Climbing date night

One of our goals for 2017 was to have active date nights. Given that it is the winter, that means we needed to find something indoors. We discovered the perfect place for us - bouldering at The Circuit in Tigard! 

We liked challenging ourselves on this yellow one - it was tough and we didn't even conquer it, but we tried quite a few times - and looked cool doing it. There were others that we topped out on and had some light competition (Dani climbed one Jared couldn't).

The slackline was a great place to have some fun while resting tired hands and arms! 

Leavenworth anniversary trip

We celebrated our 14th anniversary with a trip to the town of Leavenworth, WA. It is a Bavarian themed town in the Cascades, and the week we were there it was COLD!!! It happened to be the Ice Festival (aptly named, I must say), and the town was lit up and decorated.

One of the days, in the main park in town, ice sculpters were carving their creations. It was impressive to watch!

 

One of the other funny things we watched was people sledding on the little hill in the main park. It wasn't a long hill, but there were lots of people sledding on it. Most were using cheap plastic disks that we assume were purchased from one of the stores across the street. It was so cold, and the snow was so hard that those sleds were getting destroyed - cracked into lots of pieces! And it sure didn't look like a comfortable ride. We chose to pass on a sled ride.

We chose, instead, to go skiing at Steven's Pass, about 45 minute out of Leavenworth. Again, it was COLD, but cold was good for the snow. We loved being able to ski wherever we wanted and exploring the mountain. There were beautiful views and fun terrain as we zipped down the trails.

One of our favorite places to eat was the Munchen Haus - we ate there a few times! The sausages were really good, and Jared absolutely loved the apple cider saurkraut (yum!) and enormous collection of various mustards. As good as the sausages were, it was the hot pretzels with Beecher's Cheese dip that stole the show! We talked about those pretzels for weeks afterwards (okay, longer than that).

 

We enjoyed walking around town and exploring the shops. Our favorite was the hat shop. Dani decided to try to fit the part.

We went for a Sunday stroll out by the river. The river was partly frozen, and it was cold!

This was an amazing trip! It was a time that we re-connected, talked about our relationship and family, and set goals. This year, we worked especially on our family mission statement and making a family focus for the year. We settled on "Do Something Good Today." It's going to be a great year!

A little more Wilsonville snow

It doesn't snow much here, so when it does, we get out and play in it! Our favorite place to go sledding is on the hill on Colvin Lane. The kids love to make snow angels and snowmen in the back yard. These snow angels were made on McLeod as we were coming home.

We built a few snowmen - one in the front yard that is taller than Torin, and a little one someone put on top of my car. It was so cold that it stayed up there for a couple days!

Someone posted an aerial picture of the neighborhood with snow - it looks pretty!

The boot lineup is kind of hilarious!

Jensen Church

It doesn't take much snow to cancel things here in Oregon, so we ended up having church cancelled this weekend. The kids weren't looking to take the week off, so they put together a meeting, complete with a paper program, 

and a podium to speak at, complete with tissues (gotta be prepared for mom!).

Jacob and Claire helped their younger siblings write and give their talks and then spoke themselves.

Torin saw everyone else participating and he wanted a turn too.

It was cute - and as parents, we are proud that our kids have a consistent desire to go to church. Even when it is held in our living room.

Jensen Church

A snowy Sunday today meant church was cancelled, so we were at home the entire day. The kids decided they would like to hold "Jensen Church."

The kids put together the program, complete with paper programs for all.

The kids fashioned a pulpit to stand behind - and were considerate enough to put a box of tissues on it! Torin led both the opening and closing songs.

Each of the kids wrote their own talks, choosing their own topics as well.

Claire and Jacob helped Liam and Kate write and deliver their talks.

 

It was a nice to see how much church attendance means to our kids.

Our new kitchen!

The kitchen took a little longer than planned to get the final doors on, but it is all finished now and we are thrilled!

We refaced the cabinets along the wall from oak to white and island from white to gray, added uppers to the ceiling, including the glass doors near the sink, and added a desk and cabinets next to the stairs.

One of our new favorite features - slow close cabinet doors and drawers. It makes the kitchen so much quieter, especially with the kids!

The kitchen feels so much lighter and bigger, and there is so much more storage space. We love having the built-in desk matching the rest of the kitchen. With the 7 of us, that's a big bonus. We absolutely love it!

A surprise at work

In Jared's first week at Precoa, back in August of 2009, Chris Giovarelli put "Aunt Viv" on Jared's desk with the story that it was the urn given to him when he first started with Precoa. She stayed with him through the first months he was there to help Chris be comfortable entering the funeral industry. "Aunt Viv" was next given to the next new employee, Jana, a few weeks later. For the next 7.5 years, "Aunt Viv" greeted most new employees in the company. The story was her remains were in there, but for a long time, it was known by many that there was a pop can and some cereal inside.

But... in all that time, no one had ever opened up the urn. Until Motoko! She decided we needed to pop her open. Lo and behold, the can of sprite and cereal - and a note from Chris to me! It welcomed me to Precoa and gave a little back story of "Aunt Viv," Chris's "favorite aunt.

Who knew!?! After all these years - a note from Chris! What a fun surprise!

2016 Quotes

2016 quotes

Claire:
"You're funny. You're not hilarious. Hilarious is an overstatement."
- Claire's response to Jared's proclamation that Claire thinks he's hilarious. Thanks Claire

Jacob:
"Could we go to the Korean War Memorial Park? Or is that offensive to you?"
- Jacob to Kaci when she was staying with the kids while Jared and Dani were in Cancun

"Maybe you should try parking in 2 spots ... just in case."
- Jacob to Kaci as she was parking the Yukon at the Korean War Memorial Park. She parked in 1, which Jacob expressed that he was impressed!

Kate:
"you mean, vacay?"
- Jared was talking about the upcoming vacation to Costa Rica - fortunately, Kate was around to keep him up to date on the current lingo

"Fingernail polish!!!"
- Kate was so excited about Amber's gorgeous nails that she missed the glittering rock on her finger!

"Torpedo chips"
- 3/6 - Pita Chips

"This is CWAZY!!!"
- 3/28 - Dani hears this, and then walks in the bathroom to see Kate sitting the other direction on the toilet!

"Rollercoasters, lollipops, and candy"
- 10/9 - Kate's vision of paradise

"I am grateful for Nana because the food she makes tastes so good. And ... this one is funny ... because she farts a lot"
- 10/9 - Kate's describing what she's thankful for Nana for.

Liam:
"Maybe? ... but maybe not?"
- Liam's response, 1 finger raised, as Jared and Dani were heading out the door to Costa Rica, to the question, "Liam, are you going to throw a fit when the Wii gets turned off?

"How do armpits get stinky?
- the questions you ask your aunt Kaci!!!

"We'll see..."
- Liam's response to Kaci when she asked him if he would listen next time (so he didn't lose another treat). He tells the truth at least!!!

"Daddy... I can't find my undies!!!"
- 5/1, in the bathroom in the church! Fortunately, Dani was prepared to help little commando Liam!

"De [buckle] [tie] [lock]" - as in, "Daddy, I de-locked the door for you!"
- June - Liam's variations of words instead of "un"

"I love you mamma"
- summer and beyond. Liam says it all the time, sometimes when he's just sitting next to her at dinner, sometimes when he's in trouble, sometimes in the middle of a conversation, sometimes from across the house. We LOVE it!

"I brushed my teeth twice. It can last me 2 days!"
- 12/22

Torin:
"Light!!!"
- Torin wants all the lights on in the entire house - including the one in the oven, under the microwave, and the plug-in candle.

"Taco Bell!  Taco Bell!"
- May/June - When Torin hears we are going to get dinner (whether on bike or in the car), he starts a chant for what he wants.

"No Mom, Daddy do it!"
- All.Year.Long

"Sonk" "Sink" "FinG"
- Torin's "ing" and "ong" end in hard consonants - like the words, Song, Sing, and Find.

"It's for my birfday" and "It's for my Christmas"
- End of the year - Torin is claiming that everything is his. He's now come up with an excuse

Dani:
"I LOVE these Mother's Day coupons - and so far, they're reusable!"
- 2 days of coupon use, 2 days of NO KIDS out after bedtime!!!

Jared:
too many to list because he's hilarious!

New Years Eve - saying good bye to a great 2016

This year, we celebrated New Years with the Jensen and the Smiths and all the kids. To celebrate, we watched the ball drop - in the East Coast - and on Dani's computer!

We celebrated with sparkling cider and sparkly hats

Dani and I found ourselves in the middle of a board game (TransAmerica) as the clock struck midnight.

2016 was a great year, and we're looking forward to 2017