Tuesday, December 29, 2009

quagmire no more

so where have i been these last two months?

occupied with jungle jewels on facebook? yes...
busy with school and finals? yeah...
tied up with the holidays? yep...
sinking into a quagmire of despair? um, mayhaps...
despondent over the things i want and do not have? well, not "things" but people...

lately i've been thinking about the people i miss, the people i trust and those i don't and wondering where my faith and trust in people went...

and all the while falling into a serious funk, fretting over the relationships i will never have with people who could care less about me, and fretting over relationships that weren't what they appeared to be...

and it appears that i've then been missing out on what's been going on here... and obviously forgetting why i started blogging here in the first place--it IS good to be hentzen!
there is so much to be thankful and happy about in my little family here!!

and yet it's so incredibly easy to get lost and blinded by the bad stuff, that you start to lose joy in all of the good stuff that abounds in life... and really it seems that the goods definitely outweigh the bad, but we tend to focus on the nasties!

so here's to a new year of finding the good stuff and i wish the same for you!

happy new year!

(picture from november 25 @ grandview beach near or in encinitas, california)

Friday, October 30, 2009

the process...

from painting the logo...
and paper mache and paint...
to the school halloween parade!
he did an excellent job!!


and then we have "TIM, the teenage zombie"
this is the first year i've okayed a scary costume...
we even have blood from the people the "zombie" eats
(my actual camera is still on the bottom of the snake river... so... sorry about the bad phone pictures!)

Sunday, October 25, 2009

the soccer scoop!

  • 250 plus AYSO regions applied for teams to go the AYSO national tournament...

  • 24 AYSO regions were picked (and 12 of them were california regions?!)...

  • idaho falls was one of the regions picked...

  • there were 25 kids in idaho falls who tried out for the team, and jacks made the cut!!


so we will be in west palm beach in july watching him play soccer on the international polo club's fields! and you maybe you're wondering if ryan is all bunched up about not making the team... and the answer is a big, fat no. because he doesn't have to fundraise, practice or do any of the hard work... and yet he still gets to go on the family vacation to florida and even get to play in the soccerfest on the day before the tournament. yes, it is good to be ryan!


* * * * *

a caramel macchiato update:

  • we went to starbucks to get the prototype
  • went to the library for the opaque projector--for a supreme logo reproduction
  • the cup has been made out of paper mache and chicken-coop-stuff
  • we're painting the cup tonight with the first coat
  • we're still working out the eye-holes and who'll carry the bucket due to the irony of being vulnerably encased in the cup...

this time last year, i was desperately painting bones for jacks' skeleton costume. so knowing we're not paper mache-ing on wednesday makes me feel like we're ahead of the game!! why we can't just buy costumes? i'll never know...

Sunday, October 4, 2009

gardening...

i'm not a gardner, i don't enjoy spending all of my free time out there, but i'm always amazed about gardens--those untended, especially--start to take on a life of their own.

for example, did you know that pumpkin leaves turn black, black, black after a hard frost?
we tossed the seeds from our jack-lanterns out there after carving pumpkins last fall; and now with the leaves dead and dying, i can see our very own pumpkins are growing big and orange... well, yellowish orange, anyway! the boys are so excited to have their very own pumpkins!



then with all of the pumpkin leaves black and wilty, i was able to see all of my tomatoes... and see that some were finally turning red! our summer was brief here, and i was thinking that i was going to have to make fried green tomatoes or aunt bonnie's green tomato pie... now, i might be able to make salsa or something.



then i stopped and looked my boys, and realized they are kinda like the pumpkin seeds... we throw them out in the world (aka school, sports, activities), we never know what they'd grow into. but when the leaves of life are pushed aside and we slow down and take the opportunity to see what's growing, we get to see that these little kids are growing into a pretty neat people--despite our "garden" tending. they are kind and smart, they like to have fun and to laugh, and they makes us very happy...

and i hope that i'll never stop thinking this is the most precious sight in the world--i love watching jackson mow the grass and laugh at whatever thoughts he's got going thru his head!



a good day in the garden, i think...

Sunday, September 27, 2009

irony...


ryan and i were driving home from a soccer game the other day, and he starts talking about his halloween costume...
a venti caramel macchiato.

i knew about this idea, and have thought all about the papier-mache and chicken coop construction... but i wasn't prepared for this conversation.

ryan: i will need a flap on on my venti cup to get my candy
me: no. you'll be a venti, so your cup will sit on your shoulders with your arms and head out.
ryan: no, no, no... i don't want my head out
me: um... how will you see?
ryan: i'll have little peep-holes
me: i don't think that sounds safe
ryan: i know! with my head in the cup, that will make me vulnerable...
me: um... what?
ryan: i'll be vulnerable for halloween
me: {stunned silence}
ryan: do you get it? vulnerable for halloween... it's ironic
me: um... what?


are they now teaching irony in 4th grade? i learned what irony meant when i saw reality bites 1994... i was 22!!

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

soccer...

...it's our game!!

Thursday, September 17, 2009

missing...

... a retro coleman cooler with a bottle opener handle (said cooler was holding 100 year old whiskey, beer and sandwiches)

... variety of fly-fishing equipment (rods, reels, fly boxes)


... camera (MINE!!)


all items may be found along the shores of the south fork of the snake river, please let us know if you have seen them

things (thankfully) not missing:


dave... and his good fly rod, thank goodness for the lifetime guarantee... oh, and the sun screen and cigars


my dad--with the bum hip... and who is said to be out-fishing the great trout-slayer, but the camera with the proof is sleeping with the fishes*


scott and scott's dad's drift boat... the drift boat that spilled out three of my favorite guys in the world into the river!


and one heck of a fish tale...
one that gets better with each telling
_____________________


so while i have no camera to document the {big sigh} momentous moments of my childrens' lives, i luckily still have my phone...

pre-soccer game snap in my office

GO SHOCKERS!!

(cute coach, huh?!)



*sleeps with the fishes just like luca brasi

Sunday, August 16, 2009

i'm in love...

we only got to spend one day in glacier national park, but it was one of the most beautiful days of my life.

now, don't go thinking that this has diminished my love for YNP... because it's a different place with different things... like weeping walls...
avalanche residue, still with drip-dropping snow melt...









waterfalls all over the place...
















breath-taking views...
















mountain goats and wildflowers...


and who would have thought that these guys would be there?





THIS was not something that i loved about GNP, but learned that i've been to lake sherburne, there are snakes there and so i'm good with that one visit!

my boys on the snake infested rock beach...
of course








ryan taking the road less traveled...

jackson... being jackson


Friday, August 14, 2009

i'm so behind...

the boys went to sleep-away camp in july for the first time...
camp perkins is named for lake perkins, and i'm the proud parent of "polar" and "grizzly" bears, which means they had to get into the lake at night stay in the cold mountain lake and do bobs (griz) and then also go in the icy morning water of the same mountain lake (polar) and do more bobs!


jackson

they both were very excited to go... not one teary eye from any of us!


ryan

the boys of cabin #8


"nestled in the Sawtooth Mountains National Forest, camp perkins is a place where the Holy Spirit is at work. within this setting of pristine mountain lakes, babbling creeks and inspiring ridges of granite peaks you will find the comfort of our facilities, the excellence of our programs, the exciting recreation of the lakes and meadows and a friendly staff of people committed to sharing the Word of God" and world-class fly-fishing...
dave had a great day of fishing, after we dropped the boys off, and before the storms came rolling over the mountains... i read.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

i {heart} my dad

my dad is awesome.

back in the day, i came home from somewhere and the house was all dark. my mom met me at the door and said, "don't go downstairs yet." being a ME and a tweener, i probably whined and fussed until my dad yelled up the stairs that we could come down.


so my mom grabbed me, and together we walked downstairs. it was dark with the exception of the glow of the tv, and then there was the vision of the beginning of michael jackson's thriller video! at the time, MTV was only showing the abridged version--not the whole 14 minutes, which included the scene of the werewolf movie. so you can imagine my confusion over why we were seeing the whole thing, and just at that minute...


but wait! what was that shiny silver box on top of the tv?


my parents had just bought a betamax and the first video they bought was "the making of thriller." then they schemed a plan to have it queued up as a surprise for me. this is how i grew up... mysterious car rides that always ended up at a dairy queen; the ruse of having errands to run, only to go to the garage to see my first car... and now, he's doing it for my kids with the whole disneyland trip...


did i mention, he's awesome?!

Monday, July 13, 2009

summertime...

...and the livin' is easy...

Thursday, June 18, 2009

the plan was...

...they would fly down to arizona to see their nana and papa.




they could beat the heat with a swim everyday,




they could take an art class with their zia,




they could go to the mine and see the big trucks...


but no one said anything about a road trip to DISNEYLAND!


and yet, i guess that's what being the nana and papa warrant... you get to do whatever you want, whenever you want! so today the four of them leave green valley for the happiest place one earth; while dave and i are at home, thankful that we again have water,

the big backhoe is no longer in my front yard and that idaho falls might just get into the 70's and summer can finally start! yea!

Friday, June 5, 2009

happy, happy, happy...

our ryan is 10 today!!
doesn't seem possible, but our second blessing is already ten
...the skateboard...
helmet, ebow pads, knee pads... we've got it all


...the lego brick cake...
and the red smiles everyone was smiling after eating the red cake
... the bionicle buiding...
everyone got a bionicle as a party gift (great idea amy)


so we built them and had bionicle battles

happy birthday, snuggle-bug!
it's so much fun to have the home birthday party... but now i'm so tired : )

Sunday, May 31, 2009

as a matter of fact...

... why no, granny, i haven't updated the blog... it must mean that it's time to do so, if i'm getting update requests! : )

speaking of granny,

!!HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!
our granny turned 80 this month, and we road tripped to colorado to celebrate her over memorial day weekend!!

some of my cousins with granny
ali, daniel, granny and mallory... the two party girls on the right : )

our trip was planned this year (unlike last year) and all of the sudden it became this crazy-hectic-totally-fun weekend for us,


first
we had granny's party...
we have no idea what was over there, but it was far better (to the boys) than a room full of people they didn't know


then we went to the denver museum of nature and science to see how we now measure up to the dinosaurs...


last time we checked, these guys were a bit below the t-rex's knee... and the one on the left didn't have quite the attitude. he used to be happy to have his picture taken in front of the dinosaurs... {big sigh}


a teaching lesson for our little pals on how to have a super-fun pillow fight and how to make a dog pile...

thanks for the picture megs...

and finally, the hentzen memorial day tradition:

a colorado rockies game...
next time we're going to call ahead for winning game...
not a sad, sad, s-a-d loss
and the long, long, long drive home...