Jentzsch Junction

Hawaii Vacation

2009-10-19T21:41:00.009-06:00

Melissa and I spent a week on the island of Oahu in Hawaii (without the kids). We traveled there with Melissa's Uncle Milton, his wife Alessandra and her brother Andre and his wife Jana. There we stayed at Milton's Marriott timeshare in Ko' Olina... absolutely amazing!

Sunset from the resort we stayed at in Ko Olina

Snorkeling at Hanauma Bay was amazing. We spent several hours here, chillin' on the beach and exploring the water full of sea life. One of our favorite days in Hawaii.

Every morning we had a great spread of fresh fruits for breakfast.

The girls all dressed up in Waikiki

While at Waikiki beach we saw some sweet g-strings. This one has haunted me ever since, but I couldn't help but share it.

Visiting the temple at Laie & Polynesian Cultural Center. The temple is closed for renovation so we just took a picture and headed to the PCC.
=
(Was it wrong to show the picture of the temple right after the g-string?)

Our guy "Cap", he's some tribal chief. A tough dude considering he's only 5' 3''

What's up with the Samoans hitting on the women!?!

Love eating fresh coconut and drinking pina coladas.

..."LOST"
Heaven forbid we go hiking where all the other tourists go... NO. We got an tip for a waterfalls that only locals go to. Right before heading up the trail a guy living in the neighborhood warned us that it had been raining and the river which would normally only be ankle deep could have fast rapids and be waste deep. When you hear about people getting washed away due to flash floods... it because people like us don't listen!

A little depper than Melissa expected.

Good thing they had "Indiana Jentzsch" to lead the way.

Yes! That's a 1-month old baby and some idiot twenty-year olds crossing the river. We figured we might as well help or they all would have been swept away.

Any moment I was expecting to be attacked by the "others" or have a giant black smoke grab Milton and carry him off into the jungle.

2 hours later we arrived at the waterfalls. By this time we were feeling a bit cold and damp after crossing the river 3 times. But it was an amzaing spot.

Until Alessandra stepped on a large piece of glass and cut her foot quite deep.
Nothing a trip to the hospital and several stitches could fix... oh yeah after we hiked back out of this place first.

We had a blast though!

I think they handed Milton the ER bill on his way out the door, but obvisouly the pain medication is working great for her.

Parker's B-Day and 24th of July weekend

2009-07-26T11:23:00.013-06:00

On the 24th we got hooked up with sweet front row seats at the Real Salt Lake soccer game. The kids loved being so close to the field

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We were allowed onto the field to watch the fireworks show. Way cool!

Saturday July 25th was Parker's birthday. We had friends and family over for a swimming party and lunch.

Dylan and Parker enjoying a little Soy Ice Cream.

Brendon started taking tennis lessons this summer. It began with Wii tennis and has moved ot the outdoor court.

Dylan is having a SUPER summer of his own.

2009-07-25T18:58:00.002-06:00

Most people didn't know that Gary and I started out as mortal enemies.

Later in life we joined forces to keep the street of St.George safe.

Random Summer Fun

2009-07-08T22:17:00.017-06:00

4th of July in Phoenix - Who says a parade can't be fun in 117 degree weather...

Cove Fort

Eagle Mountain Days

Jasmin performs in the Play "Enchanted"

Brendon scored several goals in soccer this season

Melissa officially runs her 1st 5K

Family Trip to Moab, Goblin Valley and Arches National Park

2009-05-19T22:48:00.032-06:00

This year we decided to visit Moab, Utah and some of the surrounding sites. This is a part of the state we'd never been to as a family. We weren't exactly sure what to expect, but it turned out to be one of the most enjoyable family getaways yet!

The 1st night we pitched the tent and camped in Green River. The next morning we made the 30 minute drive to Goblin Valley State park. After playing in the Valley of the Goblins for a few hours we headed to Moab.

In Moab we "camped" in cabins at the Moab KOA. Being that this was our family's first camping trip I didn't want to push it with three straight nights in a tent. We enjoyed cruising around Moab, checking out the stores and visiting a couple of restaurants. Most of the time we spent in Arches National Park. Here we hiked, explored and go lots of physical activity in. Even Dylan and Parker did great on on the hikes.

The famous Delicate Arch is the the background. This is the Arch seen on the Utah Centenial license plate.

Goblin Valley: All these pictures are from the Valley of the Goblin. This state park was great for the kids to run around, climb all over and take tons of pictures. What a blast!

Camping in Green River

We spent 2 days hiking Arches National Park. There we saw several major arches including: Broken Arch, Sand Dune Arch, Double Arch (one of out favorites), North & South windows and Turret Arch.

Paying Respect to Grandma Margaret

2009-05-17T23:17:00.004-06:00

On the way back from Arches and Moab we took the scenic route through Gunnison and Manti
to visit Grandma's old house, the Manti temple and Grandma and Grandpa Raymond's resting place. Her house looked like it's been well taken care of, although no where as nice as she kept it. The chicken-coop in the back is still in tact and I almost went to "use it" for old time sake. I'm sure I represent all the cousin when I say how much we all miss Grandma.

Weekend in Southern Utah with Grandma Suzie and Grandpa Dale. Their Mission Farewell.

2009-05-03T22:03:00.006-06:00

From Sun to Snow

2009-02-16T21:11:00.010-07:00

After enjoying several weeks in Brazil (pictures coming soon), we returned to reality and the cold of Utah. Over President's Day weekend we decided to take advantage of this snowy state and get out and do some sledding. This is the first time we took the whole family.
The Happy Family

Parker takes his sledding very serious

Jasmin is all about looking cute

Brendon thinks this is the Greatest Snow on Earth

Dylan prefers sledding with Dad

"D' Boyz" having a blast

Mom and Parker just can't get enough

'Tis the Season... plus other fall fun

2008-12-13T18:42:00.014-07:00

2008 Scarecrow Festival

2008-10-19T19:01:00.010-06:00

Cornbelly's Corn Maze at Thanksgiving Point

2008-10-05T13:01:00.011-06:00

While Melissa was in Salt Lake at the Genreal Woman's Conference I took the kids to play at Thanksgiving Point.

BYU Games 2008

2008-10-05T12:23:00.005-06:00

So far the 2008 BYU Football season has been a blast. This is Brendon's second year coming to the games and Jasmin's first year. All games have been sold out and it's been tons of fun going to games with the kids.

2008-09-01T17:51:00.003-06:00

Doug & BJ getting ready for the August 30th BYU Game

Nielsen Family Reunion

2008-09-01T17:45:00.004-06:00

Grandma Suzy and Aunt LaRae did a great job. Thanks!

Parker attacks the cake and wins...

2008-07-28T23:29:00.002-06:00

Parker's 1st Birthday

2008-07-28T23:25:00.001-06:00

Friday July 25th was Parker's birthday... he's 1 year old! We had a little get together with dinner and cake. He loved making a mess of the cake.

Next week we're having a big bbq and another party with extended friends and family.

2008-07-28T23:24:00.000-06:00

2008-07-28T23:23:00.000-06:00

We are the Biggest Losers...

2008-07-12T13:28:00.002-06:00

Melissa and I joined a group of 10 people to be in a "Biggest Loser" contest. We started March 1st and went for 13 straight weeks. On June 30th at the final weigh in she'd lost 34 lbs and I lost 60 pounds. We took the $1,000 we won and went on a cruise from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas.

After

2008-07-12T13:26:00.001-06:00

Before

2008-07-12T13:22:00.001-06:00

February 2008

4th of July / Birthday Weekend

2008-07-06T23:35:00.005-06:00

As always I milked my birthday and turned it into a 4 day event. Thursday the 3rd Brendon, Jasmin and I went to the Real Salt Lake game and saw fireworks afterwards. Thursday the 4th was BBQ, waterfight and fireworks with Grant Thomas and his family. Saturday... more chillin' and grillin'. I had a guys night out watching a little UFC with my friends from SLC and one visiting California. Finally, Sunday was more food and family with Jody, Dave and the cousins.

For my birthday Melissa pimped my ride. She suggested getting my windows tinted and having my red rims put on. It might look ghetto, but I like it! No, I love it!

Happy New Year

2008-01-02T21:23:00.000-07:00

Happy New Year.
Just to update you all, Melissa is doing much better. I took several days off over the holiday to enjoy time with the family. We had tons of fun. On New Year's Eve we had some awesome steaks BBQed on the grill, it was a freezing 15 degreees outside, but the heat from the grill kept me warm. So much meat was leftover that we hadn't cooked so I ended up grilling the rest tonight. End 2007 and start 2008 with some BBQ... now that's a good sign!

Vertigo

2007-12-11T11:54:00.001-07:00

I wanted to fill everyone in on what happened on Monday December 10th.

Around 8 o’clock this morning just as I was about to leave, when my wife Melissa began calling me in a panic. She was sitting in a glider chair feeding the baby when she began to feel disoriented and extremely dizzy. I helped her to the floor thinking she was just light-headed. Even once on the floor she felt as if the world was spinning around her and then nausea set in, her entire body trembling. The symptoms became severe enough that I called 911 and an ambulance took her to the AF hospital. While the EMTs strapped her to the gurney, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was falling and had no sense of direction up or down.

I got the kids situated and quickly caught up with her at the hospital. We spent over six hours in the hospital while they performed several tests including a CAT scan. The doctor diagnosed her with a several case of what he called Peripheral Vertigo. She is back at home now and the medicine they gave her at the hospital has kept her heavily sedated most of the evening. We’ve tried to give her the prescribed medication (for nausea and dizziness) but she’s having trouble keeping them down.

For now she’ll continue to rest; I’ll monitor her Monday and Tuesday. I have made arrangement for Wednesday and Thursday to have someone stay with her each of those days as needed.

Please keep us in your prayers!

Band Wagon

2007-12-04T20:25:00.000-07:00

After very little time and consideration I have finally decided to start a blog. I honestly am not sure what the fascination is, but I'm sure I'll soon find out... or not and give up the whole thing. The truth is I'm just doing it to impress girls (Melissa and Jasmin of course). Plus blogging is another excuse to not have to shovel snow off the driveway.