Two Years Later

listen to: Lucky

My blog has been a journal. It has been a way to connect with family and friends through distance and time. It has been a creative outlet and a sounding board. It has been a place where I go to smile, remember fondly, dream of the future, and think positively. I know things happen, trials and doldrums, sadness, disasters, stress... but I would be so happy to know that this little dot on the matrix filled somebody's cup a little higher.

Thanks for visiting!

Jensen Reunion 2008, Willow Park, Big Horn Mountains, Wyoming

listen to: Streetcorner Symphony

Campfire's smoking, the mallows are toasting,
the stories are starting, and my face is burning.
The laughter is hearty, the children are snuggling,
the jokes are off-color,and my mind is turning
To how many years of this clan that they started,
Meeting round campfires just like this one,
And all of these faces lit up and glowing,
feeling the love and the joy and the fun!

- K. Jensen

Since 1999, the Bernie and Virginia Jensen Family has been meeting around a campfire for several days, once a year, in campgrounds, or sometimes just the side of a mountain, in beautiful parts of Oregon and Wyoming. We have a carnival, a talent show, a family olympics, a Family Home Evening lesson, crafts, fishing, and hikes. And food. Lots of food. Our family is growing, but we grow closer to those we love at these crazy, mosquito-filled, flash-flooding, testimony building, what-you-see-is-what-you-get events!

*Read The Parable of the Tents in Drops of Ink.

Braeden Is A Teenager

listen to: When You're Smiling & Coldplay

Happy 13, Buddy B! You survived 12, and we know better things are coming! We love having your calm, fair, funny, deep spirit in our family! Opportunities lie ahead to reach that amazing potential of yours, and we are right behind you every step of the way! I picked your favorite song (Coldplay), and a song dedicated to your gorgeous smile! Love you, Silly Munch.

Scavenger Hunt

TAG YOU'RE IT!
So here are the rules: You take pictures of the following things...WITHOUT cleaning or changing anything.
1. favorite room (my bedroom- Brandon & Maren made the bed)
2. the toilet
3. the kitchen sink (before and during the pie-making)
4. the fridge (need to go shopping!)
5. what the kids are doing right now (M-talking to Sky on phone, boys playing xbox)
6. favorite shoes (oops, forgot that one)
7. laundry room
8. closet
9. dream vacation(forgot that, too)
10. self-portrait

A Day at Yellowtail

A couple of weeks ago our friends the Reno's invited us to Yellowtail Recreation Area. We followed them an hour and a half NE, just past Lovell, where this lake all of the sudden appeared out of nowhere. Their boat's name was Behaving Badly. We met the Greer's there, also in our ward, with their jetskiis and had a full, fun day in the sun. We were surprised by a fireworks show that night on the lake, a celebration put on by the town of Lovell. It was one of the best shows we have seen, so we were glad we stayed. I especially loved our evening excursion. The pictures can't do the canyon's breathtaking, rugged beauty justice. It was awesome. Thanks, Reno's and Greer's!

Some Friendships Never Die

A friend from high school, Sherrie Burt, sent me this photo the other day. These are 3 of my best friends from high school. Mara, Darold, and me, and on the left is my camera-loving sister who apparently loves jumping into pictures. Isn't she cute?


She hasn't changed much.

And speaking of Sherrie...

She's the one on the right. Donna is on the left. This is our last year of trick-or-treating. These two die-hards were all I could scrounge up. Everyone else thought they were too old, or their parents thought they were. Thanks, Sherrie! Love you guys!