The Nielson Pets

The kids wanted to take some pictures of the family pets. Here is Shae with her pride and joy- Max the cat. Max tends to do his own thing around the house. He and Buddy, our dog, sleep together in the dog house at night. During the day Max prowls the neighborhood.

Here is Bodell's pet Buddy. He is two and half years old. We have been told that dogs usually start to settle down when they are two. We have yet to see it. This dog has more energy than any dog I have seen.

Visiting Santa

Another yearly tradition is a visit to the high school play to see Santa. The kids loved the play this year. It was "How the Grinch Stole Christmas."

Brigham told Santa he wanted a fancy train like his cousin Dallin's.

gingerbread house

The best part of Christmas are the Christmas traditions. The Kids reminded me that we needed to make a gingerbread house. We decided to make one big one this year, instead of three little ones. Here is our beautiful master piece.

The master designers.

Thanksgiving2009

We had a great time at Thanksgiving this year. As always, the food was yummy! Here Heather is showing her great mashed potato skills.

Josh and Kent (Heather's boyfriend) having a serious conversation.

Yum! Yum!

We had a pretty small group this year. We ate with Grandma and Grandpa, Aunt Nedra and Uncle Bruce, Heather, and Kent. Shae wanted to know where all the kids were. When I told her there wouldn't be any other kids at dinner she told me, "we are not eating with THESE GUYS again!"

Andrew's "WOW"

Andrew is 10 months and loves to make funny faces. His favorite face is his "WOW" face. Andrew's first word was "W0w." Whenever he is really interested in something he will keep repeating "wow." I love it. He has also learned to say uh-oh and has mastered the game of drop and make someone else pick up the object.

Andrew is 10 Months!

Well, I skipped the nine month post, and I am half way through 10 months, so I thought I better hurry and post. (This is actually a picture of Andrew when he was 9 and a half months.) Andrew is quickly growing up. He thinks that he is as big as the other kids. He took his first steps at the end of nine months. However, he rarely walks. He loves to babble. If the kids are yelling and squealing he will too. He still loves to growl. He loves food, if he sees us eating he expects us to share. He still loves watching animals and grabbing them if they are within reach. He can now go up and down stairs and is completely obsessed with the stairs if he can see them. He loves the toilet and has already figured out how to lift the toilet seat so he can play in the water.- yuck! He likes to shake his head no and will do it non-stop if he thinks it is holding our attention. He also likes to make a surprised look with his face. He is still such a good baby and a delight to have around. I can't believe how quickly this year is going.

Trip to Hawaii

The entire Jensen family took a trip to Hawaii in November. I'll admit I was a little nervous traveling with the kids, but it turned out GREAT! It was such a fabulous trip. The kids loved hanging out with their cousins and playing on the beach and at the pool. We all took tons of pictures! I didn't want to post all of them, so here are a few highlights of the trip!



Bodell and Skyler going snorkeling for the first time. The kids all loved the beach. There was always something fun to do.

Brigham sleeping through his entire dinner. The only complaint I have about the trip was the time change. The kids really struggled with the change. Brigham played HARD during the day and then would crash right around dinner. Because he would go to bed so early, he would be up and ready to play by 3:30 in the morning. It was a bit brutal.

Snorkeling off Waikiki beach. AWESOME!

Here we are at the Polynesian cultural center showing off our tattoos.
I LOVED the Polynesian cultural center. I wish that we had had more time there.

At the luau at the Polynesian Cultural Center.

Gotta love Andrew's face!-- not so much Brigham's (in this picture).

It was such a great trip. I already want to go back. Thanks Steve and Amber for a great time!!!