Ryker McKay Jensen

Time to blow the dust off this blog and get things going again. After all, isn't the birth of our third son reason enough to break out the 'ol keyboard again? Ryker McKay was born on April 11 at 6:38 AM. He weighed 8 lbs. 6 oz.. Today was his scheduled birthday--Alice was scheduled for a C-section this morning, but he came 8 days early!

So far, he has been our easiest baby (knock on wood). He was fussy at the hospital due to gas, but has totally mellowed out since coming home. He eats, sleeps, and just quietly sits around when he's awake. He has already smiled a ton and his brothers just adore him. Tommy and Jonas are always following him and then giving him hugs and kisses whenever he is within their reach.

We thought of the name Ryker McKay several months ago, though we didn't finalize it as his name until 3 days after he was born. Our main other choice was Hyrum, as I've always wanted a Hyrum and it has taken me several years to convince Alice to let me use that name (that's why Tommy and Jonas aren't Hyrum, Alice wasn't yet sold on using such a classic yet strong name). As this is our third boy, it may potentially be our last boy or even last child. With Alice having to have C-sections, the number of kids we can have is limited depending on how well her scar tissue heals from each C-section. Due to that fact, I simply wanted to be sure that we could potentially let Hyrum go as a name. Though we eventually settled on Ryker, we both agreed that if we have another boy it will be Hyrum.

Another reason for the hold-up was that the name Hyrum has a lot of meaning behind it, whereas Ryker simply sounds cool. Both Thomas and Jonas have names that have significance behind them in our families as well as the meaning of the name itself. With Ryker, we actually got led to that name through the middle name, which has more significance. McKay is his middle name, and it is after David O. McKay. I did a good amount of research about President McKay about 2 years ago and was amazed at his remarkable life. During the course of my research, I thought it would be appropriate to use the name McKay for a future son. Alice agreed, and about a year later she came home and said "How about Ryker McKay?" The two seemed to go together really good, and so we have held onto it for a while.

After 8 days, mother and baby are doing good. Alice is recovering nicely and Ryker is a truly wonderful addition to our home. Thank you everyone for your well wishes!

Hiking the Alps...Right in Utah

My friend and I hiked the peak known as the Pfeifferhorn as well as the Little Matterhorn. It is so called for its resemblance to the high and rocky peaks of the Matterhorn and other high peaks in the Alps. While not the highest peak in the local Lone Peak Wilderness range (that's Mt. Timpanogos), it is a much more grueling and, as such, a much more rewarding hike than the busy trails leading to Timp.

We took off early in the morning and made great time, reaching the mid way point at Red Pine Lake in only a couple hours (the Lake from my last posting, with Alice). The Lake is the midway point distance wise, although timewise and elevation wise it's not even a third of the challenge. There are no trails or markers past the lake that lead the way. It was quite a challenge but quite exhilirating. Much of it involved climbing up huge talus fields and large boulders, moving at a snail's pace to avoid tripping or twisting your foot and tumbling on some of the razor sharp rock edges. Once we reached the saddle, we could see the peak in the distance and we both thought it would be impossible to reach. It looked quite daunting and we both began having second doubts about completing what we set out to do, quickly justifying the hike as already rewarding enough. We pushed on nonetheless, admitting that we would turn around if we felt like it. Well, that never came and as we got closer it looked challenging, but we pushed on. Much of the climb is on slopes that are well over 50 degrees, you were nearly laying on the ground while vertically ascending. The view, however, was awesome. We even got cell phone reception from the top! We were also comforted by several large alpine valleys nearby suitable for a LifeFlight landing if the need arose.
After enjoying the view, we began our descent. This is where some poor decisions led to some sticky situations and a potential overnighter in the middle of the wilderness. More on that to come....

A Day Without the Kids!

And what do we do? A difficult hike that we couldn't possibly do with them! It was a strenuous hike that climbed 2500 feet in 2.5 miles but it was well worth it. Not only were the views along the entire trail gorgeous, but once we reached Red Alpine Lake we felt extremely fulfilled for the great efforts we exerted to get to the top. We had planned on hiking to the summit of a peak called the Pfeifferhorn, but Alice was just too exhausted to go any further so we enjoyed lunch and some leisure time exploring around the lake and enjoying its beauty. By the way, the water was WAY green, the pictures don't do the color justice.

Jesus or George Washington?

So this morning I gave Tommy an Independence Day gift of a George Washington gold dollar on a special matte with information about our first President. In my efforts to be a productive father, I figured I would take advantage of the opportunity to begin teaching Tommy about our country and the President's who have served it. It went well and he had good recall about what I taught him. A short time later, in my fatherly pride, I called the grandparents to show off my son's new found knowledge of naming the first President of our country. After asking Tommy the question and handing over the phone, he proudly declared that our first President was "Jesus!" Somewhat surprised, I asked him again, to which he gave me the same response. When I tried to correct him by saying "George Washington was our first President," he quite firmly and with great confidence assured me, "No daddy, it was Jesus." And thus throughout the day, Tommy has been telling us that Jesus was our first President. Apparently we are one nation much more under God than we initially believed.

ANSWER: The absolute BEST television show of all time IS......

THE WONDER YEARS! Unfortunately, this isn't on any TV stations right now and there are no plans to bring it out in any format for the consumer to purchase. It probably won't be available to buy for a long time. The difficulty is due to all of the great music in every episode, it's way too expensive to buy the rights to sell the episodes with the original music. Too bad, although I have the entire series on my computer hard drive, and YES, it pretty much takes up all my space. I recorded all the episodes a few years back when it was being re-run on ION television.

Anyways, isn't this just a classic show? There are so many feel good, warm and fuzzy moments, and they outnumber any awkward or uncomfortable moments about a hundred to one. What junior high guy didn't have a crush on Winnie Cooper? And what girl didn't have a crush on Paul....okay, well, maybe not that many. But didn't Kevin's relationships with his family just mirror our own? His less than perfect family was just that, less than perfect and so they were much more easy to relate to. Remember the episode called "Heroes," where the basketball star befriends Kevin and yet by the end of the episode, Kevin and his dad are sharing a soda at a restaurant and Kevin reflects on why his dad is his hero? And who can forget Mr. Collins, the beloved math teacher. My favorite episode of the series is the one where he takes Kevin under his wing and then passes away unbeknownst to Kevin who turns bitter due to a missed study session and intentionally fails his math test. Yet, Mr. Collins made it possible for Kevin to retake his test and once he finishes it, he tells the principal, "You don't have to grade it, it's an A." Then, when walking out of the room, he turns to the desk and tells the empty chair, "Good job, Mr. Collins." (Geez, I'm getting a little misty-eyed just typing about it).We need more shows about real life, not television life. Shows that, at their heart, are not only about the relationships of the characters they portray, but try to make those relationships easily applicable to the lives of the viewers as well. The Wonder Years was a show that almost helped you growing up, and then when viewing it later it causes you to swell with nostalgia and feel overcome with gratitude for all the good that was around us during our lives growing up. And yeah, it even helped us remember the bad times but also what we learned from them. This is a show that I am looking forward to watching with my own kids as they grow up and I hope they learn a thing or two about how to live a good life and not expect everything to be perfect, but realize that it can at least be good despite what goes on around us.

The absolute BEST television show of all time.....

Any guesses? Anyone? It's not recent, it's a classic. Think 20 years ago. Think upon a show of nostalgia and warmth, a show of humor yet emotional resonance and power. You can be laughing one minute and crying the next. A show that everyone can relate to, of a young boy growing up at Robert F. Kennedy Junior High, and eventually high school. A show about a boy who we can all relate to, a show whose episodes seemed to always be a reflection on our own lives, that left us saying to ourselves, "That's so true!" This show was about the relationships that we experience as we grow up...family, friends, teachers. So do you give up? The show I'm talking about is...... I'm actually not going to reveal it just yet, I'd like to see what your guesses are! Stay tuned for the answer once I receive a few guesses!

More Fun in the Sun!

Today found us playing some more up American Fork Canyon! It's amazing how close we live to such a gorgeous canyon. We were going to do the Silver Lake hike but none of the books we read about it in mentioned that the dirt road to get there is pretty rocky and bumpy. After a few good scrapes, we turned around and found another hike. I love the top picture because you can see Tommy's dandelion that he held the whole time! Tommy loved riding in his "piggyback" and daddy sure got a workout hauling him AND our lunch and other gear in the pack as well. It felt great! We love being in nature and listening to the noises, the running water, all the birds, and especially the occasional car passing by on the Alpine Loop highway (okay, not so much the cars). Jonas slept most of the time in his snuggli with Alice. If anyone has a 4WD or slightly higher clearance vehicle (Jeep or something) and would like to do a beautiful hike to a high Alpine Lake, let us know and we'd love to bum a ride with you! The hike is Silver Lake in American Fork Canyon (google it for pictures) and is only a 2 to 3 hour hike, but gorgeous! We love going up the Canyon and have an annual pass, so if anyone wants to go for free, just let us know and we can tag along and get you in!