Jensen Family History - 2024
Jase, Ellen, Evan, Eli, and Elsie
As always, another busy year is on the books! It seems like every year when I sit down to write our histories I realize just how much we accomplished and how much occurred in such a short time frame. I hope the trend continues year after year and we continue to see growth for each person in our family.
Winter always seems to be the time of year when the least happens. I blame the snow up here. It makes it so I just want to stay home and not start on anything too crazy. One big change we made at the very start of the year though was Ellen changing careers. After completing her Masters Degree at the end of last year (she got to walk in April of this year), she decided she wanted a change from being a financial advisor’s assistant and that she wanted more time with the boys. So, she let her boss know that she would be quitting. It had been a great job for her so it was hard to let that extra income stream go, but we knew we wanted to have another baby soon and it would be good for her to be home with the boys more and not be so busy. However, her boss is always starting new endeavors and invited her to be a business partner in a small marketing business with a few others. With her new degree, it has been exciting for Ellen to gain some experience in the marketing world and have more time than before. Ellen got her first payout in December (2024), which was so exciting. Ellen also only has to put in a few hours each week, which gives her more time at home with the boys. So far it seems like a perfect fit!
In March we also made the big decision to change homes and rent from Ellen’s parents in Daybreak. There were a lot of reasons for this decision including saving on rent, saving on gas for commutes (we are much closer to everything now), and having an upstairs with a yard instead of a basement. It has been so nice to have a small backyard where the boys can go out and play whenever they want. It’s fenced-in, so they can do their own thing for the most part. It has turned out to be a great fit! It has also been a big year for Suzanne and Dean (Ellen’s parents), and they now both work together for the same company in Idaho. Because of that, they only live in the house on the weekends, which means we have almost the whole house to ourselves during the week. I had my worries that we wouldn’t like the move, and I still miss things about where we lived before, but I think it has been a good change for us overall.
In April, we found out we were pregnant! We were so excited to know we would have our next little one on the way. Later on, we found out we were having a little girl. It’s going to be so wonderful to have a little girl alongside her two big brothers. Evan and Eli have also been getting so big and it is so cute to watch them grow up! We picked out the name Elsie for our little girl. The gap between Eli and Elsie is a little bigger than it was for Evan and Eli, but it is much needed. Evan and Eli are so close together and that made some things hard. Elsie will have just over a 2-year gap from Eli, so I am sure they will still have a close relationship since that still isn’t too large of a gap.
This summer was mostly uneventful. We spent a lot of time enjoying the outdoors together as a family by going on a couple of camping trips. Camping with two toddlers is certainly a lot of work! The boys really enjoyed it though! One of the campsites we did was right next to Zions National Park and had so much open space. It felt like a true camping experience. The other one we did was near Malad Idaho on a little farm called The Crazy Cow Adventure. This one was amazing. We got to feed the farm animals and help with fun farm chores, peddle around in little peddle carts, and our campsite had a playground! This was far from the true camping experience since there were flushable toilets and running showers if wanted, but it was a perfect in-between and we will definitely be going back there next summer. We also found out that where we camped in Samaria was where my great-grandpa Evan Morse grew up! What a crazy coincidence! So on top of the camping experience, we got to go around and see all the history of where my great-grandpa grew up, as our hosts were also huge history buffs with a literal museum on the property. Very cool!
Later in the summer, I received another promotion at work and moved to our other location off of Foothill Blvd in Salt Lake City. It’s a little bit longer of a commute but worth it. I now work as a Lab Manager Associate and keep the lab at this location functioning properly. There is a lot of computer work and document writing involved, but I have also been asked to do a lot of additional certification trainings. This has been great for me and my resume. At about the same time I was offered this position, I also started working on my MBA through Western Governors University. I have always known I wanted to do it and although I knew it wouldn’t necessarily be hugely beneficial for my current job, I think it will help me in the long run and be so nice to have it done.
Since I’m in charge of writing the history this year I obviously gotta put in a plug for my laser tag tourney as well. First though, in early summer we took a family reunion trip with Ellen’s family to Estes Park, Colorado. The trip was a lot of fun for us, but the most important part was that the reunion was right next to Loveland, CO; which is where the International Laserforce Tournament I would be participating in was being held. I made Ellen go and practice at the arena with me which was so fun. In August, I went back to Loveland with my team and played non-stop laser tag for a week. The tourney-style game we play requires that each team member play a specific position. For this tourney, my team needed an Ammo Carrier, so that is what I played all tourney long. It isn’t my strong suit normally, but I was impressed with how well I was able to do there. I went with a really good team and we were able to work our way up in the losers bracket to take second place during the finals, only losing to the home team. It’s always hard to beat the home team. I thought we did exceptionally well and it was so much fun to go out there and play a strategic sport, which I feel like I haven’t done in a long time.
Autumn wasn’t too busy for us. I finished my MBA in October and it was really cool to get that done so fast. We had a baby shower for Elsie, which was put on very well by Ellen’s family. Evan also started a gymnastics class and he has been enjoying it. The boys dressed up as construction vehicles for Halloween and they were adorable. Ellen was called to be the relief society secretary in October, and so far she has loved her new calling! She is also a temple worker, though she is on medical leave until baby girl makes her arrival. I am currently a nursery leader, so I’m enjoying being in nursery with both the boys for a few more weeks until Evan moves up to Sunbeams in January!
In November we made the tough decision to surrender our cat Sweet Pea to the Humane Society. We didn’t want to, but no matter what we tried, we couldn’t seem to reduce the problems between her and Ellen’s parents’ dog. It got so bad that they both began peeing everywhere, and we finally decided to surrender her. It was hard to make that decision, but we couldn’t take good care of her, and she didn’t like living with the dog. I hope she gets adopted by another nice family!
December was full of fun family time! We had Grandpa Jensen stay with us for a good portion of a week and celebrated Christmas with the Jensens and the Bakes. We expected Elsie to join our family before the year ended, but here we are January 1st still waiting for her arrival! It has been a wonderful year and we’ve been blessed with so much and have so much to be grateful for! We can't wait to see what blessings 2025 holds for our family!
