Dallas, Victoria, and Matt...Sorenson

Hey, look who's home! For a couple of years we thought Matt Sorenson WAS our son.


The Happy couple!


Ian, This picture was for you.

Dallas went to a high school dance when he was a sophmore, but hadn't been back...until this year. His Girlfriend was nominated as Homecoming Royalty and so they decided they better go. Dallas seems to be enjoying his last year of high school and is just waiting to see what great things are out there for him. If anyone has a car they would like to give him, he would be very appreciative.
We also went out to Yuma to see Matt Sorenson's homecoming. Matt seemed to be a part of our family for a couple of years while we were there. It was funny to come home and always have him just hanging out at our home with our other sons. He was very comfortable hanging out and just being one of us. One of his best "Mattisism's" about dating was....."I'm not spending money on someone else's wife". Not too much dating going on with Matt before his mission...hmm, wonder why.

Winslow Arizona

Michele and I went to Fruitland New Mexico last weekend to see Tiffany and Brad bless their baby. On the way back, we passed through Winslow Arizona. We had been wanting to go take our picuture standing on a corner (ya know the old Eagles song....Well I've been standin on a corner in Winslow Arizona...) and now we would get our chance. Who knew there would be a sign and statue right on the corner of the town! They even put a Flatbed Ford right there (It's a girl my Lord, in a flat bed Ford, slowin down to take a look at me) so you can take your picture with it. Just for the perfect ambiance, they have Eagles music playing over the PA system to ensure everyone is in the mood. We didn't know this was such a tourist thing. We were thinking we were the only fools who would even do this, and then when we got to Winslow, there was a huge tourist bus full of people all waiting in line to take the exact same picture....go figure.
We are either easily entertained in our life, or we have no life at all...Not sure which one yet.
The day finally ended with us driving on into another beautuful Arizona sunset.

San Diego

San Diego has been a city that our family has always enjoyed. While a teenager, San Diego was my all time favorite place to go. While living in Utah, we took what was perhpas our favorite family vacation with our kids and spent a number of days there. When we moved to Yuma, we used to tell everyone we were just in East San Diego (2 hours from our door to the beach). With my work I get to spend time there every so often. If we could afford to live there, it would be an amazing place to be.

A week or so ago my boss held her regional meeting out on Coronado Island for 3 days. We stayed at the Marriott resort that looks over the harbor and back toward the San Diego downtown area. There were enough activities to make it enjoyable...we went on a harbor dinner cruise, we crossed the harbor by water taxi to have dinner on the mainland on the other nights. We visited the San Diego Wine and Cullinary Institute where we got to make our own dinner with the help of a recognized personal chef. The location of the resort had beautiful views, but all of it was just somewhat hollow. To spend the time by yourself, while your family is back at home just kind of leaves the whole experience lacking. Perhaps this is something of what Lehi felt as he stood at the tree.

Perspective

The past week has been filled with such strong emotions, feelings, thoughts, and reflections. We go through life so smug sometimes thinking that we have things together and know just what we are doing and where we are going. Then something meaningful comes along to provide us with the emphasis to make needed course corrections and perhaps reset our intenal compass to ensure we are where we want and need to be.

Memories mean so much more than meetings, Compassion so much more than appointments, Love so much more than promotions. I've been reminded this past week that the world will remember little of the things we do to earn a living, but our life's legacy will be considered and measured by how we loved those who surround us.

Life is sometimes too short and if we are not careful we end up letting fleeting but critical moments go by without doing what we can to lift someone who is down, lighten someone's burden that is heavy, support someone who needs strengthening, and care for someone who needs love.

Tomorrow is a chance to start again on that winding road that gives us experiences to learn from, opportunities to grow from, and situations to act upon. This past week has brought me a full palate of rich experiences that I hope to not soon forget. I hope the attached slide show will be of some benefit to those who were unable to attend Bill's funeral, but wanted to see a glimpse of the event.

Rochele

Rochele, an unusual name? For those of you who don't know, her name was a combination of Rock and Michele and means...."from the little rock". We thought that was appropriate. Rochele was always one of our more spirited children and was not afraid to get a little dirty in the process. When she was very young, Michele saw something stringy hanging from Rochele's mouth. Upon further examination, it was found that she had put a "daddy long leg" spider into her mouth. Thus Rochele's nickname that has stuck through her life.....Roach.

Being the 2nd child, I'm sure Rochele felt ignored from time to time. Being very young parents, we hardly knew what to do with our 1st child. With two in our home, it was just twice the fun. Rochele had some serious changing to do between her baby stage and her young adult stage. As a baby, she hardly made a peep. She would stay in her crib for hours on end with never a complaint. She could entertain herself without us hardly even knowing she was there. Even when we took her for her shots, she refused to cry. She seemed to make up for all that quietness as she got older. Once she could vocalize words, we were destined to an endless stream of songs, movie recitals, and anything else she could remember to spew out of her mouth. Until the day she got married she could perform almost any show she had ever seen. If you can't remember a Disney song....just call Rochele, she can sing it to you still today! Now we see her own daughter following closely in her mothers footsteps.

Click on the slide show and see the fun we had raising Rochele and learning to appreciate her zest for life. No matter how old she gets, or how many kids she has, she will still be "Our Little Girl".

2 Days, 3 Cities

Ok, Travel has officially become out of control. Listen to the last 24 hours....
Earthquake hits LA, 2 hours later I'm landing at LAX for Budget meetings. Dinner overlooking the beach with other DM from the west, then work all evening on computer. Budget meetings start at 7:00am in the morning and go until noon. Race to airport, catch flight to Phoenix and drive home to have dinner with Michele (Guess who's plane was delaying everyone). Work on computer for an hour or so, then back to the airport to catch another flight from Phoenix to Las Vegas for meetings at Hospital early in morning. In Afternoon fly back to Phoenix and then drive out to Yuma for more meetings.
I told Michele that I am working out of my office all week next week if it kills me (well, except for one day I may have to go to Tucson).
I officially feel like a pack mule, just hauling computer and bags on my back from place to place. I know why they call them beasts of burdon. That preaty much explains me.


Oh, a couple of weeks ago I had to go to Florida for some consultation with 3 hospitals surrounding Cape Canaveral. I flew in late on a Sunday night and didn't get to the hotel until about 1:30am. It was one of those hotels where you walk along an outside balcony to get to your room. I set my stuff down in the room and noticed there was a sliding door out the back. I opened the door to get some cool air and was scared to death as I heard this loud noise right outside my door. I turned on all the lights and what do you know, the ocean was steps from my room. There was a full moon and you could see up and down the coast. I left all my lights on for about an hour. When I got unpacked I noticed a large sign that said, don't turn your lights on at night. Apparently there are Sea Turtles that lay eggs on the beach out my back door. If you leave the lights on, the Turtles are confused. Your see, after the turtle eggs hatch apparently the baby turtles follow the full moon light reflected off the ocean back into the water. If you leave your lights on, the baby turtles are confused and head for the hotel. Opps, Im guessing there are some very confused baby turtles due to my leaving the light on for a good portion of the night.


I've attached some pictures of the beach outside my door, and if you look closly you can see the marking in the sand where the mother turtle drug herself up the beach just outside my room, did her thing, and then headed back out to sea. Hopefully I didn't do anything to reduce the turtle population of the Cape Canaveral area.

Monsoons and the Desert

The rains finally came to Phoenix the last couple of weeks. It's been a dry few months, but the break in the weather is long looked for down here. It's kind of like how excited everyone get's for the 1st snowfall up north, same thing here with the rain. There are radio contests for when the 1st inch of rain will fall, and everyone goes outside to watch it as soon as it comes.


One of the nice benefits of the rain, is what happens to the Desert Plants. For months they just kind of exist in a dormant state, and then when the rain comes....whoaza, blossoms come out big time. It' s kind of like our 2nd spring.


Anyway, I've attached a few pics so you can see what I'm talking about. See the clouds in the sky, when you see those in Phoenix you know the afternoon will be wet again. Oh, and if you look closely at the picture looking out our backyard with the dark grey clouds, on the corner of our block wall is a lizard that set up home in our yard. I guess the fence is his kingly perch. One last thing...someone asked if these pics were taken on different days, Nope they were all taken on the same afternoon (7/21/08). The only bad part...my pool skimmer is clogging up with blossoms. Yup, never can be happy.

Dogers vrs Diamondbacks

The La Dodgers were in Town to play the Diamondbacks. These two teams seem to have just a little extra curricular activity going on when they meet. Tonight was no different. I've always liked the Dodgers, but living in Phoenix we are kind of torn about who to cheer for. As luck would have it we ended up in the middle of a bunch of LA fans. That just made things more interesting. Dallas didn't want to come, perhaps due to his recent illness. However, Matt and his girlfriend Chanel came with us. Matt decided to antagonize the Dodger Fans a little with he cup turned into megaphone.

Though it was well over 100' outside, it was nice inside with the retractable roof closed and Air Conditioning running at full power. Hopefully the Diamondbacks will make the playoffs and there will be a few more games to take in before the season is over.

Attached are a few pics of the fun.

Visit to Upstate New York

Michele and I went to New York in late July for a couple of reasons...one, just to take a break and get away and focus on each other. Second, it was to also see some of the Church sites in up state New York and watch the Pageant. It was just what we needed!. Being at the Church sites gave us a little perspective we didn't have from just looking at pictures. It was especially nice to see so much of the Smith farm and land looking much the way it must have back then.
Walking out to the Sacred Grove was a very special experience which reminded me of being at the Temple. If you let yourself pause for a minute, you could feel the quiet and powerful peace of this location. We first went through the Grove with Matt's friend who was on a mission there and him and his companion were so excited to see us and talk to us that we didn't get the rich experience we had anticipated. So on Sunday Michele and I went back by ourselves and walked the quiet paths through the trees. It is awesome to comtemplate the significance of the event that took place where we walked.
What a bonus Niagara Falls was! Just as an afterthought we decided to go out to Buffalo and see the falls. It was such a magnificent place and powerful experience. It was kind of rainy the day we went and crowds were thin. We just kind of took our time and did everything we wanted. Sitting at the base of the falls you can just feel the power of the water pouring down and spraying out. We hiked onto the "Hurricane" deck which allows you to walk right into the base of the American Falls. The force of the wind created by the falling water is equivilant to the winds in a Hurricane...thus the name. We walked over the bridge to Canada and bought an umbrella that we will probably never use out in the Arizona desert.
This was a great getaway and renewed us in every way. We've committed to relive it one of these days soon. Oh, and who knew Sarah Evans would have a song named Niagara? Go Figure.

Our 4th of July, & Michele's Birthday!

Well, we couldn't figure out where to go for the 4th of July....national parks? Utah? California? So at the last minute we headed out across the desert to Yuma. Dallas wanted to pick up some awesome fireworks to shoot off. He knew he could get them on the Indian reservation outside Yuma. As we pulled up to the fireworks stand we were somewhat surprised that we were the only car...lucky us I thought. We saw the usual amature fireworks on display, but asked where the "real" fireworks were. He informed us that they were raided by the police and we would have to go to Mexico to get them. Well, forget that....we headed out on our way to California.

We stopped by Viajas outlet mall in the mountains above San Diego for some "cool & relaxing" shopping, and then headed on to Rochele's place in Laguna. It's so nice to leave Arizona at 110, and go to California where 80 is considered hot.

Dallas had some girl friend who was in Oceanside at the pier and along with the rest of the world was going to watch the 4th of July fireworks. We all drove over to Oceanside and walked miles through crowds to the pier to see this incredible show. Well, we finally made it...just minutes before the band on the beach quit playing and the big show was supposed to start. But wait, the fog was rolling in. Yup, that stupid town shot of $20,000 in fireworks and ya couldn't see a thing. Go figure. Not even a little colored light in haze.....all dark. The riot police were called in to encourage the mass crowd out, but not before a few upset people had some choice things to say. I'll post a picture so you can all see just how dark it really was.

Next day was Michele's birthday and we decided to go shopping and to see Dana Point Harbor where we hadn't been before. The shopping last 5 minutes as we found everything we wanted very quickly. The Harbor at Dana Point was beautiful with lots of folks just hanging out on the grass watching the ships going in and out. Some were cooking lunch. We watched jet ski's, boats, kayaks, all having fun, and decided we were going to come back here and do a little water sport activity of our own. Rochele took us Miniature Golfing near her house and then Michele's birthday was over for another year. If anyone knows where Dallas can find some real fireworks, let him know....He's still bummed!

Oh, and we also found Michelle's street....so we had to have a picture of it.

SUMMERTIME!!

Well, we are slow getting any pics of our family reunion/vacation on our blog. Our kids had notes and pics on their blogs days ago. What can we say....they must have more time that we do :~)

We did have a great time at our annual event. Getting everyone together once per year is a tough thing to do, but it sure makes for a fun time when it finally happens. Everyone was there except for Matt who has a new job and couldn't take time off.

We enjoyed all of the crazy/busy times, as well as the quiet moments where we just sat around the pool or fireplace and talked.

Perhaps it wasn't as much fun for Rochele since we were in her backyard and town, but we all enjoyed it. You should see Rochele's church. I wish I would have brought my camera....it sits in some hotsy totsy area of Laguna among the huge mansions. It has a seclusive courtyard for parties, a beautiful lobby and grand stairway that rivals a Ritz Carlton Hotel, and it also has an Elevator....yes, an Elevator. I didn't see the concierge desk, but I'm sure it was there somewhere. It was simply the most beautiful church I've ever seen...and I didn't have a camera, Argh!

While growing up, Summertime was the best time of year. School was out, warm air encouraged shorts, tee shirts, going barefoot, swimming, and just being carefree. That's what this getaway was for us. Kenny's song about Summertime just seemed to fit the slide show.

Cant wait for next year!!

SCOTTSDALE GOLF

Well, now that Phoenix has officially hit 110 (yes, today is May 19th, and Global Warming is in Full swing...Thanks Al Gore) a man's heart turns to things like Golf. Yes, it is a masculine right of passage to grab your club and head to the links. It is the one place where the most mild mannered person can completely loose control of his emotions and where his base reactions are seen in living color. The male Jensen members are no different and follow the same melodic tones that sweetly lead us to the links. Common sense no longer matters. It is the male bonding process that drives us on.

Well, attached are some pics from one of those events of which I have spoken. Living here in Phoenix we are not GQ golfers. We are real men who sweat, spit, and mumble things under our breath. One day when Ian was in town, we decided to infiltrate that wimpy golf zone knows as Scottsdale. We knew something was slightly weird when some golf boys met us at our car as we drove in and wanted to carry our clubs to the golf cart. I think it was Matt who thought they were trying to steal our clubs and just about wrapped a putter around their head.

Well, on to the clubhouse to check in...but some nice older gentleman informed us that he would be our personal golfer and then proceeded to tell us about each hole and how to hit. Holy Crap, who are these people? Finally we were ready to play....but wait, there seems to be this little rule in Scottsdale that you have to wear a collared shirt on the course. I'm like, Whatever...boys, go find a cheap manly looking golf shirt in the clubhouse. They all came out 10 minutes later..."Dad. the shirts are $80 each, and they are girls shirts". By now, I was slightly working myself into a little frenzy and sent them back in to purchase the shirts! Well, out come my sons in pink and lime green golf shirts and look like they belong on the LPGA Tour. Oh, and the fact that the shirts cost far more than the Green Fees to golf didn't help my disposition.

Needless to say, we don't golf Scottsdale ANYMORE.

As a sidelight....there is a pic of Riley golfing in a none glowing shirt. His Mission President had given me permission to take Riley and his companion to Lunch. Well, I happened to show up on P-Day. Riley convinced me that they were allowed to golf on P-Day. So, off we went to play golf on P-Day in Illinois. It was a beautiful fall day. Hopefully Riley's mission president wont see this blog.

Perhaps I'll have to go back and start skiing again....they don't care what you wear, and it is CHEAPER!

OUR YUMA EXPERIENCE

I've had a couple of people ask about our Yuma experience and everything that town was to/for us. Though our blog isn't the place to go into the overall reasons and purposes that we ended up being there for 3 years, it was certainly perhaps one of the most interesting "Seasons" in our family's life. For anyone who knows us well, they probably understand much of our feelings during this time. For those who looked at us from outside, it is perhaps a most baffeling time period and reason why we went. All things in life happen for a reason....and thus it was with Yuma. We learned things we might never have learned in any other way. We met people we might never have known except for this experience. Our kids officially thought their parents had lost their minds....but one day even they may come to know why things happened they way they did.

After 3 years we finally brought the Yuma chapter of our lives to an end. As quickly as we moved in, our house was sold and we were on our way to the next great adventure. Though we never look back once a new road opens up, We've attached our marketing phamplet which helped us sell our home. For those who visited or lived there, these may be your only memories. We made some dear friends who we will never forget (thanks Sorensons & Castillo's!). They are people that we could never forget and will count them as some of life's richest blessings. Enough looking backward. Rock still visits Yuma on a regular basis to review his business, or it also makes a nice stop on the way to San Diego.

Pimp Shel's Ride

We had an epiphany this weekend. There we were driving down the road when we were passed by this little car. All of a sudden it hit Michele.....that was the car she wanted. Now mind you, she has been looking for a car she likes for about 5 years. We have searched just about everywhere to see if it might be the one....but it never was.

However, at this moment the angels must have begun singing and bells began ringing because yes, she finally found the car she liked. Then the search began to find one.

Late in the evening on Saturday night the search came to an end. There on the dealership lot, with a light shining down on it, illuminating softly was the holy grail. Yes, Michele's car was found....truely a moment in time never to be forgotten.

For those who are interested...here is the visual image of the magic momet.

(um, ignore Dallas in the back asleep....that's just kind of what he does when we take him for a drive...just like when he was a baby)

Travel

I can remember back to a day when I thought travel was fun. That was a long long time ago.
"As a rule, mans a fool. When it's hot, he wants it cool. When it's cool, he wants it hot. Never wanting what it is, only wanting what it's not."
Today, travel is just a huge pain that is an evil necessity. Sitting on planes, huffing down concourses, waiting in lines, taking off shoes, putting shoes on, watching my laptop get knocked off the screening table by in idiot TSA checker. Getting to the rental car place, only to find out their computers are out and I will have to wait 20 minutes while they find a new car. Cancelled flights, overbooked hotel rooms....it just all never ends. Ever tried to set up your office in an airport gate/waiting area? You contort to work your computer, phone, notebooks, man bag. If you lucky you can find a single wall with an outlet and then fight 15 people to keep your spot so you don't loose your battery life. Shuttle buses, ticket counters, plastic bags for liquids/gels/& aerosols.
Some days I just can't take it anymore. Then, my lovely daughter sends me the attached video and what she doesn't know is....all to often I am the person in the video!
One day travel will end....then I'll be happy.

Beckie

A few months ago I was able to reconnect with a cousin I hadn't spoken to for a couple of decades. It was one of those weird connections that wasn't really planned out, but rather just a kind of "follow your heart" kind of moment. I followed the urge, and found myself in a unique and fun relationship with my cousin who had so much to share. Though we live on opposite ends of the country, through emails we keep in touch. The past months have been filled with communications and sharing of experiences and thoughts which covered so much of the void we had to overcome.
As Beckie made her way through this life, she developed a love of writing and has published books and stories based upon experiences from her life, or creations which she has imagined. She has also developed a love of teaching others how to take thoughts from inside of themselves and getting them into words of their own. Some of her recent writings, at least for a time, were taking a turn toward some of her ancestors and their stories and experiences. As ironic as it was, a couple of my sisters came across some information about some ancestors that my cousin and I share. Because I am really not very creative, but feeling I needed to share this information with her....I decided to put some of the pictures into a slide show and she could do what she felt best with the pictures. I saw some common physical traits in both my cousin and a couple of her grandmothers. Because of this, I decided to throw an old picture of my cousin into the slide show. The music on the slide show is a little haunting and kind of reminds me of old pictures and musty old places. It's title...Distant Serenade...seemed appropriate.
Anyway, I have enjoyed my interaction with my cousin, and the slide show was just a fun way for me to share some pictures with her. Along the way, while putting it together, I got a little appreciation for how intertwined we are with those who went before.

Make a scrapbook - it's easy!

Ok, We are going to use this blog to see if we like it better than some other communication devices that are out there.

March has come and gone... Lots of visitors here in Phoenix this past month and it was lots of fun to see everyone. The temps are still nice, spring training was in full swing, and golf was good....except for that one day with the Loesch's...it sucked...well, not for them, but for me.

Anyway, looking forward to seeing how this little thing goes.