Playing in Loafer Canyon

Scott and Jodi Brumfield just got their cabin all finished with the remodel and invited us up to watch some football and have lunch.  Jeff and I brought wings and vegies.  Joel and Julie brought some chips and dips and Scott and Jodi had some salads.  It was the perfect "football food" lunch!  We watched football inside while the kids played outside.  They all worked making forts.  Cade, Tyler and Gunner made the "big kids" fort and Molly, Emma, Ellie, Gustin and Trey made the "little kids" fort.  I was so impressed with their creativness!!!  They really used their imaginations this day and came up with some fun stuff!  Unfortunately by the time the big kids were done helping the little kids and went to work on their own fort, it was too dark to take pictures.  But they made a campfire area and decorated it with crap they found around.  It looked really cool!  They little kids got pics of their forts though.  

*They made a little teepee with cattail reeds to lay down on.*

*They made a firepit and circled it with rocks.  Then they found old railroad ties and hauled them over for benches.*

*They found all kinds of "TREASURES"!*

*And Emma made them necklaces!  She found shells all around and poked holes in them with a point of a rock.  Then she shredded a cattail into thin strips and poked the cattail reed through the holes and tied it in the back!*

How creative is that!

Diamond Dawg Family Shrimp Boil

I love this big ol' "family" of mine!  Who would've thought all those years ago that we would have become so close and would rely on each other so much.  We help each other with farewells, funerals, yard work, you name it!  I would do almost anything for any one of them.  I had them all up for dinner and we had a great time together.  We made a shrimp boil dinner and it was delicious!

Big Cay-nan turns 13!

This little monster who seriously is such a bundle of joy turned 13!!!

An offical teenager!

He is super compasionate, soft hearted, thoughtful and kind.  He's an amazing kid and I could not ask for anyone better than him!

All he wanted for his birthday was a new Nerf gun.  Kid at heart still I guess!

He requested that I make him a cheesecake for his cake.

Since his birthday was on Sunday this year, we took him and his friends out to lunch the next day.  They were all excited to not be eating lunch in the school cafeteria!

Going in a horseshoe shape starting from the left:  Dylan Jensen - Kade Cloward - Conrad Andersen - Cade - Kyler Baum - Kobe Carter - Tagg Argyle

Elder Higginson serving at the MTC

Jens went into the MTC on August 17, 2017.  That was a bittersweet day.  We all went over to the grounds just east of the MTC, just below the temple.  We took some pictures and hugged him goodbye.  Then drove across the street and dropped him off.

He was assigned Elder Clark as his companion.  These two got along great!  They have a lot in common and became instant friends!  Thankfully I have a few friends who work at the MTC who would send me pictures when they would see him.  Richard Fifita, who does the grounds, saw him one day and took some pictures and a video and sent them to me.  Holly Biefuss, who pins the badges on the missionaries when they arrive, took a picture of him and sent it to me too.

When Jens first went into the MTC, he already had one friend there, Elder Nate Kiesel (far right).  Then his best friend Cooper Smith (center) came in two weeks later.

Jens had lots of friends come inn while he was there:

Left to Right:  Cooper Smith - Jens - ? from Mapleton - Nate Kiesel - Braden Christensen

Jens and Ryan Stones

Elder Ryan Stones - Elder Kade Christensen - Jens

Stones - Jens - Coop

Jensy's Setting Apart as a Missionary

August 16, 2016

Jens got set apart as a missionary today.  It was a really great meeting.  President Clare gave him a really spiritual blessing.  My three favorite things that were said were:

1- He was blessed to be gifted with the correct words to say when asked.  His mouth would be filled with the perfect words at the perfect time.

2- He would be in dangerous areas, but as long as he was obedient, there would be angels with him, who have already been assigned to be by his side to protect him.

3- They don't build great ships to just sit in the harbor.  We as parents have built a great and beautiful ship.  He has a lot to live up to.

Those in attendance were: Dad, Mom, Sidney, Cade & Molly - Grandma Gloria - Grandpa & Grandma Higginson - Dan, Suzi & Katelyn - Sam & Whitney - Joel & Julie - Scott & Jessica.

Afterwards, we all went home and LOADS of friends and family came by to say bye to him.

River Rafting in the Provo River

August 6, 2016

For several years Jeff and I have tossed out the idea that we needed to raft the Provo River and we FINALLY did it!  It was really fun.  The weather wasn't too hot, and thankfully it was a nice, calm ride downstream.