Maddie's Cafa

Maddie is the table setter right now, and one night she decided to transform the dining room into a cafe. I say anything that gets my kids to do chores with enthusiasm is welcome!

Drinks were brought out on a tray like a real server.

A tablecloth was procured and napkins were expertly rolled.

Menus were provided for each person, and we got to order from the wide array of options in the kitchen that night....

Vegy pizza and water! Love this little girl and her imagination. It made for a better than usual dinner time ordeal.

My Little People

I am happy to say we are finally adjusted and back in the swing of things since school started. It's always a bit of a shock to the family system to go back to school schedules and activities, but we are enjoying it now!

For the past three years Maddie has been in ballet and Ella started last year. They have been begging to try gymnastics too, but my purse and my sanity wouldn't handle both, so for now we are taking a break from ballet to try gymnastics at the Legacy Center and see how they like it. I figure they are still young and it's good to dabble in a bit of everything before they decide what they are passionate about. (I also didn't want to pigeon hole them into ballet just because it's what I did....) Big surprise--they LOVE it!

That's Maddie in the back row, middle. Little Limber Loo.

She thought it was so cool to try a lot of the big official equipment in her first class! Her favorite was the bars.

Lucky for us, soccer ended just about when gymnastics began because this girl was a little overscheduled! One Saturday morning she went to gymnastics at 8:30, soccer game at 10, and piano lesson after that!

These little besties had a really fun time doing soccer together. I love how Ella looks up to Maddie... I don't know what her real interest in soccer is, but she is already talking about playing when she's 5.
 

 Little Ella Bella got her turn at gymnastics too.

She also got to try the uneven and parallel bars, and the rope swing.

 Now that's a happy face!

Back at home, the girls seem to have more fun together because they are together less. Isn't that interesting? Less time to bug each other, I guess.

One morning Tyler and Ella begged to play with shaving cream. It's been fun to see the two of them play better together when Miss Dominant is at school.

 

After school there is still plenty of time to play outside. Oh how I love indian summer days!

I didn't forget about baby Jakey! He is getting really grabby and Ella thought it was pretty funny to entertain him with her toes, but now he can reach his own toes!

Family Fotos

I mentioned that we had a photo shoot over Labor Day when we were all together... and here they are! Noelle is just the best. I am so lucky to have her as a sister! I never know what to do for her in return... homegrown tomatoes?  :)

The Jensen Clan has sure grown a lot in the last 6 years! I love all the splashes of color, and I have to say it's amazing we got everyone looking at the camera and sitting/standing in their assigned places, considering the chaos behind the scenes!

I left a few groupings out for use in other things... what, Christmas cards already???

I had Noelle snap a few pics of the girls because it seems like they always need new pictures for school projects or something. Ella is a little cutie patootie!

Goodness, Maddie girl is looking so grown up. She's pretty charming, even without those two front teeth.

I might take this opportunity to be a little bit sappy... I love Mr. Mike. He is such a supportive and sweet husband. He wears many hats between work, home, and his calling, but he does his very best at everything.

I especially appreciate his being by my side during my recent health challenges, and treating my body as if it's his own to worry about. Anyone who knows him very well knows he is very detail oriented, inquisitive, and analytical, which is so important when it comes to big issues!

It doesn't hurt that he's a mean dish-doer, too. XO

Labor Day in Idaho

My side of the family tends to have a reunion of sorts over Labor Day every year, since Noelle's family is gone May to August and it's the first time we can all get together again. We look forward to it all summer!

A big favorite at G&G's is the tire swing. I am trying to convince Mike that we need a honey locust like this tree in our back yard, for the shade and tire swing perks!

Grandma has a fairy taking up residence in her birdbath, and this was the first time we got to see it in person. It has built quite a magical home!

The kids are multiplying (how does that happen?!) and now there are ten hooligans to keep track of! The four 2 year olds are all at the "Mine!" stage and require some moderation. As long as there are enough push toys we can usually keep everybody happy.

We also learned a fun way to keep them happy.... hang out in Grandma's little convertible Mercedes! That lasted at least half an hour.

The back porch swing was almost always in use.

Baby Jaymison is turning 1 next week, and Ty and Ava just turned 2, so we celebrated when we were all together. Emily planned a smashing animal party.... literally. :) 

My Mom's garden is always so beautiful with the climbing morning glory on the trellis. The girls wanted to look for any stray raspberries they could find.

 

While in Idaho we were also able to attend the wedding of a good friend (pictures of that over here) and Noelle took family photos of the whole clan.... I will put those up soon!

Jake at 4 Months

Our little guy is growing up so fast! I grabbed some pictures of him with the blue bear at the 4 month mark to see how much he had changed. Definitely bigger, and much more personality!

My cheeks are much too heavy, I can't keep up my head!

This is how he usually ends up sleeping now... getting too strong for the swaddle.

He is still the center of attention in the home. His siblings dote on him constantly and fight over who gets to hold him. Maddie is good at comforting him, Ella is good at making him giggle, and Tyler, well, he's good at making him cry if the truth be told. This morning I found him trying to feed him a bite of peach. Ay-ay-ay.

We realized one night that all three boys were in green shirts. Jakey likes to make this turtle face as he sucks in his bottom lip. He's also really good at blowing raspberries.

I love having two boys and two girls.... so they have a buddy built right in. I know there are many wrestling matches, injuries, and fights ahead of us, but hopefully they will grow up loving each other!

Back to Preschool

Ella worked hard all summer learning to read! She read more than 50 books by herself!

Finally it was her turn to go back to school!

Her class is awesome. Her best girl friend and favorite neighbor boys are all together. 

They read Pete the Cat "Rockin' in My School Shoes" and rocked out with their own inflatable guitars! Such a fun way to start the school year.