Update on Swimming Lesson Results

Savannah: Passed and moves on to the SWIM TEAM!

Margaret: Passed and moves on to the LEVEL 4 - STROKES class!

LeGrand: Stays in a LEVEL 2 Class because of the spread between level 2 and level 3; Jumps off the Diving Board without trying to sit down; splashes awesomely, and can do a somersault under water. He loves the water and is getting pretty good at not appearing to drown.

Caroline: Moves to LEVEL 2! Has greater confidence in the water, and can splash with the very best of them! She loves to jump off the side of the pool, and loves to push herself off the wall to me. Arms flailing and all. She can't wait for next year!

Bailey: Didn't take lessons. Wishes she had. She will float with a pool noodle, and loves to push herself off the wall to me. At least she isn't trying to choke me anymore when we're in the pool. She still won't put her head under the water, but she doesn't cry when she falls of the wall (entirely on her own, I might add) anymore!

So... There you have it. Next year, more lessons, more practice, and more time at the pool! And probably more pictures, too.

Bees and Bailey

Because both, are awesome. Enjoy the Awesome that Is Bailey and my Bees. Without getting stung.

You'd think I never gave this child Cranberry Juice. Every. Last. Drop.

All the bees who live in the middle Super. If you look closely, you can see the honeycomb!

Yep. Nothing like hard working bees. They already got rid of the drones.

Bailey loves onesies. And bandanas. But only when the mood strikes. I think she's adorable in them.

This is her "Ready, Set, JUMP!" face.

Swimming Lessons

This year - since we've spent so much time at the pool, Andrew and I decided it would be a great idea to enroll 4/5 of the children in swimming lessons. The poor fifth gets her swim suit on every time and begs to get in the pool, where she wants to do nothing but hang on the Mom. The Mom isn't a fan of the hang, so we sit on the bench. Until swimming lessons are over, and then we all go swimming. It's cheaper that way.

Caroline is in a Level 1 class, where she's learning to let go of the edge of the pool. She loves it.

LeGrand is a Level 2 - where he's not afraid of the water, but isn't quite swimming. He also loves it. Unless he's asked to jump off the diving board. Then, he needs some help. He would love to just lower himself into the pool from the edge of the board, and has tried that more than once. Unfortunately, the sit and lower isn't a dive...

Margaret is a Level 3 - meaning that she can swim the width of the pool without assistance. It's a good fit for her. She has definitely gained some confidence in her swimming, and will be ready for the next level next summer. Margaret has no problems going off the diving board.

Savannah is a Level 4. Next year she will join the local swim team. She is the best swimmer in her class - and I'm not just saying that because I'm the Mom. She really has a knack for swimming, and excels at it. She loves to dive for a silver dollar, and can do a handstand under water. She is the most enthusiastic about swimming lessons, telling me daily at 4 pm that we "need to leave in a few minutes for swimming lessons!" (Lessons start at 7 pm. They're 7 minutes from our house.) She just loves swimming.

Swimming lessons will end at the end of next week. With that ending, is the end of Family Swim ($2/person), which is a pretty sweet deal for us, since swimmers taking lessons can stay for family swim without an additional charge. Next year, we'll get the kids registered earlier for lessons and enjoy this blessing the entire summer!

Ah, the joys of summer...  Anyone want to come swimming with us???

What? This Blog is Still Active????? 2014 So Far...

So I haven't been as diligent as I could have been in updating this blog. Now, everyone knows what a terrible journal writer I am. Certainly I am not as prolific as I could or should be. This is also why I have multiple boxes of journals - most of which are not complete to the end. They all fizzle.

I would like to say that I'm turning over a new leaf, but I'm not. I'm just updating the blog. Mostly because I would LIKE to be a better blogger. And we'll let it go at that.

In the year (almost) since I've blogged, much has happened, so here's a re-cap:

November 2013:
Savannah turned 12 and started going to Young Womens. That may have been the last thing I blogged about...

December 2013:
I made close to 150 pounds of fudge. I didn't eat more than 8 ounces of it. Lots of other people did. It was a good year to be a fudgemaker.

We had Christmas. It was great.

This is Bailey on our annual Christmas walk in the Rhododendron Gardens. She was a trooper!

Andrew also had a birthday and turned older. (I won't share how much - except to say that he will still be in his 30's for a few more years.)

January 2014:
Savannah went on her first Youth Temple Trip. Andrew and I were privileged to be able to go with her. We took her out for dinner afterwards. Her experience was extra-ordinary, in that our good friends were there working, and we were able to go down and "meet the oxen" after everyone else had gone home. That was pretty neat for Savannah.

Margaret and her Birthday Brownies. They were delicious.

February 2014:
Margaret turned 8 and got baptized. Her baptism was attended by close to 100 people. (The secret to having a well attended baptism? Have it on a Sunday - after church. Promise food afterwards - at your house.) Mom came for a week and some and we had a fantastic time visiting with her and didn't want her to leave.


Caroline turned 4. She got a bicycle. She rode it around the house. She loves it. She loves her Sunbeam class at church, and calls her teacher Sister S'more. (Her teacher is Sister Moore...) She loves to act out "FROZEN", and she and Bailey will often sit in the stairwell and sing "Let it DOE" at the top of their lungs. At 3 and 4, it's cute, no matter how many times we've heard it. Especially when they add their own actions...

March 2014:
Savannah had one of the leading roles in her Co-Op play, "As You Like It". She played dramatically, and has a gift for being able to portray her character well. She is our literal "Drama Queen."

March also meant a dental trip for Margaret where she had an expander placed to see if we can avoid some future expenses. She was a good sport about the yucky tasting mold, and now loves to show off how her teeth have changed in the last few months!

April 2014:
We became Hog Farmers. 5 little pigs. None of them are going to have roast beef or cry wee-wee-wee all the way home.

May 2014:
Bailey turned 3. She tells everyone that she's "this many" (holding up three fingers), and that we have pigs. She talks to everyone at the grocery store and tries to make as many people smile at her as she can. She and Caroline are thick as thieves. What Caroline does, Bailey has to do also. Sometimes that's a good thing.

Andrew took the three oldest on a road trip to Tennessee for a tractor. They were stopped in Stratton, CO by hail the size of golf balls, and then the trip was uneventful until the truck had problems in Rawlins, WY on the way home... They then spent three days touring Rawlins, and saw what used to be the state penitentiary where they were able to see a demonstration of a hanging and realized that they NEVER want to go to prison. They also visited the County Museum, and lots of restaurants. It was their luck that the cheapest hotel in town was also the one without a working swimming pool. It had a pool. The pool was closed for cleaning. Savannah and Margaret both remember Rawlins as the best part of the trip. Their trip also included a stop in St. Louis to see Andrew's sister, Emily; a stop in Provo, UT to see Andrew's sister, Rebecca; and a much needed although slightly unplanned stop in Salt Lake City, UT to see Temple Square and have the first home-cooked meal in several days with Ian and Christen. (Christen, I need the recipes for the food you fed them. Savannah talked about some pasta dish for TWO WEEKS!) Their 7 day trip lasted 10 days.

July 2014:

LeGrand is now six and loves to be outside. He is always the first up in the morning, and has discovered that if he's really quiet, he can watch Mickey Mouse or Jake and the Neverland Pirates for a few minutes before the rest of the house gets up. He loves to play with Legos, and his favorite movie is THE LEGO MOVIE.

The end of July brought a Stahr Family Get Together and Have Lots of Food and Spend Time with Each Other, as well as Rachel and Laurel going through the temple. It was good to visit with everyone and see the cousins interact with each other. It also brought Savannah to the Hair Salon where she donated 12 inches of beautiful blonde to Wigs for Kids. Amazing what a hair-cut does for a gal! She loves the new look, and the fact that her hair is "curly" again. (It has some wave to it - enough to add body without being really curly...)

August 2014:
Well, here we are. In the middle of August. We've had a great year so far, and it looks to be a fantastic year from here forward. Three days ago we took the children on a spontaneous trip to Neskowim Beach. It was our fourth time to the coast this year. In fact, we've been to state parks enough this year that I bought us a year long pass. It will pay for itself quickly, at this rate! We have loved it. This summer has been hot, and the cool weather at the coast has been a welcome change.

So... here's to me doing better at updating the blog. And an updated Family Picture, too. (Yes, LeGrand is in his "SHORTS!" Every single thing he was wearing was full of sand. I made him take his wet swim trunks off on the beach so that the sand that was in them would stay at the beach. It was a try...)

Beach Trip number 3... NOT Neskowim. This particular beach we had all to ourselves. It was lovely.

Young Women's... HERE COMES SAVANNAH!!!

Yep. She's excited.  She started counting down days to '12' on November 17, 2012. Well... that day finally arrived, and she celebrated in style!

It all started with the birthday party. I am NOT a birthday party person. We just haven't really ever done them. This year, however, we have had parties for all the children, and Savannah was the last birthday this year to get a party.

I have been planning this party all year. In my head. It went off nearly as I had planned! (The only exceptions being that I didn't decorate like I planned in my head to do.)

Savannah's Birthday Party was a "Late-Over, Make-Over" party - going from 7 - 11 p.m. It included homemade pizzas, a movie (Ella Enchanted), and make-overs for Savannah and all of her friends. Andrew was in charge of the pizzas, and the girls were thrilled! One of my dear friends here in Salem has quite a bit of experience with make-up, and she consented to come teach the girls the proper application of make-up of all sorts, even though Savannah's make-up use will be minimal!

It was amazing to me to see the transformation of the girls. From the most eager - to the least eager... the greatest transformation was that of the least eager, a young woman who was extremely reluctant to wear make-up! Thankfully, the make-up applied to all of the girls was tasteful and minimally done, and the girls hardly looked as though they had been made-up.

The one thing I did NOT expect at this party was comments about boys. Andrew and I know that Savannah has a young man that she thinks is handsome (and he is!), but we didn't think that Savannah's friends would know about that and say something about it! "Oooo, Savannah, S****** is sure to notice you now!" "And so will B*****!" And then the talk turned from Savannah, to all the other girls discussing who they thought was handsome and why. I'm not ready for this yet.

All the girls gathered to see exactly how to apply makeup...

Savannah, all finished... a little make-up!

Posing for the camera! Her friends all told her that she was certainly going to catch the eye of one of the boys from church! (or two or three names may have come up....)

Margaret was allowed to stay up for the party, too! She had a VERY LITTLE bit of make-up... that wore off within minutes.

All Savannah's friends: L-R from the back, ending with Savannah: Ellie Stuart, Macey Smith, Lucy Knight, Preslee Sellers, McKenna Wonderling and Savannah

The party ended as a success... and Savannah has informed me that I am "THE COOLEST MOM EVER!"

Saturday - her actual birthday - was (as Savannah said) "the greatest day ever!" She went shopping with Grandma and Grandpa Stahr, and came home with multiple new outfits. Dinner was fun with Chicken Parmesan and Italian Cream Sodas (a new family favorite...) - ending with an ice-cream cake from Safeway.

Sunday, Savannah was recognized in church as the newest young woman in our ward, she sang in a trio with Margaret (who cried through the whole thing because of nerves), and another of Margaret's friends, and went to her first Young Women's meeting. After church, ALL of her new classmates and advisors and personal progress coach came to our house to welcome Savannah to Beehives. Needless to say, she has been super excited to be a beehive. She's counting hours until her first official activity. I was told to get my shoes on at noon today... I think we have a few more hours before the activity!

I sure am pleased with the young woman she is becoming. We have our differences, but Savannah is a wonderful young woman, and I was super proud of her reaction and treatment of Margaret on Sunday when Margaret was having troubles. They may yet amaze me and truly become best friends!

So... Happy Birthday, Savannah! May 12 be an excellent year for you! You are certainly loved.

The cake. "I blew them all out with one breath! And there were a LOT of candles!!!"

Jensens and Reunions

And I know I haven't put some of these on the family facebook site yet, but I wanted to share these awesome photos I have of some pretty amazing people. And maybe share some emotions.

One of my favorite memories of this reunion had more to do with an event that happened AFTER almost everyone left, so not many were able to participate, but I wanted to share anyway.

Uncle West was camping on the back lawn. (He has an unusual way of setting up his tent, but it worked for him, so...) After he had the tent set up, Andrew and I invited him to join us for family prayer. With some prodding, he did. Now - unlike many of my siblings, we do not always sing before praying. But that night, we were prompted to sing. I still get emotional thinking of the sweet spirit in our living room as we were all reminded that we are children of our Heavenly Father, and hearing Uncle West sing with us the words, "I am a Child of God. He has sent me here..." He knew all the words. I cried. And I was thankful I didn't get to pray, I wouldn't have made it.

I have some pretty strong feelings towards all of my family, and I know that I don't always express them - or maybe express them well. Sometimes those strong feelings may not have been as kind as they ought to. However, I am grateful for the knowledge that OUR family is an Eternal One. I am thankful for a loving Father in Heaven who allows me the chance to become better on a daily basis. And even though I may not call, or write, or send flowers, I hold my family close to my heart.  And if you're part of it, I am grateful for you. Wow. FAMILIES ARE FOREVER. Thanks, Mom and Dad, for making that a priority in your lives and being the example. And thanks, all you siblings, for being part of it. I love you. I think we should get together or call or write or send flowers more often. I should probably start.

I wish everyone could have been there. And Thanks, Uncle Rusty - for Bringing Donna. What a wonderful spirit she brought to our family.

Uncle Rusty and Aunt Donna. May she rest in peace. May we find peace in her passing.

Uncle West, Uncle Rusty, Uncle Dusty, Uncle Ken, Mom, Aunt Dot. Missing Aunt Sandy. Maybe next time.

The same set of above mentioned Hooligans.

Margaret wants to visit Texas. That's where the McQuivey's are. I miss them, too.

See. Hooligans. Up to Shenanigans.

Aunt Donna, Uncle Rusty, Savannah. Comparing hats.

Aunt Donna and Uncle Rusty - in cowboy hats. Savannah wanted to share.

Cider Saturday... A brief (very) update

We jugged 102.5 gallons of cider. We sold nearly half of that.
We used just over 2200 lbs of apples in our cider.

We were joined this year by Ethan and Shannon Nuttall and their crew of excellent helpers, Steven and Andrea Stahr, Laurel Stahr, and - of course, Our Fantastic Five. All of whom worked hard to help us get the Cider stored.

Additionally, we pressed another 12.5 gallons of cider the following Thursday for a grand total of 115 gallons of Apple Cider. Yum. This year is one of the best yet.

And now for the photos:

This is one of my favorite cider photos. I LOVE the joy on the children's faces!

Look at all those helpers! Even Grandpa is loading apples!

Ready for Pressing!

Funny how everyone seems to be gone when it's time to clean up... even the kids are nowhere to be seen....

Cider Thursday. The final pounds of apples...

Liquid Gold.

THIS is what I'll be making next year. Caramel Apple Cinnamon Rolls. Delicious!