A Day of Thanks

I just love Thanksgiving. A long weekend to hang out with family ... eat lotsa good food ... shop 'til ya drop ... and just feel the spirit of the holidays and excitement in the air. I. LOVE. IT!!

Mom and Dad always make the yummiest food ... and Thanksgiving they pull out all of the stops.  Mmmmmm Mmmmmm good!

Even Kristy Annie totally redeemed herself (from her pie making skills) and brought some incredibly looking ... AND tasting homemade rolls:

Dad carved the turkey while James caught a few zzzzzzzz's ... and Tyler cracked himself up by sticking crayons in James' ear (while James slept right on):

We just love being together and hanging out ... but, Melynda always manages to make the day extra fun for the kiddos.  She had crafts, treats, movies, and games goin' for them all day!  Thanks M!

I am so lucky to have my Mom and my Grandma and my Marissa.  Can you just feel the love?!?

Games and lounging are just a must on Thanksgiving Day!

I hope y'all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  We sure did!  I'm so grateful for my family and friends!

Pie Making Day

We all love Grandma Miller's Chocolate Sundae Pie (aka Eggnog pie). However - it is NOT easy to make. A yearly instructional class is held at Mom's house the day before each Thanksgiving to guide the rest of us along ... we'll still need to keep that up for many years before us daughters will be capable.

In fact, Kristy was kicked off of many a task ... separating the whites from the yolks .... shaping the pie crust ...stirring the cooking custard ... and even filling the water baths.  :)  She's got a long way to come yet.  :D  Here are our beautiful crusts all ready to be filled:


Here is the custard cooling in the water baths:


Beating the egg whites and whipping cream:


Mixing the custard with the egg white/whipping cream combo:


The pies have got to set for awhile:


Gramps is in charge of grating the chocolate on ALL the pies. He performs this duty to perfection:


Voila. They look deeeeelish, don't they? They ARE deelish. Can't wait to get me a slice tomorrow!  Thanks for the fabulous day Mom!


Grandma Miller's Chocolate Sundae Pie

1 cup canned milk
1 cup water
2 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Pinch salt

Boil 2 minutes stirring constantly.

1 envelope Knox gelatin in 5 Tablespoons COLD water.

Combine and cool in water bath until soft jello consistency.

Beat 2 egg white while adding 1/2 cup sugar.
Beat 1/2 pint whipping cream.
Combine and add to custard.

Pour in pie crust (baked at 400 degrees for 9 minutes).  Chill overnight (makes 2 pies)

Good Character

I wish I had this kid's attitude.  Two weekends ago - I checked Aaron out of school to get his H1N1 vaccination (on a Friday).  He had ridden his bike to school that morning, and we forgot to go back to get his bike until the next morning (Saturday).  Well -- lo and behold -- it was not there.  I never purchased a lock for it despite Aaron 's begging and my Dad's insistence -- and, it must have been stolen.  Then the weather turned bad anyway - so we were carpooling to and from school.  BUT ... today was nice - so the kids decided to bike.  Aaron had tried riding his scooter to school another day last week and just couldn't keep up with all the bikers.  So he asked if he could just ride Krystal's two-wheeler.  I pulled it down ... purple and pink with white wheels and the words "Sea Star" painted across it ... and said, "This'll work fine, but are you going to be okay if kids maybe tease you?"  He said, "Sure!  It's not really making fun if I'm laughing right along with them!"  Can I just tell you that my heart filled with so much love for this kid when he said that?!?  What a fabulous attitude.

ANYWAY ... when he got home from school he told me that when he biked to his friend's house and his friend saw the bike Aaron was on, they both had a good laugh.  Then his friend said, "Hey!  My sister's old bike is the same one as this.  Wouldn't it be funny if we both rode pink and purple twinner bikes to school?"  Soooo ... they did ... in all their hilarious-ness -- two 7-year-old boys proudly (and laughing all the way) rode their sisters' bikes to and from school.  Ya know - good friends and good character make all the difference.

Tulips for Spring

After tons of research on how to select and plant tulips ... we decided to chuck all that information out the window and just go with the flow. :) I let the kids each pick 10 bulbs ... with no thought to whether they were early/mid/late ... or how big or little they were ... or what colors they were ... or even which variety.


We dug a big ol' trench - and plopped them in! (We DID make sure they were facing the right direction).  We couldn't find any fertilizer or root enhancer or anything ... but, we're hoping for the best.



Now they are buried safe and sound in the cold ground ... a little hope for Spring to get here sooner than later.

Marissa's Talk for YW in Excellence

I hope it's okay with Marissa that I decided to post this. After I read through what she had prepared ... I just wanted to make sure I remembered it for always. We have so many wonderful examples to choose from in our family ... and, I KNOW Marissa has an extra special place in her heart for my Dad - her Grandpa Brent.

Good Works by Marissa Jenson

I think my grampa Brent is a good example of good works. He helps out a lot. He comes when we lock the keys in the car. And one time he helped us put shelves in the garage. Once he even helped my mom weed the whole yard. When I was little we lived in my grandpa's house. I liked to wake up early so I wouldn't miss mowing the lawn with him. Since I was so little it took him a lot longer to mow the lawn when I helped him. But he was really patient because he new I really liked it. My grandpa loved making tents out of blankets and chairs with me - then reading me books with a flashlight in it. Even now he still comes outside with me and plays catch or baseball, or kickball. I love going over to his house to play with him. My grandpa has taught me the importance of good works. I understand that good works happen when we serve and help out each other. Good works can be little things or big things. My grandpa is always there when someone needs help or to help out in any way. I am going to try my best to follow his example.


Marissa wrote maybe one or two talks for her last year in Primary on her own, and I am just so proud of her ability to write and give talks when asked. I know it isn't easy - but, I love that she put a lot of thought into this 90 second little assignment - and it truly comes from her heart. I have a good dad -- it shows, huh?

Halloween Eve at the Jensons

We usually get together ON Halloween with the Jenson clan - but, we're always squished for time and don't really get the opportunity to hang out as much. So, this year, we got together for Halloween Eve - and we seriously had a blast! I hope it is a tradition that continues.

Aaron: Obi Wan Kenobi (wow. I just had to look up how to spell that :)) Krystal: Thumbelina


We had the kids play ring-toss to win lotsa fun prizes ... (Miss: escape convict ... I love that Ty loves to come and plop down on her lap :))


... these vampire teeth were the favorite. :)


I LOOOOOVE this picture of Ryan and Tyler. Tyler just put this wig (of Jeremy's) on for fun ... and to act strange as he does from time to time :) ... I laugh right out loud at the look Ryan is giving him. I believe he gets that look EVERY time we hang out with Ryan. hahaha.


The kids played BINGO to win even more treats .... and then we had a costume relay where each team raced to put on 5 different costume pieces and then act the Halloween move drawn from a bowl. It was a huge hit:




We had donut eating contests (and obviously had the Jazz game going) ...



... and decorated cookies.


We sure love being with the WHOLE Jenson clan. So. Much. Fun.

Spooky ...

I just had to post these pics of us in our "Thriller" Zombie masks for Halloween. We had a lot of fun getting each other all decked out. :) And these pictures are just so spooky ...


...except for Tyler. haha. We thought it would be really funny to make his face the OPPOSITE of everyone elses ... white instead of black around the eyes and what not. And we discovered that his lips look like a peppermint ... hence, the hilarious picture. Anywho ... we crack ourselves up -- and have a lot of fun.
I'm not sure why I'm always 2 weeks behind. One of these days I'll get caught up. I can't believe October 2009 is in the past!!!!! Holiday season is in full swing!

Taylor Family Halloween Party 2009

We all had a great time, as usual, at the Taylor Family Halloween Party. Being with everybody and seeing all the fun costumes is always a big hit! Vivi and Krystal were twinner Thumbelina's this year. Super cute!I sure love my grandma and grandpa so much. They are such fabulous people ... and we owe these traditional get-togethers to grandma's devotion and insistence. I'm so grateful! (gotta love Paul's background pics ... always)

This year the kids were able to fish for prizes in an awesome fishing pond ... and we all danced to "The Monster Mash" after watching videos of previous years' skits and dances. It's kindof crazy to think that we have had this Halloween Party every year for over 30 years ... and skits and video-ed dances to prove it!

My kids don't see these guys often ... but they sure seem to love being together when they can. :) Aaron and Kobe ----- Krystal and Oliver. Cuteness flowing over.

I really think the hit of the party (besides the skits, of course) was the face painting. Look at this amazing crown Krystal got. Aaron didn't want his face painted - but, he can be an original "Paul" if given a goofy prop. LOL.

Thanks Taylor clan for another spook-tacular Halloween party!