Christmas in Utah

So you know it's been snowy in Utah. It's the snowiest Christmas either one of us can remember forever. . .and forever is a long long time! It's actually really pretty, especially the mountains. We both miss those quite a bit.

It's been fun hanging out with family and friends. It's the first Christmas where all the Stan and Chantal Jensen kids have been married so I guess it's a major milestone. . .or something like that.

Here are some pictures from Christmas and just hanging out. We'll post some more in a few days.

We three Jensens playing in the snow!

Jen, Chantal, Bruce, Stan and Grandma Jensen's hand.

Lincoln decided to help clean the floor at Chuck-a-Rama

Christmas morning

Pretty Monica

Getting a book! Yay!

Shawn was really thrilled to shovel snow and scrape car windows again.

With Grandma Bullen

Laurie and Greg, Jaxon and Creed


Lincoln with Aunt Kara and Uncle Tyler

Michael and Melanie

Andy and Angie and Macie

Ang, Amy, Monica, Cat, Sara

A JensenBullenNosekYoungWarren Christmas

Our Christmas with Monica's family turned into a photo shoot. Unfortunately, we didn't get pictures of the kids opening their presents or of our yummy Christmas "roast beast". Probably because Shawn and Monica were too busy opening their own presents and having seconds, thirds and fourths...

The AZ Jensen's - Merry Christmas

Monica's Aunt Anahi got Lincoln this little baseball chair. He loves it!

We're cuckoo for Christmas!!!

Karina & Jake Warren

Tom & Diana Bullen & Anahi & Mike Nosek

The Ladiez

Nelay & Nathan Young

The Boyz

Young Family

Too bad Karla & James are not here, it could have been a full
Bullen Family picture. We haven't done one of those in almost 4 years!

John's friend Adam joined us for Christmas dinner
and even brought a gift for the gift exchange!

100

You're supposed to mark which of the 100 things you've done. The things Shawn and Monica have BOTH done are in green. The things Monica has done are in red and the things Shawn has done are in blue.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept overnight on a train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Lived in more than 3 states
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden a gondola in Switzerland
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Seen Mt. Rushmore
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen Amish country
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi concentration camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. One cavity or less

Winter Formal

For those of you who know Monica's family really well, this will be especially exciting for you. For those of you who don't, appreciate the fact that Monica's youngest brother John was 10 when Shawn and Monica got married and was more than a head shorter than her.

John and his friends went to his first formal dance, the Winter Formal. Monica was REALLY excited to play the "big sister" and help John pick out a tux and corsage and take pictures of the big night.

Everyone looked very nice. John has a very good group of friends and we have enjoyed getting to know them, especially the girls. These girls all have good heads on their shoulders. They are smart and talented, beautiful and have lots of spunk. Monica appreciates that John has made friends with girls that embody the qualities of his favorite sisters: Monica, Karla, and Emily (also his only sisters).

PS - These pictures where taken at Monica's parents' house.

Getting ready for the dance

John was embarrassed to be kissed by his sisters

The Boys

John & Eryn

Colton, John & Carl

Marissa, Eryn & Megan

Classy Couples - Desert Ridge HS Winter Formal

Zoo Lights

Last night we went to the Phoenix Zoo-Zoolights. This is a VERY fun little family outing. Lincoln loved the lights and we are not ashamed to say that we were ooing and ahing right beside him as well. And you might notice something new in the pictures...can you guess? Keep looking...yup! Lincoln is smiling and actually looking at the camera. We are thrilled. We finally got him to do it by asking him to show us his teeth the way we do when we're trying to brush them. Incredibly, it worked! Wish it worked as well for toothbrushing!

Anyhow, Zoolights will definitely become an annual holiday event for the AZ Jensen's.

Jengo- The Talking Giraffe

Flying Monkeys

Fancy!

Tonight, Monica and Shawn settled down to watch a movie after a long day of Christmas decorating and chasing around after Lincoln. Monica made it about 10 minutes into the movie before she found the inside of her eyelids to be more interesting than Ocean's 12. About an hour into it, a phone rang in the movie. Monica suddenly sat straight up and informed Shawn that "The fancy people want you!" Shawn nearly had to change his pants he was laughing so hard!

Viva Las Vegas

Lincoln and Monica had a good time in Las Vegas with Grandma & Grandpa Bullen & Uncle John. Lincoln really enjoyed "The Strip". He loved all the lights and colors and wanted to give "knuckles" to all the people we passed on the street.

Monica FINALLY got to meet her sister's fiance Johnny Blair. He races go carts. Now this might seem cheesy or childish, but these little "go-carts" are 250 lbs, and they can go around 90 miles an hour! He had several heats all weekend, but we only saw 1 race on Saturday night. Johnny placed 3rd. It was really awesome! Monica couldn't get a picture of the race, the little carts were too fast, but there is a picture of Karla and Johnny with the cart.

They also got to meet Johnny's family. It seemed like we had always know them. Monica is so glad that Karla is marrying into such a great family. The whole family went to the breakfast buffet at the Rio Hotel. Unfortunately they didn't get to gorge themselves because Lincoln had a blow out! Poor Linc had a touch of the stomach flu over the weekend. Kind of a bummer for everyone (No pun intended there).

On the way home they stopped at the Hoover Dam. No, they didn't get to see Megatron or the All-spark, but it was still a spectacular sight!

Arizona Sunsets

It's been kind of a slow week. Monica had strep-throat and felt pretty crappy all week, so we didn't do a whole lot of anything. The next few weeks will be somewhat eventful though. Shawn is working (ya right!) in Hawaii for the next week and a half. To get back at him, Monica and Lincoln are going to Vegas! You know what they say about what happens there. . . Monica's sister Karla's fiance Johnny races go carts (cool huh?) and has a big race in LV this coming weekend. This will be the first time that Monica meets him so it's really a big event. You know, the whole "big sister approval of the younger sister's future husband" ritual. Should be interesting. Wish them luck!

We did see the new James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace. It was a solid OK. The action was awesome! The story itself was forgettable. Overall, though it was worth the money and definitely one to see on the big screen.

This week has been an amazing week for sunsets. Shawn got some pics and we thought we'd share with you. . .You're welcome!

Excursion: Land of Montezuma

A few days ago Shawn was working in the office and Monica came in and suggested we just take the day and do something spontaneous. Shawn thought this was a fantastic idea. Working from home is AWESOME!

So, we packed up a quick lunch, jumped in the car and drove north on the I-17 about 2 hours into the Coconino National Forest. The native Sinagua indians lived there till around 1400 AD and built some cave dwellings and drew water from a natural water sink (not the kind that's in your bathroom), like a well, but natural. It's not man-made. It's natural. Got it? Good! :) Anyway, the Spaniards came in, found the Sinagua ruins and, thinking they were some branch of indians from Mexico, they brilliantly started calling everything Montezuma. Seriously, it's Montezuma this and Montezuma that. So we visited Montezuma Castle (cave dwellings), Montezuma Well, which happened to be on Montezuma road, near the Montezuma gas station. The ironic thing is that no one and nothing here has any relation whatsoever to Montezuma. All the same, it's pretty cool out there.

You'd think this should happen on the way home. . .nope!


Montezuma Castle and Monicazuma and Lincolnzuma

At Montezuma Well. We didn't drink the water.


Since Lincoln never looks at the camera, Shawn copied him. What a fantastic idea!






Lincoln starting a fascinating game of "throw leaves off the bridge".






A successful excursion!

We've officially decided to do a family excursion at least once per month. Ye ha!