Things of which I can hardly contain my excitement for:

I was awakened in the middle of the night 2 nights ago by the sound of thunder. I don’t know the last time that has happened.

Forrest bought us a futon for our guest room.

It has thundered, flashed lightning, and poured rained intermittently throughout the last two days and it has been glorious.

The BYU football team is practicing for a quickly approaching season (they are probably out there playing as I write this!)

The first BYU football game of the 2010 season in LaVell’s stadium is on September 4th! (I know, who ever thought I would be this crazy about football? Ah well, it was bound to happen sometime—it’s in my blood (i.e. Grandma Jenson))

I get to dust off my BYU football jersey that Forrest got me for my birthday last year and I can wear it on September 4th!

In exactly 4 weeks I will be with my sister Delys and my niece Katelyn.

My parents are going to be here in 5 days and I get an early birthday party!

The third book of the Hunger Games is coming.

I want to eat a Café Rio pork salad right now.

I watched Finding Neverland this week and cried.

A slice of Watermelon sprinkled with crystal light sounds amazing (thank you Jacob and Mary Jane for reminding me of this delight)

My little brother is serving a mission in Milan and he sent me the sweetest letter.

We are thinking of going to Atlanta for Thanksgiving!

My brother just moved to Chicago and I want to visit him!

The movie Flipped – I can’t wait.

I finished hemming half of the curtains in my house. (I would probably be completely finished if I had Blythe here with me!)

An inside joke that I have with Laura and Caitlin about scrubs (not the show).

I have almost finished reading Atlas Shrugged.

Tomorrow is Friday

Life as I know it

I love this place, even though it was cold this morning and it is June. As much as I do not necessarily want to make this my home permanently, let it be known that I do love it here.

However, I spent 4 glorious days in Texas and Beavers Bend, Oklahoma and it was over 90 degrees and nice and humid the whole time. While Forrest would have melted, I very literally reveled in the heat. It was simply heaven for my body which has been dried out and heat starved for TEN MONTHS! That is correct, the last time it was hot…I mean really hot here was last August.




It was just me and the girls in a cabin in Beavers Bend. The drive to Beavers Bend actually reminded me of Atlanta. It is gorgeous and green with long stretches of trees and beautiful sky. God truly did bless the south, I’m not going to lie. Forrest always tells me that Texas doesn’t count as “the South” and I know that it’s not the Georgia south; but let’s be honest, when you look at a map of the United States, where is Texas and Oklahoma on the map? Exactly. I like Texas because it is hot and people speak slowly and with accents. Everyone smiles at you and waves like they know you and boys refer to you as “ma’am” and “miss” and treat you like a lady. What a place.



On Wednesday, Forrest and I were able to meet Madelyn Enger for the first time. I cannot tell you what a beautiful moment it was seeing Rachell there holding her baby. I cannot tell you what a beautiful moment it was when she let me hold her baby. I wish all of you had been there, but I’m glad all of you were not because Forrest and I got to be selfish and have the Engers all to ourselves. Rachell, you are my rock and that baby is lucky to belong to you and Tim.

One last thought: I have been thinking a lot about all of my siblings (including their spouses of course) and am just amazed. Take a look at us:
Roberts: Logan, Paula, Nathan, Lindsay, Ben, Ryanne, Forrest, Elin, Russell

Engers: Tim, Rachell
Jensons: Layne, Ian, Laurel, Seth
Tylers: Delys, John

4 Mothers
4 Fathers
9 College Graduates
5 Soon to be College Graduates
3 Individuals accepted into Graduate School (2 law schools, 1 medical school)
3 Certified Teachers
4 fluent Spanish Speakers
2 fluent Portuguese Speakers
7 Return Missionaries
1 Missionary bound for Milan
2 Scout Leaders
3 Eagle Scouts (There may be more—I only know of the 3 Jenson boys)
2 Soon-to-be expert fishermen
5 High School Football Stars

1 Orthopedic Surgeon- Need I say more? I don’t know why but he is so impressive to me because school and work never ends for this guy! He works so hard and yet is so generous with his time and with what he has.

1 Owner of photography business/craft blogger/Interior Designer/ winner of “She can do anything” in Elin’s book

1 Recently promoted employee/author of a book-length manuscript that is soon to be published/reigning six degrees of Kevin Bacon champion/ Experienced Gardener/House Remodeler

1 Owner of an Arborist Business/Champion Cycler/big muscles/Outdoorsman

1 Prom King/Skilled Vocalist/High School Musical Superstar

1 almost certified nurse/playwright and actress who recently returned from Ghana/Pianist/Vocalist/ Cake decorator Extraordinaire

1 Skilled Musician (sings, plays the piano, plays the guitar and about any other instrument you give him)/plays the expert levels on Rock Band and Guitar Hero/Dancer/Winner of “Crazy Talented” in Elin’s book

1 Computer Genius/Cultured, well-read in everything, and knows way too much about art, books, music, history, etc./Winner of “Most Enjoyable to be Around” in Elin’s book

1 Best husband in the world/Geologist in training/Valevictorian/Experienced Gardener/Layer Carpet and Tile

1 Gun connoisseur/Eternal student of American History and Economics/When I met Forrest, this guy was his hero

1 Expert organizer/Half-Marathon runner/Avid reader/Winner of “Best-dressed person I know” in Elin’s book

1 Gourmet chef/Talent & Beauty Pageant Queen/History Buff/Interior Designer/pianist/vocalist

1 Expert quilter/Adventurer/Hearts Champion/ Winner of “Life of every party or gathering” in Elin’s book

1 Dancer/Adventurer/Half-Marathon Runner/Health Nut who eats lots of ice cream & frozen yogurt/Soprano/Winner of “Most amazing hair I have ever seen” in Elin’s book.

1 Businessman/lucky charm/gets hired for every job he interviews for/winner of the “Greatest Male Smile” in Elin’s book (I can’t pick my husband because he already won for best husband….)

And these are just some of the somewhat measurable qualities.....

Playing with Dolls

Did any of you ever have an American Girl Doll or a wanna-be American Girl Doll? My mum bought me Samantha for my 10th or 11th birthday (yes I still played with dolls when I was 11) and it was the joy of my life. Laurel's favorite was Felicity but she only got a wanna-be felicity doll (which, in fact, was actually prettier than the actual Felicity doll). Did you ever notice that they kind of make the AG doll's buck toothed?

Anywho, one year when I was younger, before I had or even wanted Samantha, I wanted the dream barbie. That's what she was called and she had this magnificent dress that was kind of a gold color. She was beautiful. I begged my parents to get me this dream barbie for Christmas and on Christmas morning, I opened a beautiful dream barbie look-alike. But she was very obviously NOT the one that I had seen in the Saturday morning ads that I had seen in between Saturday morning cartoons. My mum had purchased a much less expensive barbie doll and then made a dress that was similar and probably a lot better quality than the one I would have received had it been the real thing. I still remember being a little disappointed though because the dream barbie in my head was different than the one I was holding.

My mum could tell this I'm sure, so years down the road, when I wanted the "real" Samantha, she actually spent the hundred dollars on her. You can buy a bunch of dresses from the AG store for your doll, and though mum bought me the real doll, there was no way she was going to spend tons of money of a wardrobe for her. So she made me a wardrobe for Samantha which were so much better than anything we could have bought. She made Samantha a sailor dress and a party dress and a play dress...and she made me (or purchased inexpensively) furniture and accessories. You have no idea the connection I formed with that doll. It was magical.

Now my mum is making American Girl doll clothes again and she posts them on an Etsy that my aunt started. Look at these clothes! Doesn't it make you want to buy all of these dresses and play with dolls again? Seriously, the next time I am home, I am taking my Samantha and all of her clothes and bringing them back with me. Rachell, your little Madeleine/Chloe can play with her until I have a girl of my own!

On Government

I inadvertently triggered an hour long heated discussion about America’s present economy and government. Let me give you a little background. This discussion was between a professor of ancient scripture (particularly Old Testament) and ancient languages (like Babylonian, Ugaritic, and Hebrew) and an accountant. They conversed/argued about a number of issues ranging from universal healthcare, the present quality of European and Canadian economies under a socialist government, government involvement and control in civil matters and non-civil matters, the difference between a civil matter and a religious matter, government’s involvement in the housing crisis, etc. Phrases like “right wing lies,” “moral obligation,” “government forcing the people,” and “freedom of choice,” were used in abundance.

All of this because I innocently asked the accountant what he meant when he said in the course of one of our conversations that government subsidies had only inflated the housing prices. There is a lot that I do not understand about our economy and I wanted to know what the “government subsidies” were and I wanted to know how they effected the housing prices. Somewhere during our conversation, the other individual who must have heard some of the things the accountant was saying, entered the discussion with his own point of view.

It was something else, let me tell you. Probably similar conversations about the same topics occur on a daily basis, country-wide or even worldwide, but this is the first time I ever had the debate standing right next to me. I have heard both sides of the issues expressed very passionately by individuals, but never have I heard both sides in the same room at the same time. (The debates I have heard politicians participate in do not count, because no matter what side they are on, they always swing to the middle in order to please the most people…which is understandable.)

Neither individual was particularly hostile, but both were very vehement and I knew from the beginning of the conversation that neither opinion would be swayed more than a couple of inches. I know that they did not want to be considered “close-minded” but it was very difficult for either of them to give way to a concept they did not believe. In the end, the closest thing to reconciliation was the accountant stated something like “well, thank you for your comments. You have changed my opinion slightly with your perspective. Now if ‘such in such’ does happen I will be a little less unhappy about it than I previously would have been.”

Here’s what is difficult for me to swallow: both men are good. They are both religious and their desires and hopes for humankind in general are almost identical—the difference lies in the how they believe those desires and hopes should be realized. They have the same religious and moral beliefs, and both are convinced that the political party they support will do the best in supporting those beliefs. Do you not find that odd and a bit difficult to reconcile? I also noticed that one of them would say something like “Look at Germany. Under their socialist government, they are currently enjoying the best economy in the world” (and this from a man who lived in Germany years ago for an extended period of time). Then the other would say something like, “No, Germans are experiencing an economic crisis there in many respects.” Now, who is right? Both are actually very well-informed gentlemen. They both keep current on the issues and read a lot, etc. But obviously, they are getting their information from very different sources. How do you know which source is correct?

Mark Willes, CEO of Deseret Management Corporation (meaning KSL, Deseret News, etc.) spoke at our 4th annual Neal A. Maxwell Lecture last night and he entitled his remarks “Reinventing the Church’s Media Businesses”. He has a very impressive work history (he was publisher of the LA Times for awhile) and he is an incredible speaker. I enjoyed his lecture immensely and at one point, he told a story about an issue that a reporter was researching. Apparently, they had heard reports that Africans were still selling slaves to individuals who would pay high enough. Many journalists would conduct several interviews and hear different opinions and pose questions like “Is Africa still involved in a slave trade?” to a variety of individuals, perhaps some of them African government representatives. The news story would have both sides of the issue but would it be at all conclusive? However, this particular journalist asked the question “Can I purchase a slave in Africa” and then took two individuals, one Caucasian and one African-American, and sent them to Africa to see if they could obtain the answer to that question. They did. They bought two boys who had been taken from their mother by slave traders (the boys, of course, were returned to their home). I thought that was interesting.

So what questions do I need to be asking and what actions do I need to take to find the real answers? Would I actually need to be a part of the government machine to know what’s really going on there, because honestly, I hear such different accounts from different people about government involvement? Then I hear of people living outside of the United States who love their socialist governments, and then I hear of people living outside of the United States who are not happy with their socialist government. That is not surprising- I am sure it, like any other form of government has its advantages and its disadvantages. It just makes it more difficult for me to wrap my head around it—largely because the people trying to “inform” me disagree with each other in a huge way. (Writing my frustrations down in this manner makes me feel a little bit of what it must have been like for that young 14-year old boy. Hmmmm…)

How on earth am I supposed to vote on issues and help to elect leaders and become involved with state and federal governments when I currently have no idea what I am doing, when I am not “informed” and when I do not feel prepared. I know most of the fault is my own, but I do feel, with all of the information and facts and opinions that are raining down on you incessantly, it is difficult to reach conclusions for yourself in these matters. At the same time, as I grow older, I feel an increasing sense of duty and responsibility to be involved and to become “informed” and to prepare myself to engage in these issues and help where I can. My question is how?

My mother’s father was a professor at BYU and is a fairly liberal republican and his wife is a democrat and perhaps they would have agreed with the professor who was debating in my office this morning. I am convinced that every single Roberts would have been arguing on the side of the accountant, with the same amount of fervor. My parents are Republicans on paper and issues like this were discussed in my house but it is hard for me to know exactly where my daddy stands. Anytime I said something with certainty in my voice, he always helped me to see the other side of the issue. I’m not saying he agreed with the other side—he just wanted to be sure that I knew that there were other ways of thinking. What is a girl to do?

I will tell you this much: I feel we will flourish the most as a country and as a people if we give the government the least amount of power that we possibly can. But the flourishing will only happen when we, as human beings, use our self-interest (that oh so dangerous trait that must exist to drive a capitalist society (did I get that right Nathan?)) to work hard, to use what we earn to provide for our families and to put into the economy, but then discard all self-interestedness to help those who are not able to work or function as we do live as full and happy a life as we . Which political party supports that? Is that kind of existence attainable? How do we become those kinds of people on a national level? What do we do on a community level to attain those goals?

Sounds a bit utopic and it doesn’t really allow for job shortages and a million other factors that can prevent many from being able to provide for their families.

At any rate, I am babbling—and obviously about topics that I know very little about but I just wanted to express my frustration. I am very frustrated.

I just asked Alison, who live in England for the majority of her life, what she thought about socialist governments and she told me that they never work for very long. She said that the post-war socialist government in England was nice for awhile, but things started falling apart. She has lived under a socialist government for a long time and she expressed her opinions without reservation, but very level-headedly. I appreciate that. She thinks it would be a huge mistake for United States to move towards a more socialist government.

The accountant is going to bring me a sort of “economics book for dummies.” I can’t keep up with the current issues if I don’t even know the foundational economic principles, eh?

Pictures Worth A Thousand Words

This is Forrest. Elin posted this blog and I am going to edit a bit before anybody reads it. I just want to say that my pants being wet down to me knees is a result of sitting in the front of the "boat" on Splash Mountain, and getting soaked, with water. It is not a result of anything that might have happened due to any fear I might have felt from sitting in the front of the boat.

Lessons Learned

I know Forrest was planning to post some of his wittyative observations on life and all things concerning it, so I have held off writing anything. However, Forrest is a busy man with school and work and making my breakfast and lunch in the mornings and playing intramural and church basketball and keeping up with everything else. So, I suppose I will just go for it. And, I imagine that Andrea is tired of having the picture of her that I stole from her blog featured prominently on my own miniscule piece of the worldwide web.

At any rate, I would like to share with you a few of the lessons I have learned from life in the last few months:

Despite my tallness and my seemingly tough exterior (hey, I like to think I could throw some mean punches, some fatal blows if I was ever forced to), I recently learned by doing intervals in my “Cardioblast” evening class, that I have absolutely no upper body strength.

Taking voice lessons doesn’t necessarily mean that you will ever sound like Mariah Carey or Lea Salonga—nor does it mean that your voice will actually sound any better, even if you are using your air correctly.

I owe just about everything I am to my mother and my daddy.

There are not really twenty four hours in a day. It is a lie.

Guys have it tough. Being the “provider,” the “patriarch,” the “protector”—what pressure you men have on your shoulders. I hope that I can make that pressure seem lighter for my husband rather than adding to his load.

Reading my scriptures daily and saying focused sincere prayers is the difference between a good day and a not-so-good day for me. It is actually quite miraculous really, that such small things really make a difference.

And finally, I need to say that a dream of mine that has lived in my heart for years now will soon be made reality. What a joy that a place like this actually exists and that I get to go there in less than a month! Thank you dear Walt, for making the magic happen.

Ode to Andy-Ra

I have been working on a blog little by little for the last 3 weeks. I was finally going to post it today but I am not going to anymore. Instead, I am going to direct your attention to Andrea Forsyth's blog: http://ajforsyth.blogspot.com/
Please take a moment to read the last half of her October 28th entry and then her entire November 18th entry.

I haven’t been able to stop my mind for the last week or so. It just keeps running and running and thinking about everything, almost like it is weighed down, but I am not sure what it is weighed down with. I wish I could just turn it off for a few moments (but that would mean ceasing to exist, I suppose). You might be thinking that sleep gives the mind a break. Yes, usually that is the case, but for me, for the last 6 months, sleep is anything but liberating to my mind. You should see some of the things I dream—and not just one dream a night—SEVERAL! And I remember them when I wake up. Anywho, so my mind has been endlessly running over so many things, but then today, I read Andrea’s blog about her father-in-law, and I just felt….well, like some of the burden was lifted off my head. I am not quite sure why.

You really should read her blog all the time. It is extremely amusing (of course I just made you read the serious blogs she wrote).

But let me give you a little background. Andrea Miller is my hero and she has been ever since I met her after I moved to Allen, Texas 12 years ago. She is warm, funny, compassionate, and very, very smart. She introduced me to Eric Clapton, Collin Raye, Yesterday (by the Beatles of course), Bread (the band), George Strait, and countless other musicians and their music. To put it plainly, she vastly expanded my horizons when it comes to music.

When we were just 14, we decided who we were going to marry, that we were going to be next door neighbors on the France/Germany border, and that our children would call us Aunt Annie and Aunt Ellie (and speak both German and French, of course). She loves going on walks and she loves good food, so that’s what we did together. We walked, we talked, and we cooked and talked, and we ate and talked. We were in choir together in 9th grade and the teacher loved us and let us do whatever we wanted. So we wrote notes to each other and went to a practice room often in the middle of choir period to play the piano and sing songs from the Methodist hymnal that was randomly housed in that room. Our families went camping together and we’d walk outside and eat some more.

She is innovative and can do marvelous things with simple, raw materials—like duct tape, for instance. Her commentary on just the normal, everyday things going on around her is priceless. We were roommates our sophomore year of college and she made the most delicious foods and we would eat them and never gain weight…well, almost never. Homemade caramel popcorn, apple and cherry pastries, chocolate chip cookies, spice cakes—oh how I miss those days.

Physically, she is absolutely stunning. She is beautiful, but if she knows, she never lets it show. Honestly, when we were 14 and at EFY together (the only one we ever went to, in fact) our male counselor, Lane, couldn’t take his eyes off of her and always talked about how gorgeous her big, brown eyes were. Yeah, a little awkward seeing as she was 14 or 15 years old and he was at least 21! But that’s just to give you an idea….(And the boys all thought she was beautiful despite the fact that we were just beginning to experiment with make-up and we look like apparitions.) Basically, Andrea is Sandra Bullock in While You Were Sleeping but even better than that!

But you know what, when I think of Andrea, I think of a girl that we knew in our ward at the Riv. Standing in a crowd with the rest of the girls in that ward, this young woman was instantly noticeable. She stuck out. She was very different and it was obvious to me and everyone else. In a room crowded with people, Andrea is the one who finds this girl, the wallflower, and draws her outside of herself and makes her feel worthwhile. Though I sure wouldn’t mind looking like Andrea, having her wit, having her culinary skills, and having countless other attributes that belong to her, I think above all, I wish I had her ability to walk into a room, see someone’s need and then take care of it without drawing any unnecessary attention. I wish all of you knew her.