Denny's Daddy Daughter Date

Carmen had a night out with some friends last night, so I had Aja, Anna & Liv all to myself. I asked them what they wanted to do. They said they wanted to go to "The Pancake Place" (aka Denny's).

So I fearlessly went with the kids in tow. It's funny, when Carmen goes out with the girls she gets lots of comments from strangers. The general theme is a somewhat distainful "you've got your hands full!" Uh, yeah.

Yet when I go out, I get lots of positive comments like "SUPERDAD!" or (talking to the girls) "Your dad looks like he is lot's of fun!" The bias is apparent, but I'll take it.

Anyway at Denny's on Tuesday and Saturday nights kids eat free. So, each girl got their own grand slam breakfast and the bill & tip came to $10 (now you know why we're debt free). The best part of the meal for Aja & Anna was the 5 or 6 sugar packets that they poured into their open mouths. For now, dad is a pretty cool guy.

We're Debt Free!

Except for our mortgage, for now.

Yes, Carmen--the Jensen family CFO--has helped us achieve this goal. Over the past 4 years we have eliminated our $140,000+ in student loan debt (my grad school, some of Carmen's undergrad & grad). We made our last payment on Friday.

We own our cars and have no credit card, no home equity, or any other consumer debt. It feels great.

Yeah, I know people say "why pay of student loans?...it's cheap debt & you can go into forbearance in the case of emergency." For us, we decided wanted to be fully debt free. We wanted the flexibility, we wanted the peace of mind.

So, after contributing to:
1. my 401(k) (enough to get the employer match)
2. fully funding both of our Roth IRAs (in the years we qualify), and
3. funding the girl's 529 college savings plans...
...we payed as much as we could into our student loans.

We're on a pretty strict budget. We rarely spend for frivolous wants, only needs. We have found that the best things in life are free. Sounds cliche, but I believe it's true. Walks, hikes, free days at the museum, swimming in the lake, playing low-tech games with the kids.

I'm having fun entertaining crazy ideas like giving up the rat race and moving the family to Ecuador and working as a river guide. Although Carmen would actually support it, it's not very likely. At least we can dream now.

Nature's Bounty

We've been having fun with our deck garden that we built this summer. Not only has it produced some good veggies, but it also adds lush quality to the area right outside our bedroom. looks great. Our biggest hit crops have been carrots, spinach, sage, butter leaf lettuce, romaine lettuce, and green beans. Right now the tomatoes are looking promising. We've had a few flops...broccoli, cauliflower, and cilantro. One other cool thing about it has been that Aja and Anna have really enjoyed helping out.




Here are some other photos from the summer. I realize many of you haven't seen Livee lately. Here she is. She's so super cute. She's now making animal noises and saying "mom", "dad", "Aja" and "diaper". She's a happy kid that is all over the place.

Here's a picture that I like of me and my two siblings that live in Utah right now--Rich and Heidi. They are some of my favorite people in the whole world.

TV Binge

We've been TV free for 3+ years. We got tired of our kids begging us to watch Elmo. We've found that we spend more time outdoors, interacting with friends/neighbors, reading, working on the house/yard, and actually talking to each other. We have Nexflix, so we watch a movie or TV show on DVD every now and again. It's been a great arrangement for us.

I realize most people can simultaneously have TV and a life...but I can't. It's this crazy personality trait I have to get my money's worth despite what's best for me. All-you-can-eat buffets are bad for me. I eat myself sick. Having cable TV is the same. I feel like I have to watch it to get my money's worth. Lame, I know.

Anyway, after missing major events of the last 3 years (e.g Hurricane Katrina)--we decided to get Cable for the Beijing Olympics. We plan to cancel it when they are over.

So, we got hooked up this week. It's ridiculous. Carmen and I are so distracted. We can't have a decent conversation when it's on. I watched this 3 hour countdown of the 100 greatest teen stars on VH1. I was happy to see that John Francis Daley from my favorite show Freaks and Geeks was one of the commentators. Right now we're watching a Trading Spaces marathon. We're pathetic. Bring on the Olympics!