Just as I predicted (and planned for) the Jensen crew is well on their way to becoming scrapbookers!  We spent the afternoon (just about 2 hours) working on their brand new albums.  Of course being the teacher, I didn’t get a chance to work on my own, but figure these early pages are laying a foundation for future independence and creativity.  Trevor added more journaling than I’d expected, Emily (who’s done this before) wowed me with her embellishments, Eric had a vision for his pages that stretched the imagination and Ryan was surprisingly independent and opinionated~he knew what he wanted and definitely did things his own way! I figure that this project not only forces us to spend quality time together (in close proximity), but involves sharing, writing, (for Ryan copying letters) and a bit of math (trying to make the pictures “fit”.  Okay, maybe that’s a stretch, but regardless, they all enjoyed it and it was organized.  I bet it will be one of the highlights of our 2008 summer!

It all started last week when the boys dug out a couple 4′ deep holes in what’s supposed to be the garden. They had grand ideas of catching a rabbit, raccoon or some other unsuspecting wildlife (consequently, they did get our dog). The traps were cool….deep pits covered with twigs and grass clipping, no doubt spurred from watching too much Swiss Family Robinson. Anyway, it rained and the holes filled up, hence the idea of a “mud jacuzzi” was hatched. They all climbed in, decided that mud and clay do have a calming, cooling effect ~too bad it doesn’t work on moms.  It was a mess to say the least, and at first was a picture opportunity. However, this morning they repeated the process and then couldn’t comprehend why they weren’t allowed to come into the house without hosing down first! I guess “boys will be boys”, and I have a large task ahead of me….I just hope that garden gets planted soon.

Mother’s Day started a tad bit early this year. I was working on my scrapbooks when Emily decided to pull out her stuff (she hasn’t touched it in 4 years) and before I knew it, I had a table full of scrapbooking enthusiasts ! The boys were very into it as well, and I must admit I’m nervous about what the summer holds~I have images of the four of them gathered around a table snipping and journaling away…. in all actuality, they’ll be out doing crazy stunts that require helmets, well…. at least that’s what I hope. Just in case I’ve ordered them all their own albums, page protectors and the works so that they can leave my stuff alone!

On the “real” Mother’s Day, the kiddos prepared breakfast in bed (toaster waffles and tea), and then we ventured off to the Omaha Zoo. Quite amazing to be able to go to the zoo without a stroller, this newfound independence (all kids walking) is wonderful! Our day concluded with dinner at Old Chicago and a bike ride~ a wonderful day!

Can you tell just by the activity of the blog that we are finding more time for fun? Well, with 19 days of school left, I’m feeling a sense of relief, accomplishment and a bit of stress to fit everything in, but it will be okay, I just keep telling myself that and hoping I’m right!

It was an action packed weekend, we hosted Todd’s students for the annual cookout, attended the Adams Custom Homes pre-parade party, attended two more soccer games and spent the day enjoying the beautiful weather. Tonight after dinner, we decided to try out a family bike ride…. it was rather interesting considering it was Ryan’s solo flight on his new tag-along system! His pedals fell off several times, the tire started to rub and of course it started out rather wobbly (it wasn’t completely attached to Todd’s bike)…..perhaps reading the manual before our next voyage will help, but we did manage to ride to McDonald’s for an ice cream and get back home before dark and to find that the dog had wiggled through our gate and was sitting forlorn in the driveway. Never a dull moment, but great little taste of summer!

We delivered lots of May Day baskets today between dinner, soccer practice, and gymnastics. While we were out and about we received more then we delivered due to the wonderful large size of our family. Sometimes it makes me wonder if we should give 2 for every one child most others have

I snapped a quick picture of the crabapples on campus today.

They are just astonishing every year. There are so many things in bloom right now, great time of year in Nebraska after a long, cold winter. We have yet to have a consistent few days in a row that are above 68, though we cherish those that do come around.

Amy and Lisa also decided to get a henna tatoo, they look pretty cool. Seemed relatively harmless, though doing a bit of research this morn after the fact, the FDA doesn’t seem to like it due to the other things that are sometimes mixed with it. Oh well, I guess you only live once Well gotta go, we are heading to Coba this morning be back later this eve. I’ll post a few pictures here this eve or tomorrow morn.

We made it to Playa Del Carmen, just South of Cancun. The kiddos get to spend the week with Grandpa and Grandma Jensen, I think they will enjoy it. Of course a busy week for everyone as usual with science projects, gymnastics, school, CCD, and all else, the bus will be busy. It’s been very nice here of course, breezy and 86. The food is great, sun it hot (see my photos at the restaurant), and all is well. Already starting to miss the kids a bit, there are a few families here. I’ll check in again tomorrow, we plan to head to Cozumel today. Here are the photos we’ve taken so far.

I must take a moment though to lavish kudos on our builder Mike Adams. He’s once again amazed us with his ability to get things done and done well. In the matter of TWO days, Custom Concrete cut out a 36″ swath of concrete the length of our house, removed the chunks, repoured it all AND moved all of our dear belongings (okay, crap) from one side of the basement to the other. What a Valentine’s Day surprise! Thanks guys, it looks awesome!