Posted by toddjensen on Jun 21, 2008 in
family,
ramblings No I didn’t get a facelift, tummy tuck or whatever else fits in the category, but as you can see the blog did. I’ve upgraded to the newest version and have gotten rid of as much of the customization as I could to accommodate easier upgrades in the future. It’s always fun to look at the different looks (or skins as the techie would say), ways of displaying information and what have you. Amy is getting ready for a scrap day with her friends. I’ll be mowing the yard, enjoying the little boys, and maybe hit a movie.
I’ve been preparing for a presentation for the Lower Platte South Natural Resources District. They’ve asked me to teach them the reigns of podcasting and how it might be another way to increase their reach to their stakeholders, customers, and constituents.
Let me know what you think of the look, post a comment for once if you are reading. Always nice to know if someone is out there…ttl.
Posted by stamper on Jun 15, 2008 in
family 
Todd returned late Friday night from a conference in New Jersey. His father was originally slated to pick him up, but since the kids were still up after 10 p.m. (and excited), I figured we may as well surprise him. It was the beginning of our early Father’s Day celebration since the big kids were leaving on a week-long fishing trip.
Saturday was spent mostly outside, the weather was perfect, the kids tho grumbly (tired) were pretty good sports and we embarked on a few of the Lincoln Safari sites on East and City Campus. After eating Chipotle downtown, we wandered over to the Sheldon Art Gallery, Morrill Hall and found that it was fun just to play outside and be silly (okay, I’ll admit it, I probably had the most fun… ). We then loaded up for the East Campus Dairy Store which was the real draw for the kids. It was a hit, especially for Trevor with his double fisted spoons and Eric who wanted every last drop! Our day concluded with a drive to Fremont for dinner with my dad at Whiskey Creek. We also bid farewell to Emily and Trevor (our fisher people) as they embarked on a trip to North Dakota in search of walleye and northern.
Posted by stamper on Jun 12, 2008 in
house 
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!
Posted by toddjensen on Jun 10, 2008 in
conferences Well finally made it to the wonderful state of New Jersey, Princeton to be exact. I plan to jot some notes about my experiences. So far so good with exception of the guy I sat by on my first flight out of Lincoln. I swear he forced his legs apart as wide as he could, nearly pushing me into the aisle the whole flight. Anyway, got through that one, delayed an hour in Chicago, got to Newark, waited in the transportation line for 45 minutes, missed first bus to Princeton, caught the second one…yippee.
Sorry to make it sound so bad, actually, not bad at all, as of this writing, I’m just checking out the ‘web2.0′ following of the conference could be quite fun and different then others in the past (more techie, ha).
Posted by stamper on Jun 5, 2008 in
house 
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.
Posted by stamper on Jun 1, 2008 in
house 
No doubt about it now! We are definitely the neighborhood hangout since we’re the only ones on the block with a play structure! Lucky for me that we found two guys willing to spend their entire weekend (for pay mind you) putting this monstrocity together. It took them @14 hours, but compared to Todd and I spending a whole summer just making sense of the 75 pg. instruction booklet, it was worth every penny! The kids patiently waited, watched and waited some more, especially Ryan who basically just camped out with them. Within minutes of our arrival from an afternoon in Omaha, the neighbors who’d obviously also been waiting and watching descended upon us and it was “kidfest” in our very own yard. I guess it’s only fitting that the house with the most kids has the most toys? Anyway, special thanks to Advanced Landscapes for saving my summer by granting our boys an outdoor diversion (and reason NOT to scrapbook) and me a bit of peace from the “I’m bored, there’s nothing to do” mantra!
Posted by stamper on May 21, 2008 in
family 
Todd has had the pleasure of joining Eric (7) and Ryan (4) on their end of the year field trips. Eric’s class went to the zoo, Ryan’s to the park, but the one thing is common was….GIRLS! Eric had a harem asking to sit by him on the bus and at lunch, but his “girlfriend” of 3 years prevailed for the train ride. Ryan had his own swarm in the sandbox vying for his attention and sand skills. I’m not sure what it is, but there must be something special because these boys are already chick magnets. If this is any indication of what our future holds, I’m pushing to drop the landline and invest in Alltel stock!
Posted by stamper on May 14, 2008 in
house 
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!
Posted by stamper on May 4, 2008 in
house
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!
Posted by toddjensen on May 1, 2008 in
house
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.
