Looking Back on 2009

Yikes....Where did the year go? It seems like just yesterday we were ringing in the new year, looking forward to all the exciting opportunities ahead in 2009. But here we are, December, a little over a week before Christmas and 2 weeks before we launch into 2010. Although we try our best to keep everyone informed about what is happening in Jensen household through our Blog, it is a tough job keeping up with EVERYTHING that is going on. So, this is always a great time to look back at the year that was and reminisce about all that happened....Luckily for us we do have a blog, because I'm not sure we could remember otherwise :-)

Makenzie - One word can sum up little KK....BUSY! This kid is nonstop 8am-8pm, go go go. In February she turned the big 4, and this September started P4 (PreK) at Hope. Kenzie loves to play store...all the time. The minute we get home, it is off to her cash register to pretend ringing up groceries, books, etc. I think we have bought all of our possessions about 10 times. With all that energy, we got her into a few different activities to see what might help channel her excitement. In the Spring she did T-ball at the Y with a couple of her buddies from school and really enjoyed it. After the first game where we had to run around the bases with her, she was sluggin it out like a big leaguer...fielding, well, that's another story. This fall we got her into Soccer, thinking that she can run run run...well, after the 1st game when she got elbowed in the head while in the middle of the pack (you know how 4yr old soccer is) it was tough to get her motivated. However, by the end of the year she was going after it, and mixing it up. The latest activity is a dance class with her friend. We always thought given her energy and flexibility, that gymnastics or dance might be her thing...so far she is really enjoying it and even has her own pair of tap shoes. Watch out Broadway! The thing that Kenzie adores the most is her big sister...Maddie is very patient (at times) with her, but they have a good time. They also tend to get on each other's nerves too, but hey, they wouldn't be sisters if they didn't. Kenzie is growing fast and it is hard to believe that next fall she will be going into Kindergarten.

Maddie - Well, where do we start with Maddie....It seems like she has grown WAY up this year. From her recent feat of getting her ears pierced, to being elected to student council, to playing 3 different sports, to getting a 4.0. In April Maddie turned 8, and this September started 3rd Grade at Hope. She loves school, her friends, her teachers and everything else that comes her way. She always seems to be happy no matter what. In the Spring Maddie started her 2nd year of girls softball and had an awesome time. Their team went all the way and won the "championship" for their age group. This Fall she was again on Team Quicksilver for soccer. Although she loves to score goals (don't we all) she naturally found a spot as a defender. Last year we were gung-ho on being goalie, but a rocket off her hand in the jamboree and she wasn't as much into that. Although their team didn't win a lot of games, they played hard each and every week and they got a ton better as the year went on. Now, Maddie is returning to our old stomping grounds, the Fauntleroy Y, for her first year of Basketball...or as we called it back in the day The YBA! For her birthday we got Maddie a basketball hoop, and between practicing outside and doing some day camps through School she is getting better and really enjoys it. Along the way in all these sports has been one of her closest friends, Mikayla. They love hanging out and having fun....but like I said earlier, Maddie loves all her friends. I think she could do something everyday with someone different.

Steph - The first thing that comes to mind when I think of Steph is dedicated. From the kids, to school, to church, to friends, she has dedicated her time and herself to making things better. She has a special gift to see how to make someones day...either through a phone call, an email, a Facebook post, a card, a special present...or more importantly just being there. This year Steph really took on the hobby of beads. Through a class at a local bead store she has developed an amazing talent to create beaded earrings, necklaces, etc. To the point that she is now getting "orders" from friends and acquaintances. She has always toyed around with the idea of starting her own little craft/specialty store, and I will continue to encourage her to do so. With Kenzie moving into Kindergarten next year the door might open a bit to think more about that. Be on the lookout! With her successful work on the Hope Auction back in Nov 2008, they and another local school have asked her to help coordinate their auctions, so that will occupy a lot of time in the coming months. One of the highlights of the year, was when her new little nephew, Felton, was born and she had the opportunity to go spend some quality time with her sister and family during the first few weeks of his life. Another highlight was her trip back to Nebraska to help her grandma prepare for a move to St. Louis. Although not the most fun, it was a time to be with her Grandma that she loves, and her way to help through her amazing organizational skills.

Mike - Hmmmm...since I wrote Steph's, I'll let Steph write mine...take it away. Mike is certainly the one that keeps us all grounded. With 3 girls, well, actually 4 if you count Josie dog as well, I don't know how he does it. Not only are we 3 girls, but 3 strong willed girls. We thank God everyday that he gave Mike an extra dose of patience. Maybe it isn't just a coincidence that work is requiring a bit more travel for Mike? :) He has been traveling about a week out of every month. His most recent trip took him to the Big Apple and not only the Big Apple but the Big Apple at Christmas. After flying a red-eye, one of his first stops before meetings was at the American Girl Store - with no girls along - to check some items off the Christmas list! Daptiv still keeps life exciting. It has taught us all a lot about change and the importance of adaptability. We are grateful for the 10 years that Mike has been there. He recently took on a new position as VP of Community Development. Mike loves technology and social networking and is eager to develop this new role. Quite often we joke that Mike's "other job" is School Board Chair at Hope - the girl's school. It too has taught us all about change and the importance of adaptability. We know that Mike was put in this role for a reason. Given the work changes and schedule, Mike decided to step away from coaching boys basketball this year but gets out their with the girls and their sports on a regular basis and still enjoys golfing and fishing whenever he can.


Friends, Family and Faith.
The three F's...three very important words that impacted our lives every day in 2009. We have been so very fortunate to surround ourselves with amazing friends. Friends that we laugh with, travel with, hang out with and genuinely enjoy our lives with. Coming back to Hope when Maddie was in P3 honestly changed our lives through the friendships we made. On the Family front, this year Grandma Cook(Mike's Gma) passed away after a short 4 month bought with cancer. Then, just recently, her husband Ray passed away quickly after suffering a brain aneurysm. Although we miss them, we know that they are in a much better place. In August, our family was blessed with a new little life - our nephew Felton. Steph and I have been lucky enough to see him in person, and the girls are counting the days to see him this Christmas. The Lakewood Jensens continue to make their annual summer visit to the NW and we really enjoy it when then come up. Maddie and KK love to hang out with their cousins, and we enjoy getting the whole family together when they visit. We are also extremely fortunate to have our parents in our lives and so close to us in West Seattle. We get together often both in town, as well as at the Channer cabin near Hood Canal. Faith wise, Hope Church and School continues to be a big part of our lives. Between School Board, teaching Sunday School, small groups, etc. Hope has emerged as our "third place" and we are excited about that.


We wish everyone a very merry Christmas and fabulous New Year. We hope that 2010 brings continued blessing to your families.

Downtown Trip - Maddie's News

After an awesome Thanksgiving, we headed downtown for our annual holiday night. This was the first time we went the Friday after Thanksgiving, and it was crazy....fun crazy, but crazy. We will get pictures up later of all the festivities which included gingerbread houses, the Macy's star, carousel, tree lighting, shopping, etc. The exciting news from the weekend was that Maddie got her ears pierced. We have been asking Maddie for awhile if she wanted to get them pierced, however, like most 3rd graders, she wasn't too excited about it...for some reason, she was a-Ok with it this last weekend, so we went for it. We snapped a before and after picture, as well as a video. Maddie is super excited, and it taking good responsibility for keeping her ears clean in order avoid an infection...she is already planning what earrings she will start wearing in a few months.

And here is the video

Adopt a Family

For the last few years, instead of drawing names and swapping gifts or gift cards, etc our extended families have adopted a family from our church, Hope Lutheran. This has been a great experience to help a family that is having some kind of difficulty..maybe a lost job, or suffering from illness, or even have recently lost a loved one. We have been able to provide for these families when they likely would have had NOTHING.

So, this year we are at it again. We received our family from the Church and we are super excited to make their Christmas something special. This year we adopted a family with 3 young kids and their Mom, who sadly just recently lost their Dad/Husband. The mom was a stay at home mom that is now struggling to find a way to provide for the family. The thing that strikes me the most when we get the "wish list" is that it is all clothes, blankets, socks, even underwear....all the "staples" that any of us probably take for granted...there are no iPods, or action figures, or toys in general.

This is a great time of year and we are so happy that we started this tradition. Not only do we love it, but the kids get it too and it helps shape who they are and we hope makes them feel more grateful for all that we do have. I encourage everyone to think about doing something similar.

Merry Christmas!

Giving Thanks

This week is Thanksgiving...In case you didnt know that already. Besides consuming mass quantities of turkey, stuffing, potatoes, vegetables, rolls, etc. we take time to really think about the reason for season. Now, we could get all historical and think about that first meal with Pilgrims and Indians, but we would rather focus on the things that we are truly thankful for in our lives. We thought we would list just a few...and this is definitely just a few as we could go on forever with all the things that we are truly thankful for.

Friends - We have been fortunate to built some amazing friendships. Friendships that have led to so many great memories...of which will be Thanksgiving this year where we will be celebrating with our great friend the Doerrs...and playing in the annual Turkey bowl with the Landskovs.

Family - We are blessed to have our families so close to us and have them active in both our lives, but also our kids lives. This year, our extended family grew by 1 more with Felton's arrival. Steph and I have both been fortunate to meet baby Felton and the girls are excited to meet him this Christmas.

Faith - Since Steph and I were little, we grew up in the Church, specifically Hope, and we are thankful to continue to be involved there in a variety of ways as we raise our girls. Hope has, and will always, have a special place in our hearts.

Fortune - For us this goes beyond making money at a job...which don't get me wrong is a true blessing...and extends to things like Health, Laughter, Giving, Learning, Improving, Changing, Hobbies, etc. There are so many treasures in our life that make us feel amazingly fortunate.

Ironically, we cleverly summarized all these to start with the letter F. Which by the way is the COMPLETE OPPOSITE of Maddie's report card today...she earned straight A's for the 1st Quarter at School! Well done Maddie.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

San Jose Trip

This past week I had the chance to fly down to San Jose for work; a conference as well as customer visits. Mixed in there, I also had the chance to visit with The Perry Family (Ryan, Stacey, Haas and Felton). They just moved into a great new house, and it was great to be able to stay with them and hang out.

Leaving town is always tough because I know that makes Steph's job even harder..layer into the mix a crazy amount of rain and strange weather and it can be really tough. Luckily we are surrounded by family and friends that make things a little easier (I hope).

The big finale was my flight back to Seattle on Friday night...for those of you in Seattle, it was day 2 of the thunder/lightning show..and guess what, I was right in the middle of it (at 20k feet!) the last 30min or so was crazy bumpy. We had come through the clouds and were over north Seattle when there was a bright flash, a loud pop, and big jerk of the plane..yes, lightning hit the plane. Probably the single most scary in-air thing I have experienced (that and an US Marshall tackling a dude and sitting on him in the aisle). There was this odd 5 sec quiet as we all determine if "this was it!" When all was well, there was some laughter and chatter to keep us occupied for final decent. Anyway, all safe now, and glad to be back home.

Thought I would share some pics I took while visiting...and a little video of Felton saying Hi to everyone :-) and Haas on his scooter!



Felton saying Hi


Haas on his Scooter

The Halloween haul!

Sent from my iPhone

The Week: Friends and Family

This week was a whirlwind of sorts for a variety of reasons. For starters, the kids were out of school all week as teachers has both parent conferences as well as a development conference our of state. We had our conference for Maddie...whew, we have some work to do :-) Just kidding...She is doing great. Mrs Norton is an awesome teacher and Maddie is really enjoying learning this year. For KK we had a family potluck night where we were able to meet some other families in a casual atmosphere.

Wednesday started to get a little nutty as Steph left at about 5am for a visit back to Nebraska where her grandma is packing up to move to an assisted living facility in St. Louis. St. Louis is where steph's uncle lives and there is a great facility for her grandma to move to. With steph out of town, and kids out of school, we had a bunch of great friend and family helping out with the girls. Wednesday they spent the day with Roberta. I think they not only had a great time with her, but also with Grace and Andrew (Roberta's grand kids) once they got out of school. Thursday we had one of their favorite babysitters, Katie, over in the morning...then Nana J took them in the afternoon. Mixed in there was a play date for KK with her friend Sara, for a Tap Class! The day finished off with Soccer practice and dinner at Pegasus on Alki. Friday, the girls spent the day with the McAllisters - their BFF's :-)...Maddie had an overnight, while KK spent the afternoon with her classmate Sophia. That night KK and I had a quiet night. Dinner at home, Slurpee for dessert, and a movie.

Times like these where we remind ourselves how blessed we are to have such great friends and family that our kids can be with. Other than a broken door at the McAllisters, I think they behave themselves pretty well-gulp! Sorry Rob, the girls are looking through all their play stuff for coins and money to help pay for what ever is needed to fix it. So far, they have about 9.58.

Steph gets in Monday night after her 5-6 days in Nebraska...Looking forward to having her home.

Start of School

Well, school has actually been "in session" for about a month, but just now getting around to posting about it. The start of school has been great....Maddie now in 3rd grade and KK in P4. Both love school, their friends, learning, and Hope.



With 3rd grade Maddie is busy busy...her teacher is super tough (just kidding Mrs. Norton)...she has a good amount of homework, lots of reading time, weekly memory and spelling tests, etc. Right now she is reading a mystery book as she prepared for her 1st book report! She also was elected to Student Council a couple weeks ago.




Kenzie is in P4 with Mrs. Tornow. She is one of just 3 girls, but she loves it. Her best bud Lukie is there, and is making some new friends as well. This week we have a fun Pre-School family social which will give us the chance to meet other kids and families.



As much as KK likes P4, she is right on the coat tails of big sissy...and I think she wishes she was in 3rd grade too :-)

Gloria's Miracle

Been meaning to write up a blog post about this for some time, but with Labor day, the start of school, family in town, and work travels...just havent had the time. (more on all those things soon) However, got a few minutes between sunday school and church this AM, so I thought I would "make it happen."

One of the greatest things that about this "story" that has happened, is exactly what I think Gloria would have wanted, and that is the fact that this story is being told and re-told over and over. Through the web, through face to face conversations, through blogs, etc.

About a year ago we bit the bullet and got a facebook account. Yes, only 1 year on that mammoth social networking site. In the "rush" that is social networking I began to find old friend from all walks of life..work, family, friends, etc. This included some of the guys that I played baseball back in the day. Since I played from the time was 9/10 all the way through HS, I had the opportunity to know a lot of different guys. One of those guys was Doug Strauss. My memory isnt great, but I distinctly remember being a cool, fun guy..always having a good time and great teammate. Like i have done with many others, I discovered Doug on Facebook and was re-introduced to some things that have happened in his life since baseball days, that I had heard about. His daughter, Gloria (1 of 7 kids) was diagnosed with a rare, uncureable bone cancer. Gloria's story, as well as the story of the entire Strauss family, was chronicled by Times Sports writer Jerry Brewer after he did a story about Kennedy HS basketball (where Doug coaches). Over the course of a year or more, Jerry, who was touched by this family, this litle girl, and her story...spent time with the family and this situation...until the final end, when Gloria passed away. Since that time, Jerry has been working with the Strauss' on his first book that brings their story to life. I wont go into a lot of details, because one of the purposes of this post is to encourage you to get the book and read for yourself.

OK, so I rambled a bit there, how does this related to now....Well, through the FB connection, Doug invited me to the book launch event for "Gloria's Miracle." I had seen it a number of weeks before, but never got it on the calendar. When the day of the event finally came, I just felt called to make it to this event. So, on the way I home, I called Steph and we said let's do it. After grabbing a quick bite to eat, we made it. There we had the chance to see Doug for the first time in probably 20 years...reminace about some of the common friend we have, get a book signed, etc. The main part of the event was to program of personal messages, readings from the book, musical performances, etc. We had to leave a bit early because the kids had school the next day, but we really enjoyed our time.

So, what the big deal...whats the punch line Mike? Couple things. First, you never know what people might come back into your life and for what reason. So, keep an open mind, look at the doors that might be put in front of you and be ready to go through them. Second, the kind of inspiration you get from a little girl that is faced with a life ending illness, but has such a positive faith-focused attitude. Again, i'm not going to go into a lot of detail because you need to read the book...and you can get the "full story" here http://www.gloriasmiracle.com/

It has been a blessing to be able to share Gloria's story and I hope you will take a look.

Summer Wrap Up

With today being the last day of August, even though Summer is not "officially" over, it is starting to feel like it. The last few weeks have been pretty busy. For starters, we welcomed a new member to the family with the birth of our nephew, Felton Briggs. For obvious reasons, we haven't had the chance to connect much with the proud parents(Steph's sister Stacey and brother-in-law Ryan), but we hear from Steph's mom that all is well...and Haas is enjoying his new little bro!



A couple weekends ago, I had the opportunity to join 3 others on a trip to Bandon, OR...the home of Bandon Dunes golf resort. We played both Bandon and Pacific Dunes...two of the top 10 courses in the entire US. It was an amazing experience, especially since I played one of my best rounds ever given the conditions.






After returning from Bandon, we packed up the family and headed north to Semiahmoo for a few days. We were racking our brains for a place to go and we were glad that Semiahmoo came to mind. We enjoyed just walking on the beach, riding bikes, going on walks, visiting Langley, etc. On the day we came home we spent a few hours walking around the WWU campus with the kids. It was great to see how things have built up, and our old dorm rooms up on "the ridge."





On Wednesday we have our first official "back to school" activity with orientation. Maddie starts 3rd grade this year, while Kenzie is in P4, at Hope. Both are getting excited to be back at school with friends and their teachers. This week we are trying to get back into a routine of early to bed, early to rise, so that next week is not too big of a shock to the system.

Staying put...for now.

We gave it our best shot, but after 3 full months on the market, we officially pulled our house off the market a couple weeks ago. Way back in February we found a new house just north of the junction, but in order to make it work, we of course had to sell our house. Although we had a TON of traffic through our house, and a lot of interest, in the end we only had 2 couples that were interested enough to make an offer...and in both cases I am not sure they understood that our house was built in 1910...and with that "vintage" everything isnt new. So, we took to failed attempts as our sign that it just isnt the right time. We think that there is still an outside chance that something happens, but it will have to be just right for us to think about it. So, for now, we are settling in, enjoying the house we do have, and letting the kids be kids! Josie came back from her "vacation" so it is nice to have her back to keep the raccoons and cats out of the back yard.

Where did July go?

Holy flying months Batman? Where did July go? Realizing that this is the last week of July, yikes. Only 1 more month of summer vacation. Steph was out with the kids and hitting some of the back to school sales already...crazy!

Since the 4th of July recap, things have been fast and furious. We spent a great weekend at the Coaches Time Out conference in Vancouver. It was a great event (as always) and gave us a couple days on our own. It was refreshing to be driving in the car and be able to have a full conversation for more than 30 seconds :-)

The following weekend, I passed up my Sounders vs Chelsea tickets :-( for an awesome time with the Hope caravan in the West Seattle parade. Our new tradition of piling about 20 kids in the School Bus and handing out candy to the parade goers. This year SLHS was in front, followed by Hope Church, then us in the back. The cool thing was that Hope got 1st place in the "community" category, so we were really excited to be a part of it.

Spattered among the weeks have been Hope Softball games...a new adventure for me as I have not played softball since the 8-ballers back in 2001 when Maddie was just a little tyke. I had a lot of fun, and I think the girls enjoyed playing with friends, occassionally watching bits of the game, etc. Tradition was to always hit up DQ after the games with the team, so we all really liked that. As of today, we officially are done after a 3-2 loss in the playoffs. I managed to eek out a few hits here and there....and only tweak my hamstring a couple of time. I must be getting old!

This last week was a big milestone as Steph helped put on VBS at Hope. Her and Leighellen spearheaded the effort and did an AMAZING job coordinating the week. Over 150 kids and 50 volunteers were a part of the week. Steph led all the crafts and had a ton of cool ideas to pass along to the kids. Her creativity and organization skills were at their best.

Story of the month, and especially right now (literally) is the heat wave. We have had like 2 days with any measurable rain since June 1st....amazing. This week we are breaking records for the heat, with tomorrow supposedly flirting with 100!!! After that it "cools down" to around 90 over the weekend. As you can imagine, we have moved all our time at home to the basement, including sleeping. Not sure we could make it without it.

On the House front, there has been a lot of activity, but I am not going to write anything in case it might jinx it...All I can say is pray for some good mojo :-)

4th of July Recap

We kicked off our 4th of July early this year by heading out to Maggie Lake on Wednesday. We were excited to get out of town for an extended weekend...and enjoy some awesome Seattle weather (80+ degrees every day!) Fireworks were already going, as we had worked the previous days on striking a deal on our house (more on that later). After our routine stop at the Belfair Safeway for some initial food, we headed up the cabin...the girls and I immediately headed for the lake to cool down...and Josie too...she LOVES to swim. Thursday we headed into town, and worked our way over to Trophy Lake for lunch where we also met up with Bruce. While Steph and Sheryl headed to the store for the "official" grocery store trip, Bruce and I and the girls stayed at Trophy lake and went fishing. As I have showed a number of times, I really like fishing here. Since it was so hot, the fishing was a bit tougher than normal, but we still caught a few in just a couple hours...and the girls love being the netters. We caped the day off with more swimming and a BBQ.

On Friday, more of the same....woke up late, took a walk around the lake, and swam some more. Nana and Papa J came up on Friday to join the fun and after some "fix it" help around the cabin, my dad was out in the paddle boat fishing. I think he ended up catching about 4 fish over the weekend...maybe the same one multiple times :-)! Friday night we had a chance to sleep outside in the tent for the first time..great night for it with it being so hot. We woke up on Saturday raring to go. We headed down to Tahuya days, where they have a great 4th of July celebration. The last part of the slide show below has some great pics from the parade...it is a goofy parade, but the kids love it because it is like a 2nd halloween with all the candy they get.



We got back to the cabin, did some more fishing, swimming, and relaxing. Below is a little video I took of the resident Eagle, doing his own version of "Fishing" this was the 3rd time he came down....pretty cool to see them this close.



That night Bruce and I joined in on game with the neighbors that took about 4 hours...it is like a West Coast version of horseshoes...kinda complicated to explain, so I wont. After that we watched the fireworks for 2 hours...yes, 2 hours of a personal fireworks show. There are about 3-4 groups that go all out.

Sunday we had a small garage sale to sell some furniture, and then headed home. Oh, and we had to wait in the ferry line for 2 1/2 hours!! Yikes. Oh well, better than sitting in traffic. Another great 4th!!

T-ball Season Finale

Today was the final T-ball game of the year for Kenzie. It was a end of year celebration with the bounce house, hot dogs and a visit by the Mariner Moose. We got to the park at 11am and left about 2:30, so it was a full day. The weather was perfect for all the festivites, sunny and 75! The kids got medals as their "trophy" and all the kids love them...and the cupcakes! We had a lot of fun this year...Kenzie started to get in the "swing of things" after a few games...she actually has s pretty good swing and is pretty fast. We'll see where her baseball carrer goes :-) Special thanks to coach LE for a great season.

Father's Day Recap

Probably one word can best describe Father's day this year...Baseball! Between the T-ball double header on Saturday, and then the awesome day at the M's game on Sunday, it was all Baseball. Yes, KK had a double header T-ball game on Saturday...a marathon 6 innings! She made it 5 1/2 :-)

Sunday we got up and headed down to the stadium at 10:30 for "Youth Baseball Day"...there were thousands of kids from all kinds of baseball teams there. Before hand, everyone had the chance to walk all the way around the outside of the field...the kids (including this one) loved it. When we worked our way around to Home Plate, I noticed that Maddie was getting a look from a couple staff people...they came up to her and asked if she would say "Play Ball" at the start of the game....Unfortunately, Maddie was caught by surprise, and in thinking that she would be announcing this in front of 30,000 people, she couldnt commit to it. Oh well. It would have been fun to see her do this, but I wouldnt want her to freeze up either! The game was great and we all sat with KK's tball team...and even saw the M's win in the bottom of the ninth. To top it off...after the game, the kids got the chance to run around the bases...they started at 1st and ran all way to home plate. I think we finally left the stadium around 5:30...so 6+ hours at the ballpark. From there we had a great dinner with Nana/Papa J and Nana/Papa C. It was a great day! Happy Father's Day!

Grandma Cook Tribute

Hard to imagine it has been a couple weeks since Grandma passed away, wow..how time flies. Wanted to share with everyone a link to an online memorial that my Mom has setup. This provides a great way to share the entire message about her life, along with some great photos, and the opportunity for people to share their comments.

http://memorialwebsites.legacy.com/BarbaraCCook/homepage.aspx

"Great Grandma - Have a good time in Heaven"

No joke....That was what Maddie wrote in her 2009 Yearbook from School last night...this is in response to the news that Grandma Cook had passed away. We got the call around 3:15 that quietly and peacefully, Grandma took her last breath and moved on to much better place. Steph and I were recalling that it was Kenzie's birthday party just 4 short months ago, where Grandma was complaining of being short of breath. The next week she was diagnosed with lung cancer, and further test revealed that cancer was spreading, and quickly. Since then, we have tried to enjoy as many memories as possible. The biggest being her 85th birthday party in early May. It was something that she desperately wanted to make, and she did. Below is a picture from the party, when we were all singing Happy Birthday to her. We will miss you Grandma!

Hello? Anybody home?

Yes, we are here. It has been awhile since the last blog post around Mothers day. It has been a busy few weeks. Softball, T-ball, Open Houses, Hot Weather...we have seen it all. Maddie's softball team has made the shift to the playoffs. The majority of the season has been similar to t-ball where everyone hits, no one gets out, etc. With the playoffs, we count run, keep track of outs, etc. The girls won the first two games so the find themselves in the Championship game on Tuesday (Game is at 6:15 at Lincoln Park if you are interested). We are going to have a little fun and hold a family BBQ with the other two teams before hand. It will be a great way to finish up the year. While Maddie has been busy with Softball, KK is busy with T-ball. She is in the YMCA t-ball league that plays on Saturdays. She is slowly but surely getting the hang of it, hitting the ball good, and figuring out where to throw the ball. Bottom line she is having a great time. The girls are in the last week of school....Wednesday we head to Wild Waves for the end of year party, and the last day is on Friday. Wow..that went by fast...Maddie will be in 3rd grade (yes, 3rd) next year, and KK moves on to 4-year old Pre-School.

On the House front, it has been a little over a month since the house hit the market. We have had A TON of activity, with showings almost every day...open houses every weekend...and lots of people interested....but, no bites. We have been able to get an extension on our contingency, so we are still holding out hope that we can get a buyer and finalize our deal to move. We shall see...we have always said, if it is meant to be it is meant to be. We have lucked out with the weather while the house has been on the market...70's and 80's the entire time....we are excited to see summer coming early for a change, hopefully it will keep coming.

Lastly, as some of you may know, my Grandma (Grandma Cook) was recently diagnosed with cancer and has been battling over the last couple months. In early May, we had an opportunity to celebrate her Birthday with a lot of family in town. Since then, it has been tough. Hard to say how much time she has, so please keep her in your prayers.

Mother's Day Recap and House Hits the Market

Last weekend was a mixed bag with all kinds of stuff going on. With the news that our contingent offer was accepted, following Kenzie's 1st T-Ball game (more on that later), we spend most of Saturday getting the house a bit more tidy for the coming week. Thanks to both mom and dads we were able to move out a few things to "de-clutter" and get the yard, etc looking pretty snazzy. On Sunday we ventured down to the Pike Place market for some good ol' market time, followed by lunch at the Steelhead Diner. It was a place that Steph and I saw this last December on our weekend downtown and it just happened to come to my head on Friday. We got a great table and the food was really good.

We (Steph) did some final cleanup on the house and we were ready for the broker's open on Tuesday. There were about 35 agents that came through and feedback was all pretty good. Since then, another 6 or so agents, 3 with clients have come through as well. So, the activity is there...Next big date is the classic Sunday open house from 1-4pm. Ideally we get some activity (i.e. Offers) from that Open and things go from there. We realize this is all out of our hands at this points and if it is meant to be, it is meant to be.

Here is our MLS Listing. Spread the word !!!

FOR SALE!!

Since we dont have much going on and life was getting kinda dull around the Jensen house, we decided to shake things up a bit. We got word tonight that we came to mutual agreement to buy a new house about 1/2 a mile from where we are today in West Seattle. We have been looking on and off for a couple years, and when we saw this home, we had the feeling that this was the one. The sale is contingent on selling our current place....and quick. So, we are going to be spending the next few days getting the house ready to go on the market. Broker's open is scheduled for next Tuesday. If you know ANYONE interested in a charming, 3bedroom, 1.75bath home in West Seattle....send them our direction. Wish us luck, and pray that a buyer comes along so that we can make this happen. We love our house, and it has been a great for us, but with a couple growing girls, we just need some more space.



Once the MLS is up we will get that posted.

Maddie Birthday Recap

Maddie made a visit to the office today and it reminded me that we had not recap'd Maddie's birthday weekend. It was filled from start to finish. It all started on Friday with a Friend party at Paint the Town. Twelve 8 year old girls painting pottery...Yikes!!! They had a great time, and it was a true sign of things to come. We then moved to Sunday, where the original plan was have the grandparents over for lunch/cake, etc. But them Maddie made a comment about, wanted to go to Mariners game...she is a big Griffey fan now...and since they were playing on her actually Birthday, we thought that was a great idea. So we packed up and headed to the game, parked a block or so away, got Kettle corn and enjoyed the game. With Maddie involved in softball she is actually getting into/understanding how it all works, out, hitting, etc. Kenzie on the other hand, well, she was about ready to leave by the 3rd inning. Oh well. After the game we topped of Maddie's bday with a trip to her favorite restaurant, The Old Spaghetti Factory. I think she would eat there every week if we would take her. We met the grandparents, and great grandparents there and she got the full Birthday treatment from the OSF.

Finally this last week, I was able to dig up her annual birthday pictures like we did for Kenzie last month. This took some looking into the digitial archives, but we found some. Enjoy...Maddie from 1-8...Happy Birthday Maddie!!!

Opening Day at Maggie Lake

This weekend marked the opening day of fishing season.  As is our new tradition, we were up at Maggie Lake for the Opening Day kids fishing derby.  The community reserves opening day for the kids, with a little help from adults.  As we were heading to bed on Friday night, we asked Maddie,"OK, so we will get up at 5am?" to which she answered..."Ummm...how about 6?"  So, 6am it was...alarm was set...poles were rigged up.  6am came early, but we loaded up the boat and headed out on the lake.   After about 30 minutes, we settled into a spot and made a short cast of power bait with the brand new $14 Big5 spinning rod...suddenly the line starting peeling away...partly because this new fancy rod didnt have the drag set, but mainly because we hooked into a big boy.  After finally getting the drag set, and luckily not losing the fish, we were able to haul it in to the boat.  You should have seen how big Maddie's eyes were!  

Not to be left out, after we got the big one in, we (I) headed back out to get a fish for Kenzie. OK, it wasnt quite as big, but KK loved it!



With fish in hand/bag, we headed over to the park for the official measurement. Maddie's fish came in at 18 1/2 inches, and Kenzie's was 9in. With Maddie's we thought we had a chance to be in the top 4, however, in looking at the sheet, there were 2-20in fish on the board...but in the end, Maddie's fish placed 3rd in the age 5-8 category. In the 4 and under category, an 18mos old caught a 19in fish...umm, sure. Anyway, they had a great time, and loved getting their trophies and candy bars.





So, opening day was a success. We had a great time....never hurts to catch a big one for once.

Play Ball!

Tomorrow marks the first regular season game in Maddie's softball season.  Last year was her first year playing softball (after 2 years of t-ball), and this year she is the "veteran" on the team along with her best buddie Mikayla.  We have a total of 9 girls this year, so everyone will get a lot of at bats and play every position.  Maddie is becoming quite the athlete as she approaches her 8th birthday (this Sunday).  Today she participated in her first basketball clinic and she has been practicing her dribbling in the back alley when it is sunny out.  Rumor has it that she might be getting a portable hoop for her birthday (hopefully she doesnt check this blog at school.)

Aside from Softball season starting up, we just returned from our annual trip to the Oregon coast for Easter.  This year we had a packed house with 11 adults and 5 kids.  The kids were 1, 2, 3, 4, and 7.  It was a a bit crazy...but fun.  The weather cooperated for us on Friday and Saturday, but Sunday was a down pour all day, and for the drive home.  Stacey and Haas flew up for the weekend so it was great to spend some time with them.  Here is a slideshow of pics from the weekend:

Maddie's Thoughts

Tonight, like every Sunday night, we settled in as a family to watch Extreme Makeover Home Edition.  We started watching this as a family a couple years ago, and we really enjoy the messages, the stories, and I guess the goodwill it shares.  It is not uncommon to see a few tears shed.  Tonight was a special 2 hour edition...probably a little too long for Kenzie, and Maddie was starting to fade as well, but with Spring break this week, we let them stay up for it.  About 1/2 way through the show, we noticed that Maddie had taken a notebook and cleared out some of the scribble pages and was writing.  We can always tell, because she asks for help in spelling some words.  Anyway, after the show was over, she wanted to share a "song" she wrote called "Life is Happy."  This is ALL HER.  We had nothing to do with it, which makes it even more special to hear.   We asked if we could put this up on the Blog because it meant sooo much to us to hear her thoughts...our only wish to her (and we told her)...is that we hope that she always feels this way :-)

Life is Happy

Things are happy, so is Life.  I love it every night.  Life is very happy!

God gave me Life so I love it and I cry life is so happy!

I Love my Life.

Since this is pretty "deep" we thought we try to uncover what all made her life happy....and see what was going on in that little, almost 8 year old, head.  Here is the list she rattled off:

1) Everything

2) Family

3) Church/Sunday School/Jesus/God

4) Nice Home

5) The Cabin

6) Friends

7) School/P.E.

8) Sports (Softball, Soccer, Basketball)

9) Nice Neighborhood

10) Arts and Crafts

11) Animals

Pretty Cool.

COOKIE TIME!!!

OK...calling all Sweet Tooth fans, here is your chance. Your chance to have 2+lbs of pre-made cookie dough at your fingertips. When that urge is there to bake some cookies, simply scoop, bake and eat. How easy is that!

Maddie's School is having a fundraiser where they are selling Otis Spunkmeyer (I love that name) cookie dough. They also have, pretzels and brownies. There are about a dozen different types and all are $15 each. We have about two weeks (April 7th) to collect as many orders as possible. So we need your help. Here is a link to the "brochure"

If you have any trouble accessing or viewing the brochure we can send it to you via Email.

Of course we would love everyone to buy multiple tubs, however, there is 1 snag. When the orders come in, they come to us....so as much as we would love to have those of you in California, Arizona, Louisiana, etc. buy a few items, it might be a bit tough getting 3lbs of frozen cookie dough to you. That being said, another idea is that you buy a Tub as a donation, and we will find a local group that could benefit. A WIN WIN WIN situation.

So, that is it. After looking through the brochure if you find your mouth watering for a cookie, simply drop us an email (mjandsj@comcast.net) or give us a call and we will work out the ordering details. Again, we only have a couple weeks, so hurry while supplies last!!!

March Snow

Well, there is A LOT more to report on, but we just had to get out there some pictures and video from the surprise we woke up to this morning.  I guess we heard that there was a chance of snow, but these flakes were HUGE.

View out the front of the house...

View out the back of the house....

Videos of the monster flakes....

ON - TO - STATE!!!

The chant was loud last night at the Saint's two playoff games last night. It brought back some memories for when we were in HS and had the chance to go to State. Both they boys and girls were in Winner to State/Loser Out games...it was all on the line. Steph, the girls and I decided earlier in the week we were going to head down to support the teams...in fact, the AD at Hope and Assistant Coach for SLHS talked with me after Church last week about getting a rooter bus of Hope 7/8th graders to go as well. So, with the help of Cary and Kristin, I rode with 11 7/8th graders down to the game in the Hope school bus....while the kids, Steph and Julia went in a bit more comfortable car.

The games were reallly great. The boys won their game...a bit nervous throughout, but they were clearly the better team and put it away late. The big news from this is that Brett promised the team he would get a Mohawk if they won...I will have to get a pic of that! The girls game was probably one of the best games we have seen in a really long time. It was back and forth...SLHS was down 7-9, then they came back to lead by 1 at Half. SLHS built a 9 point lead at one point in the 3rd, only to have TBS come back and take the lead. The girls came back to take the lead and after some clutch free throw won by 3!...All the students stormed the floor to celebrate...pretty cool!

They are off to state in Spokane next week after they play for seeding today. I was thinking about it, and it was 20 years ago when I had the chance to go to state and we won 8th place....Let's hope this year's Saints can come back home with some hardware.

Jr. is Back!!

Well, I have to be honest...I knew he would be back! I knew the minute that he was released by Chicago and he no longer had the big contract and they had a chance to get him on the cheap...or cheaper. I have to say that I am pretty excited that he is back in Seattle. It was pretty cool to see how much he appreciated the fans when he was here last year, and that he made statements about wanting to retire here.

I remember when I was in HS and he first came the M's...then when his Dad came to play with him...and when they hit back to back homers...and finally when we came flying around 3rd to beat the Yankees in 95...or how about 8 straight games with a home run. I was a huge fan. I collected all his Baseball cards...even rookie cards ;-) I even have bought the Ken Griffy Jr candy bars. Actually, in anticipation of some time like the present, I wrapped up two and put them in my parents freezer. Over 15 years later, and a even with a new fridge, they are still there...We actually unwrapped them last year for some reason.



So, all I have to say is welcome back Jr. I am not sure what the year will bring, but I am still a fan...as our a lot of others here in Seattle. I dont think you will have any problem making that extra incentive money for attendance :-)

Kenzie Birthday Eve

Well, it is Birthday Eve for Kenzie. Today was her shining star day at school. Steph made a batch of Mikey Cookies dipped in Chocolate for the P3 gang. Kenzie was a little under the weather yesterday so we weren't sure if she was going to make it, but she was a trooper. We were going through our digital library of photos and pulled out a picture of her 1st, 2nd and 3rd Birthday. We will add a 4th in a few days.

Brand New


1st Birthday

2nd Birthday

3rd Birthday

LEST Recap

OK...so I kinda missed the Day 2 recap, so we need to wrap it all up here.

Day 2 was "Zoo Day" as we have started to coin it. It started with an early breakfast at the hotel then off to the Gym for the Semi-final game for Gold. We were playing a team from Montana that was a lot taller and faster, but we felt good about our chances. I'll spare you all the X's and O's and cut to the chase...we lost a close one. We came out with a lot of energy but about 1/2 way through the 2nd qtr, we lost a key player to injury. From there they pressured us and we never could quite recover. The loss put us in the game for 3rd place the next day.

Meanwhile the blue team, who won on day 1 (but couldnt advance) played another great game. It was back and forth the whole game, and they ended up winning by 1 point! The coolest part was that since the team they played couldnt make the game the next day, they allowed our guys to play for Consolation. They were super excited.

The girls team also had a great day, coming out on fire and never looking back for their 1st win of the season. The Win kept their hopes alive for 3rd place in their division. Drama also performed, as well as spellers, piano, etc....it was a "Zoo" of a day two!

Day 3 was all about "Victory"....except for the Boys Gold team. The guys played Zion, a team they beat earlier in the season, and although they came out strong, seemed to get sidetracked by a number of things. It didnt help that we lost the same key player to injury again in the 2nd possession of the game. We just couldnt manage anything on offense, and they were hitting almost everything they put up. So, the Gold team went home with nothing :-(

The Blue team on the other hand played by far their best game of the entire season. They showed a ton of patience, took good shots, played great defense, and in the end were victorious to capture the consolation prize! 3 days, 3 wins...and a trophy! The story for the tournament was our girls team, who just the day before earned their 1st win of the year, also played their best game so far and won 3rd place! They were SOOOO excited.

After all the BBall was done, we headed over to the Concordia campus for the awards. Drama took 2nd, Grant got a blue ribbon in Piano (and we think 1st overall, since his name was announced first), 2nd in spelling, Consolation in Knowledge Bowl, etc. Overall a very successful LEST.

LEST means the end of the bball season. Cary and I had a fun time coaching. Every year is always a bit different and you never know what to expect come LEST. Definitely have to thank Steph for all her patience since this is pretty time consuming with practices, games and then the tournament.

LEST Day 1 Recap

After heading down to Portland after school yesterday, today marked the first day of the Tournament.  Our Gold Team (8th graders) played in the morning.  We played against a team from California that our Blue team lost to last year (by a lot).  So, we didnt know exactly what to expect.  The guys came out and played an awesome game, with a lot of energy and we raced away with the game.   We were a bit worried when we learned just before the game that our starting center had cracked open his head diving into the swimming pool the night before and was at the ER until 2am getting 13 stiches...Yikes!  Luckily he didnt have to play a lot and had a chance to rest.  The win puts the Gold team into the Semi-finals against a team from Kalispell MT.  Wish us luck!

The game of the day was when our Blue Team (7th Graders) played against Peace Bremerton.  It was right after the Gold game so we raced over to the other Gym to watch.  When we arrived we were down 8-0 and fell behind by as much as 13-0.  It wasnt looking good.  However, the team rallied back, played SUPER hard and was able to get the lead on two free throws with 46sec left.  We made one last basket after a turnover to put the game away...Might have been the most exciting game I have seen in a long time!

Unfortunatley the girls team didnt win their game.  We didnt have a chance to watch it, but they played hard and gave it their best.  They play for the consolation tomorrow.

That's it for now.  More tomorrow.

Major Catchup Needed

The other day I happened to notice in my browser history http://seattlejensens.blogspot.com and it dawned on me...Ooops! It has been a wild few weeks since the last post about Super Kenzie...I love that picture BTW! I hope that this weekend we can get some updates out on a bunch of things, like....

• Disneyland
• Boys BBall
• LEST
• Family Promise
• etc.

I am thinking that the new years' resolution should have been to blog more routinely...maybe we can make that our February resolution. Check back soon.

Super "M"

For the first time in a long time we had a "laid back" weekend. Even then, it was full of activities. Saturday was party day, with Kenzie going to her first party for a classmate...then Maddie heading to a party in the evening for a good friend. Kenzie's party was a "Superhero" theme, so when we got up on Saturday we dug through the dress up box to find all the key elements to her costume....she was Super M. We caught Kenzie trying to fly off the couch.



This week we get ready for our trip to Disneyland...We are looking forward to getting away to some warm weather and some good times with Mickey and the gang.

Here we go...

Well, the new year is in FULL swing. Back to work, back to school, back to the routine. We had a great holiday season with family and friends. The snow was the big highlight of the season, providing the kids with an early Christmas break. The trip to the cabin over new years was a blast as well given all the snow up there...well over a foot.

As we enter the new year, it is a time of moving forward. Steph and I continue to stay busy with school board stuff, Steph is active with Maddie and Kenzie's school as "Room Parent", Mike is busy with work and Basketball, etc. January and February will be busy with a Disneyland trip (definitely more on that as it happens) as well as our annual trip to LEST Hope School. We wish everyone a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.

Here are a collection of videos from around the new year and Christmas.

KK with Mickey Mouse Playhouse


The New Music Team


Sledding at Maggie Lake


Mike as Clark W. Griswold III


Mommy and KK