For the record...

Aubrie is a sweetheart of a girl. Last night I said prayers, read story and tucked her in and then Ryan came in and said "Aubrie, do you want to tell me about school?" He asked her what her first favorite thing is about school--which was snack time--and on and on, I left on number 3 but apparently they kept going...I finally went down 3 hours later and Ryan and Aubrie were laying side by side on the floor each with a pillow and sharing Aubrie's blanket from her bed. It was so sweet. When I asked Ryan about it he told me he started fading on her 6th favorite thing and he vaguely remembered Aubrie telling him he could have one of her pillows and then sticking it under his head...and then asking him if he needed some blanket. She crawled onto the floor and laid down next to him so that she could share hers and there they slept till I went down to get Ryan to go to bed. Love her!


Robbie is the helpiest helperton there has ever been. He will ask me at least a few times a week..."mom what can I do now (to help me)?" He never says no when I ask him to do something, he takes out the garbage, helps with the dishwasher, brings up the laundry baskets from downstairs, carries in groceries and helps me put them away (usually without me even asking). He loves to help. He even told me that the other day. And the more positive reinforcement, the more he likes it. He is a cute little cuddle bug too and we love to sit by him or have him come get in bed with us in the morning, he just snuggles right in. Also, when I put him down for a nap and we read our books first, he immediately reaches over to hold my hand while we read. Such a sweet boy!


Hallie is just fun! She says at least once a day if not more, "WHAT DA HECK?" (very slow and articulating each word). Today Ryan was giving the kids their piano lessons and Hallie just wants to be right there helping and learning. He and Robbie were practicing note counts and singing "Hold that Whole note, Half note, Half note, quarter quarter quarter quarter, two eighths, etc, etc" Hallie came into the bedroom and says to me while clapping "quarter quarter quarter, toothpaste (two eighths), toothpaste, toothpaste" SO Proud of herself just smiling away.
She loves her tassles (Sandals) and will wear one pair while carrying around 2 other pair all day. Always loves to have them with her. She has been talking about her owie on her hand for 2 weeks now and it always needes "da kisses". Love her face!

and this fourth little girl/boy that is coming is BOUND to join the ranks and win us over as well. we find out in 2 weeks if its a boy or girl! yeah!

so tell me....

how many eggs, loaves of bread, fruit and milk do you go through in a week....because with only 5 people and 3 are little bodies...it sure seems like we can't keep enough of that in the house. I'm just wondering what is normal....

Birthdays, Anniversaries, and Labor Day

August is always fun in the Jensen home as we celebrate...


...MOM - a hot babe who does it all and is still looking like she's 25 yrs old.


NOTE: I attempted to make her favorite cake and discovered that it's better to spray the entire bundt pan rather than just part of it. Also, candles are better used when placing them in a cake that didn't just come out of the oven.



...AUBRIE - now 6 yrs old going on 15 - Aubrie really got into her birthday this year. At the end of the day during dinner she pronounced, "this has just been the bestest birthday ever - I don't want it to end. Can tomorrow still be my birthday?" We sure love our not-so-little-anymore Aubrie.


...ROBBIE - now 4 yrs old and did what he loves doing best on his birthday - ride his bicycle. We rode bikes to one of our favorite pizza places and he rode the entire way. He is a little speed-racer. We sure love our little "Bob".




...SEVEN YEARS - Amber and I also celebrated our 7-year anniversary by spending 3 days in Portland, Maine. Dave and Karla watched the kids for three days (they had plenty of fun themselves as you can SEE HERE) in their new home in Boston. A special thanks to them - this was the longest time we have been able to spend together without kids since Aubrie was born six years ago. We had a great time exploring downtown Portland, ME and also taking a ferryboat out to a restaurant on an island (Diamond's Cove) off the coast of Maine. The company, the setting, and the food was incredible (Iceberg Lettuce, Baked Haddock, Filet Mignon, Maine Blueberry Cheesecake, and Strawberry Dumplings).

The sunset from the boat overlooking Portland's coastline.

A perfect summer night coming back on the boat from Diamond's Cove after an awesome meal!

I've said it before and I'll say it again...marrying Amber was the best decision I have ever made. She is practically perfect in every way.



LABOR DAY WEEKEND...we had the great pleasure of receiving a visit from Uncle Chad Hatch and Baby Jensen. We had a great time with them (yes, Laura, we missed you and Lily!)

We took Chad and Jensen on a "driving tour" of the NH/ME coastline. Hurricane Earl had just passed through and left some nice 10-12 foot waves for us to do some body-surfing. Chad even saved a kid from drowning - apparently, just part of Chad's daily routine.

This is Chad dreaming of his new life after moving his family here to New England. :)

On the way home, the kids were acting up so Chad and I had to throw them around a bit...

We really enjoyed getting to know Jensen better, too!

On Monday, we went back to York Beach with friends from Church (Emros and Tanguays) to experience York's Animal Kingdom and Fun Park. After, we also took some pictures at our newest favorite picnic spot, Nubble Lighthouse.

Hallie was intrigued by the goats biting her shoe at the petting zoo.

This was Hallie's way of trying to get the goat to bite her shoe again.

The fun park was good times - kids loved all the rides (I especially enjoyed the batting cages).

According to research conducted by Amber, this is the most visited and most photographed lighthouse in North America. It is a really pretty setting.