiting a year means your kindergarten year should be rather easy for you and you won't really struggle with it because you will know all of it by then. Do I start you early and then you have a year after high school before you mission, or do I wait a year and then you go straight from high school to a mission?! There were so many different scenarios running through my head. Some people told me I was thinking to far into the future and I just needed to worry about right now, but I thought what I did right now will affect your future so it was imperative that I made the right choice for you.
One Friday while your dad was in Oregon, I finished at the gym and I thought I had a few hours before nap time, it was time to nip this decision in the bud...I was going to take you and the twins around to all these different schools in the area and see about starting early, doing half days at charter schools, pulling you out of kindergarten early so you only went half day, repeating kindergarten twice, etc. With all 4 of us in tow, we headed out to 5 different schools and I went back to 2 of them so all in all I went to 7 schools with you boys. In between each school I would feed you boys a snack and call your dad and report what I had learned. Some times there were tears of frustration and not knowing what to do, sometimes I was angry at the school for wasting my time, sometimes I just cried because I was so stressed I couldn't even think straight. Daddy was always very calm and supportive of what I was thinking. It bugged me. I wanted him to get all fired up like I was, but that's not his style and we love him for that. Then I would call Grandma Rodgers and she would walk me through the thinking process and even get tips from some of her co-workers. They helped a little, but I was still stressed. The long day had finally come to an end and I mulled it all over during the weekend and we finally decided that we were going to keep you in preschool another year.
Two months later they decided to build a new school right by us and it sounded like it was going to be a perfect fit for you and your brothers. I went to the school meeting thinking this was the school and you would start early. I left the meeting that night thinking that school was not the perfect fit for us. Waiting one more year for you to start kindergarten was for sure what we were going to do. We loved your preschool, your teacher, you loved preschool and we were just at peace with the decision.
A couple days later I couldn't shake the fact that all your friends were starting this year and you were the only one not starting. Dad and I talked and prayed and I cried some more and we are finally firm in our decision to wait another year. We can't really explain why that is. We can say all the simple answer like, waiting a year for boys is always better, you will be bigger for sports, you can graduate and go straight on a mission, boys mature slower than girls so you will be fine, blah blah blah...but what it really comes down to Elias is that sometimes, you just don't know exactly why you make the decision that you make right now. Perhaps some day down the road we will know, but for now we just trust in Heavenly Father and we know that we are doing what is right for you. We love you more than anything and we would do anything for you. Please understand that someday if you are upset that we held you back, we didn't do this to make you angry, we truly did what we thought was best for you. We love you buddy!
Love,
Mom

CRAZY BUSY!

It seems as though there are just not enough hours in the day to get all that needs to be done, done. With Jared gone its hard to do everything all the time by myself, but one of the most frustrating things is having to be at more than 1 place at the same time, someone or something has to give and it just doesn't seem fair when its my kids having to make the sacrifices. I am sorry for the days that Emma has to go to dance super early and sit there and eat her dinner all by herself so I can get Eli to basketball, I am sorry to Eli on the day that he had to go to basketball late and leave early because we had so many other things that had to be done that day. I am sorry to my twins who are sound asleep but have to get woken up and thrown in the car to get some place. The list goes on and on. My poor kids have to put up with a lot right now. They have really pulled together and been champs through it all. They really do make me happy.

Not that any of this next little bit is all that exciting, but I do want to make sure I remember it.

For some reason I just haven't thought about giving the twins pillows yet, not sure why, but I haven't. This week they finally got pillow or - pi-wos as they call them. They were so giggly and excited about it. It took them forever to fall asleep at nap time because they kept talking and laughing with each other about their pi-wos.

Tyler

Tyson

Eli has been loving basketball. He is a whole head shorter than the other boys, but he loves it! He has gotten the whistle called on him a couple of times, 1 for holding the man he was defending - he really didn't want him to get the ball and the other was for stealing the ball from the other player while he was dribbling - it was a totally clean and legal steal but they don't allow that in this league for these young little players, oh well - he will do well in the NBA :) Eli is really loving playing all these different sports and looks forward to the next time he gets to practice all week long. We love watching him do his thing out there!

Emma had another convention/competition this weekend. It was for WCDE (West Coast Dance Explosion) Regionals. We have made a decision as a family regarding dancing on Sundays. We will dance for competitions, but we will not dance at conventions. We hate to have the team hurting by Emma being gone if they are competing so we will do that, but as for the convention side of it, we will just skip it, even though we are still paying a lot of money for it, oh well. Blessing in the long run, right?! Emma is such a trooper, I don't know how these girls all do it. She danced for 16 hours!! Some of that was driving time, some of that was breaks but still from her first dance to her last dance - it was a good 14 and half hours. She smiled and enjoyed herself the entire time!

Break time!

Cheerio

Leg pitch!

Emma's dances were performed the best they ever have been done before. We were so proud of these girls. Emma has grown so much in dance. Even though it makes for a very long weekend and long day, it is one of my most favorite things to do in life, watching her do what makes her so happy.

We always try to go to Radio Disney events when they are around where we live and some how we are really lucky and always clean up. Emma won tickets to a movie screening, but sadly she couldn't make it because of dance. Tyson though won 4 tickets to Disney on Ice, but sadly the twins stayed home with grandpa and had a great time while the me, Emma, Eli and grandma went and enjoyed the show. Eli and Emma were so in to it and when it was over Eli stood up and says, "That was so cool!"

"LOL" IS NOT FOR BOYS!

Jared and I were emailing each other back and forth and Emma was standing right by me reading our emails. Jared wrote, "LOL" and Emma says,
"Wow, did dad really just write LOL?"
Me: "what, is he to old to write LOL?"
Em: "no, I thought only girls wrote LOL"

I was quick to let Jared know his daughter was ripping on him and he told me he would quit using that phrase :)