An Interview of My Family (Just thought you'd like to know them better)

We'll go oldest to youngest:

(Dad) Ryan Phippen Jensen, age 38, with bald-brown hair and hazel eyes

Hobbies: watching and playing sports, spending time with Mom

Job (if any): manager at a software company and helps take care of clients and is Dad

Birthday: April 24th, 1978

Favorite animal: jaguar

Favorite color: navy blue

Characteristics: sarcastic, funny, intelligent, adventurous, headstrong, ambitious, hard-working, trustworthy, bit of a temper, handsome

(Mom) Amber Lee Jensen, age 38, with sandy-blonde hair and light blue eyes

Hobbies: reading, cooking, coaching soccer, gardening, dancing with Zumba

Job (if any): being Mom

Birthday: August 13th, 1978

Favorite animal: any baby animal

Favorite color: purple or yellow

Characteristics: loving, caring, kind, hard-working, helpful, enjoyable, funny, beautiful, intelligent, decorative, imaginative

(Oldest kid) Aubrie Lynn Jensen, age 12, with white-blonde hair and gray-green-blue eyes

Hobbies: reading, writing, fighting, imagining

Job (if any): babysitting for Mom and Dad

Birthday: August 15th, 2004

Favorite animal: silver wolf or black panther

Favorite color: navy blue or pine green

Characteristics: sarcastic, imaginative, adventurous, intelligent, ambitious, headstrong, bit of a temper, caring, hotheaded, hyper, aware of things, prideful, beautiful

(Second oldest kid) Robbie Pratt Jensen, age 10, with blonde hair and light green eyes

Hobbies: playing sports, biking

Job (if any): mowing the lawn for Mom and Dad

Birthday: August 20th, 2006

Favorite animal: dog

Favorite color: red-orange

Characteristics: hard-working, funny, serious, bit of a temper, smart, capable, thoughtful, handsome

(Third oldest kid) Hallie Rae Jensen, age 8, with white-blonde hair and deep blue eyes

Hobbies: crocheting, drawing, reading

Job (if any): none

Birthday: May 14th, 2008

Favorite animal:

Favorite color: pink

Characteristics: kind, nice, helpful, enjoyable, funny, teasable, easygoing, sharing, thoughtful, self-less, beautiful

(Fourth oldest kid) Blake Steven Jensen, age 5, with blonde hair and green-brown eyes

Hobbies: reading, playing sports, drawing

Job (if any): none

Birthday: March 4th, 2011

Favorite animal: rhino

Favorite color: blue

Characteristics: clownish, hilarious, easygoing, sharing, thoughtful, teasable, helpful, handsome

(Fifth oldest kid) Clara Louise Jensen, age 2, with blonde hair and deep, beautiful blue eyes

Hobbies: drawing, being so cheerful

Job (if any): being the sunshine in the family

Birthday: March 8th, 2014

Favorite animal: any

Favorite color: unknown

Characteristics: bright, happy, cheerful, nice, easygoing, sharing, thoughtful, amazing, hilarious, smart, adventurous, caring, hyper, trustworthy, beautiful

JORDANS!

We finally made it to their house in Driggs.  It was SO. MUCH. FUN.  We went up for Labor Day weekend. They live in heaven. Hiking was amazing--we'd try to get to Elk Flats but never made it after several hours (kids can be slower:), kayaked/floated the Teton River--it was freezing and SO fun(ny) the whole time, we dirtbiked/four wheeled, played outside for hours, helped build the dirt track they have around their property, bbq'd on Labor Day, went to church with them and drove around to see the area, the kids canoed in the pond next door, Anna and I biked up and down Horseshoe Canyon, Ryan and older boys mountain biked one morning, we talked, watched BYU football, etc,e tc.  It was just an epic perfect weekend. i just love when our families are together so much. 

Just founds this in my drafts from 2016: Update on school

I still feel (maybe even more sure) giddy about Wasatch Waldorf.  I am in awe of the breadth of activities the kids do, the staff's abilities, the way the kids are pushed in good ways, the high behavioral expectations, and the way they allow and push the kids to be kids.  It makes me so happy for them to be there everyday.  I feel god being at their school. Besides needing to have volunteer hours anyway for them to be able to go there, I like being there and look for chances to volunteer--that are Clara friendly.


I hope that Aubrie is ready for HS.  Waldorf has been proven for decades that they produce successful, well rounded, balanced, curious kids.  I think 98% of their graduates go to college.  The concern is that it is a process over years and a specific method that Waldorf follows and years are needed to get to that point and Aubrie (and Robbie for that matter) just have a few years there.  I still think it is by far the best choice because of how much they like school and learning.  It gives them such a broad education and teaches them to ask lots of questions and be curious and problem solve and the space to do it in. And we are hoping that if they can love learning, then no matter what they will be successful because they want to be.  Here's to hoping! They sure come home worn out most days and I can just tell that they were engaged during the day by the way they talk and how they act.

Last week Clara, Blake and I accompanied Robbie and the two 5th grade classes to Wheeler Farm for a field trip.  The best part was that they walked.  It was 2.5 miles there and 2.5 miles back with 60 5th graders.  I think some of the parents didn't even let their kids go to school that day.  I really didn't believe Robbie when he told me that they were walking to Wheeler Farm.  I still can't believe they did it.  Those kids were SO tired when they got back to school.  5 miles walking plus 2-3 hours of running around playing at the farm.  It was awesome!

The third grade studies Hebrew history all year and this past week they had their Sukkot (a sukkah is a temporary dwelling and it was used by farmers during the harvest to sleep out in the fields and is remembering the way Israelites lived in the desert during the 40 years after the Exodus).  The holiday is a few weeks I think but the main day is the 15th of the month (Sept or Oct). During the festival in Israel all meals are eaten in the sukkah and alot sleep there too. The kids had been preparing for for a a few weeks.  Parents helped build the structure and some of the kids cut down the greenery (Hallie and Blake helped me cut our grape vines for it) and the kids wove the greenery on top of the sukkah we cut some of the felt veggies and then the kids helped sew them all on the sheets. They ate a few lunches in it and read stories.  And at the end of the week the kids all brought in fruit and helped cut it up and all ate in their together.

 Since it is a new school, all the gardening is in new stages but it is going to be amazing in a year or two.  They all spend 3 periods a week gardening and they help with everything--digging holes for trees, planting, watering, weeding.  In the main garden since it was September they did kale, spinach, cabbage, chard, peas for next spring and they all get to sample it when they are out there working.  They helped plant lots of fruit trees, berry bushes, grape vines, put in and take care of the compost piles (the kitchen even has a separate compost), etc.  It love how MUCH they let them help.

Blake's favorite place--behind that fence is the huge sandbox (the sand is held in by huge cut up logs).  Blake LOVES playing there and they get to every day.


All of the kids have someone in their class that is autistic or has downs syndrome and the teachers are so good to have all of the kids in the class help with their learning.  Hallie has taken "rests"with Cassius (the boy in her class) and reads to him fairly regularly.  She comes home with the funniest stories almost every day--he has put his salsa and crochet hooks in the fish tank, dances on the classroom tables, he is always making funny faces at everyone to make them laugh,  he likes to drink out of Hallie's milk, he gave her a hug and pinched her on the back.  She enjoys him alot.   Robbie has a boy in his class named Justin that he helps walk and go down in the elevator when their class is going places, he helps him get off the ground when he's been sitting because its hard for him to get up.   Aubrie sits next to a girl named Laura that her teacher asked her to help with, because she has a hard time at school with her work and listening to instructions.  Sometimes it seems like Aubrie worries about her too much (she is constantly running off and escaping the class and says things that worry Aubrie) but I am SO glad for her to have a chance to think about someone else a lot other than herself--especially at her "teenage" age.

Update on school

I still feel (maybe even more sure) giddy about Wasatch Waldorf.  I am in awe of the breadth of activities the kids do, the staff's abilities, the way the kids are pushed in good ways, the high behavioral expectations, and the way they allow and push the kids to be kids.  It makes me so happy for them to be there everyday.  I feel good being at their school. Besides needing to have volunteer hours anyway for them to be able to go there, I like being there and look for chances to volunteer--that are Clara friendly, of course :).


Once concern--I hope that Aubrie is ready for HS.  Waldorf has been proven over decades that they produce successful, well rounded, balanced, curious kids.  I think 98% of their graduates go to college.  The concern is that it is a process over years and a specific method that Waldorf follows and years are needed to get to that point and Aubrie (and Robbie for that matter) just have a few years there.  I still think it is by far the best choice because of how much they like school and learning.  It gives them such a broad education and teaches them to ask lots of questions and be curious and problem solve and the space to do it in. And we are hoping that if they can love learning, then no matter what they will be successful because they want to be.  Here's to hoping! They sure come home worn out most days and I can just tell that they were engaged during the day by the way they talk and how they act.

Last week Clara, Blake and I accompanied Robbie and the two 5th grade classes to Wheeler Farm for a field trip.  The best part was that they walked.  It was 2.5 miles there and 2.5 miles back with 60 5th graders.  I think some of the parents didn't even let their kids go to school that day out of concern--but I thought it was AWESOME!.  I really didn't believe Robbie when he told me that they were walking to Wheeler Farm.  I still can't believe they did it.  Those kids were SO tired when they got back to school.  5 miles walking plus 2-3 hours of running around playing at the farm.  It was awesome!

The third grade studies Hebrew history all year and this past week they had their Sukkot (a sukkah is a temporary dwelling and it was used by farmers during the harvest to sleep out in the fields and is remembering the way Israelites lived in the desert during the 40 years after the Exodus).  The holiday is a few weeks I think but the main day is the 15th of the month (Sept or Oct). During the festival in Israel all meals are eaten in the sukkah and a lot sleep there too. The kids had been preparing for a few weeks.  Parents helped build the structure and some of the kids cut down the greenery (Hallie and Blake helped me cut our grape vines for it) and the kids wove the greenery on top of the sukkah we cut some of the felt veggies and then the kids helped stitch them all on the sheets during their handwork time. They ate a few lunches in it and read stories.  And at the end of the week the kids all brought in fruit and helped cut it up and all ate in there together.

 Since it is a new school, all the garden areas are in new stages but it is going to be amazing in a year or two.  They all spend 3 periods a week gardening and they help with everything--digging holes for trees, planting, watering, weeding.  In the main garden since it was September they did kale, spinach, cabbage, chard, peas for next spring and they all get to sample it when they are out there working and it is used for school lunches which I LOVE.  They helped plant lots of fruit trees (5th grade especially got out there with shovels), berry bushes, grape vines, put in and take care of the compost piles (the kitchen even has a separate compost), etc.  I love how MUCH they let them help.

Blake's favorite place--behind that fence is the huge sandbox (the sand is held in by huge cut up logs).  Blake LOVES playing there and they get to every day for kindergarten.


All of the kids have someone in their class that is autistic or has downs syndrome and the teachers are so good to have all of the kids in the class help with their learning.  Hallie has taken "rests"with Cassius (the boy in her class) and reads to him fairly regularly.  She comes home with the funniest stories almost every day--he has put his salsa and crochet hooks in the fish tank, dances on the classroom tables, he is always making funny faces at everyone to make them laugh,  he likes to drink out of Hallie's milk, he gave her a hug and pinched her on the back.  She enjoys him alot.   Robbie has a boy in his class named Justin that he helps walk and go down in the elevator when their class is going places, he helps him get off the ground when he's been sitting because its hard for him to get up.   Aubrie sits next to a girl named Laura that her teacher asked her to help with, because she has a hard time at school with her work and listening to instructions.  Sometimes it seems like Aubrie worries about her too much (she is constantly running off and escaping the class and says things that worry Aubrie) but I am SO glad for her to have a chance to think about someone else a lot other than herself--especially at her "teenage" age.