Everything Jensen

We would be remiss in letting this month pass without mentioning all the awesome visitors we had! It was truly a busy month with lots going on with the move. But, we did our best to cram that all into our weeknights, because every weekend this month we were excited to enjoy the company of new visitors. Matt's cousin Nathan and his parents were in San Diego for a summer vacation. While they managed to elude our camera, we enjoyed a wonderful morning at the beach with that gang. The kids loved playing with Nathan's children. James and Kristin even came down from LA to join in the fun. Uncle James builds epic drip castles.  The following weekend, Jeff and Klisa came down from Santa Barbara for a quick visit to Grandma and Grandpa. We loved seeing them at the beach and for a quick pool party at our new place. Our kids have so much fun together. Just hanging out, literally in  Jameson's case, on the golf course.  Adelaide would keep Bennett if she could...

We bought another home! For real. Isn't our second property so quaint and adorable? Welcome! We are so excited to have a backyard for the kids to play in. And, now, it's more than just dirt. We've added two new toys. Through Melinda's work connections, we were able to get an adorable storybook cottage plus a water table from Step2 at the employee discount. The kids love playing outside, and Melinda loves watching them from the kitchen windows while she putters around making meals.  Eleanor: "I'm making my hair shiny and new."  The water table has a pirate theme, but the girls tend to treat it as a hair salon. They like to float their rubber ducks in the water, are good at sharing the pouring cups and have yet to make anyone walk the plank. It's the nicest pirate island you'll ever get the chance to visit.  Getting that cottage home was no easy task, but Matt managed to not only get it home, but assemble it in less than an...

The first time we walked into the home we would eventually buy, Melinda didn't even finish the tour. Several college-aged boys had been renting the property for the past four years. It is no exaggeration to say that they never touched a vacuum cleaner. The once cream colored carpet was grey with dust, grime and dirt. Wax candles were melted onto the bannister railings. Sinks were so crusted over with hard water deposits that you could barely see the original chrome. The home was filthy, unloved and years behind on regular maintenance. Over the next month, we toured several other homes in the neighborhood. We could see the potential of one of these models, were it to be kept up. We even bid on a home down the street, but were unable to come to terms with the owner. Finally, our realtor, Daniel, learned that the owner of this property was desperate to sell and willing to go much lower than she had originally listed for. It still took some convincing on the part of Matt and Dani...