House Projects - part 1

We gave the kids bathroom a little update recently. The old:

When we re-carpeted, we had the floors done in LVT. While John was here, he and Dani teamed up to frame in the mirror. They put the frame together, stained it, and stuck it right on the mirror. We also changed the light fixture.

We are really happy the way it turned out!

 

Biz Town

One of the things the 5th graders in Wilsonville look forward to is participating in a program called "Biz Town," where the kids all participate in a mock community with businesses, salaries, money, and the ability to purchase things. 

Claire was the CFO the town's news room. We made and sold a newspaper, but she did all the accounting and bills and stuff.

I (Jacob) was CFO of Northwest Sports

What we did there was we sold sports balls, bags, cards, and other fun little sports things. By the end of the day, we tried to get enough money to pay off a debt.

Dani volunteered at the event to answer questions.

 

Shoulder Angel

We've been watching clips of Studio C recently, and the kids think it's hilarious. One of the favorites is the Shoulder Angel episodes, where one of the characters climbs up someone to perch on the right shoulder and give advice. The other night, the kids took turns trying to be Jared's shoulder angel. Claire was successful!

One of our favorite things from the episodes is that Torin is now saying "poof" when he opens a door and enters a room (like they do on Studio C). It sounds like "pee-oof"

Fun things at school

We appreciate that the teachers in our kids schools are creative with how they are taught. Kate and Liam got to make pies one day in preschool.

Jacob and Claire's classes do a fun run fundraiser. It was a beautiful day for it!

 

Liam and the The Red MG

I got home from work early, and all of the kids were out in the street with the other Jensen kids riding bikes. Eventually, I went to get my bike to join them, and we biked around the neighborhood a bit. Jacob and Jack challenged Liam and me to a game of bicycle tag, so off they went, and Liam and I went for a ride to find them.

As we were biking, Liam got a little to close to a car and clipped the bumper. He was okay, though a little surprised. We went back and looked at the car and noticed a small area of chipped paint on the back corner of the car. The owner of the car was in his garage, so we went up to talk to him and let him know about the accident. Liam was pretty nervous about talking with him.

The man, whose name I learned is Steve, was very kind to Liam. He started telling Liam about the car ("did you know this car is even older than your dad?") and walking him around it. He looked at the chip and showed other scratches and chips in the paint. He taught the exact lesson I hoped to have Liam learn - that it is better to tell the truth. It was a great lesson that Liam taught.

Even more, it was a lesson in forgiveness. Here was a man who clearly loves his classic car, but when it comes to the feelings of a 5-year-old, who he doesn't even know, he was fast to forgive and to make Liam feel valued. It was a Christlike type of act that I will remember and be grateful for.

Claire gets a poem published

Last year, Claire submitted a poem to a poetry contest of elementary school students, and hers was one chosen to be published. We hadn't ever seen the poem or heard that she had entered the contest, so we ordered the book, and it finally came.

What a great message from our Claire!

Back to school (for 4 of us)

Last Monday, Jacob and Claire started 5th grade. Their last year in primary school at Lowry.

Kate and Liam started preschool today at Valley Christian.

Torin, much to his dismay and against his greatest expectations, did not get dropped off with Kate and Liam.

Labor Day at the park

Labor Day in Oregon is almost always beautiful, and this year was no exception. One of the things we love to do is ride down to Memorial Park and the new disc golf course. We are able to ride out bikes down to the park, play some frisbee golf, and in not too much time.

The kids love it, too!

 

What did you say?

The Schaffers are up for anything. So when we invited them over for a game night then brought out the mouth spreaders (like the ones from dental offices), hilarity ensued.

The goal was to say words and to try to get your team to be able to understand what was said, but that was more often than not a losing battle.

After a bit, the kids all wanted turns. Jacob could hardly say anything because he was laughing so hard at himself.

A few of our favorite family bike trails

One of our very favorite trails is the Banks Vernonia trail. Kate and Liam are big enough to both ride on a trailer bike, and Jacob and Claire have bikes with gears, and Jared tows Torin behind his trailer bike, so we can add a little distance now.

The Banks Vernonia trail is a converted rail line, so its slope and turns are gradual. One of our favorite places on the trail is a long curving wooden tressel bridge. It is pretty high above the floor below, so it gives good views and is just fun to ride on. We make sure that we ride on it each time we are on the trail.

While Jared has the best individual road bike setup, the entire bike train is a perfect challenge for him.

Another of our favorite places to go is along the Columbia River between the airport and the river. The only hill it has is when the trail shifts from the top of the berm to the river side of the berm. The views are beautiful and are highlighted by regular flight take offs and landings.

 

Visiting the Nickels in Washington

 We decided to go to spend a 3-day weekend in University Place Washington, near Tacoma, with our friends the Nickels, and we packed a lot into a few days! We went to a neighborhood pool, where Jared launched kids over and over during a game of 500. Even though Adam had to work quite a bit, he and Torin spent some quality time together.

 

We went to a Tacoma Raineers minor league baseball game. Jared even got a ball! We sat on the grass hill down the right field line. It made getting it easier for our crew to get up and down and up and down without bothering anyone.

 

This was the first minor league we've been to since being students at BYU and going to a game in Orem.

Adam and Marnie live just down the street from Chambers Bay, a huge golf course that is hosting next year's US Open. It is built right on the sound. It is a links style course, so not many trees, but it is a public course and there are walking and running trails throughout the course. We took a number of walks and runs there while we were visiting. Adam, Marnie, Dani, and I had a delicious dinner one night on the patio of the clubhouse.

There is also a large park at the end of the golf course that we spent hours playing on the huge play structures with all the kids. It was great to see the Nickels and reconnect. They certainly live in a beautiful area of the northwest!

Summer Olympics

 

A fun tradition we have is on the night of the opening ceremony of the Olympics, we have food native to the host country. Since the 2016 Summer Olympiad is taking place in Brazil, we made Brazilian food! This included pao de queijo (cheese bread), feijoada (which the kids LOVED!), and grilled pineapple.

After the kids go to bed, mom and dad get to enjoy the remainder of the opening ceremony with some Americone Dream (not as good as Tonight Dough).

We all really enjoy watching the olympics. We will watch each evening as a family.

We love gathering on the beanbag chair. Torin loves laying on daddy and cheering on USA!

Daytime bike date

We love taking our bikes out for rides, and when we get the chance to during the day for a morning date, it's even better! One of our favorite places to ride is along the Wilamette River, starting near OMSI, riding south to the Sellwood Bridge, then coming back.

The new bridge that opened since we moved to Portland is beautiful. It is a bike, pedestrian, train and bus bridge only. No other motor vehicles.

We love the blue skies and blue water of Portland.

 

McKnights

Our kids love play dates at the McKnights home!