"we may not have it all together, but together we have it all"

  I will be the first to admit that my family is not perfect. But for each other we are perfect. Our challenges bring us closer, our happiness is shared and the love it mutual (most of the time). We all genuinely care about each others, lives and situations. Deep down we all have each others best interests in mind. And on top of all of those great things, we get to be best friends.

 I don't have a ton of memories of growing up with all of my siblings living at home. I remember a few things, but it was such a small portion of my life that all of us lived together. But I cannot tell you how many pictures there are of big brother Trent holding me & loving me, or my big sister Heidi being my second Mom. Those are just small examples of the bonds that we have. Now eighteen years later those bonds are different, oh so very different. I don't know some of my siblings on that super personal level. But despite all of our differences, our ages, situations and interests in life, I still love my big brothers and sisters so much.

 There are so many moments in life when WE get to be there for EACH OTHER. Like Trent being there for Brooke when she was giving up & going through something hard. Or the time Jacob sent me flowers on Valentines just because he thought I would like a gift. Or when one of my sisters and a serious boyfriend broke-up so all the sisters took her out to dinner. Or even when Elder Manning left on his mission and I got a phone call from Brooke the next day, just to make sure I was doing okay.

 Last Sunday The Jensen Hoard spoke in church (ALL seven of them, so cute!)  But in Miss. Paige's talk she said "my best friends never have to go home". Even though we don't all live together, we get to be friends forever. We never have to permanently say goodbye.

 We may have or ups and downs, our fair share of fights, disagreements and tears. But we also have our fair share of laughs, rallying around each other, happiness, and lots of good times. I am so lucky to have the family I have. I love all of them. Trent, Heidi, Jamie, Jacob, Jill, & Brooke.

 Cheers to eternity!

Dad.

 My sister Jamie just did a blog post about our Dad. I have been constructing a blog post about him in my head lately, and when I read Jamie's blog post she completely nailed it. But I wanted to direct my post more towards the relationship my Dad and I have. Jamie's blog focused on the love that our Dad has for our Mom as well as all his great qualities. But I wanted to focus on the love he has for us kids.

 I value the relationship I have with my Dad so much. Ever since I can remember my Dad and I have been "best buds", we would always be doing things together; trips to the cabin, golfing, Disneyland, the Hawaii swap meet, game boards, football games, etc. We have always just kind of clicked.

 I have always known that my Dad has my back, that he is my biggest team player, and my biggest fan. He is the first to defend me, make me feel loved, and sacrifice anything. Just for me. I have recently had an experience that was real hard. My feelings were hurt. I cried to him. He listened. He was sad when I was sad. He came into my room to see me the other night just to talk about MY feelings. This isn't the first time this has happened. He is always by my side no matter what.

 But it's not just my back he always has. He has all of his kids back. I remember when one of my sisters was in High School all of her friends had gotten asked to a dance, and they were all going in the same group. But not my sister she didn't get asked. So what did my cute Dad do? He took her to dinner and shopping the night of the dance. He is always doing stuff like that with his girls. When I turned sixteen he wrote me a letter asking if he could be my first date.

 Being the youngest and living at home alone without any siblings I get to have a lot of one-on-one time. We get to hang out a lot. When I have a date, a job interview or any good news. I text him. He is always encouraging. I am so lucky to have the Dad I have. He is my bestest friend ever. I love him. So much.

Genetics.

Disclaimer: If you think you might at all be offended by this don't read it. There were no ill intentions when blogging about this.

Genetics;

Noun.

1: a branch of biology that deals with the heredity and variation of organisms.

My Mom & I have been hanging out a lot lately, since I'm not doing too much with my life as of right now. But we often spend time with people in our family; sisters, In-laws, Grandparents, and a few run ins with Aunts & Uncles. In being with family I can't help but notice the differences. I do not think the Jensen & Johnson families could be any more opposite. But as I've observed my immediate and extended family members, I realize that everyone is different, and different is good.  I feel blessed to have the family I have. The variety of personalities and differences is what makes life fun & exciting.

(this is my venn diagram to get my point across)

Love you all!

Haunted House?

It's halloween season. So Haunted Houses are a must, although it wasn't that scary. It was still real fun!

 I just thought it was funny how small I look next to him.
p.s we aren't holding hands, lol. His hand is in his pocket & I'm telling a story.



Park City!

The other night Melina & I headed up to Park City to see the lovely fall colors, walk Main Street, and eat dinner. But since I am such a picky eater once we got there everything looked fancy and yuck & not to mention it was EXPENSIVE. So we did walk through the cute little stores (that are also very pricey) enjoyed the perfect weather & the beautiful colors. We didn't stay long, but it was so fun!

 

The canyons are to die for right now, I love fall!

lovely night, with lovely ladies.

I got to head down to Provo last week while Jamie and Mike went to the BYU vs UFC game last weekend. I love her little girlies so much. I didn't take many pictures but I did take a few when we ventured to the park! We had a fun filled night though, we had a picnic, played dress-ups, watched Tangled, walked to the park, & ate cookies. What a lovely night it was.

Utah vs. USC

Although my Utes couldn't quite pull out a win the game was still so much fun! I totally lost my voice & almost had a nervous breakdown in the last few seconds of the game! It was intense, but so fun. I gotta send a quick prayer up for the game this weekend against the school down south! GO UTES.

I'm home!

Panama was more then I could have ever asked for. It is the best thing I have ever done in my life. I fell in love with the people there and hold such a special spot in my heart for them. I can cry just thinking of the tender mercies I had while I was there. The Lord really does love all of his children. The people I got to meet and travel with are truly amazing people. The people I got to work on or visit are even more amazing, they love everyone and would do anything for you. There are so many experiences I had that I hold so dear to my heart I don't want to even blog about them, but I will blog about the trip when I have more time. Until then, this is just a sneak peek from Panama!