The World As 100 People

I read this and thought it was so interesting, so I wanted to share.

If we could shrink the earth's population to a village of 100 people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look like this ...

• 60 Asians
• 12 Europeans
• 8 Latin Americans
• 5 from USA and Canada
• 1 from South Pacific
• 14 Africans
• 49 would be female
• 51 would be male
• 82 would be non-white, 18 white
• 67 would be non-Christian, 33 would be Christian
• 32% of the world's wealth would be in the hands of only 5 people and all 5 would be U.S. citizens
• 80 would live in substandard housing
• 24 would not have electricity
• 33 would not have access to safe water
• 67 would be unable to read
• 50 would suffer from malnutrition
• One would be near death, 2 would be near birth
• Only one would have a college education
• 7 would have internet access

When you consider our world from such a perspective, the need for both acceptance and understanding becomes glaringly apparent. I've been feeling really down lately - and this was a big reminder for me to count my blessings.

This is What Happens When ...

This is what happens when we haven't cleaned house for like a week, so we take a day to stay home and get it done ....

3 hours later ... we still need to get the house cleaned. But we sure all look snazzy! :)

This is what happens when we watch "So You Think You Can Dance" with M ...


Need I say more?

This is what happens when we get home from the library on Mondays.

Ahhhhh ... I wish library day would happen every day.

This is what happens when a 3-year-old is in charge of keeping the mud room clean.

Yeah. And grounding her doesn't really seem to do the trick, because she is very capable of playing make-believe all day long.

This is what happens when we finally get our garden figured out - after 3 of our plants died ... we realized that we had an aphid infestation - got that under control - planted a few NEW plants (some which are just barely sprouting) - and VOILA!

Don'tcha think it looks beautiful? We can't wait to get some veggies from it!

And THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS!

Fourth of July with the Rasmussen Clan

These pictures are worth a thousand words ...

... and this VIDEO is worth at least a thousand words on its own. :)

Thanks for the pure entertainment, Paul! I've got this copywrited.

Happy Fourth of July!

Stadium of Fire: Worth every penny!

Family FUN!!

With both sides of our families coming in from out of town - we have had some serious hang-out events. :)! Can it get any better? Here we are hangin' out with the Jenson clan ... water fight, rock band, donuts, snow cones (hopefully, I'll be able to get that picture off my cell phone). The kids are estatic to have AJ and Julia with them in Utah now. We have missed them like crazy! They play together as if they were never apart to start with. It's really fun to have 2 little girls (Krystal and Julia) to play together. Lil' Kyle still navigates between Aaron, AJ, and Kev and Krystal and Julia. I wonder who he will settle with? :) So cute ... we love cousins!

And, we couldn't be more pleased to have Kent, Leisy, and Zebby visiting. We've spent some fun times with just Leisy and Zeb (of course, I got no pics) - and then - today we got to spend ALL DAY with them (Kent included)!!! We had lots of fun. Kenj got right down to business and colored princess pictures with the girlies ... nice job, Kenj - your picture looks FABULOUS!! We always seem to end up around the table coloring and visiting. hahaha. I even got Kent to show us his amazing push up skills ... EIGHTY ONE push-ups in one minute!!!!! His record is 83. I tried my own hand (well, arms) at the task ... and only made it through 40 seconds. But I got 30 something (Okay - 26) pushups in. Not bad, I say. I can barely type right now, however. hahaha. So - enjoy those super awesome pictures ... and video. We love being together.

Toothfairy Troubles?

So ... as you can see ... Aaron lost yet ANOTHER tooth ----> yesterday. Aaaaaaaand - the toothfairy forgot to come. Aaron, being the sweetie he is, said: "Mom, tell the toothfairy not to worry about my tooth - I'm sure she gets plenty of teeth." Yeah. I'm the best Mom ever. :\!! Sooooo - please text me late tonight to remind ME to remind the toothfairy of her duty here at the Jenson household, okay? Thanks.

Also - check out these big girl curls. They won't last more than an hour - but, they're cute, eh?

Catching Up

1. As of Sunday - we have NO more babies in our house. haha. Really - Krystal has just been spoiled rotten ... and we have pretty much rocked her to sleep every night of her life. So, Saturday night - Tyler and I had a big talk with her about how she needs to go to bed by herself at the same time as Aaron. She pretty much just said, "Okay." and "Yep, I a big girl." So, Sunday night we went for it ... Super Nanny style (we're some of her biggest fans). I'm really proud of Tyler - because, it has been all him. He read her a book, sang her a song (all in her bed) - and then told her good night. That night, he only had to walk her back to bed 4 times ... in 5 minutes. And - ever since - she's done great! I honestly can't believe it. I can't say it has been ALL easy, though - saying "no" to "Mommy, I want to seep on own (that means your) shoulder!" or "Daddy - peeease rock-a-bye me." - has been no picnic. But - we've done it. Yay for us!

2. Aaron lost his first tooth!!! He was so excited - and texted gma, gpa, and M right away. It fell out first thing in the morning - and, by the end of the day - he forgot to put it under his pillow. Granted, the tooth fairy usually takes several nights before remembering to bring money in exchange for a lost tooth at our house. But THIS time - the tooth fairy remembered ... at 6:00 am. So, the money was left on his dresser. I had to take a picture of his tooth sitting on his dresser - because, it is so small, that I almost brushed it off into his garbage thinking it was a crumb or something. hahaha. Ahhhh - to be 6 again. Tooth fairy days are good times.


3. Well, "Camp Rock" has come and gone. Marissa had a rockin' ... and I'm not kidding when I say ROCKIN' party. Eleven year old girls are the best (and Annie Bea fit right in as an 8 year old going on 18 :))! They had so much fun ... and partied, munched, danced, and squealed like crazy.
Here is a picture of the whole gang ... and I loved this pic of Marissa and Annie trying to get the boys to come in and dance. The boys really wanted to, I think, but we're saying NO WAY would they come in and dance with a bunch of GIRLS!


Thank heavens for DVR - the girls had to RE-wind and RE-dance to every song on the show. It was so cute. I loved it. I took about 10 videos ... but here's just one sample: Sierra refused to dance ... haha ... and Marissa thought it was pretty rockin' that we turned the volume up to ONE HUNDRED!! (I did too). Jonas Brothers pretty much rock!


4. Well - there you have it. There has been a lot more going on ... so, I'll post more soon. Love to all!

Kirtland ...Ty's Trip Continued

It has been a while since I blogged pictures from my cross country excursion, and here is the next installment.

After leaving Palmyra we journeyed to Kirtland, Ohio. This day was the day I first drove the 26 ft. truck, with a car in tow. It was a bit harrowing at first, but I quicky got used to the rig.

We arrived shortly after 4:30 PM, checked into the hotel, and hopped into the car to go see the Kirtland Temple. Brandon had allowed me navigation privileges again and once again I got us lost. I can't tell my North from my South. After looking more closely to the map I was able to tell where I went wrong. Unfortunately we got to the Temple after it had closed, so were unable to take the tour. The building is beautiful, and I stood in awe at what the Saints were able to accomplish.


Right down the street is the Newell K. Whitney store where the Prophet lived for some time. It is here in this room that many different Sections of the Doctorine and Covenents and the Word of Wisdom were received by revelation. The plans for the Temple were also received by revelation here.


This is the room that housed the School of the Prophets. This room is what inspired the Word of Wisdom. It was said that the smoke was so thick in this room from the pipes, and so forth, that Joseph Smith could not see the people on the back row.

We really had a great time in Kirtland. My next post will be our drive through Nauvoo. Stay tuned.

Life is Good

We have been busy playing. Hence, no blogging. Ty returned from Boston with Brandon in tow - Leisy and Zebby are in town - Jers and Plonns returned from California - DeAnn is able to leave the nursing home every so often - Tina comes home tomorrow - and Kent visits in a week and a half. Whew! I love my families!! We have so much fun together.

On another note - Melynda kicked my hiney at Guitar Hero yesterday. We have got some SERIOUS re-battling to take care of.

My Palmyra pic's

After leaving Boston, Our first stop was Palmyra. Brandon and I drove 6 hours in a big old truck, only to become hopelessly lost. We thought we were following the directions perfectly, but ended up about 20 miles off course. Driving through heavily forrested towns with narrow streets in a big truck can certainly unravel nerves. But we eventually found our way (thanks a ton Michelle!), and Brandon demoted me to assistant navigator. We ventured out to see Hill Cumorah, The Sacred Grove, and the Smith family farm. It was a wonderful experience to walk where the Prophet walked, and see where God and Jesus Christ appeared to him. We also saw the room where the Angel Moroni appeared to him. All I can say is WAY COOL!

This is me in front of the Hill Cumorah. On the top of the hill is this monument of Moroni. Yes, we went to the top. Is it that hard to imagine me hiking up to the top? We actually drove. HaHa

This is the room where Joseph Smith grew up. It is also the room where the Angel Moroni appeared to Joseph.

This picture was taken in the home that Joseph's Brother built. The wooden box in the picture is the actual box that Joseph Smith used to hide the Gold Plates.

Joseph Smith also hid the plates under these bricks. If I remember correctly, most of the bricks here are the original bricks Joseph used.

Here is a picture of the Palmyra Temple.

This picture was taken in the Sacred Grove. Our tour guide told a neat story about the grove. He stated that the owner of the land (after the Smiths) heard Joseph's story, and therefore, did not clear any of the trees from that area. When he was on his death bed, he instructed his son not to touch any of the trees in that part of the land. The grove has not been touched since the First Vision. These exact trees have witnessed the appearance of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Very moving.

I wanted to get one of those cool pictures of the sun shining throught the trees, but unfortunatly it was overcast. I still think it is a pretty picture though.


After seeing Palmyra, it was off to Kirtland. I'll post those pictures next. I left Palmyra with a greater understanding of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Michelle and I are already planning a trip there. It is something I highly recommend doing!