Joe Heads to Colorado

We got a call from Joe this morning from the airport as he waited to fly to Colorado. Actually, we got 2 calls. He tried the home phone first. We were still in bed and didn't hear it ring, so he left a short message (which I probably won't delete until he comes home) and then luckily tried calling a cell phone. This one I heard, and was so happy I did. He sounds great. We didn't get to talk very long, but it was such a treat to hear his voice and have that reconfirmation that he is doing so well. He is looking forward to entering the mission field and teaching the gospel to the people of Colorado. We are so proud!

Here is what Joe had to say about his first day in the mission field in his first letter from Colorado:


"It was nice talking to you and dad. Colorado is awesome. The weather cant decide if it wants to be freezing and snow, or sunny and perfect. My mission president and his wife are awesome. We spent the first day and night with them at the mission home, so no green food. Right after we got off the plane, we were given pass along cards and sent off into the airport to talk to people for 30 min. It was scary but fun. I'm in Aurora,Co in South East Denver. My trainer is Elder Winder, he leaves in 2 transfers. He's really cool and an amazing Missionary. I'm learning a lot. We are on bikes and the hills can be brutal, but I love it. I did get a bike from another missionary here a couple of days ago. It was from the mission office and was to small for him, hopefully it works for me. I had to buy some stuff for it today. The members here are amazing. We are staying with members, the Souths. Its cool. We haven't taught many people yet, we were white washed in(we're both new here) and we're just contacting and meeting members. Its a blast. I can't believe its been almost a month."

Joe with President & Sister Christison













New Colorado Denver South Missionaries













Joe's Trainer Elder Winder:

Spring Break part 2

Well, I loved San Diego so much that I decided we had to go again with Rachel and Erin. If we could afford it, I would move there in a second, but since that doesn't seem likely I guess I'll just have to settle for another visit. So on Monday, March 17th we caught the last plan out of Houston to start our spring break vacation. We had hoped to fly out earlier in the day, but the flights were really full and they weather was kind of yucky, so we were just happy to get out of town. When we got to San Diego it was late, so we went to our hotel, had a pizza delivered and called it night.

The next day we started exploring the coast. We drove out to Coronado and then to Cabrillo National Monument. This was so cool--beautiful views of San Diego and more of the unique San Diego coastline. We really enjoyed exploring the tide pools, although we were too early to see most of it as the tide was still in.

After Cabrillo, we headed to Mission beach where we had lunch at the same bar and grill Melissa and I ate at. No dolphins this time, but the food and the view were still wonderful. We then went down to the beach for some water time. Erin and Rachel were brave enough to get in the cold water. I promised Erin a boggie board if she got all they way in, and she did. She and Rachel had a good time playing in the waves, although they were covered with goosebumps when they were done. After laying in the sun for a little while to warm up, it was off to La Jolla and then to the temple. It was a great first day!

Our next day started off at the Zoo. The girls were amazed at how big the zoo was. We took advantage of the bus tour and sky ride to get from one end of the zoo to the other. After a couple of hrs, we headed out to our car for a picnic lunch, and then back in side to see the last of the animals. Erin loved the elephants of course (she wants to be an elephant keeper when she grows up), and Rachel really enjoyed the Panda bears and watching the Polar Bears play. I really liked the Meerkat exhibit this time--they are such cute animals! I think Greg just liked spending time with his girls. Once we finished at the zoo we jumped in our rental car and headed for Utah where we would spend our next couple of days. On the way we ate at In and Out Burger, something the girls had been wanting to do. The burgers were great, but the fries were the world's worst!

While in Utah we spent a couple of days with Grandma and Grandpa Jensen. The girls enjoyed seeing the sheep Grandpa is watching. We tried to find a sheeptail for Erin, (for sanitary reasons rubber bands are wrapped around the sheep's' tails to make them fall off) but were unsuccessful (which is probably a good thing since the thought grossed her out). We did get to see one that they had at the house, but that belonged to their cousin Josh, so they couldn't take it home (Dang it!).

We also took a drive out to Grafton Ghost town which was small but kind of interesting. We spent an afternoon hiking in Zions National Park. We hiked up to the Emerald Pools, which were really cool. Zions is so beautiful! It really made me miss the mountains. Rachel and Erin also got to spend an evening visiting with their friend LeAra. All in all it was a really fun stay.

We had originally planned to return our car in Vegas and fly home from there. Unfortunately all of the flights out of Vegas had closed up, and there was no way were going to be able to get out there. After doing some research on other possible departure cities, and well as a phone call to see how much it would cost to change our rental car return spot we decided the best course of action would be to return to San Diego. So we got up early Saturday morning and drove back to California, hoping to get out on the second to last flt with the last flt of the day as our back up if things didn't go as planned. Well, wouldn't you know it, things didn't go as planned. When we got to the San Diego airport we discovered that not a single passrider had gotten out the entire day and that there were 75 people on the list. We weren't at the bottom, but it really didn't look good for us. I started making calls to other airlines to see if anyone could get us to Houston, but was unsuccessful. Since it was spring break and Easter weekend, all the flts were full. So we waited for both Continental flights hoping that something would happen and we would be able to get on. The first one left without us. We were offered one seat on the second one, but I would have had to been the one to take it. That wasn't an option, because if I left, Greg, Rachel and Erin's seniority would drop and they might never make on a plane that weekend. So we were stuck in San Diego one more night. What a hardship! Luckily we had a Marriott coupon for a free night stay. I called them, asked for a room at a hotel with a airport shuttle, and we were off. We were settled in our hotel by around 2 pm and had the rest of the afternoon to play. We relaxed in our room for a while and then headed down to walk along the pier. We enjoyed some Greek food on the pier and had quite an enjoyable evening. I was even able to get AATO for the shift I was scheduled to work the next evening, so now we had an extra buffer if we were unable to get out on a flight on Sunday. That was a relief!

The next morning we headed to the airport hoping to get on a flight. There were several familiar faces of other passriders who had been stranded (some of them had been there two days already). One the first flight we were offered 2 seats, but once again had to turn them down as we had to stay together. But luckily there were enough seats for us on the next one, and we were able to make it home that evening. Not the best Easter Sunday I have ever had, but at least we made it home! And even with the difficulty on our return, it was a wonderful spring break!

Joe is doing great

We got our first email from Joe today. He seems to be thriving at the MTC. Here are some of his thoughts as well as a few pictures.

"This week has been so busy. The days seem long, but it doesn't feel like I've been here for 1 1/2 weeks. We have taught the first lesson twice to fake investigators at the Teaching Resource Center, and teach the 2nd there on Tuesday. We've also answered phones and made call backs at the Referral Center. One lady i called back actually told me that she wanted to go to church but wasn't sure which one to go to. I was only able to talk to her for like a minute, so I told her this was the church she was looking for and where the nearest meeting house was. It was such a powerful experience and its so cool testifying to people like that on the phone. Every Sunday night there is a fireside and last night Sister Sheri Dew gave it on our influence and how we can have greater influence for good. It was a really good fireside and afterwards I got to shake her hand and she told me to and I quote, "Go get 'em". So yeah, I'm kinda a big deal. jk. The MTC is amazing. I don't think I've ever learned do much in a week and a half in my life. The spirit is everywhere and its stronger than anywhere I've been outside the Temple. I gave a talk on Sunday, and didn't even read what I wrote. I was able to remember most of it and the spirit gave me things to say that i hadn't wrote. It was a cool experience since I've never been able to do something like that before. My district and branch are amazing. They are so fun and have such awesome testimonies. I've already gotten to the point that I feel weird when Elder Whelchel, that's my companion if you don't remember, isn't right next to me. The others in my district are going to Ft Lauderdale, and Phoenix. The new district that got here Wednesday is all headed to Australia. Its funny, one of them is named Elder Quiggley, so hes Quiggley Down Under."

As you can see Joe is growing spiritually while still keeping his great sense of humor. We miss him but are so proud of his decision to serve a mission. We know the Lord will bless him greatly as he serves.

Joe & his MTC Companion Elder Welchel

MTC District trip to the Provo Temple

Spring Break part 1

I was really excited for spring break this year for two reasons. First, because of my job with Continental I knew we would be able to go someplace fun, and second, we would all be able to go because our school district had selected the standard week this year when in the past we have always had our spring break the week before everyone else. I knew that would make things more crowded, but was happy that Melissa should be able to do something with us. So I made trades at work so that I could be off the whole week and we could enjoy some family fun time. Well, since things never seem to go completely as planned I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when Melissa informed me that her spring break was actually the week before ours. I was so bummed, and so was she. But we made the best of it, and thanks to my flight benefits I was able to enjoy 2 spring break trips with my girls. Hard to complain about that.










Melissa decided she wanted to go to San Diego for her spring break. Since I had already taken off the entire following week, I told her it would have to be a quick trip. It was quick, but it was so much fun. I had never been to San Diego before and have to admit that I fell in love with the place. We flew in on the first flight out on Tuesday, March 11 and arrived in San Diego around 9 am. We picked up our rental car and headed towards Melissa's top priority for San Diego--its Zoo. On the way we hoped to find somewhere for breakfast and weren't disappointed when we came across Perry's Cafe, a popular Breakfast House. We were both starving and really enjoyed some the great food there. It was then off to the Zoo, which is huge and totally amazing. So many animals! We really enjoyed the panda bears and I loved watching the polar bears swim and play. Melissa was a bit miffed that her favorite animal, the giraffes, were no where to be found as they had been moved to the wildlife park while a new habitat was being built for them. But in spite of that disappointment, we had a great time.

Save the Giraffes!









Once we finished at the zoo, we headed out to look for some food and a beach. We ended up enjoying a fabulous lunch at Canes Bar and Grill on Mission Beach. We enjoyed Mexican food with an ocean view, and even had a pod of dolphin entertain us as we ate. We then spent some time walking along the beach and enjoying the beautiful weather (although the water was way too cold to even think about getting in).

Mission Beach & Canes Bar and Grill









Melissa is shocked by the cold Pacific












Cindy enjoying a walk on the beach









Later that night we drove out to the San Diego Temple, which is absolutely beautiful. Melissa decided that it looked like a castle and that she is going to have a destination wedding so that she can get married there.





I love to see the temple!













Our second day in San Diego was all about the beaches. Unfortunately it was overcast and cooler on Wednesday, but we didn't let that stop us. We headed to La Jolla first and enjoyed walking along the coast. It is a beautiful area with lots of rocky cliffs. We even got to see some seals at the Children's pool. After walking up and down the coast, and me getting plastered twice by a big wave while trying to wash off my sandals, we enjoyed a seafood lunch with an ocean view and some entertaining conversation (from the ladies at the table next to us--we tried not to eavesdrop, but it was really, really hard). After lunch we headed back to Mission Beach as it was more swim friendly. We didn't swim, but we did enjoy laying on the beach and enjoying the sun before we had to run to the airport. It was a great ending to a wonderful trip!

The waves were crashing in La Jolla!









La Jolla Cove












La Jolla seals









Catching some rays on Mission Beach

Mouse Trap Car

A major grade assignment for Integrated Physics and Chemistry is to build a mouse trap car. This a car that usually has CDs for wheels and is powered by a lever and a mousetrap. Erin had told us that she had one due around March 10th. Since we were so busy getting Joe ready to go to the MTC at the time she brought home the assignment, we simply told her that Greg would help her make it once returned from Utah. Of course once we had this discussion the mousetrap assignment was completely forgotten. We took Joe to the MTC and I flew home and Greg stayed in Utah to help his dad with some projects. When Erin reminded me about her assignment, I just about panicked. Although all of the other kids had built a mousetrap car, Greg was always the parental helper. Now it was up to me and I was wishing I had paid attention to the process! We read the assignment sheet (not very helpful) and then googled mousetrap cars and came up with a plan. And after several trips to Loews, and some trial and error we managed to get a working one built. Erin wanted a fun theme for her car, so we painted a square piece of wood blue and glued on some lily pads made out of construction paper and big green frogs. It was really cute. (Unfortunately we forgot to take a picture of it before it was turned in.) In addition to being cute, the car was big, and slow, and didn't move very far. But when we added a longer lever in an attempt to make it travel further, it didn't work as well as the original design. So we put the original lever back on the mousetrap and agreed to be happy it worked and leave it alone.

Erin took her mousetrap car to school, happy to have completed the assignment in time. Once she got to class she discovered that her teacher had extended the due date by a week. The teacher had made this decision after Erin's class the day before, and so no one in her class knew about it. So in the end it turns out we could have waited until Greg got home to make the car. But I guess it was good to use my brain. The good part of being done early was that Erin now received some bonus points. In the end the bonus points helped her because after sitting for a week, the glue we used to mount the mouse trap failed and so she couldn't prove that it worked. But since she got 80 points for making one and 10 points for turning it in early it was all good. And now the Jensen family is officially done making mouse trap cars. Hurray! Oh, and it turned out that even though we had thought her car did not move very far, most of the cars that did work went shorter distances. Too bad no one at school got to see our success!

An answer to prayers

I am really not liking this MTC thing. When Melissa went away to school it was hard, but we spoke every day so it was a lot easier than the seperation pains I am dealing with Joe being gone. I worry about him every day--wondering how he is, and if everything is going ok. I have heard that missions are very stressful and I worry about Joe and his anxiety levels. And not being able to call and check on him is just about killing me. All I can do is pray for him every day and have faith that the Lord is taking care of him. Well, today I got the reassurance I needed that this is true. Greg called me to let me know that Sister Piderwiki, one of the sisters who recently served in our ward, called him on his cell phone. She is working at the MTC, and wanted to let us know that she had run into Joe. She said he was doing great and looked very happy. When he told me this I almost cried. I knew this was the Lord comforting me and letting me know Joe is in His hands and that everything is going to be ok. It is a blessing I am very thankful for!

Back to Houston in style

After dropping Joe off at the MTC, I headed to Layton and spent the night at Kevin and Michelle's. The original plan was for me to fly home on the 5th, but we finished up at the MTC later than we thought we would and I didn't have time to make the last flight that afternoon. A quick change of plans and a phone call to my dad, who we met in Salt Lake City, and we were back on track. Greg headed down south to spend a few days at his parents' after dropping me off at my Dad's work. And I got to spend one more night with my family.

I got up early the next morning and had my dad drop me at the airport. When I got to the gate, I learned I had been bumped to first class on my flight. A pretty nice way to head home!

Joe enter's the MTC

The day was finally here for Joe to begin his mission. He enjoyed breakfast and some last minute time on the Wii (with Sam and Cobe and also alone) before heading out. He was very nervous, but once he finished packing his bags he never looked back. We got to the MTC and fell in line. They took his bags and sent us inside where he was given his name tag and a special orange sticker that we later found out indicated this was his first day. We were sent to a large room full of other missionaries and their families and waited. We then had a special service where the MTC President and his wife both spoke. There was also singing and a video about missions that made a lot of people cry--I was surprised how well I kept control of my emotions. I had been really worried about how I would feel leaving Joe at the MTC. But both Greg and I were blessed with a great feeling of peace as dropped him off and watched him start his mission. Joe has such a special spirit. We are so proud of his decision to go on a mission. We know he will be a great missionary and that the Lord will take care of him while he is serving the people of Colorado.

Joe's Farewell Tour, March 1 - 4, 2008

We flew to Las Vegas Saturday, March 1st and began our goodbye tour for Joe. We had originally planned on flying out Sunday morning, but had to change which flight we were going to try to take several times (the joys of flying standby) and were on our way Saturday afternoon. Grandma and Grandpa Jensen picked us up at the airport and we drove to St. George, where we stopped at the Chuck-A-Rama for dinner. We then spent Saturday and Sunday nights in Toquerville. On Sunday, we went to church with Grandma and Grandpa. Sherri, Rich and Josh came over for Sunday dinner and Joe enjoyed his last family Rook game before his mission. Monday morning, we went to the St. George Temple with Grandma and Grandpa Jensen and Sherri and Rich. It was a great experience to be able to be in the temple one last time with Joe as well as some extended family.

After the session, we went back to Toquerville to pack up and grab some lunch. We then drove to Layton for our last night with the Stays. That night, Kevin cooked an awesome dinner for us which was followed by one of our favorite activities at the Stays--playing games. Joe, Greg, Kevin and Michelle played Ticket to Ride, where Joe laid one last Joe beating on his Uncle Kevin. That night Nick and Joe said good bye for 3+ years since Nick will be gone on his mission before Joe gets back.

Tuesday we headed to Provo for a night at Brett & Tonia's. Here we had a farewell party with Brett, Tonia, Sam & Cobe, Randy, Becca, Garrett & Jenna, Shreve, and Grandma and Grandpa Jensen. We enjoyed pizza, several kinds of pie and great company. As usual Joe was very popular with his niece and nephews, and he spent quite a bit of time playing Wii with them. All in all, it was a great farewell tour!

St George Temple

How big will the boys be when I get back?

Grandma Stay and her Joey

Lots of fun playing with the cousins!