Swenson Smiles

Dec 2011 Picture Descriptions

2012-01-07T20:38:00.000-08:00

Apparantly blogger hates me because every time I try to do something it doesn't work. I wasn't able to put captions with each picture....so here are the captions.

1. Braden and Prestond doing Taekwondo. Braden has been doing it since September and currently has an orange belt. Preston joins in whenever he feels like it.
2. Santa came to visit us at our house a week before Christmas. (Boy are some realtors nice these days.)
3. The kiddos with their new (and very large) Christmas pajamas.
4. Christmas morning right before going to church (which was almost pure torture for Preston).
5. Kari and her stocking goodies.
6. Braden and his stocking goodies.
7. And you guessed it, Preston and his stocking goodies.
8. This is a present I got from Kari. It's a pile of things she will do to be better. She got this idea because I wanted the kids to give each other a "service" gift.
9. This is the doll Kari got from Santa and a matching outfit to go with it. She thought it was an American Girl doll....but we all know how cheap Santa is at this house! Thank you K-Mart!

Dec 2011

2012-01-07T20:33:00.001-08:00

Chocolate Popcorn

2011-10-22T06:56:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago I wanted to make some chocolate popcorn for a movie night treat. As I was carefully making the chocolate sauce I ran into a stool in our kitchen (thanks to Preston pushing it into my direct path as I was hurrying across the kitchen!) Which then led to me forgetting about my sauce because my foot was numb, which led to my chocolate sauce burning, which led to me getting more upset because I just wasted an entire bag of chocolate chips, which led to Steve taking over and him making chocolate sauce, which led to me getting even more upset because his sauce looked WAY better than my sauce
The sad truth though, is that my sauce looked somewhat like that BEFORE I stubbed my toe. Good thing Steve can melt chocolate chips in a pan!

Preston!

2011-10-22T06:43:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I told the boys to clean up their room. Braden likes to divide the room and have each of them clean a side. Well a little while later Preston came down and said he was done (this has NEVER happened before). I went upstairs to check the room and Preston's side was all clean and Braden's side was a mess. Here is what the conversation sounded like between me and Preston.

Me: Did you really clean your side or did you just throw everything onto Braden's side?
Pog: I cleaned it!
Me: Really? Are you telling the truth?
Pog: Yes mom! (in an exasperated voice)
Me: Really? I may not know if you are telling the truth but Heavenly Father knows.
Pog: Mom, (very matter-of-factly) I lie to you all the time, but this time I'm really telling the truth!

Hmm, do I believe him or not??

Family Scriptures

2011-10-22T06:40:00.000-07:00

The other morning as we were reading scriptures as a family we were reading in Mosiah 16:3. Steve started reading, "For they are carnal and devilish, and the devil has power over them... " After he finished reading the verse, Braden started laughing and said he thought Steven read, "For they were carmel and delicious."

Braden

2011-10-17T17:40:00.000-07:00

Today I got a letter in the mail about Braden. It says "he has been identified as a high ability learner." Apparently he did very well on some testing done at school. He was very excited and we were all a bit surprised!

New Carpet!!

2011-09-04T20:27:00.001-07:00

We finally got around to putting carpet into our living room. Cold, hard, uncomfortable laminate floor just wasn't cutting it for me (or my knees during family prayer). I LOVE the carpet. The room feels much more homey now and it doesn't echo anymore when I shout. :) These are just some pictures of the progress the room has gone through in the last year.

Cloudy with a chance of ???

2011-09-04T20:21:00.000-07:00

I just had to post these pictures that Kari took because I thought the clouds were so cool. They moved very swiftly over our house with a little bit of wind, but that was all! I thought for sure some ultra-dangerous storm was upon us...as we're out taking pictures and picking veggies from the garden.

Soccer

2011-09-04T20:13:00.001-07:00

Preston was able to play soccer this year! It took a few days for him to really enjoy it, but by the end he was a little pro. This picture is on the last day. You can tell by looking at him that he did a lot of running that day. He was actually told to STOP kicking the ball so that someone else could have a turn...even though half team was picking bugs out of the grass. j/k

Preston is the one kicking the ball in the back. My camera battery was dying or else I could've gotten the goal he scored.

Before each game the times grouped up and shouted a little chant across the fields to the other teams. Once again, I waited until the last day to bring my camera...with the dead battery...so I couldn't film this either. :(

First Day of School

2011-09-04T20:04:00.001-07:00

Preston started Preschool this year at Zion Lutheran Church. He goes 3 days a week for three hours each day and I love it...I mean HE loves it. Except chapel time. He's not a big fan of that yet.

Braden and Kari started school at the end of July. I put them in the "optional" calendar. They start about a month earlier then everyone else and have two 2-week breaks throughout the school year. Braden is now a 4th grader and Kari is a 2nd grader. I also switched them to Meadowlark Elementary, which is the school close to our home. Kari misses Windy Hills, but Braden is doing much better at Meadowlark. Yeah!

Chop Chop!!

2011-07-05T08:57:00.000-07:00

About a year ago a new family moved into our ward. They moved to Kearney because the husband got a job as a helicopter pilot for the hospital. Steve, of course, had to ask for a ride if there was ever a time to do so. Well, this past week Br. Kennedy called up Steve and said that the helicopter was at the airport for maintenance and needed to be returned to the hospital and therefore asked if Steve would like to ride along (along with the rest of the family). Luckily it was a Wednesday morning when Steve doesn't see patients. So within 15 minutes of the call we were all at the airport waiting for our cool ride over Kearney. Preston was actually at a day camp, so Emmalynn took his spot.

I didn't tell the kids where we were headed, but they were very excited when they finally discovered what we were doing.
There was only two headsets and lucky Kari got to where one of them. Braden and Emmalynn just got earplugs. We were able to talk to our pilot and "co-pilot" throughout the trip.
Braden didn't get to wear them during the flight but wanted to try them on after we landed.

Steve was VERY excited to help fly the helicopter. He did an excellent job hovering at the airport and then was able to fly over our house. He thought he was pretty cool.

This is our neighborhood. Steve flew directly over our home so I wasn't able to see it.

This is an aerial view of Kearney. Isn't it beautiful?!

Thank you Br. Kennedy for an awesome experience. Let us know when you need more assistance. :)

MONA

2011-06-02T14:33:00.001-07:00

Every year for art class the kids need to make their assignments and then the art teach, Mr. Hansen, chooses a few to go on exhibit at the Museum of Nebraska Art (MONA) here in Kearney. Well this year, Kari had 2 of her pieces on display.

This is a painted picture of edelweiss:
Here is the bird and nest that she molded out of clay.

She even received a little certificate for her good work. The boys didn't care much for the art, but they did enjoy the cookies and lemonade!

Braden's Birthday

2011-06-02T14:22:00.000-07:00

Braden turned 9 years old this year. He wanted to have a party with friends, but due to school he had to wait about two weeks before having his party. So on his actual birthday we went out to eat at The Cellar, came home and did doughnuts and presents. My boy claims to not like cake!
Talking on the phone with someone who called to wish him a Happy Birthday.
This is his latest haircut. Just kidding. Steve does like to cut his hair in ridiculous ways and then take pictures of it. It was funny though. This time before he could finish cutting it his clippers ran out of batteries. Braden refused to leave the house until the next day when the batteries were charged.
We had his "friend" birthday party at the Big Apple Fun Center. He wanted to do the big indoor playground "Ballocity." He originally invited only boys from his class at church but because I had to bring Kari with there were a few other little girls allowed.

Thanks everyone for helping Braden have a fun birthday!

Kari's Bedroom Make-Over

2011-04-26T13:41:00.003-07:00

I FINALLY got around to painting Kari's bedroom. I told her she could choose two colors from her bedspread. As you can see, she chose pink and green, I mean 'Orchid Breeze' and 'Little Bit o' Lime.' The gray color was just too dreary!

Before:

After:

Pet Rocks for Sale

2011-04-25T11:43:00.001-07:00

Kari tries ANYTHING to make a dime. She is constantly trying to find things to make and sell so she can earn some cold hard cash. Well last week she decided to try selling pet rocks. Her and a neighbor girl collected all the nice little rocks they could find and set them out on a bin. They then drew a great selection of faces that could be put on the rocks. The customers were able to pick a rock, a color of marker, and the style of face.

The first picture is a lady across the street who apparently had some mercy on them. You can't really tell by the sign, but each pet rocks is $.10. I'm pretty sure this lady bought three rocks for $.11 however.

They even made a sign to post by the main road.
Being the good mother that I am, I purchased 5 rocks for $1.00. Without Kari realizing it, I had her draw our family on rocks. And this is what we look like. The neighbor girl, Emily, actually drew Steve. ....And I'm not sure what is going on with my very orange skin. I promise I do not look like that.

Braden's Music Program

2011-04-02T18:22:00.001-07:00

For Braden's program they performed songs from the past. Braden's main song was Green Acres. I also have posted here the song from Fresh Prince of Belair because I thought it was so cute. The other song is the Lone Ranger and they are using plastic plates for the sound effects.

Kari's Music Program

2011-04-02T17:41:00.000-07:00

These are from Kari's music program. The kids were all dressed up as trees, nuts, or little forest animals. The last song is about being 'little nuts." The second one is about being 'big, bad squirrels, and the firstclip is Kari saying her part in the program.

In the last two clips Kari is near the middle of the screen with a green shirt on. She is in the second row. On the first clip she says her part fourth.

Utah

2011-04-02T17:21:00.000-07:00

For Spring Break this year I decided to take a quick trip to Utah. One of these times it will be a 'long' trip to Utah so I can visit everyone that I want to see. But, until that time happens, my quick trips will only be spent with family. Which is just fine, because I have an awesome one. We got to Ronda's house late Friday night. She wasn't expecting us until Saturday evening, so it was great to surprise her and scare the bejeebers out of her husband...who was standing in the garage when I appeared at the door. We spent a few days at Ronda's house, then went to Sally's for a few days, and then back to Ronda's. After I got home I realized how few pictures I actually took. We didn't really DO anything, but that's the way the kids like it...they just want to play with their cousins.

Sally and Jason have 3 adult rabbits and 5 adorable bunnies. The kids LOVED them and begged to take one home. Guess what the answer was...a big, fat NO! Sorry kids, you have mean parents.

While at Sally's we were also able to have a little visit with Steve's brother Brian, who came over for supper. He informed me that he is ALWAYS available when food is involved.

While at Ronda's the kids got to go on a four-wheeler ride in the trailer. My kids thought it was the best thing in the world. Hmm, maybe I should get some fun toys too.

Kari and Kylee also set up a Beauty Parlor. They did hair and nails. Well, they did Addison's hair, not mine. But I do have some lovely pink and green fingernails and red, gold and purple toe nails. I'll have to post pictures of that when I find Kari's camera. She took WAY more pictures than I did. :)

Kids will be Kids

2011-03-10T08:56:00.001-08:00

So for Kari's birthday we gave her a digital camera. She loves taking pictures....of everything. Well there were a few pictures from her birthday that I wanted off of her camera, so I put the pictures onto my computer. Good thing it's a digital camera because she would be in a heap of trouble if I actually had to pay for all the pictures she took. I've learned from her pictures that she likes to do crazy poses and take lots of pictures of herself. These are just a few shots from her camera. Trust me, there were MANY more to choose from.

I guess she thinks she's a tough girl here. Actually she is pretty tough and I would hate if her and Braden ever got in a real fight because I think she would win. (Don't tell Braden.)

This is what my kids do when I'm not watching. They throw all of their underwear on the ceiling fan, then turn it on and watch the underwear fly around their room. Where do they come up with these games? Unfortunately, they didn't pick any of their underwear back up so I took them all away and now they have to buy them back or do a chore to get clean undies. What a mean mom I am.

Another picture of Kari. I'm not even sure what is going on here, but there were a ton of pictures with her hair all weird and her making funny faces. She's quite the character.

Daddy Daughter Date

2011-03-10T08:48:00.000-08:00

Each year Kearney hosts a Daddy Daughter Date Night at one of the local hotel conference centers. There is dinner, crafts, and dancing. This was the first year that Kari and Steve went. She loved dressing up fancy and having daddy all to herself for the evening.

For the craft Kari made a headband with those dealy-bopper things on top. (I forget what they are called.) Apparently she wanted Steve to wear it, which he graciously refused to do.

Their dinner was lasagna (not the smartest food choice for a bunch of fancy little girls, in my opinion), green beans, and garlic bread.

And RED jello for dessert. In this picture Kari is showing off the corsage Steve bought for her.

This is actually taken before the event, but I put the pictures in the wrong order. Oops.

Mistletoe?

2011-03-08T16:19:00.001-08:00

Now that we have a large 'doorway' in our home I told Steve that we needed some mistletoe to hang at Christmastime. This is what he brought to me............and hung up. A "missile-toe".

My Manly Man

2011-03-08T16:15:00.001-08:00

This is what Steve does every night to gain strength and balance. It's a great core workout.

Just kidding, he did this once and all three stools flew out to the sides and he landed on the floor with a huge thud.

Just kidding again! He did try this once, did a few push ups and then his feet gracefully found his way to the floor.

Fortunately, he did not fall and was able to hold himself up. Unfortunately, he didn't fall.....because it would've been a funny story.

Lady Bears

2011-03-08T15:26:00.000-08:00

This year Kari decided she wanted to try out basketball. A Baptist church here does a program for kids called "Upwards BB." Each game is started with a prayer and during half-time a scripture is read and discussed. It was a great opportunity for Kari to learn the game, have fun, feel no pressure, and be in a good environment.

This is her team, the Lady Bears.

She didn't always know what was going on, but she had a lot of fun learning.

I'm honestly not sure if she had the ball and is losing it, or if she is trying to take the ball (which isn't allowed.)

If this video clip doesn't work, then..........just ignore it. :)

New Years Eve

2011-03-08T15:09:00.001-08:00

This year for New Year's Eve we had two families over. The Smith's and the Kennedy's. We decided to do have fondue night.

Here are Clancey (on left) and Preston, Braden, and Aiden (in the back.)

This was our Cheese Fondue selection. We had shrimp, broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, and different breads to dip. The cheese sauce was made with Cream of Shrimp Soup. I didn't even know that existed.
This was our Oil Frying Fondue. (I don't know a better name for that.) There were little smokies, steak, and batter to dip pineapples and pickles into.

THen we had the dessert Chocolate Fondue. Extremely tasty...especially with the cinnamon bears. There was also pretzels, marshmallows, bananas, and an assortment of crackers.

Here is a video clip of the kids counting down and setting off those obnoxious streamer things.
Please note Preston's sad little face. I'm not sure what happened, but he wasn't able to pull his string.

The Polar Express

2011-03-08T14:58:00.000-08:00

This year Kearney did a new "thing." There are a few trolley's that drive around Kearney for special events. Well, this year the city decided to do the Polar Express. We had to preorder our tickets and they were sent to us in the mail. As we boarded the trolley a ticket master punched our tickets a billion times (just like in the movie, except our ticket master didn't spell cool words in them.) The kids were able to wear their pajamas and we all got a cookie and a cup of hot cocoa.

Our kids picked the very last seat on the trolley.

As we drove through Kearney a volunteer helper read the story. We unfortunately couldn't hear a word of it...but the kids didn't mind since we were headed to the North Pole.

The North Pole turned out to be at a park on the south edge of town. They had this little hut thing for Mr. Santa Clause to wait in. Hopefully he got a heater in there too.

Once we pulled up to the "North Pole" Santa came onto the trolley, talked with each child, and gave them all a bell. The kids were a bit sad that the North Pole was still in Kearney, but it was a fun family activity.

Christmas.....a bit late

2011-03-08T08:28:00.000-08:00

As you can see I'm a bit late on posting Christmas pictures. But it's better late than never. As I looked through all my pictures I realized that I really didn't take many. So just bear with me.
This...is our Christmas tree. Fairly lame, I know, but it did the job.

A week or so before Christmas the children had an unexpected visitor come to the house. The were very surprised and loved the visit. After he left both Braden and Kari asked "is that Matt Meister?" "Yes it is," I said, "the best realtor ever!"

When asked if they have been good, Preston was a bit too honest. He replied with, " no, we've been a little naughty."

These are their new Christmas Eve pj's. As you can see, Kari loves to pose for all pictures.

Christmas morning stockings. The kids were thrilled that they each received their very own can of Pringles. AApparently a great joy in the Swenson household.

This is our 'before'opening the presentsHere is the 'after.'

Thanksgiving in "sunny" Arizona

2010-12-27T21:25:00.000-08:00

This year we once again went to Arizona for Thanksgiving. Steven's Grandma and most of his aunts and uncles live in Mesa. We were also able to see 5 of Steve's siblings while down there.

According to a few of the relatives it was the coldest Thanksgiving Mesa has had since the 1930's. So much for my sunny, hot Thanksgiving. At least we had good company.

While there we went to the Arizona Natural History Museum. This is Mandy and I outside watching the boys dig for dinosaur bones.

Kari and I atop a lovely giant turtle. Hmm, maybe a Sea Turtle? Do they exist in Arizona??

The scene outside the museum. This is Braden, Kari, Preston, and Taylor.

This is soon-to-be Uncle Joey and Uncle Brian with B, K, P, and T.

I just had to post this picture because I LOVE Kari's grumpy face. She can make THE BEST grumpy face ever........and she means it!

Kari loves to draw pictures for anyone who will take them from her. Keen was a good sport and spent lots of time coloring with her.

Mandy brought some helicopters for the guys to play with. I have yet to figure out why they are so amazing, but apparently they are and now my hubby wants one. Brian, the 'pilot' is trying to feed Galen a pretzel that is hanging from the helicopter. I do not believe it worked however. Galen had to actually get up and follow the helicopter around.

Andy had much greater skill and ease in obtaining his pretzel. (JUST KIDDING GALEN, YOU ARE VERY TALENTED TOO!)

There's so many things I could say about this picture, but I'll let you make up the caption.

The kiddos at the play area when we went to the aquarium. Which was IN a mall. They have amazing malls there...........too bad I'm not a big fan of malls.

Me and Mandy at the aquarium.

The aquarium had a few hands on activities for the kids. You can't really tell, but they are 'petting' starfish.

I will post many more pictures on facebook. It's faster. Simple as that.

We did have lots of fun and we are so grateful that we were able to see so many family members. We love you all!

One AmaZING Story

2010-11-03T19:51:00.000-07:00

So, I just want to share this cool story. About 3 months ago I mailed a fairly large (and expensive) package to my brother-in-law, Aaron. He is serving a mission for our church in Brazil and loves to get things from back home. In the package I had things like cereal, peanut butter, junior mints, crystal light packets for water bottles, pop rocks, warhead candy spray, razors, a CD, and a few other things. Well, he received the package and then accidently left it on a city bus, WITHOUT EVEN GETTING TO OPEN IT!! How incredibly SAD :( . For him and for me. BUT, the other day another missionary serving in Brazil in a different location than Aaron said that some random brazilian came up to them and asked them if they were Americans. The missionaries said yes and this random guy handed them the CD along with the package slip and customs slip that was on the top of the box!

Isn't that amazing that after 3 months Aaron still was able to get the CD! I'm not sure if it was prayers or a guilty consciuos of whoever took the package, but it's a complete miracle that the CD has found it's rightful owner!

Family Pictures

2010-10-11T11:25:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we asked one of our friends to take some pictures of our family. Here are some of them.

P*R*E*S*T*O*N

K~A~R~I

B*R*A*D*E*N

S~T~E~V~E~N~~~~~J~I~L~L

K*A*R*I*****J*I*L*L

Braden Baptism

2010-10-10T11:59:00.003-07:00

So, I just realized that I never posted about Braden getting baptized this summer. He turned 8 in May, but he waited to be baptized until July so that he could do it with lots of family around. He got baptized in North Dakota on July 31, 2010 by his father, Steve Swenson. He was confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Papa Riskedahl. I was so happy that he waited until we went to North Dakota so that my whole family could be there and even some aunts, uncles, and cousins. Thanks everyone for supporting Braden on his special day.
Of course while we were all together we had to get group family pictures. There are now 12 little grandchildren for my parents and picture taking was a bit tricky.

I promised Preston a new car if he listened and smiled nicely and Aunt Ronda promised everyone candy. These two know how to work the system.
My little family.

Steve and Braden right after his baptism.
Braden with Nana and Papa Riskedahl.
All (or most of) the children sang 'I am a Child of God" between the baptism of Braden and the blessing of Andrew.Thanks to Leesa who played the piano for us.

Braden and Steve right before the baptismal service.
Grandpa Gietzen and Braden

July 31st was also my mother's birthday. It was a busy day for us.

Because Grandma wasn't feeling up to coming to the baptism, we went and saw her at the nursing home. We were so grateful to be able to visit with her one last time before she passed away. Thank you Grandma for your good life and all your love. We miss you.

Aunt Donna and Braden. Donna taught my kiddos all about dipping Oreos in milk and having Cheetos's to accompany that. Everytime my kids see her they always eat oreos and Cheetos's. So, for Braden's baptism luncheon we had Oreo's and Cheetos's (Donna style as Braden put it.)

Braden

2010-10-10T11:59:00.001-07:00

Top 11 Things I Learned on our Cruise

2010-10-06T11:13:00.000-07:00

11. Ordering appetizers IS fun when I'm not paying extra for them.

10. Swimming in salt water is not as fun as it appears, and it really burns your throat when swallowed.

9. Reading a book by the pool without having to look up to spot kids every 5 seconds is actually enjoyable.

8. Steve and I have a lot of fun together when real life doesn't get in the way.

7. I love having my bed made for me.

6. Dressing up and looking nice can be fun and I actually like jewelry.

5. SPF 15 is NOT strong enough in the Caribbean.

4. Drunk people should NOT try to dance on a moving ship.

3. Shaving legs is IMPOSSIBLE in a 2 1/2 foot by 2 1/2 foot shower stall.

2. Salsa dancing is MUCH more fun in heels than in tennis shoes (Zumba aerobics class).

1. And finally, a vacation without children (though I did miss them) is FABULOUS!!

Day 5-CoCo Cay Bahamas

2010-10-06T06:00:00.000-07:00

CoCo Cay is an island in the Bahamas that is privately owned by Royal Caribbean. You can walk from one end to the other in about 10 minutes. We were lucky to be able to go to the island because the winds were pretty strong that day and we had to be tendered in from the ship. It was still a beautiful day and I'm so glad that we were able to go.

We went snorkeling here but I don't have any pictures. It was too tricky to walk with giant flippers on your feet. I don't think this beach was the best spot to go snorkeling, but we did see some pretty cool fish. Because of the wind, the water was really choppy which made snorkeling a bit difficult. I drank way too much sea water this day. In the picture below, you can see how windy it is by looking at the trees.
While our husbands slept in the hammocks we enjoyed some ocean time. I put my glasses on top of my head for this picture and never saw them again.

This is the hammock where Steve DID NOT want to leave, ever. Apparently it was very comfortable.

This picture was taken right before we left the island. I LOVED all the palm trees. We also tried parasailing this day, but due to the high winds it wasn't safe to be 400 feet in the air.

I actually didn't get a picture of our evening dining experience, but we did get some afterwards. This is my cruise outfit that I bought......and finally wore on the last night.

And just for fun, I had to take a ride down the banister. So lady-like.

Well, I must say this was the best vacation I have ever been on. I don't know if it was because (a) I was in tropical climate, (b) I had no kids to worry about or (c) all my food was paid for and I could eat all I wanted. Whatever the reason, I loved it and hope to go again before another 10 years. And THANK YOU SALLY for watching the kiddos for us. We truly appreciated it and know that you will probably never do it again!

.........................Happy 10th Anniversary Steve.........................

Day 4- Day at Sea

2010-10-01T11:51:00.001-07:00

Our fourth day was spent at sea. We had to sail from Cozumel to the Bahamas, which apparantly takes a while. This day had its pluses and minuses. I loved doing absolutely nothing but sitting by the pool for the majority of the day. We watched a fun belly flop contest and a few other random contests by the pool. I did get a bit seasick by the end of the day and ended up going to bed early that night. And because of that I missed the midnight buffet. As if 3 buffets all day long aren't enough they had to do one at night too.

This is a picture of the Centrum, or middle of the ship. I'm probably on the 8 or 9th floor.

In the centrum there was always live music playing. Sometimes people would get up and dance or just watch from the different levels. And yes, the pianist is playing a keyboard on top of a baby grand. Apparantly a baby grand isn't cool enough so he added the keyboard as well.
Here's another nightly shot from the deck. It was always fun to look over the ship to see how fast or slow we were moving.

This is the Palladium, where most of the shows were held. We saw a few comedy acts and the Royal Caribbean Singers and Dancers. We always went to the early comedian shows because the night ones were a bit much for us.

Day 3;Cozumel Mexico

2010-10-01T09:03:00.000-07:00

On our third day we stopped at Cozumel, Mexico. The port was a busy little shopping market with highly annoying salesmen. We first went on the Push, Pull, Swim Dolphin Encounter. We were taken to a 'state park' where the dolphins live. There were 10-12 people per dolphin. We were able to hug, kiss, and pet the dolphin while standing in the water by the dock. We also were pushed on our feet while riding a boogie board by the dolphin. Lastly we were able to swim out a bit and ride on the dolphin while she swam back to the dock. Our dolphins name was Scarlett and she really was amazing. For anyone who knows me, you know that I am really, um....frugal. Yes, that's the right word. We were not able to take our cameras with, so the tourist guide person took lots of pictures for us......and then tried to sell each of them for $20.00. Of course we didn't buy any which is a little sad, but oh well. Anyways, this is a picture of the enclosure where the dolphins are kept. If you look closely you can see a dolphins head peaking out of the water on the right hand side.

After swimming with the dolphins were just wandered around the beach area. I LOVE the beach and I wish I could've taken my kiddos. The water is so beautiful and the sand so nice and fair. Basically picture perfect.
While wandering around we found a row of hammocks to chill in. You can't really tell in the picture, but we are pulling our hammocks together without trying to look like we are straining too hard.

This is Steve with the Cozumel port in the background. We walked around the crazy market area for a while, but due to the heat and the obnoxious men who live there we didn't stay long. Plus, we were hungry and wanted to get back on the ship to eat. Yea, I know, we're in Mexico and should try some authentic food, but..........the food on the ship was already paid for!!

These are my beautiful pedicured toes. Last year when I was talking to Lisa Montes, my friend we went with, she mentioned something about needing to get a pedicure before the cruise. My typical answer was, "no way, I'm not paying for that!" So, for my birthday she sent me cute flip flops, this pink nail polish, and some money to get a pedicure because she knew I really would be too cheap to buy it myself. She also bought the same color for her nails, so we had cute little matching toenails. Thanks Lisa! I loved it and I might even have to get another one on my own.

This the state park that we went to to see the dolphins.

These two are our waiter and assistant waiter. They were extremely good at their jobs. Roshan, on the right is from India and Jorge, on the left, was from the Dominican Republic. It was fun for Steve to be able to talk about the Dominican Republic with someone who knew the area. (That is where Steve went on his mission.) We made these two work pretty hard. We always ordered multiple desserts, entrees, and appetizers. And after every dinner Jorge tried his hardest to give us coffee. We should've just told him at the beginning that we don't drink coffee. His smile was so contagious and friendly.

We asked them about their jobs and Jorge said he hasn't been home in 7 months! But, he loves his job. Hmm, where do you vacation when you work on a cruise ship?

Our nightly picture. You can see that we got a bit burnt while lounging around the beach at Cozumel. This is outside on the deck. It was pretty cool to look out and see absolutely nothing!

Here is the upper pool deck. And for some strange reason it is filled with SALT WATER! We didn't swim much in there.

Day 2-Key West, Florida

2010-09-29T20:12:00.000-07:00

On our second day of the cruise we stopped at Key West, Florida. We started the day off by doing a Kayak Adventure. A small boat took us about 15 minutes away from the shore, then we kayaked around an island of mangrove trees, swam in the ocean a bit, then headed back. The area we kayaked in was quite shallow (2-3 feet in most areas) and had baby sharks swimming all over. I tried several times to take a picture of the sharks but they were faster than I was. It's quite a challenge to kayak, try to take pictures, and keep your camera dry all at the same time.

Here we are headed back to our ship. I'm sure we are discussing something extremely important, but I can't remember what it was. It was beautiful out there in the ocean and for a brief moment I wished the kids could be with to experience the beauty of it all.
This is a shot of us and the ship behind us, the Grandeur of the Seas. And it definetely is grand!

Our formal dinner that night had a little bit fancier dinner. This is escargo (snails for those of you who are uneducated like I was). It was drowning in butter and possibly cheese, but not too bad. It reminded me of mushrooms. When we were deciding what to order for our appetizers I asked the waiter, Roshan, how many snails were in one order. My friend Serg was deeply embarrassed and appalled that I referredto escargo as snails. How dare I!

Here is our nightly group shot out on the deck. It was kindof fun to be able to dress up each evening. And I must thank my dear friend Lisa Simpson for letting me borrow all her jewelry. Who knew I liked to wear it?! And yes, I did buy a new dress just for this occasion. Actually I bought two, but I could only wear one.

That night there was a karaoke shindig. There were some very good singers, some very bad singers, and a lot of surprises. Of course Serg was brave enough to get up and do a little number. And he also had the most people dancing along by the time he finished. He did a fantastic job and hopefully everyone back in his home church will get to watch their bishop singing and dancing to LaBamba! Also, this is so cool, the first guy to sing a song PROPOSED to his girlfriend at the end of it! He must've been practicing for a long time, because he knew the song like no other and didn't look at the words even once. It was so fun to watch something so sweet.

Day 1 - Leaving Fort Lauderdale

2010-09-29T16:18:00.001-07:00

Our cruise departed from Port Everglades, Fort Lauderdale, FLorida. There were about 2600 passengers and a couple hundred crew members (I forgot what they said). We had an inside stateroom on the fourth floor. There were 11 decks, in all.

This is a picture of our stateroom, 4763. Our friends, Sergio and Lisa Montes who went with us, were in the next room from us. These rooms are TINY, yet surprisingly sufficient. There was a lot of shelving, storage, and closet space. The bathroom was a bit small, but what can you expect.
Our luggage didn't arrive to our room until later that evening, which was a huge bummer becaue our swimsuits were not with us. However, as soon as the arrived I was in my suit and ready for the pool. Of course I couldn't actually get my hair wet because of our nice dinner that night.

As you can see, we left on September 11th. We saw this flying above us as we left the port. (It is being pulled by an airplane.)

Here is our first evening meal. We had so much fun dining with the same waiters each night and being able to order as many desserts, entrees, and appetizers we want. This is a 'lovely' shot of us (and Steve's pinky).

After dinner we enjoyed taking a walk out on the deck. The sunset was beautiful, but this might've been the only one we saw. We were usually eating during sunset time.

Pre Cruise in Fort Lauderdale

2010-09-22T19:45:00.001-07:00

We left a day early for our cruise and spent an evening and morning in Ft. Lauderdale. Our first night there we ate a restaurant called Bimini's. It was a very fun and seafoody place and a bit pricy. But, as Steve liked to say on the whole vacation, "It's okay, we're on vacation." We first ordered giant shrimp cocktails. That doesn't mean the platter and/or amount of shrimp was giant it only means the shrimp itself were very large. I think there were...........5 pieces of shrimp for only a mere $12.00. I then ordered snapper with some mango sauce and Steve ordered swordfish. I won't even mention how much THAT was. However, it was quite tasty!

Here is a picture of our hotel that night, The Renaissance. We were on the 7th floor and had a great view of the city.

After dinner we walked around the hotel and found the pool with these nifty little chairs. Fairly cozy, but also slightly wet.

The next morning we took a walk down to the docks. You can't tell in this picture but IT WAS HOTTTTTTTTTTT! Okay, maybe not that hot, I believe about 85 degrees, but with the humidity it was HOTTTTTTTTTT! I almost bought a handkerchief just to wipe all the sweat off my face....very lady-like, I know.

Here good ol' Steven is getting ready to leave the hotel for the ship. He bought this awesome cruise hat at Walgreens across the street. He was quite happy with it and I'm sure his head was too.

Well there are many more pictures to post but I need to do them in phases. The actual cruise details will follow shortly.

Caribbean Cruise Teaser

2010-09-17T16:39:00.000-07:00

Just wanted you all to know, because I know you are extremely worried about us, that we have arrived home safely from our western Caribbean cruise. This is a shot of us on an island in the Bahamas called Coco Cay. It's Royal Caribbeans private island of PURE FUN AND BEAUTY!! I'll get more pictures posted later (after my dear babysitter has left). Thank you Sally, we couldn't have done it without you!!

Random Things in July

2010-08-11T16:30:00.000-07:00

This cool piano is just sitting in downtown Kearney on "The Bricks." Anyone can sit down and play it. As we were sidewalk shopping one day, the kids each took a turn "playing" the piano. There was some lovely music to behold.

In July we said goodbye to some dear friends of ours, the Yergensens. We knew them while living in Lincoln and was able to see them occasionally after we moved to Kearney. They got a job down in St. George Utah and thought they would stop by for a few to say good bye.

Kari also lost her first tooth. She was very excited as were her brothers and parents. Apparantly the silly tooth fairy wasn't as excited seeing as how she forgot!

New House

2010-07-09T09:05:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone who actually checks out my blog. I have a lot of pictures of our houe, but I'm not posting them on the blog because there are too many. I have them in an online album with Snapfish, so if anyone wants to see them, just email me at loochami@hotmail.com and I'll send you the link.
Thanks. Jill

Visit with the Boseman's

2010-07-05T19:01:00.000-07:00

At the end of May we traveled to Denver to pick my mother up from the airport. While we were there we had the opportunity to visit with our good friends, the Boseman's, who we met while in Dental school. Here are a few pictures of us and our fun time there.

For breakfast Peter made us blueberry, banana, flax pancakes. Quite delicious I might add. Preston discovered the blueberries and couldn't control himself; and I guess Peter didn't have the heart to tell him NOOOO! This isn't just a blueberry mess, it's stained!

Kari and Afton were only 2 when we went our separate ways, but they picked up right where they left off.

I'm sure Molly and Braden will hate me someday for taking this picture. I had to get a snugly shot of them. In Iowa, when they were 3 or so, I took a picture of them smooching. They too had a great time playing together.

Sariah and Preston became fast friends for the one day we were there.

Here is Liz, Peter, and Steve out on the deck enjoying our yummy Papa Murphy's pizza.

There are two more Boseman children, but I didn't get good shots of them. Thanks Liz and Peter for the fun time and letting us crash at your house. Come visit any time.

Last Day of School

2010-05-21T12:16:00.000-07:00

Summer break has officially started for the Swenson kids. Here are a few pics from the last day of school.

Braden and his 2nd grade teacher, Mrs. Borowski

Kari and her Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Tuttle

Kari with her best friend, Meredith

While I was at Kari's classroom for the last few minutes of the day we made her name out of these blocks. Yea, everyone was pretty jealous. Actually most of the kids looked at it and couldn't figure out what it said. The teacher had to explain it a bit. Oh well, I tried.

Summer break has officially started for the Swenson kids. Here are a few shots of the last day of school.

DinoStars!

2010-05-20T09:20:00.000-07:00

Each year the elementary schools do a music program. This year the theme was dinosaurs. Kari, being a kindergartner, only sang. Braden, a second grader, was able to say a part. His was actually a joke. Here are a few pictures and videos from the performance. The kids are VERY hard to find, but they are both wearing red shirts.......and we sat on the wrong side of the auditorium so we couldn't even see them that well.

Kari is right in the middle of this picture. She has her hair pulled up in a red hairband. Braden is at "2:00" from her, but you can only see his head. He's probably the only boy with glasses.

Here the kids are singing one of their songs. It's about raptors, so they are rapping.

Braden is saying his joke. Of course I couldn't get the camera on fast enough so I missed the first part. It goes something like this: "What do you get when you have a kangaroo and a triceratops? Tricerahops.

Braden's 8th Birthday

2010-05-19T15:14:00.000-07:00

This year for Braden's birthday Steven was in Washington, D.C. at his annual AAO conference. My aunt Donna from North Dakota felt bad for the little guy and decided to go on a road trip with her hubby. What do you know, they ended up in Kearney, Nebraska! We had lots of fun with Mike and Donna and are grateful they made the trip. Here's a few pictures from the weekend.

Mike, Donna, and Braden at Applebees.

Me and the kiddos three.

Of course Braden wanted the servers to do a little song and dance, very amusing as usual.

And Braden's favorite.....a free dessert. Actually, the dessert is Braden's favorite part, the "free" is my favorite part. :)

While they were here we also went to the Archway Monument (a museum that looks like a bridge over the interstate), ate at Red Lobster, went swimming a few times, and had a little birthday party at home.

He apparantly doesn't really like cake, nor do Preston or Kari. I learned this in February after I made TWO birthday cakes for Kari and PReston. Anyways, instead of cake we had birthday doughnuts.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRADEN!!

Scavenger Hunt

2010-04-26T09:48:00.001-07:00

So last night for our FHE activity we went on a family drive around Kearney. The kids always whine about "going for a drive" because they are so "boring." Well to entertain them a bit, I came up with the idea of doing a scavenger hunt as we drove. They were to find a dog, cat, windmill, airplane, raccoon, green van, silver truck, police car, pond, roadkill....stuff like that. I told them if they found everything they would win a prize. Being the exceptionally nice mother that I am I of course wanted them to find everything. As it was getting time to head back home they only had one item left on their list. An airplane. I thought that after 45 minutes they would've seen at least one. But no. So, I specifically went out of the way to drive to the Kearney Airport. Guess what? THERE WAS NO AIRPLANE AT THE AIRPORT!!!! So I let them count the picture of the airplane on the airport sign.

Who would've thought. No plane at the airport!

Too Much Sun? Part II

2010-04-18T15:36:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I wasn't able to post the pictures with the last blog. So read the previous blog.

Too Much Sun?

2010-04-18T15:30:00.001-07:00

So yesterday the Husker football team had their Red and White game. Steven was able to go to the game with a friend from church. The kids and I also drove to Lincoln to enjoy some pregame festivities and then hang out with friends.

It was a beautiful, sunny day in Lincoln, NE. So sunny that my dear husband thought it would be best to turn his hat backwards to avoid getting a sunburn on his neck. (We obviously forgot about sunscreen.) However, he forgot about the front of his head.

Due to wearing a cap backwards, this is his new look. The funniest part about it, is that he was privileged enough to speak in sacrament meeting to day where EVERYONE got to see him.

Galen!!

2010-04-04T18:51:00.000-07:00

Steve's awesome brother Galen said he wouldn't look at the blog unless there was a picture of him on it. So, here you go Galen. Come visit us again soon.

New Side of Steve

2010-03-21T18:29:00.001-07:00

As most of you know, my hubby is a bit shy and reserved around most people. Well, I just wanted to give you all a peek of what happens around our dinner table. If you can't tell, there are 2 grapes in his mouth!

My Latest Projects

2010-03-19T16:09:00.000-07:00

This week the kids had spring break, which means lots of extra noise, but also some extra alone time, due to the fact that Preston has someone to play with. Well, I finally got my sewing machine out again, thanks to Leesa for giving me some sewing projects. She wanted a few "boy play clothes" so I made some manly capes for her little man. The first one is superman on one side and batman on the other and the other cape is spider man and going to be Buzz Lightyear.

I also decided to sew a few pillowcases for the kids. I haven't made Braden's yet, but can you possibly guess which one is Kari's? Shiny AND Rainbow! Not sure how comfortable it will be to actually use it, but that's beside the point. Preston's is CARS. Now he can sleep with cars, lay on cars, and be covered up by Cars.

Kari's Latest FHE Activity

2010-03-14T18:50:00.001-07:00

I thought the last activity Kari was in charge of was creative, but this one is even better. It is hard to see what is being done, but here's the "game."

We each had a tight little rubber hair band that we put around our nose. When the band pops off, we have to catch it in a little dixie cup. Here's a few videos of our efforts.

Kari's FHE Activity

2010-03-03T18:51:00.000-08:00

Each week for Family Home Evening everyone in the family has a different responsibility. This week was Kari's turn for game/activity. She comes up with the most unusual games for us to play. Most of the time they have something to do with her stockpile of lotion. Well this week, we tied a string to a bottle of her lotion and had to knock it out of the string with a little toy bat. If, and only if, we were amazing enough to knock it out of the string we were privileged to put on one of her many lotions. As you can imagine, Braden and Daddy did NOT want to win the prize. Preston however was thrilled to pick which lotion he could have.

Here's a picture and a video clip of this exciting game. Everyone, please feel free to use this in your own home. It's delightful!

Presenting...............

2010-02-23T14:56:00.001-08:00

Unfortunately, my little boy has turned into his "blind" mother. Two weeks ago Steve told Braden to read the hymn numbers up on the wall at church and he couldn't do it. So now he gets to be like his mama. He's very nervous about going to school and being made fun of. So if anyone has the desire to tell him how awesome he looks that would be GREAT!

Happy 3rd Birthday Preston!

2010-02-03T12:56:00.001-08:00

The morning of his birthday I watched a little girl from church, so of course I had to turn that into a tiny little party for Preston. Here, Preston and Emily are enjoying a Lightening McQueen cake.

This cake is homemade. yet somewhat lame. I offered to make a cool Lightning cake, but Preston insisted on using these little candy cake toppers.

He received a lot of presents, but I'm only posting one. I'll try to put the rest of them on Facebook. He really wanted a green snake, you can see how happy he is about it.

We gave him some Lightning jammies. Pretty much every present was centered around Mr. McQueen!

Kari's 6th Birthday

2010-02-03T12:48:00.001-08:00

Here is Kari with her pile of presents. She was quite disturbed that we weren't having a party so I thought if I wrapped eveything separate it would be a bit more fun.

Here are a few things she got from us: skirt, journal with keys, princess hand bag, and new pink crocs.

And of course, a whole bunch of art supplies. I got tired of her taking all my white paper, so I thought I would just give her her own pack! I didn't know little girls could get so excited over white paper.

Yes, it's a store bought cake, but she was still happy with it. (And please pay no attention to the little boy in skivies in the background.)

Ice Skating

2010-01-28T19:29:00.000-08:00

For Kari's birthday she wanted to go ice skating. Even though it's not quite her birthday we attempted this activity last Saturday. A few months ago she went with Steve to Disney Princesses on Ice and assumed that she too would be able to gracefully glide along the ice. Right before we left Steve informed her that skating is very difficult and that she would probably fall down numerous times. She looked a bit taken aback, but smiled and said that's okay. Luckily for both of us the ice rink had these cool little "walkers" to hang on to. She used a walker for the first half and was able to "skate" by herself for the last half hour. Even though she did indeed fall numerous times (and also wipe out innocent skaters) she loved every minute of it and never once complained about how hard it was.

Ants on a Log

2010-01-28T19:25:00.001-08:00

So after I've had children for almost 8 years now I finally introduced them to raisons on peanut butter on celery; aka-ants on a log. They LOVED it. They ate an entire bag of celery (which usually lasts weeks) in less than a day. Actually, Saturday morning at 8:00am when Steve and I were still sleeping Kari came in and asked if she could have celery. What's up with that?

Today I made granola, which called for raisons. After I gave Preston some he said, "Hey, I want more ants!" It took me a moment to figure out that he wanted more raisons in his granola. I guess he pays more attention then I think he does.

Comfortable?

2010-01-28T16:26:00.000-08:00

Can someone please explain to me WHY my daughter finds it more comfortable to sleep dangling between two couches instead of on her nice bed!

Caramel Rolls

2010-01-15T12:43:00.000-08:00

For New Years Eve I was going to make some Caramels from my mother's caramel recipe. I carefully and lovingly cooked it and stirred it for a long time. Then chilled it like the recipe says. However, when it came time to cutting the caramels I discovered that I hadn't actually cooked it as long as it needed and it was just a pile of ooey gooey caramel. So instead of caramels it became caramel rolls. I've made caramel rolls a few times and have tweeked the caramel recipe everytime and I thought that I had it right. But THIS caramel recipe is amazing for the rolls. Just don't cook the caramel as long as needed and it's beautiful to add rolls to.

I got so excited at how well my dough turned out that I needed to take a picture. I just realized however, that I never took the "After" picture when the rolls were done. Probably because I ate them too fast. Anyways, if you need a good caramel recipe for caramel rolls, this one is great! It's a good thing I don't know how to cook right.

Pump-It-Up

2010-01-15T12:28:00.000-08:00

So for Steve's birthday this year he wanted a home gym where he can work-out at instead of going to the YMCA every day. He found this "little" beauty on Craigslist and now it is taking up half my family room. You can do benchpress, pull-ups, leg curls, lats, blah, blah, blah, I don't even know what else. And it's all on a pulley system (which isn't attached yet) so that when I can't benchpress that 135 lbs. anymore my Safety Spotter will kick in. And of coure there are numerous weights to add onto that extremely heavy bar. Now instead of sitting on my rear all day long I can go downstairs and benchpress!

Christmas Cookies for Santa

2009-12-24T13:00:00.000-08:00

And this is what happens when the adult leaves the uneven bosch alone on the counter.

Sneaky Preston

2009-12-22T16:10:00.000-08:00

After we finished decorating the trees we hung candy canes on the one downstairs. After a while Preston disappeared and wouldn't tell anyone where he was when we were calling him. Five minutes later we found him hiding behind the couch....with a few real candy canes, a fake lollipop ornament, and a Candy Cane Reindeer ornament that I had made 20 years ago. Unfortunately he tried all of them and ended up eating the 20 year old candy cane! Mmm, Yum!

Decorating the Tree

2009-12-22T15:51:00.000-08:00

Once again I have downloaded the pictures in the wrong order and cannot figure out how to rearrange them, but you get the general idea. We have a tree upstairs with matching ornaments and then another smaller tree downstairs with all the ornaments that we have gotten in our stockings. The kids thought it was quite fun to decorate two trees.

Aaron and Kari

2009-12-01T12:02:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned in my snapfish pictures, Kari loved singing along with Aaron as he played the guitar. She wanted to sing a song from Annie, but Aaron didn't know the chords so he looked them up. Neither of them knew the words too well, but it was still cute to watch.

Thanksgiving in AZ

2009-12-01T11:36:00.000-08:00

Once again we went to Mesa, AZ for Thanksgiving. Steven's Grandma and his aunt and uncles all live there. Four of his siblings and his dad were also able to come. Here are just a few pictures of our fun time. If you want to see all the pictures, just ask me for a link to my snapfish account.

While there we were also able to meet up with some friends from our IOwa days in dental school. Here we are with Serg and Lisa Montes and their six children: Tiana, Angel, Ammon, Alexa, Isaac, and Caleb.

This is Sedona, Az a very beautiful area between PHoenix and Flagstaff.

Somewhere in Sedona is this amazing bridge-like rock. I didn't actually see it because I took the kids home, but Steve and his siblings hiked to it.

On Thanksgiving day Grandma Swenson rented a bouncy house. Preston thought it was THE greatest thing ever. He was entertained for hours.

In Steve's Aunt Ann's backyard there are numerous toys for children. The kids couldn't believe that I didn't show them this yard until the 5th day we were there.

Steve and I tried out our skills with Guitar Hero. Needless to say, I stunk at it and gave up within 10 minutes. Aaron, on the other hand, was amazing and very fun to watch.

We all went to see the lights at the Mesa Temple. I loved that there were so many "willing" and able men to carry my kids around. Thanks guys, you were a great help.

Before we left we took one last family picture. We greatly enjoyed our stay and are so grateful for so many wonderful family. I missed my little family get together in Utah, but I was grateful for Steve's family putting up with us for so long.

Happy Halloween!!

2009-11-03T17:48:00.000-08:00

This Princess picture of Kari was taken for our ward Halloween Party. The night of halloween she was dressed as Miss-Behavin' and wasn't looking quite as cute. We borrowed a curling iron and some of those little spongy curlers to put in her hair. She begs for curly hair every day...if she only knew! ANd since it was Halloween I let her load up on the make-up!

Preston tries daily to fly like Superman. For some reason though it hasn't worked out too well for him yet. Keep trying little buddy. Someday.

Once again Braden is Darth Vader. I know I shouldn't have to say what he is, but I do it for the benefit of my family members who have never seen Star Wars.

I really scored this year for Halloween. I spent ZILCH on costumes! Love it. And I didn't even have to beg or bribe.

Here the kids are just trick-or-treating at some random house. I just needed an action shot. I tried to get the actual treating but my camera is a little slow, so therefore it is not my fault. And by the time we got to the next house I had forgotten about 'capturing the moment'.

And this is what happens when little brothers try to steal big sister's candy. Sorry Preston hope your arm isn't broken.

Pumpkin Carving

2009-11-03T08:28:00.001-08:00

As you can see, my pictures are a bit backwards. I'm still working on trying to figure out the layouts.

We didn't make it out to a Pumpkin Patch this year, (I know, lame) so we went for the best pumpkin left at the local grocery store. As you can see it is slightly slanted, which actually makes for a great angle of the face. Steve is our carver and the kids are the cleaner-outers. Preston thought the insides were pretty disgusting and wanted nothing to do with them. Braden insisted on picking out all the seeds so we can make toast them. It is now November 3rd and they are still sitting on my counter. Wow, I am m...o...t...i....v....a....t....e....d this year.

Our newest, and only, Marathoner!

2009-10-15T19:23:00.001-07:00

At Windy Hills Elementary School the PTO decided to try and get the kids motivated and moving. Each child who wanted to participate tries to run, or walk in Braden's case, the equivalent of a marathon, which is 26.2 miles. Monday's and Wednesday's the kids could run from 7:30-8:00 am and every Tuesday and Thursday they could run for 30 minutes after school. Braden has worked very hard and has gotten up extra early many times this past month and a half.........So, I am pleased to say that Braden has completed his Marathon! Way to go.....So what if I had to bribe him with Sonic slushes, toys, and a special night eating out with the family. He did it, right?

Snow Day, Round 1

2009-10-15T19:12:00.000-07:00

These pictures were taken on October 10! If I wanted snow in the beginning of October I would've moved back to North Dakota. As you can see the kids didn't seem to mind. Apparantly small children don't have "cold sensors" in their bodies.

FHE Treat

2009-09-29T20:55:00.001-07:00

So last night for Family Home Evening it was Kari's turn to pick the treat. She decided that making candy suckers would be an awesome experience. Here's just a few pics of the fam enjoying her treat.

Superman?

2009-09-29T10:49:00.001-07:00

When you think of Superman you probably picture someone who is tall, dark, handsome, and sporting a fabulous blue and red cape. Right? Well aparantly my little superman thinks

pink and purple are the new way to go. Very manly, wouldn't you say? Why does my little boy prefer PINK all the time. He rides the pink scooter instead of the Spider Man one and he picks the pink noodle and pink princess ball in swimming lessons. Should I be concerned?

the 'Neighs'

2009-09-23T06:32:00.000-07:00

Last Christmas my dear mother spent hours making these cute fleece pajamas for all her grandchildren. Well it finally became cold enough to get them out again. The kids thought it was so funny to all be matchy-matchy that they insisted on some pictures. To make the photo shoot more fun we added a matching fleece blanket in the background. Can you find the kids in the pictures?

Superman!

2009-09-22T15:46:00.000-07:00

Preston's newest "thing" is being Superman. He refers to himself as superman and will only obey if we call him Superman. Each and every time I get on the computer he requests to watch clips of the Superman movies on YouTube. He likes to watch Superman fly and unfortunately thinks he can also be Superman off of furniture and even slides. He's also getting quite good at humming the Superman theme song. Hmm, I wonder what he'll be for Halloween?

Working Mom?

2009-09-03T15:32:00.000-07:00

So, today I spent all afternoon being Steven's dental assistant. Seeing as how I have absolutely no training in doing said task I was a bit nervous, as was my husband. It was quite enjoyable spending the afternoon with him and I even got to buy some new scrubs (please note photo above) because apparantly blue jeans are not acceptable. I was able to trim teeth models, play with the sterilizer, fill out forms, and pull peoples poor lips really far away from their natural location so that Steve could take pictures of their teeth. It was fun working alongside my hubby and seeing what he does all day. And, sad to say, it was slightly enjoyable being away from the kids for 5 hours. The only problem was, the babysitter thought that Braden and Kari were suppose to be picked up at 3:45, when actually it was 3:05. Oops. Poor little dears thought they were forgotten about and almost started walking home. Good thing Braden decided to check with the school office first.

One, Two, Three, Fly

2009-09-02T12:59:00.000-07:00

It's Bouncy Pouncy Steven, That's Who

2009-09-02T12:45:00.000-07:00

If you ever need a good leg workout, this one's for you. The key is to move the legs and nothing else.

The Newest Blogger

2009-09-01T10:37:00.000-07:00

I have finally given in to my family and friends and started a blog. As you can plainly see I have not yet figured out all the details of beautiful blogging. It will definetely be a work in progress. I hope that I can become better at this and waste less and less of my time trying to figure it out. Thank you to Leesa for making fun of my original blog (which had nothing on it because I didn't know how) and then guiding me through the basic steps of blogging. Thank you to Sally for being so excited that I have finally caught up to the rest of my family. Thank you to Ronda for knowing even less about blogging than me. Thank you to Steven who works so hard so that I can use his money to pay for my interent so that I can blog. And finally thanks to my parents who so willingly gave me to Steve 9 years ago so that they would no longer have to pay for anything of mine. I wish you all a great day!

A not-so-toothy grin

2009-09-01T10:32:00.000-07:00

Our cute little 7 year old Braden finally lost his first tooth. He was SO excited and proud of himself. I told him to put his tooth under his pillow for the toothfairy to find. The next morning he was thrilled with his money, but slightly disappointed that he had not caught the tooth fairy, though he tried hard to stay awake. A few weeks later when he lost his second tooth he once again put his tooth in his special "tooth box" and placed it under his pillow. To the "toothfairy's" dismay the little stinker had a death grip on the box. He apparantly was determined to catch the fairy. Luckily tooth fairy's are very quiet and sneaky and refuse to get caught.

Swensons Got Talent

2009-09-01T10:27:00.000-07:00

This is the newest trick at our house: Who can climb the doorways the fastest and the highest. Braden was our official winner, but Kari was a quick second. I'm so proud of my children's accomplishments, especially when they can do such amazing things with a skirt on. Go Kari! What a lady!

The "Beach"

2009-09-01T10:20:00.000-07:00

The kids always want to go to the beach. Unfortunately Nebraska is not known for its sandy white beaches. Luckily the kids have never been to a real beach so they don't actually know what they are missing. This "beach" is a man-made water hole that I can completely walk across. Real beach or not, the kids loved it and they even found some treasures, ie: tiny frogs (that's what is in Kari's hand.)

Buffalo County Fair

2009-09-01T10:13:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures from the Buffalo County Fair: A rootin' tootin' good time. We splurged this year and let the kids actually go on rides. Don't worry though, the ice cream was free.

Free Ice Cream at the Fair

2009-09-01T08:10:00.000-07:00

Preston was quite annoyed that his picture was not on the blog page. He saw Braden and Kari and said, "Where me ?" So this picture is for you, Preston!

First Day of School

2009-08-31T12:42:00.000-07:00