EVENING IN EXCELLENCE!

Once again as Personal Progress Coordinator I was in charge of Evening in Excellence. When I found an idea on facebook a year ago, I took it and ran with it. Any excuse to get out of wearing dresses - count me in! We did an Evening in Excellence Color Run. It was awesome. We had a start and finish line, balloons and signs along the course for each value and when you hit that value you got color thrown on you, we had after race refreshments, each girl got a shirt with the Young Woman torch on it, then I got a podium for the girls to stand on and receive their medals like the end of a race, but they got flowers, their temple picture and then an Alex and Ani charm bracelet. We had a couple speakers and then I read the girls what their moms had to say about them. It was an awesome night, the girls loved it and besides Jared losing his power drill after he came and helped me set up - the night was perfect! Also, I loved spending my time with Megan and I make her do all these crazy ideas with me each time! Sucker!

BART AND PATRICE'S WEDDING!

When I first met Jared he wouldn't talk about his parents. I thought it was weird I never saw his dad. If I did happen to see his dad, his mom wasn't around. I finally figured out they were separated headed for divorce. It was very taboo to talk about in that house, it was very raw. I won't go over the last 18 years, but one thing Patrice always held on to was the fact that during this whole thing her Stake President gave her a blessing and told her that someday her husband would come back to her. We never could figure out what that meant exactly. Even he said he wasn't sure why he said that. I hope he knows that that day finally came. Bart and Patrice got remarried civilly today. It was a joyous occasion for all the Jensens. When I heard she was just thinking about doing it in Nathan's living room, I was appalled. How could something so special just take place in a living room when I knew kids would be running around, playing with toys, etc. This occasion needed to be remembered. It needed to be respected. It needed reverence. I pulled out the Joyce Willyerd in me and took things into my own hands, as I do (I am sure it drives all the Jensens nuts - ha ha - sort of how I planned all their wedding dinners except for Karli's but I did do Lauren's). I told Patrice it should be in my backyard and we should all be in church clothes. She finally agreed. She wanted to order Cafe Rio and then the rest was left up to me. I called Jenn up and we planned it and carried it out and let the girls help if they wanted too. Shawn was DJ and photographer (Patrice wanted another glow in the dark dance party at the end), Kara was in charge of the family picture tree, Karli did drinks, Jenn loaned me center piece stuff and paid for the bundt cake and bundtinis and I did the flowers, stole tables and chairs from the church, took table cloths from my mom, borrowed the dessert cart from Tanya and had to be the slave drive Thanksgiving night as I barked orders to my family and made them help me set everything up. I had to do most of it the night before since I had just taken a seasonal job with Lululemon and worked Black Friday from 5am - 12pm. When I got off work I came straight home and arranged all the flowers for the centerpieces and then made her bouquet and his boutonniere (Thanks Jennifer for teaching me how to make all these things from all the weddings I have helped you at). It ended up being BEAUTIFUL! I think it was way more than everyone expected. But it was what it needed to be. Bryant did a wonderful job with the ceremony, the kids were all quiet and reverent and paid attention and giggled when they kissed. Then we ate dinner, cut the cake, danced and even made little throw bouquets with all the centerpieces so each granddaughter was able to get one from their grandparents wedding. I hope it is a special day that all the kids will remember.  Sweet Eli wanted to make sure he wore his suit for the special occasion. He even wanted to write them a personal note congratulating them on their day. Seriously. This boy. I love me some Jared and his family so hopefully this was everything they wanted and more. Congratulations Papa and Grandma Jensen!

THANKSGIVING!

We stuck with our usual Thanksgiving traditions! We all got up and met the Parrys at the Turkey Trot, ran our races, headed home to watch the parade, get drinks, eat lunch, take naps and then headed over to Grandma and Grandpa Rodgers house to meet up with all our cousins to eat dinner! After dinner we left and met the Parrys at the movies to see Fantastic Beasts 2! At this time of year we really are so grateful for all our blessings, families, friends, and just stopping from the usual day to day activities and spending time with each other!

ELI'S FIRST REAL JOB!

Yes, Eli has been paid to take care of Stefney Crawford's dog or chickens before while she has been out of town, but this time he has his first real job, with a real uniform and paycheck! As soon as he turned 12 we had him sign up to become a soccer referee. He had to take a super intense online course, then after he passed that (which did involve a retake and some tears) he had to go to an all day training! He was excited, but so excited to earn his referee badge. We got him all signed up and bought all his gear and a $100 later he is all set to make the big bucks!

CHIPPED TOOTH!

What do you do the day after Halloween?! Get your chipped tooth fixed of course! Tyson chipped his fake tooth a couple of days before Halloween so we made our usual appointment with Blake and headed down to Case Grande to get it fixed. He always does such a good job and he loves Tyson so much and Tyson loves him that it's the perfect combo! Thanks Blake for always making his smile so handsome (pretty sure this is the 4th or 5th time he has fixed his front tooth - ha ha)