Everything Jensen

We never thought we would ever become "those parents." You know the kind... the ones that drive their children to success in sports or music or pageants to the exclusion of all normal activities and family sanity. We've never even been tempted... until now. Now that we've discovered that Eleanor is gifted. That's right, our baby girl has a gift.  Eleanor was born... to bowl! Bowl you over with my cuteness! Even though Eleanor can't even lift the 6 lb bowling ball, she some how managed to shove it straight down the lane for several successive spares and a first time score of 97. It would have been over 100, but she gave up for the last couple frames when her teething gel started wearing off. NCAA Bowling Scholarships Await! (Do those exist? We hope so.) Dad may have helped, just a little. We thought about enrolling her in a bowling league, but evidently those don't exist for the under 5 crowd. It's age discrimination, but what can ...

For the past week, the world has been on the edge of it's seat awaiting a new arrival. We've been scanning the headlines anxiously for the news. And, finally, today we saw the announcement. Buried under headlines about royal babies, traveling popes and natural disasters - there it was. The corpse flower at the National Botanical Garden was in bloom. Of course, we quickly rearranged our schedules to make sure we got to see the rare flower. Corpse flowers take years, and sometimes decades, to produce a bloom. And, they only last 24-48 hours before collapsing. Afternoon meetings were cancelled, projects were finished and out-of-office notices were posted. Melinda interrupted the kids' naps and loaded them onto a Metro train downtown. Matt was already downtown so he joined us on the way. Mom: "We're going to see a BIG flower." Adelaide: "Oh, can I pick it?"  The "Titan Arum" - over 7 feet tall!  Adelaide was pretty imp...

Melinda hates running. Really. Like really, really. Running a marathon, or a half marathon, or to the mailbox... She's never had a desire to do any of those things.  So, why on earth did she sign up to run a 5K in the middle of the hot and humid summer? Was it the awesome friends? Nope... sorry, we can hang out at the mall too.   Was it the chance to support an amazing charity and help sick children? Ummm, no. That just took a check. So, what could possibly convince Melinda to do something she really, truly abhors? A renewed interest in fitness? Trying to set an example for the kids? Temporary loss of sanity?  No - No - No. The real reason was... MUD!!! When it comes to army crawling through giant mud pits, Melinda's like a little kid. She leaps at the opportunity to play in dirt, splash in rain puddles or to pretend she is on one of those obstacle-course, slime-filled Nickelodeon shows that she loved to watch when she was a k...

 Melinda's parents were able to come out to visit the week of the 4th of July. And, Adelaide has been asking us to move next door to them every since they left. Here is a pictoral look at why Grandparents are SO awesome.  They read to you. They make homemade rootbeer.  No shirt, no shoes? No problem. They bounce the car when you don't weigh enough to bounce it yourself. They are always up for an adventure... ...or a jam session. They take you minature golfing and only record about 1/3 of your 32 swings.   They take you out to feed the ducks and turtles. They don't get tired of taking you to the playground. They treat you to lunch at peanut-free restaurants.   HUGS! Grandpa shares his fig newtons. Did we mention they read to you? Tea Parties! Grandma springs for extra rides on the carousel.  

About a month ago our church had a silent auction to help earn money for summer youth camps. We had the highest bid on a photography afternoon from an amateur photographer. So, we spruced up the whole crew and took some family pictures yesterday afternoon. Ginger did a great job even with Eleanor being extra squirmy, the afternoon sun being extra bright and her computer being broken (pictures completely untouched - we don't need photoshop to look gorgeous!).   Good looking group!  This family is forever!  Sweet Sisters  Our sassy three year old (who insisted on wearing purple crocs)  Love this girl  Sugar and Spice and  Everything Nice  Let it be known that Eleanor does not stay in one place for pictures...   ...unless her Mom balances her  on a high tree stump. Princess pals! We couldn't resist a tiara picture.  Adelaide felt so "fancy."  We said "I do" ...