Close Encounters of the Keeler Kind!

In addition to all our Jensen visitors, some Keeler visitors came into town. Will, Courtney, Whitney, Rachel, and Megan came to visit us for Gideon’s blessing.

Magnus had a blast alternately being entertained by and terrorizing his cousins.

Gideon in his snazzy outfit.

After church we were able to get some nice pictures of everybody. Although there were too many of us to get pictures in the house, so we had to brave the cold to get our photos.

Aren’t we a good looking group?

And because it was Gideon’s blessing day, we made sure we got some good photos of him.

We had our cracker feast (which in recent years has happened on New Year’s Eve, but due to illness, was rescheduled).

Then my mom and dad came for a quick visit. We had fun going out for dinner and ice cream and being “slouchy on the couch-y” as Dana calls it.

Thanks for coming to visit us and showing us a good time! We love our family!

Steen Wanted to See Mountains Again

One of the things Dana’s brother, Steen, wanted to while he was visiting from Florida was to go skiing. So, Steen, Dana, and Ivan headed up to Timberline on Mt. Hood. It was a beautiful, clear day.

The snow was pretty good. And we found some spots that were very clear of people.

Hurray for a great day in the snow.

Christmas Happened!

Merry (very late – sorry!) Christmas from the Jensens!

We have had a packed holiday season, but we’ve loved seeing everybody.

We were especially blessed with our newest Christmas present, Gideon.

We got to meet Santa at the Ward primary breakfast.

And our cousins came to visit us from Florida!

We constructed edible structures in holiday colors (and they were delicious).

Christmas Eve we spent at Else’s house where there was an awful lot of running around and opening of presents.

We went back to our house and made sure to leave some treats for Santa and his reindeer.

Christmas day, we went down to Ivan and Terry’s in Salem and spent more time visiting the family.

New Year’s Eve we spent at Else’s and finished off the night with bubbly and merry-making.

Thanks, everybody, for making this a memorable year! We love you guys!

Under a Veil of Ice

For at least a week we had very cold temperatures everyday where it was in the thirties or lower (more often lower). I really like seeing waterfalls with the ice build up, so I headed to the Gorge. Ruth decided to stay home where it would be warmer.

My first stop was Latourell Falls, one we like to frequent. I looked very nice. I took the trail to Upper Latourell Falls and saw some great ice formations.

I like to see how the constant spray from the falls layers the ice in interesting ways. Especially on the plants. Notice the moss on a tree, or the little stick with the ice sail.

And the ice behind the waterfall made some cool shapes.

Next I took the short hike to Bridal Veil Falls. This is one I have only seen when it is all green

Horsetail Falls had a really neat looking rock wall with ice.

My last stop was Elowah Falls, where we went a few weeks ago. The ice formations were the best here. Elowah Falls is set farther back in its canyon and is better protected from the wind. By the time I had gotten here the temperature had gotten to 37°F, so a lot of the more delicate ice structures were melting and falling off things. While I was looking at the waterfall, a very large piece of ice broke off from the top and fell the 200 ft. to the bottom. There was a loud boom when it hit, then a shock wave shook all the tree causing more ice to fall. It was awesome.

The bridge was quite a sight. It had been transformed in to a sheet of ice.

And the ice dome the water created was pretty big.

Some cool plants that look like a bit alien: