Everything Jensen

Since Adelaide’s first birthday, we’ve started introducing her to the world of sports. It’s our hope that, when she’s a tad bit older, she’ll channel her boundless energy into one or more of these outlets. Currently, she uses her never-ending supply of pep to climb up bookshelves, drag around heavy laptop bags, and spin in circles until she’s so dizzy she crashes in a giggling heap. Adelaide is a great little sports fan. She loved the bull-riding event we attended in Oregon (though to be fair, she liked dancing to the music more than watching the cowboys). And, she looks great in her football gear. Adelaide is all Bolted Up! This Wednesday, we braved a sprinkling rain drizzle to take Adelaide to her first soccer match: DC United vs. Chivas. She was enthralled, and never took her eyes off the ball.  Whenever the soccer ball sailed into the air, and looked like it might be heading into our direction, she’d clap excitedly. Adelaide was rooting for the ball. We made it all the w...

Adelaide has strong feelings about stuffed animals. At a distance, they make her nervous. Bring them closer, and she will cling to the nearest parent and begin shaking her head (No!).  Dare try to touch her with a plush critter and… well, you probably should just trust us and not do that. All of Adelaide’s stuffed animals are stored in a small toy chest in her room – where she can keep an eye on them. If anyone ever tries to inspire an escape attempt by opening the chest, even just a little, she’ll throw her little body on top of the lid while yelling with her best Conan the Barbarian voice. Having just read the above two paragraphs, what we say next might surprise you. Meet the newest member of our family: Count Snoopula. Don't let the fangs fool you.  Count Snoopula is quite friendly. On a rainy day in Camas, Washington last week, we took Adelaide to the mall to play on the indoor playground. While browsing through Hallmark post-play time, Adelaide snatched Count ...

On Tuesday, Melinda discovered three new gray hairs. It was a bad way to start a birthday. Fortunately, the day improved significantly as it went on. Her co-workers went all out to decorate her cubicle with crepe paper, balloons, and flowers. They held a fake meeting with a one-word agenda: “Cake.” And, her boss took her out to a delicious lunch. Melinda's Prison...errr.. Cubicle Adelaide was pretty excited about the balloons Mommy brought home. Not to be topped by Melinda’s co-workers, Matt put on his culinary-master hat and made goat cheese and sage ebelskivers with Cold Stone cupcakes for dessert. Taken moments before Adelaide made a big mess... No new gray hairs have been discovered since the big day, so we’re regarding the incident as an ironic fluke. However, Matt is keeping an extra ice-cream cupcake in the fridge, just in case (cupcakes are a well known cure for sad wives).

Whew! After over two weeks of traveling, we’re back in Virginia.   First things first, we’ve thoroughly assessed our house for damages from the two major disasters we missed out on.   The quake only had one victim – a glass picture frame we bought at a dollar store years ago. Hurricane Irene appeared to have caused no damage; even our clocks were still on, so our home never lost power. However, we are blaming the storm for excessive watering of our backyard, where the weeds can now look you in the eye. Quake: 1, Hurricane: 0 As for our trip – the end was a bit of a whirlwind. We’re including a blow-by-blow description below for avid-Jensen followers. If you’re not someone we call “Mom” or “Dad,” (in other words a casual Jensen follower), please feel free to just skim through the pictures and leave a comment about how cute Adelaide is at the end. Over the weekend, we had a great time with the Parkers. We went blueberry picking and attended a lower-level PBR event. Since th...