Not this year! Nope. Not gonna do it. I know I'm a slacker. I'm not even going to pretend I'm going to try harder. I've realized that it's better to just lower my expectations, and then I'm happier. I'm embracing mediocrity whole heartedly. I realize now that, no matter how hard I wish, I will never be one of those blogging moms that writes semi-weekly posts sprinkled with gorgeously, well-lit photos. Not. Gonna. Happen. E-VER. (And beside, my kids are well past the "cute" stage. Scrapbooking and blogging was way more fun when they were cute.)
Whew, I feel much better now.
So here's a post I should have written almost a year ago. How's that for being fashionably late? Like I said, I'm embracing the fact that I'm okay with being mediocre. You know how some families have a motto? Well, ours is: The Jensens are always late, but we show up eventually. So at least I'm staying true to the family motto.
I neglected to blog a very significant trip we took to Missouri to see Grandma and Grandpa during our Spring Break. I took a LOT of pictures, all of which I will not share here. But here are enough to give a good idea of all the fun we had.
We flew into Kansas City and rented a car to drive to Jefferson City. We arrived one day before the Kansas City Temple open house. So even though we couldn't walk through, we stopped by to see it on the way to Grandma's house.
We took the girls to Nauvoo for the first time, which was a neat experience. I lived there the summer after I graduated from high school. My parents were serving a mission there, and I hadn't been back since before I got married. It was really special to go to the temple (which didn't exist the last time I was there) with Danika, Brooke, and Mike to do baptisms for some of my ancestors. Megan wasn't quite 12 when we went, so she wasn't able to go to the temple with us.
Some of our favorite sites were the Webb Blacksmith Shop, where we got a horseshoe nail ring.
Lucy Mack Smith's home--it's tiny and adorable.
The stairs are really steep!
Mike's favorite was the Browning Gun Shop. It was pretty cool to learn Jonathon Browning was a member of the Church and came to Utah with the Saints.
I found the Print Shop fascinating. Did you know that "dingbats," "stereotype," "coin (quoin) a phrase," and "cut to the chase" all originated in the printing industry?
The girls also liked the brickyard, where they each received a Nauvoo brick as a souvenir.
And on our way back home to Grandma's we stopped at Carthage Jail.
Other fun things we did during our stay in Jefferson City:
Ate ice cream at Central Dairy (twice!)
Visited the State Capital and the Lewis & Clark Monument (my kids are goofy and slightly irreverent).
Started making Danika's prom dress (see the finished product here).
Took a hike along the Osage River (beautiful, but humid).
(This is why I like living in a dry climate--nasty, creepy bug things love humid places.)
Dyed Easter eggs and had an Easter egg hunt (glad my kids aren't too old for this yet).
It was a very busy, but fun-filled trip. It was so good to visit Grandma and Grandpa. They have a beautiful home, and basically have a forest behind their house. They are so good to us, and always make our visits so enjoyable. They are awesome, and we love them!!!
There it is...finally in print. Better late than never, right?