Year in Review 2010

Merry Christmas! I am never sure who actually likes Christmas cards or not so I decided to put all the details here for those who want them. I also never know who to send cards to- If you would like your very own '2010 Collectible Jensen Christmas Card' (which is different from this post) please email your address to me asap(audrajjensen at msn dot com)- I would LOVE to send you one!!! Be sure to scroll down to the previous post to see a collection of shots that we didn't use in our card. (Even though they probably show a more accurate description of Porter's personality)


Now on to our year in review, be for warned this is going to be a looong post. For the most part I am going to try and go month by month and hit the highlights.

JANUARY 2010 - We replaced our ugly old siding with lovely new vinyl siding- I must say I am so happy with the results and the fact that we no longer live in a salmon colored house (although we do still have a salmon painted chimney in the back) YEAH!!!! Aaron went Ice Fishing down at the river with friends a couple of times and I would bring Porter down for an hour or so to help- He absolutely loved it!


FEBRUARY 2010 The three months of craziness begins..... First off we welcomed a new nephew/cousin Ollie- He is the cutest thing ever!! Uncle Scott Got engaged. We had a bridal shower for Tessa (who got engaged in Dec)

March 2010 - The CRAZIEST month of all. The very first weekend of March Aaron had a convention in Las Vegas so I, Porter, and Aaron's parents tagged along. We drove down after Aaron got off of work and I was amazed at how fast the drive went. We stayed in Bill's place which is our absolute favorite- It's small but has been fixed up really well, it's right in the center of the strip and best of all it's right on the strip so you don't have to walk forever to get anywhere! We could even watch the dancing waters from our window. My only complaint was the road construction that they decided to do at 2:00 am right below us!

We stopped and checked out the 'Pawn Stars' Shop
It is a lot smaller and far more run down than it looks on the show

Porter got to show his skills to Gene Simmons

And he got to play with Jack Sparrow's sword.

Porter's favorite Las Vegas stop was the dancing waters- which fortunately (since we went numerous times to it) was only kiddy-corner from our hotel. He would have watched it for hours if we had let him. He especially liked the 'Viva Las Vegas' song and would sing along- loudly.
Our next March event was the Mule Deer Foundation Banquet. Aaron was co-chair and I was the ticket chair person and helped with the finance end of things. The banquet is always fun and it is fun to see how it grows from year to year. There is a yummy prime rib dinner and lots of games and raffles to raise funds for local Mule Deer projects. We were even the big prize winner and won a really nice new fireproof gun safe.

Things didn't slow down there... On March 27th my sister Tessa got married in the Logan Temple to Page Wagley. Page is easygoing and a fun addition to the Colgrove Fam. Tessa was so beautiful and everything went so well- we had a lovely open house at my parents the night before the wedding and an open house at my cousin Trina's in Logan after the wedding.

APRIL 2010 Two weeks after Tessa's wedding we were back at the Logan Temple for Scott and Annalyn's wedding (Aaron's brother) It was another lovely wedding with another beautiful bride. They had a reception in Weston that night and one in Firth later in the month. Porter love's Annalyn- she is so good to always play with him and we are glad to have her in our family.

Us at the Wedding

MAY 2010 - Things slowed down a bit (thankfully) We got a great deal on some castle rock on craigslist- except for we had to haul all 300+ blocks from their yard to ours which was a huge project in itself- Luckily Bill, Clint and Grandma J helped and it only took a couple of hours. The landscaping for the beds was another thing all together-

Going into it I had no idea you had to pack and level the ground and fill with sand. It was a lot more work than I had expected just cleaning out the old bed seemed to take forever! We could not have done it with out a ton of help from Aaron's mom. She even came when we were out of town and planted my flowers out front. Thanks again Marilyn you really are the best!

I didn't think to get an after picture- but below is a before picture and a picture of a corner of one of the front beds after a hailstorm.



JUNE & JULY 2010 - We went on several camping trips - On July 15th we celebrated our 10th Wedding Anniversary. Later in July we went to the Harker reunion and a great time minus the horrible ear infection I ended up with-

We spent a lot of time outside playing and working the yard and garden. We made our garden bigger this year and I planted way too many squash (need some anyone?) and not enough green beans and peas. I also learned that despite my best efforts I cannot seem to grow decent Tomato's, Peppers or Endame. I also learned that if you don't pick your broccoli before if flowers don't worry because it will attract a ton of butterflies!


Other fun summer events included a short train trip which Porter loved- We even got to ride in a car with and observation bubble thing on top so you could see all around. After that I really want to take him on the Porter on a Polar Express Train next Christmas. Also along for the ride were Pa, Nanna, Grandma, Grandpa and Kamden and Karson.

We went on a hot dog roast up Wolverine with Chelsea and Justin and the boys-
We did a little shooting and Porter thought he needed to climb the mountain
(He's the little dot you can see on the rock slope)



We went with my parents and Chelsea's Family to Justin's Dad's Cabin in I.P.
The water was pretty cold but Porter had no problems jumping right in.


We fed the ducks on the Greenbelt

Porter got to hang out with his Bud's Kam and Kars (Chelsea's Boys)

AUGUST 2010 - Porter turned three years old! I can't believe how fast he is growing up. He requested a fish/ocean themed birthday. We had nacho's with all the toppings in sand buckets with sand shovels for serving utensils...

Porter has always loved the water. When we have been at hotels he always wants to spend all his time in the pool. The scary thing is that he has no fear. He loves to jump off the side but he doesn't want you to catch him, he just wants you there to help him back out. It amazes me that he can jump, hold his breath and go under and then swim to you with just those flimsy little arm floaties. Needless to say I am a little nervous when he gets around water- especially with a big canal in the back yard.

At the last minute I found out he could take swimming lessons even though he wasn't three when he started. He as you can imagine loved it, after his initial reluctance to leave mom. He was a year younger than the other kids in the class but he did really good keeping up. The teachers couldn't believe how excited and fearless he was to jump off the diving board.

He had a couple of different teachers but his favorite was McKay

Right before Labor day we went to the Water Park- Porter of course had to do things his own way and loved to go down the slide on the divider rather than on the slide itself.

On Labor Day weekend we went camping again- It was fun to have my family join us this time- they are often busy and we don't get to go on a lot of camping trips with them. We spend some time out on a little reservoir we like to visit and stopped at several geocache's (One of our families favorite hobbies)


We went to the Spud Day Parade- Porter loved running after the candy. It must have made quite the impression because for months when we would drive by the spot we had sat he would ask about the parade.

We also made our annual trip to the Demolition Derby - This is the second year that we took Porter with us but this is the first year that he really got into it. We like to get there extreemly earlier so we can back our truck up to the back of the bleachers and sit in our lawn chairs in the truck bed; It's the best seat in the house! This year was better than ever, if you look closely in the picture below you can see the car that ended up on top of another one.


OCTOBER 2010 - My bother Austin left for Iraq, we really miss him and worry about him but we are proud that he chose to serve our country. Halloween and Mom's Birthday. This fall I and Porter got back into the habit of our weekly trips to the library which had slowed down some during the summer.

Austin in his gear

Porter started Gymnastics class in October. For the first few weeks he was pretty hesitant about things. He would watch the other kids and participate with the teacher one on one but he tended to hang back when they did group things. I debated pulling him out but he would come home and do the things they were teaching so I knew he was at least paying attention and decided to give it a little longer. The past few weeks he has really loosened up and been having a good time in class. It is so fun to watch him interact with other kids and his teachers.



NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010- Porter loved the snow we got (which is now melting) and is anxiously looking forward to Christmas. He actually sat on Santa's lap this year and told him what he wanted. When one of our friends asked him afterward how it was he shrugged all bumbed out and said "I asked him for a Mickey Mote but all he gave me was this candy"


In October they re-arranged our stake boundaries and we ended up in a different ward. Aaron who had been teaching the 6 year olds in primary was put back in the Elders Quorum Presidency (3rd times a charm!). I was released from my callings (Newsletter, Ward Web page, Bulletin, and Provident Living Specialist ) and put in as the second counselor in Young Women. We were all a little nervous about the change but overall it has been a good experience. We do however miss many wonderful people from our 'old' ward!

The change has been a good growing experience for Porter too. In our 'old' ward he was pretty much the only one in his nursery class, there was another boy that came occasionally but other than that the closest kids in age to him were a year older or a year and a half younger. In nursery he dearly loved his teachers and called them 'my ladies'. When we went to our new ward and he walked into class and there were 12 other kids he was less than impressed. It took him a couple of weeks to get used to the crowd but he has gotten to really enjoy it and is doing great (or so his teachers report). It is really fun to listen to the stories and songs he comes home and tells us.

Porter's other favorite things are playing swords (Styrofoam) and race cars with dad, playing on the piano and singing songs, and reading books with mom. He has learned to spell his name and is working on letters, numbers and adding. It is so fun to watch him learn and grow. We are so blessed to have him in our family he really is the light of our lives.

Other than chasing around Porter I still love to read and design digital scrapbooks which I sell at two stores. This year I had a lot of fun helping with things for the weddings. I got to design both of their announcements and thank you cards which was a lot of fun. In addition this year I also did a birth announcement for baby Ollie, a couple of graduation announcements and Christmas Cards. I am starting a little side business doing this so if you ever are in need of a announcement design let me know and I will be happy to do it (Free of charge for Friends and Family) I have even made some deals with some excellent print shops and can get them professionally printed for a very reasonable cost if your interested.

Aaron is still Sales Manager at Yost (10 years now!) He is a hard worker and takes good care of our family. He was able to get in a couple of short hunting trips this year but didn't see anything they could shoot at- Hopefully next year they will draw on a Tag and can get in a longer hunting trip. He is a member of a local gun club and is able stop a couple of times a week on his way home from work to shoot. Aaron has been an awesome help with my new calling requiring me to be gone some weeknights. Whenever I come home from Mutual porter always has a fun story to tell me about what he did with dad that night.

Well if you made it this far- thanks for reading this whole post and thanks being a part of our lives. We hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Wonderful 2011!!!