It’s Super Bowl Sunday! Before everyone else arrived, Gabe and I decided to make some homemade Ginger Ale. Enjoy!
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Happy New Year!
New Year’s Eve at the Jenson house was far from wild—but we had a lot of fun nonetheless! We hung out at home and made Chinese food—shrimp Lo Mein and potstickers, along with margaritas (the classic Chinese beverage). We enjoyed cooking together and made a valiant attempt to see the ball drop at midnight, but Allison isn’t much for staying up late, so she didn’t make it! Below are some videos of us making our Chinese New Year’s dinner—feel free to pass it on to the Food Network!
New Year’s day came, along with some resolutions:
1. Save more money
2. Eating simpler, healthier foods
3. Exercising regularly
4. Using reusable bags at the grocery store
5. Shopping less and buying more second-hand merchandise.
2009 was a wonderful year in our lives—finishing a first year teaching, starting a first year of law school, moving into our house, and (of course) getting married! We are looking forward to a less eventful 2010, that will hopefully be just as wonderful!
New Year’s day came, along with some resolutions:
1. Save more money
2. Eating simpler, healthier foods
3. Exercising regularly
4. Using reusable bags at the grocery store
5. Shopping less and buying more second-hand merchandise.
2009 was a wonderful year in our lives—finishing a first year teaching, starting a first year of law school, moving into our house, and (of course) getting married! We are looking forward to a less eventful 2010, that will hopefully be just as wonderful!
Christmas 2009 Update.
Christmas was full of activity for us this year! We made the trip up to Fargo on December 23, driving up with Gabe. We enjoyed relaxing, video games, reading, chatting, and lots of delicious food the 23rd and Christmas Eve, before going to the Christmas Eve service at the Jenson family church. We even got to help deliver the famous Jenson cheesecakes—as delicious as always!
Christmas day we were hit with the big blizzard. Fargo got almost 2 feet of snow, which looked beautiful, but meant bad roads and cold temps. We enjoyed gift opening and spending time with the family. It was especially exciting to see that the Jensons enjoyed the gifts we gave them! We were especially excited about some of the gifts we were given—Desmond got a new flip camera, which made some of the videos you see here. Allison got a new sewing machine, which she has already used to make some curtains for our bedroom.
Camera for Christmas
Why Flip?
The 27th we were off to Brainerd, driving slowly, but we got to Cragun’s resort to spend a few days with the Heille family for a holiday celebration. The first night was wonderful and relaxing, eating a delicious meal, settling in, and opening wonderful gifts. Again, the best part was seeing how excited people were about the gifts we found for them!
We were glad to have a relaxing evening, because it helped us rest up in preparation for WINTER SURVIVOR 2009! Mid afternoon the 28th, Desmond, Allison, Jackie, and Guthrie entered the winter survivor competition, easily one of the most intense nail biters of the holiday season.
At first, our only competition was a family from Iowa—an easy win, we thought.
We easily took out the competition in the first contest, the snowshoe relay.
We then found out our competition had doubled: 2 more teams joined competition before the wheelbarrow contest started. While not as big of a win as our snowshoe relay, we took second place and felt our performance was still strong.
We barely had time to catch our breath before the next event.
Luckily, during tail tag, we recouped some of our losses. Desmond and Guthrie had particular talent for tail tag that helped the H-J connection come out for the win of this round.
All of our hard work paid off: we were in first! Unfortunately, we were tied with our arch nemesis, Team Ramrod. Our tie breaker was a foot race through the fluffy snow, and we won only by the fantastic dive ending by Guthrie. We were all glad he is so lanky in that moment.
Needless to say, our win was worth more than just 15 Cragun’s dollars. Here are some video clips of us reflecting on our victory. Training for Winter Survivor 2010 will start next week.
Other highlights of the Cragun’s weekend included a big Cranium match, snowshoeing and skiing, making and eating some delicious chili, and hanging out at the pool.
Christmas day we were hit with the big blizzard. Fargo got almost 2 feet of snow, which looked beautiful, but meant bad roads and cold temps. We enjoyed gift opening and spending time with the family. It was especially exciting to see that the Jensons enjoyed the gifts we gave them! We were especially excited about some of the gifts we were given—Desmond got a new flip camera, which made some of the videos you see here. Allison got a new sewing machine, which she has already used to make some curtains for our bedroom.
Camera for Christmas
Why Flip?
The 27th we were off to Brainerd, driving slowly, but we got to Cragun’s resort to spend a few days with the Heille family for a holiday celebration. The first night was wonderful and relaxing, eating a delicious meal, settling in, and opening wonderful gifts. Again, the best part was seeing how excited people were about the gifts we found for them!
We were glad to have a relaxing evening, because it helped us rest up in preparation for WINTER SURVIVOR 2009! Mid afternoon the 28th, Desmond, Allison, Jackie, and Guthrie entered the winter survivor competition, easily one of the most intense nail biters of the holiday season.
At first, our only competition was a family from Iowa—an easy win, we thought.
We easily took out the competition in the first contest, the snowshoe relay.
We then found out our competition had doubled: 2 more teams joined competition before the wheelbarrow contest started. While not as big of a win as our snowshoe relay, we took second place and felt our performance was still strong.
We barely had time to catch our breath before the next event.
Luckily, during tail tag, we recouped some of our losses. Desmond and Guthrie had particular talent for tail tag that helped the H-J connection come out for the win of this round.
All of our hard work paid off: we were in first! Unfortunately, we were tied with our arch nemesis, Team Ramrod. Our tie breaker was a foot race through the fluffy snow, and we won only by the fantastic dive ending by Guthrie. We were all glad he is so lanky in that moment.
Needless to say, our win was worth more than just 15 Cragun’s dollars. Here are some video clips of us reflecting on our victory. Training for Winter Survivor 2010 will start next week.
Other highlights of the Cragun’s weekend included a big Cranium match, snowshoeing and skiing, making and eating some delicious chili, and hanging out at the pool.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Happy Holidays 2009!
Happy Holidays from the Jenson household! Hard to believe we have only been married for a few months now, as we have settled into a routine, and it feels like we have always been together. A first Christmas letter as a married couple feels like a big step towards adulthood…I’m sure we will feel like real adults someday!
We feel like the past few months have flown by. As many of you know, we were married August 1 of this year. After months of planning, we were so happy to have a relaxing, beautiful day at the Gibbs Farm in St. Paul. We really loved the time we spent with friends and family, eating good food, listening to beautiful music, and becoming an official family, in the eyes of the state of Minnesota. After the wedding we spent a week in Door County, Wisconsin, staying in a really cute little cabin in the woods. We got to hike, bike, paint, talk, laugh, and sleep in! It was beautiful, fun and relaxing, just what we needed before we dove head first into lots of other changes.
Desmond quit his job at Wells Fargo Investments and started his first semester at William Mitchell College of Law, a long time dream of his. It has been a challenge but it has also been fun and interesting. Desmond is particularly enjoying his Property class and has been excelling at legal writing and client interviewing. He has already met some interesting people and has been really enjoying his new career direction. Hard to believe the first semester flew by so fast!
Allison is already halfway through her school year! She is teaching Special Education and is working with some of her same students from last year which has been both a joy and a challenge. This year, she is also the head coach for the debate team which has given her a chance to meet lots of new people. While exhausting, it has been a fun endeavor. Allison is excited to be on the home stretch of her Master’s Degree! She hopes to finish classes at Hamline this summer and to finish the degree next December. Needless to say, we are both excited for the extra free time—and the extra income—finishing the Master’s degree will provide.
Walt the cat has settled into married life as well. He is enjoying life in suburban Saint Paul, now that he has much more room to explore and play than he ever had in our little Minneapolis apartment! He is recovering from a bout with bladder crystals that were causing him a lot of pain. A quick trip to the vet and some medicine and he is on the mend. He’s really enjoying having Desmond home on his break—6 whole weeks of someone to play with all day!
So, what’s next for the newest Jenson household? We have been learning how to cook new dishes together and really enjoying taking on new things together. Desmond already has changes planned for our vegetable garden next summer. We are hoping to find time for a trip out to the East coast this summer, and are looking forward to exploring some new places, seeing some family and friends, and finally trying the famous New York pizza. We are gearing up for another semester of classes and work and really excited for a break to see our families and celebrate the holidays with them.
We hope this letter finds you well! We are sending warm thoughts your way, all the way from chilly Minnesota! Please enjoy the pictures, and check back often, as we will try to pass on our life happenings to our loved ones near and far here on our blog.
Much love!
Desmond and Allison
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Wedding Photos
Here is some links to our wedding photos for all to enjoy.
Wedding and Dinner
Dance
Miscellaneous
Honeymoon
Wedding and Dinner
Dance
Miscellaneous
Honeymoon
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Welcome!
We wanted to create this blog to keep the people we love, near and far, close to us and what we are doing. We recently got married, August 1, and we have had a lot of fun starting our lives together. This way we can keep everyone in the loop and share pictures and stories with people all around the country--and the world!
Allison just started her second year teaching at Highland Park High School in St. Paul. She teaches in the school's special education department, working with children with emotional disabilities. She loves it--she is always looking for ways to better teach her students. Desmond just started his first year of law school at William Mitchell in St. Paul. Law school is tough, but Desmond is working hard to reach his goal of working as an attorney.
Outside of school and work, we are enjoying spending time together in a house we are renting in South Saint Paul, a suburb of St. Paul. This past summer we started a vegetable and flower garden in the backyard, and we loved choosing the plants and growing our garden--and we are especially enjoying eating our produce! Desmond has also started carefully planning our garden for next year. We have also been enjoying being able to cook and bake together, making everything from sourdough bread to pot roast to chicken soup. When we have time, we love exploring the twin cities and taking off on weekend road trips.
We are excited to post pictures and stories for everyone to enjoy! Please respond to let us know how you are doing!
Love,
Desmond and Allison
Allison just started her second year teaching at Highland Park High School in St. Paul. She teaches in the school's special education department, working with children with emotional disabilities. She loves it--she is always looking for ways to better teach her students. Desmond just started his first year of law school at William Mitchell in St. Paul. Law school is tough, but Desmond is working hard to reach his goal of working as an attorney.
Outside of school and work, we are enjoying spending time together in a house we are renting in South Saint Paul, a suburb of St. Paul. This past summer we started a vegetable and flower garden in the backyard, and we loved choosing the plants and growing our garden--and we are especially enjoying eating our produce! Desmond has also started carefully planning our garden for next year. We have also been enjoying being able to cook and bake together, making everything from sourdough bread to pot roast to chicken soup. When we have time, we love exploring the twin cities and taking off on weekend road trips.
We are excited to post pictures and stories for everyone to enjoy! Please respond to let us know how you are doing!
Love,
Desmond and Allison
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