New Family Blog

We have decided to use a new blog spot for our family updates and events. Please visit the Jensen Family at http://bljensen.blogspot.com/. We posted pictures of our new baby. Ben-isms will still be used for Ben's personal blog. Thank you.

Final Week!

Well, Thanksgiving was a blast.  I managed to gain only 3 lbs after two Thanksgiving feasts.  I am, however, anxious to start getting back into shape.  Lindsey can't wait to start working out after the baby is born so together, hopefully we can rekindle my desire to stay in shape.  So, we have literally six days until the baby is born.  The doctor was concerned about the baby's heart beat for a little while.  When Lindsey went in for her weekly check-up, the baby's hear beat was a little bit slow so she had Lindsey go to the hospital for further monitoring.  The baby is ok, but if it continues, the doctor wants the baby out by this Friday which is only a couple of days before the due date anyway.  Either way, we are very excited. 

So, we got our Christmas tree.  We strongly recommend a noble pine tree.  They last longer and have more of that Christmas tree look.  We kept an eye out for good trees and good prices and we found a seven footer for $45.  I think that's pretty good considering our first tree was only 6 feet and cost us $80.  Well, as we go into this Christmas holiday, we want to wish all who come to our blog a very merry Christmas and hope that your home is filled with the Christmas spirit.  And once the baby is born, we'll be sure to update the blog with pictures and a name.  

20 Days and Counting!

Well, Lindsey is officially over with the baby showers.  Now all we have left is the baby!  We want to express our thanks to all those who came in our support.  The gifts are amazing.  The baby's nursery is jam packed with clothes, toys, diapers, and lots of other fun baby things.  A neighbor of ours, who was only 12 days ahead of Lindsey, had her baby Saturday morning...on her bed!  The baby literally came unexpected and her husband had to deliver the baby.  That kind of puts into perspective how close we really are.  So, I suggested from now on that we sleep on plastic, just in case.  Lindsey and I are thinking of either naming Calvin or Sawyer with Benjamin as a middle name.  We think that we'll just wait till he comes and see what he looks like and decide then. 

Well, Lindsey and I find it hard to believe how fast time has gone by this year.  We can't believe that Thanksgiving is nearly here.  Each week seems to pass so fast.  I often complain at how short the weeks are and how there just isn't enough time to get done everything we want done.  I guess that's just how time flies when you're having fun!

5 Weeks and counting!

Well, we are only 5 weeks away until Lindsey delivers our baby.  We are very excited and can't wait to receive this baby into our home.  We haven't quite yet determined a name, although we do have a few we like.  We're thinking that we're going to wait until the baby arrives and decide then what name we want to give him.  I like the name Calvin and Lindsey does too, its just that we're not quite so set on it yet.  Lindsey also likes the name Sawyer.  I could work with that. 

So, that latest fad in the Jensen family is the television series Lost.  If you haven't seen the NBC series, I'd encourage you to.  For a while, we were big 24 fans but that got kind of old and to think that that much action could happen within 24 hrs.  Ya, right!  But Lost, we have found that to be far more amusing and action packed (moderate action - not so much as 24).  So far, we're nearly half way through the second season.  The fourth season starts on television this December.  Don't watch it on TV until you have finished the three previous seasons.   I am also a HUGE fan of The Office (Thursday nights at 8:00 pm, NBC).  That is a show that I hope never goes out of style.

So, Lindsey's family had their annual Halloween party.  Lindsey went as a pregnant nun and went as a priest.  Some of the other costumes at the party included Nacho Libre and Incarnacion, as well as the Ninja Turtles, Ketchup and Mustard, and the Tooth Fairy.  We had a good time.  Both Lindsey and I can't believe that Fall is nearly over.  This picture here on the right is from Cascade Springs in AF Canyon.  We took a family outing up there and found Autumn to be in full bloom.  Would Autumn be in full bloom or is that Spring?  Maybe I should say Autumn in full un-bloom.  Well, we're excited for the holiday season and the very special gift we get have for this Christmas season.

What Would Our World Do Without Them

What would our world do without people like Al Gore, Hillary Clinton, Spe-han-ton (Spears, Lohan, & Hilton), and Sean Penn? I can't think of a more influential group of icons, along with a few others, that can captivate a global audience like they can. And to think that we're captivated!

I mean, think of all the wonderful things Al Gore has done for our world. He's actually done so much that he has a shot at the Nobel Peace Prize. Wow! If he does win it, then he has proven to the world that ANYBODY can do it. All you need is compelling story, inaccurate facts, and idiot supports and you'll win. If Al can do it, I can do it. Let me put it this way: if I had received the Nobel Peace Prize for any previous work to help mankind, I'd give mine back. It is insulting to think that by educating the world with inaccurate and falsely researched facts on global warming, it can deserve such a prestigious recognition. I'm not saying that global warming isn't true (research ocean currents), but I am saying that he is misinformed and has misled a lot of people. That's a disservice and probably deserves the Nobel Conflict Prize. Think about it. All he's created is world conflict on this matter!

What about Hillary Clinton? What a super example of getting what you want. If I can have her same attitude in life, I'll get whatever I want. All I have to do is be willing to go on rampages and have a hot temper. Or what about Spe-han-ton? I couldn't ask for a better group of young women to set an example of irresponsibility for our young women. They're drug addicts, alcoholics, and sexual icons. Just what I want for my future daughters.

And then there is Sean Penn. I've always thought he was a good actor but boy, I couldn't believe how well he performed in Venezuela. I mean, I was almost convinced that he was actually trying to befriend a communist. He sure had me going for a while.

Maybe the reason why we as a society are so captivated by such public figures is because of their absolute idiocy, ignorance, and self-idolization and we just can't believe our eyes. Thank goodness, though, that there are people out there who do portray positive and optimistic influences, character, and outright good morals.

Summer Is Nearing The End

Each summer, I try to recommit myself to nature with a renewed desire for life in the outdoors. I don't know what happened but this year, I failed miserably. I am not proud to say that I have not been camping or hiking this year yet. I really love the outdoors. At one point I considered myself to be quite the outdoors man and now, Lindsey thinks of me as nothing more than a city slicker. I have all the equipment anyone would need but I'm just missing the commitment. I do go Jeeping a lot and some of you would consider that outdoors, and I do to, but its not the same. I'm talking about doing a weeklong camping trip, or hiking Timpanogas, or even just an overnighter up AF Canyon. I can only imagine that it will more difficult as life continues on. I've got to get something figured out.

So, on a more interesting note, the stock market has had some interesting twists and turns these last few weeks. In case some of you don't know or in case you have noticed but can't explain what's going on, our economy is facing somewhat of a credit crunch. Allow me to explain. Back in the late 70's, lending institutions ran into a problem that disabled them to lend money. It eventually got to the point where there was no more money to be lent out to the consumer. There are fears that we could be approaching the same thing. The reason why this has a negative impacton the economy is because when lending institutions aren't able to lend out money, consumers (you and me) aren't able to buy things like a home, a car, appliance, or simply put, the things that people would normally finance. If we are then unable to get financing for those kinds of things, that in turn slows down the economy in many sectors. But don't worry. These kinds of things are healthy for the economy and the stock market. It also presents great buying opportunities in stocks and options. If you have any questions or would like further explanation, just let me know.

Lindsey and I had the wonderful opportunity a few weeks ago to visit Yellowstone which for me was my first time. I was pretty excited to finally be able to get outdoors. I haven't been able to do that much this year. I guess its not that I haven't been able to but rather that I haven't made the effort to do so. Anyway, I thought the landscape was beautiful. There was still a lot of left over from that huge fire there a couple of decades ago. That fire burned millions of acres there and is still recovering. There wasn't too much wildlife. I thought we would be seeing wildlife everwhere although there was more to see than AF canyon. We stayed in a city called Saint Anthony which is 45 minutes outside of Yellowstone in this lodge. The lodge was pretty cool. We got to float down the Snake River, or should I saw walk down the river. I swear the deepest part in this particular stretch was only a foot deep. I eneded up pulling Lindsey and her sister down the majority of the river. Good thing I wore my sandals! I think, though the corniest part of the trip was when we HAD to go to BearWorld! I have never seen anything more pitiful. BearWorld is basically a place where you can go to see bears up close and personal, a while in the comfort of your own car. All you do is drive around this windy road and the bears jus roam freely. And all of this for only $50 a car! Then, they have this petting zoo with some deer that I swear were dead and pigs like this. I strongly recommend that if you want to see bears, wait it out in Yellowstone. I'd much rather see them in the wild than in an amusement park. Other than that, the trip was fun!