Jensen Energizer Bunnies!

"If Cousins are the right kind, they're best of all. Kinder than sisters and brothers and closer than friends."

Gone Away Lake ,Elizabeth Enright

Huge YAWN! Oh what a whirlwind weekend, but ooooh sooo fun! We could not have fit anything else in! The masses gathered at the Jensen pad on Friday evening around dinnertime. (This is after a long day/week of cleaning, trimming and weeding from top to bottom, and front to back.) We enjoyed a BBQ, badmitten, games, snowcones, fireworks, and having our first anual family sleepover. Yes... 12 little children, and 11 adults all spread out!


Saturday, we braved the Provo River in our canoes and boats. Later on that night, Ashlyn and I had a blast at the Stadium of Fire!


On Monday, we cheered all the floats and bands and everyone in the Provo Parade. Aaron and Melissa then treated us to a delicious taco bar at their home.

Relaxing after a yummy dinner.
That's gotta hurt!

Come play hide-n-seek and tag! Thanks Aaron for playing with us!

A party crasher...

All the adults, dead to the world, after a VERY late night, trying to keep little ones in their beds:)

The tramp sleepers...

Our own tent city!

Anyone for breakfast burritos? Cook Karl was on duty, while some of us ran/walked a Stake organized 5K

Off to the river!!

More white water!

Karl had 4 of our kids in our canoe, and I had Ashlyn and 2 cousins in our raft floating down together.
The canoe got caught up in the side bushes, and I watched in horror as they all tipped over! Taylor was pulled under the boat, and quick as lightning, my superman hubby, grabbed him and pulled him to safety.

It was the scariest thing ever!

Before the tip..

My precious cargo.

Ashlyn won 2 tickets to the Stadium of Fire in Provo. Cotton candy anyone?

They handed out these 3D glasses, and we had fun watching the fireworks explode in a multitude of colors!

Miss Carrie! AMAZING!

All American Girls! :)

After the concert, Ashlyn and I met up with Allyson and Adrienne and their friends.

It's been a long night! Gotta love the glow necklaces and braclets...and the sucker still stuck in her mouth. Great night with my girl!

If you're excited to be at the parade, raise your hands!!

My kiddos.

Guess what/who got the biggest response from the crowd?

LDS Missionaries! The kids lined the streets and gave them high 5's! I'm sure those elders and sisters had some fun things to write home about!

Only in Utah!
Curious George was a hit with the little ones!

Emma and Grandma! Such cute girls!

We are sooo stuffed! Time for a nap!

Payson Lakes

This past week my mom and I took 4 of my kids up to Payson Lakes to do a little camping. Our husbands had other committments, and Alyssa had her Chemistry class, so we just took who we could, and headed to the mountains. It was really fun; perfect weather, beautiful surroundings, and awesome kids! Other than the sunburns (despite my attempt to keep my kids lathered up..) we all came home with big smiles.

Connor summed it up by saying, "you know mom, you can tell we all had a great time by just looking at the pictures!" Enjoy our pics!

Karl and I took a Sunday scooter ride. Love to ride with him!

In case you haven't met, this is Nessy. We think she is a relative of the Loch Ness Monster...
Aaron and Melissa joined us for dinner and boating on Monday night, so fun!

Walking around the lake, searching for fishing hooks...yuck!

The kids begged me to ride in the back of the van from the lake to our site...good thing the speed limit was only 10 mph! :)

The boys brought their own tent, then ended up in our big tent at the last minute...could it have been Connor's "sort of scary" campfire story??

We found this awesome hike called the Grotto. It was an extrememly kid friendly hike, and soooo beautiful! We had a light rain on our way back down the trail, and just sang all of the rain songs we could think of.

Perfect ending to a great couple of days!