Go Green!

I'm not much for being a greenie, in fact, those that know me, know that I am probably the opposite. However, today I have been thinking a lot about what chemicals are safe. I like cleaning with bleach, because everything smells clean to me. I wonder, is that just because I was trained that way? Smell of bleach=CLEAN! Nevertheless, bleach makes me sick and gives me headaches when I am in the bathroom using it. That can't be good. Now, I'm not knocking it, because I use it, and will probably use it sometimes forever, but, I'm going to try to find other alternatives. Next, is Bryson. Now that he is more mobile and crawling around (only backwards, but still), I worry about him getting into the chemicals. I try not to clean when he is around, so he doesn't breathe them in. But what if he licks the floor or chews on something that I've cleaned with chemicals? That can't be too healthy. I, shockingly, have decided that I need to make a change to environmentally safe household cleaners. I realize that this isn't going to happen overnight, but I'm going to try. For example, I cleaned the kitchen floor with vinegar and water today. I found some sites that mention using baking soda and other safe items for cleaning. Therefore, I am going to try it. I am going to use safer items to clean with. Also, I know some products are sold in stores. If you recommend any please let me know. Another thing I have heard is that environmentally safe cleaning products are more expensive. I'm going to guess that that really isn't the case, but if you know anything about this, input will be appreciated! Wish me luck!

Family Time

This weekend was fun! It was a great 3 day weekend. On Saturday we had to take the car to get an oil change up in SLC (our dealership down here closed). Then, we had tickets to go to the Draper Temple Open House. So pretty! I am so glad we went. We were there for a total of 3 hours and had to carry Bryson the WHOLE time, but we were so impressed with how well he did. Breanne and Mike came with us too! It's always fun to see them!

We didn't get home until around 7 pm. By the time we fed, bathed, and put Bryson to bed we were exhausted and fell asleep! Yep, we are old. Happy Valentine's to us!

Sunday, we spent as a family. We got to stay to all 3 church meetings and they were great! At night, we had a fireside about mormon.org. It was WONDERFUL! It is so much easier to navigate around and is a great tool to learn about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Monday, we went shopping and bought Bryson some more clothes. He has almost grown out of his 3-6 month clothes, but doesn't quite fit into his 6-9 ones. We went over to Aunt Leslie's Monday night to celebrate Nick's 14th Bday! We love spending time with them! We got to eat good food and then go to the church and play some basketball! It was fun, but exhausting! Brenton played with my cousin's son, Jarrett. It was cute to watch him go after him and the ball. Bryson was scared of the ball. I tried rolling it to him on the ground and he cried. Aunt Leslie was kind enough to watch him so Brenton and I could both play!


And last but not least, here are some current pictures of Bryson. He turned 7 months on Sunday. I am amazed at what he learns every day. He is sitting up more by himself. He got another sippy cup and has been drinking from that. He's so fun to play with. He is talking a lot and started saying "mama" this week. I'm pretty sure he doesn't know what it means, but he is learning how to make new sounds, and I love it! He can get up on his arms, and when we are on slick floor he can scoot backwards. I love being home with him every day!

Scrapbook blog

Question: I want to make a journal out of our blog, so I can print it and save it as a history of our family. Does anyone know of a site that we can convert our blog into a printable scrapbook? Let me know!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Today is Saturday, the 14th of February! Happy Valentine's day. Last night, Brenton and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary of our engagement and V-day with Chinese food and FIREPROOF. Love that show! 2nd time, we bought it. Puts such good perspective on marriage, except for the fact that we know ours can last FOREVER, not just until death. One of my favorite songs from it is "Love is Not a Fight" by Warren Barfield. Awesome song! Lyrics are below:

Love is not a place
To come and go as we please
It's a house we enter in
And then commit to never leave

Lock the door behind you
Throw away the key
We'll work it out together
Let it bring us to our knees

Love is a shelter in the raging storm
Love is peace in the middle of a war
If we try to leave, may God send His angels to guard the door
No, love is not a fight but it's something worth fighting for

To some, love is a word
That they can fall into
But when they're falling out
Keeping that word is hard to do

Love will come to save us
If we'll only call
He will ask nothing of us
But demand we give our all

I will fight for you
Would you fight for me?
It's worth fighting for

If you haven't seen it, you should! Love it! I think I could watch it every day.

Today we are taking the car in for an oil change and going to the Draper Temple Open House. Hooray for temples! I'm grateful to know that through them we can be with our families forever.

Then and Now

Do you remember tiny Baby Bryson ?






Well, I wanted to do a comparison picture of him in his swing now. He doesn't normally use it. However, I just learned he still likes it! I might be putting him in it when he gets cranky... This is now....

He is huge! Super cute still, though! I can't believe how much my baby has changed. He isn't such a baby anymore.
He likes to roll all over the floor now. I like to call him my Roly Poly Oly.

He just discovered how to open the doors to the Entertainment center. (UHOH! Time to babyproof).


He can feed himself his bottles now. He's not perfect at it, but he's getting there.


He LOVES the computer (I usually don't let him hold it, but for picture's sake...).



And he can drink out of a sippy cup. Most of the time he just chews on it, but liquid still comes out, so he'll get it!

He is getting so big! Bryson is so much fun. Brenton and I experience it every day. He rolls all over the place in speed time. He loves to jump in the jumperoo. He loves to talk and is making all kinds of new sounds every day. He is sitting up more by himself. Soon he'll be doing it all the time! We love our little stinker!

Jensen Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Family tree chart - Familytree

Brenton's Birthday

The best part of January was Brenton's birthday. He turned 24 on the 31st! I decided to surprise him with a surprise party, and it worked. He had planned for just us two to go out on Friday night and leave Bryson with Aunt Leslie, then have some friends and family over Sat. night. However, I had different plans. We went to drove Bryson off at Aunt Leslie's on Friday night and SURPRISE!!!! We had Aun Leslie and her family there, my cousin and his wife and baby- Jason, Kami, and Jarrett, Breanne and Mike, and our friends Phil, Kelli, and their baby boy Dallin. Thanks SOOOOO much to Aunt Les for hosting it, decorating, and fixing a delicious dinner! Thanks a TON Kelli and Phil for bring helping out with plates, cups, garlic bread, and bringing down my load of stuff! Thanks to Kami and Jason for bring the salad.Thanks to Mike for bringing the WII and to all of you who brought games. Thanks to everyone for the friendship! We love you guys! Brenton was definitely surprised, he had NO idea. He stood in the doorway in shock for a few minutes. We ate, talked, laughed, sang "Happy Birthday", ate cake and ice cream, and played games. It was a night to remember!
Saturday morning we fixed a big breakfast and enjoyed time at home. We took Bryson to Shari and Mike's house to babysit. Thanks so much guys! We went to TRAFALGA to play mini golf and played the arcades, including "DEAL OR NO DEAL"! It was awesome! Then, we went to a Thai food place just south of campus. Unfortunately, Brenton didn't like it much! We got ice cream and just hung out the rest of the night at our place, watching movies and stuff.
Overall, it was a good time. I hope Brenton enjoyed it. I sure do love him! So does Bryson. We are grateful for our hubby and daddy who takes such good care of our family!

January

Well, I've been a slacker once again. I thought I better update the blog. We had some fun stuff go on in January!
First, Bryson hit 6 months on Jan. 15th! We celebrated his half bday with dinner at Taco Bell and ice cream from Coldstone. We even gave him a taste :)
As you'll see, he really enjoyed it.





Also, Bryson tried to drink out of a sippy cup.




The Jensen parents were in town working on Breanne's wedding. Dad Jensen came with us to the car show! It was fun, we are glad he got to spend some time with us!
As you will see, Bryson was entertained. We saw lots of cool cars/cross-overs/trucks. I even found a couple I wouldn't mind having. Mom and Dad Jensen came over and visited us for a few minutes on Sunday as well. We are glad we got to see them!






On MLK Day, Brenton, Bryson ,and I went to the Bean museum on campus. I thought it was going to be small, but i was wrong! It was full of animals! Awesome! We would have stayed longer, but it was really busy.




In January we had to come home from AZ and get back to life. Brenton started a new semester and is working really hard to support our little family. I went back to work at the Elem. school and I love that.

Bryson is growing up so fast. At his 6 month appt yesterday, he weighed 17 lbs 4 ozs. and was 27 1/4 inches long. He's a tall boy! He has mastered the art of rolling over, is discovering all parts of his body, likes to chew and anything and everything, and loves to eat.

Here are a few more pics of him, since you haven't had enough!