Hillary for President?

Yesterday the kids and I were driving in the van and I made the comment to them that tomorrow would be February 29th and that only happened every four years. Emily said "Yeah, on the years the we elect a new President." Our conversation stayed on that topic when she asked who I was going to vote for. I told her probably John McCain since I am a Republican. Her response was "I think it would be neat to have a woman president, but I don't know if I would vote for Hilary Duff." Yeah, me either.

100 Things about Jeannette

I was "tagged" a long time ago to do this (thanks Kirsten!), so I am finally getting it done. It was kind of hard to come up 100 things, but it was really fun.

1. I have the best husband and best kids in the world!

2. My mom and dad are 2 of my very best friends! They are my heros in every way and I couldn't have had a better family.

3. I love to quilt - I don't claim to be very good at it, but I sure enjoy it. I just wish there was more time, energy & money to do it. My mom has taught me everything I know - thank you so much mom! I also find that I have little or no control of myself when I go into quilt stores (hence the reason I literally have 20 potential quilt projects in my closet). These are just a couple of my most recent:

4. I love the Church! My testimony is my life! I love it so much and am so grateful for it in my life.

5. I served a mission for the Church to Columbus, Ohio! I loved my mission and probably think about some aspect of it every day. The people were absolutely incredible and the Lord blessed me with great companions and amazing experiences. It was through a companion (Julianne Gentry Heaps) that I met Jon.

6. I love eating out. It's such a treat to have someone else cook it and clean it up. My favorite restaurants are: Sizzler, Crown Burger and Texas Roadhouse.

7. I enjoy being pregnant (for the most part). I always miss the kicks and movements once the baby is born (although the baby is pretty great too)!

8. I love Hondas! The first car I bought was a Honda Accord and we now drive a Honda Odyssey. I can't ever see myself without a Honda.

9. I am the oldest of 5 kids. I will admit that I am good at being bossy. I have 3 brothers and then a little sister. They are all great! We laugh our heads off when we get together.

10. I love sweets (hence the reason I've had so many cavities). One of my favorites is red licorice that is a little bit old. It sounds gross, but I like to be able to chew it a long time.

11. One of my babies was born 8 weeks early and only weighed 3 lbs. 6 oz. It was Jack! He was so tiny and stayed in the NICU for 3 weeks. He weighed a whooping 4 pounds when we brought him home.

12. I went to an Elemetary School where I was a minority. There were a lot of kids from Laos and Vietnam. They were great! I remember tutoring a lot of them in learning English.

13. My favorite card game is gin.

14. I listen to country music when I listen to the radio.

15. I don't like the feeling of having someone mad at me. It bothers me until the situation is fixed.

16. Jon and I have never yelled at each other.

17. My favorite tv show of all time is "I Love Lucy." We watched it all the time growing up (especially on Sunday afternoons) and I never get sick of watching it. I own all the seasons on DVD and could tell you something about each episode.

18. I am named after my grandma Sorenson. Her name was Jeannette Hanks Sorenson. She passed away before my parents were married, so she is someone who I hope is one of the first people I get to meet in heaven. (My grandpa Sorenson also passed away before my parents were married and my grandpa Clyde passed away when I was 6 - so there are some great reunions waiting to happen).

19. I have the best in-laws in the world! Jon's mom and dad are the sweetest, most loving, kindest people and they are great. I am so lucky to be a part of their family!

20. I do not like vegetables! There are some that I like (lettuce, green beans, carrots, celery, corn), but for the most part, I don't like them. My mom was so good at preparing vegetables with dinner and I'm awful about it. It's a source of guilt for me. But,hey, can you help what your taste buds like and don't like?

21. I do not have naturally curly hair - it's permed! I may be the only person you know who perms their hair.

22. I have 2 birth marks. One is a tan oval on my right side, about at my waist and the other is a mole on my left leg.

23. One of my dreams in life is to join a bell-ringing group. Not the Salvation Army bell ringers, but the bell choirs that play music (especially at Christmas time) by just using bells. I could watch them for hours.

24. My favorite color is navy blue.

25. I have an incredible extended family. I grew up with great memories of cousins and second cousins - what a blessing.

26. I used to babysit a ton when I was a teenager and even as a college student. I sometimes wonder if I've used up all my patience with children.

27. I played basketball at West High School in Salt Lake and was the Girls Sports Rep when I was a Senior.

28. I graduated from the University of Utah (go Utes!) with a degree in psychology.

29. Jon graduated from BYU, so we have a mixed marriage. It works out okay for me though because I'm happy when the Utes win and I have a happy husband when BYU wins.

30. A mission companion (Julianne Gentry Heaps) and I went on a cruise to Mexico about a month before Jon and I got engaged. I loved it and am still trying to convince Jon that cruises are incredible and the only way to go!

31. My dream vacation is to go on a Disney Cruise.

32. I have been blessed all my life with really great friends.

33. Between my Sophomore and Junior years of high school, I went to John Stockton's basketball camp in Spokane, Washington. I had the flu when I left, but fortunately, got better pretty quickly. It was a fun week, but when I went to have him sign my shoe, he made a comment on how much it stunk. How embarassing!

34. I went to Maui as a babysitter when I was 15 for 2 weeks and came back with the best tan of my life. It lasted for months and months.

35. I've never had a broken bone. I have had stitches in my chin (from dancing in the bathtub as a 2 year old and falling onto the faucet. I actually remember being at the hospital, under a sheet, dripping with sweat and screaming for my mom. I also remember getting a purple popsicle when it was over).

36. I love the Utah Jazz.

37. If I ever live in Utah again, I will own season tickets to Hale Center Theater. My dad will probably be the one to consistently go with me. I inherited his love of good plays and musicals.

38. I love going to ice skating shows - especially Disney on Ice. I'm sure that I will be dragging Jon to that for years to come.

39. I love to cross-stitch (yet another thing I learned from my mom).

40. I love to go for walks, but I don't like to run. I ran a little bit when I was dating Jon and when we were first married, but I think having children has shifted my body enough that I just don't find any pleasure in it.

41. I love the smell of new dolls, new books, baby lotion, babies and Vick's Vaporub. (I'm nearly convinced that Vick's could cure most ailments).

42. I'm a Republican.

43. I promised Santa Claus that if he gave me a Cabbage Patch doll and a Rubix cube that I would never ask for anything else again. (He's so generous though and has given me many gifts since then).

44. I've never owned a really nice bike. My banana seat bike (another Santa gift) gave me yellow bruises on my backside.

45. Almost every year of my life, I've traveled to Worland, Wyoming for a vacation! It's seriously the best place to go - if you have an Aunt Claudia and Uncle Bruce who spoil you like crazy when you go!

46. I love pop! There is not a day that goes by when I don't drink one.

47. When I was learning cursive, I decided that my dad's cursive was sloppy, so I gave him lessons. He was so kind and patient and went along with it, even though he has the nicest handwriting of anyone I know.

48. I got my first set of glasses in 2nd grade. I don't have very good eye sight at all.

49. The only time I stayed up all night to study was actually to help my brother with math and a test that he had. It was really fun.

50. I love lumpy cream of wheat (with milk and brown sugar mixed in). As a little girl, I called it "white cereal."

51. I had brown eyes as a child and they turned a more hazel color when I was on my mission.

52. Jon was the first guy that I really enjoyed kissing.

53. I am an on time person. I don't like the feeling of being late.

54. As a little girl, I loved watching "Little House on the Prairie" and would wear my hair in braid's like Laura. I do Emily's hair that way now and we call them "Jenny braids." When I was little I went by Jenny. When I got to Jr. High, I started to go by Jeannette.

55. My favorite clothing store is Christopher & Banks. For kid's clothes, my favorite is Gymboree.

56. I love wearing crocs.

57. I love wearing maternity clothes. Isn't it great to not have to button or zip up pants?

58. I love the feeling of a good Church meeting or a good choir song.

59. I shave my legs every day in the shower.

60. When I was a little girl, I used to pray that my dolls would turn into real babies.

61. I love french fries with fry sauce. Can you tell I grew up in Utah?

62. I like to be told that I'm doing a good job.

63. My first real job was working for a t-shirt printing company. I'm really quick at folding t-shirts.

64. I've been bungee jumping - once. But, I didn't really like it.

65. I love to listen to people who need someone to talk to (hence my love of psychology).

66. I love chewing gum, especially cinnamon flavored. But, I can't chew gum when I'm pregnant - it makes me sick.

67. When I was a teenager, I volunteered at Primary Children's Hospital (in Salt Lake City) and had close to 200 hours of service. I loved it!

68. I love watching game shows.

69. Ohio has taught me to love picking apples, strawberries and raspberries.

70. Christmas is such a fun holiday with so many fun traditions! I love it!

71. I've always wanted a lot of kids.

72. BBQ's in the summer time are the best.

73. I don't like seeing people fight. It makes me sick to my stomach.

74. I used to suck my thumb as a child. I'd only do it at night. I'd also rub the corners of my pillowcase. A secret about me: I still feel the corners of my pillowcase!

75. I love being around people who have good attitudes and who are grateful for what they have.

76. I don't have any stretch marks from being pregnant. Now, that's not to say that other parts of my body haven't been drastically affected. I realized the other day that my bladder looses all control if I bend over and sneeze at the same time.

77. I prefer Pampers diapers over Huggies and Luvs.

78. I've been a legal secretary and legal assistant for several attorneys.

79. I love using Downy fabric softener in the wash. The clothes come out smelling so good.

80. The first car I drove was a black Plymouth Reliant, which was anything but reliant. That car stranded me on the freeway at 10:30 at night, in a snow storm. I ended up climbing over a barbed wire fence and running through the bad part of town to find a telephone.

81. My grandpa Clyde was a missionary in Hawaii when Pearl Harbor was bombed. He also was one of the missionaries that taught Chieko Okasawki.

82. I get cold sores, especially when I'm stressed out.

83. I play the piano.

84. My dream job would be to work for Legos and build the big displays for them. BUT, I would need step-by-step instructions.

85. I've only passed out once in my life. I was at the dermatologist office and had just had a cyst removed from my back and I passed out. Thankfully I was sitting down. I don't respond to anesthesia very well - it always makes me sick to my stomach.

86. When I am getting ready to deliver a baby, rather than practice my breathing, I practice sitting still and bending my back for the epidural.

87. My mom and I got lost in New York City once and I had to use the bathroom. There was NO WHERE to park, so I had to go in a bag in the back seat. FYI: I've never been back to NYC since.

88. I love having my legs and back scratched. Jon is so good about doing this for me. I've convinced him that if I get a good scratch and back run at night that I won't get a headache the next day.

89. I hate going to the dentist. I would rather give birth than have my teeth cleaned.

90. I love making lists and checking things off. If I don't write it down, it's likely that I'll completely forget.

91. One of my pet peeves is rude people.

92. I make my bed every day. I can't crawl into an unmade bed.

93. I once scored 67 words per minute on a typing test.

94. I didn't do very well on the ACT and SAT tests.

95. I don't like nuts, except peanuts. Jon on the other hand believes that almonds would make everything taste better.

96. My brother once scared the life out of me by putting a life-size cardboard cutout of Chewbacca (from Star Wars) in my closet.

97. My favorite all time movie is: While You Were Sleeping.

98. I cried all the way home from seeing Titanic in the movie theater. Each pregnancy, there is also one movie that I cry hysterically through. My pregnancy with Lindsey, the movie was "John Q."

99. I love watching high school and college basketball games.

100. Life is great! I love it!

Good strong heart beat!

I had a doctor's appointment this morning and we were able to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time. It was good and fast (which sometimes means a girl), so we were happy for that. The pregnancy is going really great and we're so grateful for that. Our next appointment (in 5 weeks) will be our ultrasound. We've never found out the gender of the baby before, which we have loved doing, but I think this time we may find out.

Disney on Ice

For the last 5 years, we've been going to Disney on Ice. It's a fun treat and something to look forward to in the dead of winter (the kids had another snow day yesterday). This year, the show was "Princess Classics." We've actually seen that one before, but we love it. I'll admit that I literally get goosebumps - I know, I'm a nerd. We always put a group of friends together and have a great time. The kids loved it and Kate made it easy on us and slept through most of it.(I don't have any pictures of the actual show because the zoom button on the camera has fallen out and it's gone - hmmm....time for a new camera).

Afterwards, we went to Johnny Rockets (a fun hamburger joint) and had a yummy lunch with the Rasmussen's (our great friends!) and Beth and Jeff. Unfortunately, Jon had to go to work just as we got to the restaurant, so he missed that part, but it was great to have him for the show. It was a really fun day!

Working in the snow

When Lindsey is motivated, she's a pretty good worker and she was determined to shovel the snow this afternoon. Jon had shoveled before leaving for work, but it needed it again, so Lindsey bundled up and went to work. She worked on a path out our back door and then randomly shoveled some of the snow from the driveway. When she came back in, she asked how long she had been working. I told her about 15 minutes. She smiled and said "is that worth about $2?" Her thinking all along was, "I better earn some money to buy a hamster (yeah right!), so I'll start with some shoveling."

On the hamster side, we did go to the library this afternoon and checked out some books about hamsters so that the kids know all about them and what they are like. My fingers are crossed that they will realize that hamsters some times bite, they stink, they poop and that it costs money to feed and care for them. We'll see....the girls are still praying for mom to have a change of heart.

"Please bless that Mommy will change her mind about the hamster!"

We just survived a 4-day weekend (Friday and Monday were off for the kids. And incidentally, my fingers are crossed that tomorrow won't be another snow day - it's snowing outside). We had planned on going to the dollar movie this afternoon to see "Veggie Tales" but the movie was sold-out. So we went next door to the pet store. Lindsey held a hamster for the whole time we were there and of course, asked if we could buy it. I had told the kids as we walked into the store that we weren't buying any pets. She begged a little bit, etc., but our day went on.

Then we had a Family Home Evening lesson tonight on prayer. The kids listened and it went great. We had treats and then took the kids upstairs to take a bath. I could hear Lindsey talking to Jon about getting the hamster and he said "You're going to have to talk with your mom about that." So, Lindsey brought it up again, promising to help clean the ENTIRE house, if I would let her get the hamster. She promised that she'd do everything for it, even though I tried to explain that I have enough people to clean up after and that I don't know where we'd put it. I told her I would keep thinking about it.

Then, during prayers, she says "and please bless that mommy will change her mind about the hamster." Hmmm....when she finished, I said "Keep praying, Lindsey." I have a feeling that this will be a frequent request in her upcoming prayers. She's such a funny kid!

#1 Montana State University Northern Fans

My little sister is finishing up her senior year of college at MSU Northern in Havre, MT. She is a great basketball player and has been playing for 8 straight years (4 in high school and 4 in college). We have always loved watching her play. In fact, the kids and I have traveled back to Utah 6 years in a row to specifically see her play. We love it! In January, the kids and I went to cheer her on during her last game in Salt Lake. She's a great sister, daughter, aunt, friend, point guard, everything! Thanks Becky for all of the great basketball memories!

Kate & Lindsey anxiously waiting to watch Aunt Becky play!

Kate's favorite Valentine

Jon and I asked Kate this morning who her favorite Valentine was. She gave us a funny look, like 'I have no idea what you mean,' so I asked her "Who is your favorite boy?" Her response was "Pappa Sorenson". Kate has this wonderful love for her grandpa. She is always wanting to talk with him on the phone. She walks around with a pretend phone all the time and I hear pretending to talk to him. He'll call her from work and it makes her so happy. The other day when we returned a call to him, the answering machine came on and she started to cry because it wasn't really him.

When we were on our trip to Florida, I think he carried her around most of the day and he was the one that she preferred to be with. We were also in Utah for her 2nd birthday in January and she was thrilled to spend time with him. One day, the older kids were skiing with my brothers and I was shopping with my mom, so Kate had grandpa all to herself for the morning. They played and played and then she told him that it was nap time. So, he took her into his bedroom and they laid down on the bed. After about a minute, Kate got off the bed, walked out of the room and closed the door behind her. Apparently, she thought it was grandpa that needed a nap. We sure love you Grandpa!

The Wonderful World of Disney!

We got back a week ago from a wonderful trip to Orlando! We had started to plan this trip about a year ago and invited my parents to come with us. It was really a "dream come true" vacation! Disney has a magical way of helping you forget about the rest of the world and you feel so spoiled. We stayed at the All-Star Movies Resort and spent 5 full days going to Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios (used to be MGM) and Animal Kingdom. The weather was spectacular - it only drizzed rain for 5 minutes on one day. Other than that, it was usually between 70 and 80 degrees during the day.

The kids were great and my parents were so patient with us! We'd get to the Park first thing in the morning, stay until we thought we'd drop dead and head back to the resort for some relaxing. We'd put the kids to bed at night and then stay up and visit with my parents. To make it even easier, we pre-paid for our food on the Disney Dining plan (which I would highly recommend to anyone going), so we had lots of yummy food, drinks, desserts & snacks.

Here are some pictures (our camera isn't great and the zoom button fell off, but they're still pretty fun):

The kids were excited to get autographs from a few characters. Kate kept her distance though as she couldn't quite figure out why there was excitement over huge, furry creatures.

The wettest ride was by far the Kahari Rapids at Animal Kingdom. I didn't understand why people were suddenly wearing ponchos as we were walking towards that ride - it was bright and sunny outside. Then, it became obvious that NO ONE exits that ride without being drenched. It took the kids over an hour to dry - but they had a blast!

The longest ride we waited for was the Jungle Cruise, which was about a 45 minute wait. After that, we'd just use Fast Pass to get on the busy rides. On the 2nd day we were at Magic Kingdom, we were coming off the "It's a Small World" ride (much to Jon's disapproval of wasting our time on a 10-minute boat ride with singing wooden children - he literally timed) and a Disney worker greeted us and told us that it was our lucky day and then handed us a special Fast Pass to 8 different rides in the park (it meant that we didn't have to wait in the line, we'd just go right up to the front). We didn't see anyone else that day in the Park that had one, so we felt really, really lucky!

We had a great time and look forward to doing another Disney trip some day - although as you can tell by the last picture, we were all pretty worn out!

A Young Boy's Dream Come True

Jack has become a huge Star Wars fan over the last several months and since Disney has something to offer to everyone, they had the perfect thing for Jack. At Hollywood Studios, they had the Star Tours ride and a store full of Star Wars things. He found himself a Mickey Mouse light saber and loved the ride. But, the best part, was that they do a "Jedi training" show several times each day. One day, after spending the morning and early afternoon at Epcot, we headed over to Hollywood Studios. A Jedi show was taking place and Jack watched in amazement on top of his dad's shoulders.

We found out that kids were randomly picked from the audience, they got some training from a "real" Jedi Master and then Darth Vader (complete with Storm Troopers) came to fight each young Jedi. We arrived the next morning well before the first show, waited and tried to teach Jack to jump up and down so that he'd be picked. He didn't get picked for that show, or for the next one an hour later. On our third attempt, Emily was picked and went up and asked if her brother could do it for her. They said "no", so she got her Jedi training. On our 4th attempt, Emily jumped up and down holding Jack in front of her and Lindsey jumped up and down pointing to him and he was picked! You can imagine how relieved we were that we didn't have to wait for the next show to try again. After a little bit of trouble getting his cloak on, he was ready to use his light saber and learn how to fight. When it was his turn to fight Darth, he probably barely was as tall as his knee, but he gave him a good fight and helped the good defeat the evil! He has talked and talked about fighting Darth Vader and will probably remember that moment for a long, long time!

Entering the world of blogging!

Okay, okay, okay! I know to some of you I have sworn that I wouldn't be a "blogger", but I honestly love looking at other people's blogs and have learned so much about them. I also figure that we live so far away from most of our family, that it would be fun for them to see pictures of the kids more often and see all the funny things that go on. So, here is goes....