The Surprise Visit!!

Last week we took a spring break trip to Rochester, Minnesota, of all places, and surprised our long-lost friends that used to live next door to us in Baltimore. They had no idea we were coming and it was hallarious to see their reactions when we showed up. Only the Cheneys would still be our friends after pulling a prank like that.

Ryley and Saffi, reunited again!!

They even had to sleep in the same bed they were so excited to be together.

Jensen and Schaffer got to be buddies too. Painting eachother's toe nails is a fun thing to do.

And we finally got to meet Violet, the recent addition to the Cheney family!

Trying out the Fly-Bar. It's a Mega pogo stick. Tons of fun.

We also got to go see how to tap maple syrup trees. It was really interesting! Did you know that it takes 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of maple syrup? We tasted the sap right out of the tree and it's not sweet at all. It's like water. Not what I was expecting.

We had promised the girls we were going to go swimming, but the pool wasn't open, so we let them wear their swimming suits to the bouncy gym.

It was a trip worthy of a "commemorative pose"

We love the Cheneys!! Yeah!!

Botanical Gardens

In an effort to escape winter for a little while, we went to the botanical gardens here in Baltimore. There are 4 rooms- a desert, tropical, mediteranian, and an orchid room. Ryley said the cactuses were her favorite. I like the tropical part cause it was nice and warm. Jensen wanted to go swimming in the little pond, and nearly succeeded. It was fun, and best of all, it was free!

The Valentine's Day Gift

Ammon got a new wife for Valentines Day.
Isn't she cute!


It was a suprise, I didn't tell Ammon I was getting it cut. He was definitely surprised! But I think he likes it. I have the hair in a bag here at home and I'll be sending all 16 inches to Pantene- they make cancer patient wigs, like Locks of Love.

Uncommon Home Repairs

Juliana sat down a little too overzealously and broke the toilet seat.
I guess it's time to loose some weight. Who wants a wooden toilet seat anyway??



A few weeks ago we had gas leak in front of our apartment. Of course our heat and cooking is all gas and it was the coldest week of the winter.

John's Hopkins

Even though Ammon is still at Hopkins doing his phD in Biophysics, he goes to a different campus than when he did his Masters in Biomedical Illustration. The other one was called the "Medical campus" and this is the "Homewood campus." Apparently this campus has all the money cause it's a LOT nicer than the other one. They have a gym with a pool, raquet ball courts, a rock wall. There's an art museum that's free right on campus (which we've been to 4 times already). And the buildings are just nicer.


visiting daddy at school!

Doesn't Ammon look happy to be at school.

Snow!!!

Finally!! Some Snow!!



What is this stuff?!

OOoooo! I LIKE snow!!

ok, I don't like it anymore. I'm cold!

First tracks through the powder! Sweet!

Ryley's excited, but Jensen looks pretty terrified.

The snow was light, but still stuck together.

Perfect for making a snowman!

Christmas in California

Christmas at the Jensen's house in San Francisco



Good eatin' at Grandma Jensen's house





Overlooking the bay at the ruins of Sutro Heights
Thanks for showing us a good time Grandma and Grandpa Jensen!

Fun with cousin Olivia!

Cute Cousins, hangin' out at the ranch in Susanville to visit Auntie Em and Bob (and family) and the Peters family who came all the way from Samoa! Yeeeeee Haw!

Horseback Riding on Greta's horse, named Gizmo

PaPa Jensen, king of the Umu

We made an Umu in honor of Uncle Albert, our favorite Samoan, who recently passed away.

The Turkey cooked in one hour! Amazing!

A great day on the beach! Good thing the Aquarium was too packed to visit.

We love uncle Jake and Jared!

Kelp Jump Rope on the beach

We read a Dutch story about wooden shoes, so we left them on the doorstep, and look what happened!

Barrel o' Monkeys for Jensen

Juliana at the helm, sailing in the backyard lagoon.

Jensen LOVES to sail!

Jake and Jared LOVE to fish! A nice size flounder! Yum-Yum!

We love to feed the ducks from the dock out back.

Finally, a family photo with everybody!! Even Jake's cute girlfriend, Jenny!

It was a great trip, and a wonderful Christmas! Many Thanks to Mom and Dad Jensen for flying us out!!