I Love Florida . . .

How many other places does traffic stop on a busy thoroughfare for four Sandhill Cranes to cross the road? Sadly, I didn't have my camera in the van to take a picture thru my windshield. I would have had plenty of time, they were in no rush.

Here's a picture of an adolescent crane at our house. One most often sees them in pairs. We think this one recently left its parents but has yet to find a mate. Whenever we hear trumpeting, we stop to watch them fly over us. After three years, we still find it exciting to see and hear them.

Catch-up Time

Since our last posting was three months ago, it's probably time to try and catch up on what has been happening to the Jensen's in Florida. To be honest, we have been so busy that we either haven't had the time to write a post or we were too tired to be creative enough to maintain the high standards normally associated with this blog.

While we make no promises regarding completeness or creativity, there will at least be a series of updated pictures of the kids. And that's what you really want anyway, right?

The biggest new development has been Alayna's first day at school. She started voluntary pre-kindergarten this year and has really enjoyed her class.

Alayna goes to school at the Lutheran church a couple of miles away from the house. She gets to go to school with some of her friends from her play group but she is in a class with all new children. Since Alayna is a very shy little girl, it is hard for her to meet new friends. And if you believe that. . .

Alayna has her own hook on the wall where she hangs her lunch box on the wall. I'm sure that less hardy children, not born in the wilds of the Rocky Mountains also use the hook to hang things like coats and sweaters.


When we went to pick Alayna up from her first day, Stacy couldn't help behaving a little bit like a stalker and looking through the windows to see how Alayna was doing. Here's one of her the pictures that shows the other children sitting contentedly on the carpet while Alayna shows the teacher how to lead the class.

Alayna was lucky enough to have two first days of school this year. The day after school started, the state of Florida was paralyzed in shock by the gradual advance of hurricane/tropical storm Faye. Schools canceled classes while the storm slowly made it's way up the state dumping rain and blowing a little wind here and there. The storm didn't get to our area of the state until Thursday and Friday but the fear of Katrina-like damage prompted very aggressive response to the storm.

Our house stayed high and dry but the neighborhood across the street from ours was under flood waters for about 6 weeks. At one point the city hired large water tanker trucks to try and haul water down to the river but after a week of pumping with the water and the transportation costs rising, that effort was ended. We did lose our landline phone for a week and we lost the internet for 2 weeks.

Alayna didn't go back to school for a week and Stacy had to go through the whole first day of school thing again. Believe me it was harder on Stacy than on Alayna.

Cavell has spent the last few months growing and learning new tricks. He has always enjoyed opening kitchen cabinets and pulling things out onto the floor. But recently he discovered that he can clear a cabinet and then put himself inside the resulting space.

He definitely enjoys eating meals with the family and usually 'can't believe he ate the whole thing.' One of these days he will develop some level of patience that will help him not throw a tantrum from the moment he hears or smells food cooking until he gets to stuff his face with food. He's also learning to use utensils but I don't think he's trying very hard.

Cavell gets to explore his daredevil personality on a weekly basis when the play group goes to one of the local parks for a picnic. He is able to climb up the steps, run across the 'rope bridge' to the castle and slide down the slide. Apparently this activity will keep him occupied for most of the afternoon with short breaks to take in sustenance.


In addition to school and playdates, Alayna and Cavell are in constant motion around the house and neighborhood. Cavell follows Alayna around everywhere and just loves to be near her. Stacy does her best to keep up with them but looks forward to bed time every night when she can take a moment to breathe and relax.


We don't stay up much later than the kids these days. Stacy and I have purchased a membership at the YMCA and have gone to the gym 6 days a week religiously for the past two months. We are 6 weeks in to the 12 week Body for Life program. I wake up at 5:30am every morning to get my exercise done before work in the morning and Stacy takes Cavell with her while Alayna is in school in the morning. In addition to cardio and weight lifting we have changed our diet again and now eat 6 small meals each day.

I don't think we are ready to share pictures yet, we want to keep the dramatic results a secret for now, but I will leak a few interim statistics. I have lost 14lbs since starting this program for a total of almost 70lbs since I started steadily losing weight about 4 years ago. I have just barely started to change the hole I use in my belt. I weigh less now than when I returned home from my mission.

Stacy hasn't lost weight using this program, but she has lost 40lbs since she had Cavell and from using the elliptical trainer in the garage. She's lost quite a bit of fat and grown a lot of muscle. Stacy has gone from a size 10/12 to a size 4. Clothes are literally falling off of her even at size 4. But have no fear, she doesn't look like a scarecrow or a runway model, she is even more beautiful than ever. She needs a completely new wardrobe from head to toe at this point but we don't know where she will be in six more weeks. If anybody has any clothes they have grown out of, Stacy might be interested in taking them off your hands. She had a few lucky finds at the Goodwill store yesterday that will help her stay clothed for the next little while but I don't know how much longer she can get away with a knotted rope for a belt.

We have both had losses in our body fat percentage and we are finally within the 'healthy' range of the Body Mass Index. I have to be very conscious of my wedding band and Stacy has just stopped wearing hers. She chooses from a few different pinky rings and wears one of those on her ring finger for now but even those are starting to fall off. Stacy realized yesterday that she has become that girl in the gym that the other women get intimidated by. I on the other hand, don't come any where near having that problem.

The best part is that we are feeling good and healthy. The only negative is that we can't stay up late and watch movies after the kids go to bed. Way too sleepy.

Teeter-Totter

One of Grandpa Steve Onines' favourite things to do with his grandchildren is play "teeter-totter." Oh the tales of children, upon hearing his return home, running to the front room, throwing themselves on the ground in front of him as they offer their hands and feet. All so Grandpa could teeter and totter them. How joyous the cries of, "Again!" that followed, until Grandpa's back could take no more for the day. And sadly, each child would soon become too big for even one turn.

Last month I was able to take a new grandchild to Grandpa's house to participate in this rite. Grandpa loved Cavell's open mouthed wonder and giggles at this entertaining game. I think he enjoyed the encouraging claps Cavell gave to "ask" for another go even more.

Teeter-totter, bread and waterWash your face in Cavell water.

That is a little different than the way I recite it. "Teeter-totter, bread and butter / Wash it down with a glass of water." We are not the only ones that remember it our own ways. I found this article that seems to support my dad's version. Of course, he does replace "dirty" with the grandchild's name. Does that mean something?

Art by Alayna

Alayna drew this picture for her friend Mara. It is even more beautiful in person. Especially when we compare it to the pages of "writing" she has been doing for the past while.


This is only a small example. Imagine a full sized sheet of paper like this. No margins, the whole page. Now imagine a full notebook of this, and every other surface she can find to write on. She is making a few more pseudo letters, especially O, M, and N, but the page is so overwhelmingly full that it's hard to look at and see any of these. I would provide a better example, but she put her "homework" away in her desk, in her room, before going to bed.

I am going to see if I can convince her to give this picture to me and let her draw another for her friend.

1 YEAR

The little Gunner is 1 today!

A year ago he slept. Now it's amazing to watch him run after his sister to play and climb all over her.

A year ago I was worried about correct positioning to nurse him. Now he likes to nurse upside-down or on his tummy just as much as the cradle hold.

A year ago he could only cry. Now he makes all sorts of noises that have their own meaning (especially when he tells his sister to stop) and even sings.

A year ago he would startle. Now he can clap and give five.

A year ago he would look around him. Now he is exploring.

A year ago I loved him with all my heart. Now, I love him more.

The Morning Walk.

In getting things caught up, I found this post that had been started but never published. So here it is in all of it's unedited, unfinished glory:



The morning walks have begun again. Sadly so has the hot weather. But, I no longer have to push two kids in the stroller. Alayna is riding her bike around the neighborhood! She is very excited and does such a great job staying by the side of the road, stopping to look for cars, and saying hello to our neighbors.


Have we also shared that Alayna has begun to read?! Today we read "The Letter" from our "Frog and Toad" book that Grandma Onines gave Alayna.

Cavell's Turn

We seem to share a lot about Alayna. I think it is because the older she gets the more she does. Today, we thought we would share a couple of things about Cavell.


For finger food at dinner we give Cavell a veggie mix of peas, carrots, corn and green beans. When he has finished what he wants to eat, he begins to very purposefully drop a green bean on the floor, watching it fall before he gets another and drops it. If he has placed a green bean in his mouth while trying to get the other vegetable in, he will spit just the green bean out and drop that on the floor. Cavell does not like Green Beans.

Paul was watching Cavell the other day while Stacy got some much needed alone time for shopping. Allowing the children to play together with autonomy, he notices that it is very quiet. All parents know this is not a good sign. Then he hears Cavell YELLING. He rushes to Alayna's room where she is quietly working at her desk. Cavell is still YELLING. He follows the yells to our bathroom where Cavell has climbed in the tub and is mad at the faucet because there is no water coming out. Cavell likes Baths.

Southern Girl

Well, Alayna is a true Southern Girl. Yesterday at dinner she declared, "Biscuits and gravy are even better than taquitos!" And anyone that has asked her what she wants for dinner knows how much she enjoys taquitos.

We should probably share that Cavell has been walking for at least a week. Not much more than six steps at a time, but when he goes down he can stand himself back up without having to pull up on anything and starts walking again. He also enjoys climbing up onto the Thinking Chair to watch TV with Alayna.


Another tooth has come in. I guess the 6th just isn't as exciting as the first though it does give the bottom an even 4.

"A" You're Adorable

Monday Alayna asked me to read a book that Cavell had found on our shelf. "A" You're Adorable. I read it to her and mentioned that it was a song, but didn't know the tune. Instead, I went to YouTube and found a feed. Two BYU gals, Sandi Griffths and Sally Flynn, on the Lawrence Welk Show in 1971!!



Alayna listened to it over, and over, and over. Tuesday afternoon she asked to listen to the song again. This time I found her a Sesame Street version with a puppet named Jack from 1969! Cookie Monster even made an appearance for the second half.



She enjoyed the puppets, but asked for Sandi and Sally by name.
This morning Alayna asked to listen AGAIN. She happily watched both feeds again, and again, and again.

As you can imagine, Alayna now knows the song and we present it here for your listening pleasure.

boomp3.com

Talent Show!!

We have been teasing some of the Grandparents for a few weeks now about Alayna's first appearance at the ward talent show. Alayna has been excited about the talent show from the first time it was announced. She decided right away that she would sing Castle on A Cloud from Les Miserables. The talent show is also the night of the ward desert competition and pig roast.

Last year's entry to the desert competition was completely ignored by the judges (missionaries with no palate). I think the Bishop heard rumor that there may have been some hard feelings over the way the judging took place last year, because this year the desert competition was only open to the Primary children. Alayna decided that we would be submitting our recently found and modified to be gluten-free brownie recipe. Alayna did all of the measuring and pouring into the bowl and Stacy assisted by operating the heavy machinery.

So, we have the perfect set-up for the perfect evening. The ward talent show, made up of any person willing to stand on the stage in front of the crowd. The ward, more interested in talking to the people two or three tables away from them than pay attention to the talent. And desert provided by the Primary children. But the pig was smoked to perfection. There is nothing that a little bit (OK, a whole lot) of perfectly bbq'd pork can't solve.

Stacy started off the evening with her rendition of the song Popular from the award winning musical, Wicked. (Pardon the audio, I don't have a sound engineer willing to work for what I'm willing to pay)



As soon as Stacy finished receiving her well deserved applause, Alayna took the stage.



What I like is that there is a definite difference between the background noise when Stacy and Alayna sings. The free-range children that escaped the attention of their parents and stood in front of the stage making too much noise during the show paid more attention to Alayna than Stacy, but returned to their noisy diversions as soon as Alayna was done.

Immediately following the talent show and later at church on Sunday, Stacy received four requests wondering where she can be seen performing plays/shows/musicals in the area. Apparently Stacy is perceived to be good enough that normally cheap thrifty Mormons are willing to pay money to hear her sing. Alayna received her share of positive comments as well. She is the current darling of the ward and milks it for all it's worth. Everybody was very impressed at her ability to memorize the whole song and willingness to perform in front of the crowd.

And to quote my Deacon's reporting on the events of a campout, "We had a lot of fun."