I'm back!

Sorry all for my long hiatus from my blog.  I just got wrapped up in activities galore and forgot all about it!  Well, I'm back and promise to make a concerted effort to not go so long between posts again!

So I've got a little catching up to do.  First off, it is hot here!  Been hot for a while....I guess I am not giving my kids enough to drink.  

Eric was gone several weekends over the past couple months so I had to find ways to keep myself and the kids busy.  One day I took them hiking up Diamond Fork.  We just found a spot that looked promising and went on our way.  It turned out to be a great little spot.  Not too far off the road the river comes by and my kids loved throwing rocks into the river.  Plus there was a little grove perfect for making a teepee in.  Maggie and Joey loved exploring, but it was hard to keep them out of the river.

 Tyler spent most of his time gathering sticks for his teepee (to be pictured in a moment).

 Jacob, of course, climbed on everything he could find, rocks, trees, etc.  He loves to climb and act braver than his older brother!

 Joey, as all my kids do, loves to be outside.

 Maggie wanted a picture so she stuck a pose for me.  Can't you just see the mischief in her face?

 A view of the river.

 The best shot I could get of all the kids together.

 Tyler's famous teepee.  He wanted to sleep in and have me pick him up the next morning.  He wasn't happy when I shot him down.

 The kids found a lean-to someone else had made.

 Our path...

It's official, Jacob graduated from kindergarten.  He had a great year and really loved him teacher, Mrs. Lew.  She was awesome.  Jacob can do so many great things now, he can read, count to well over 100, add, subtract, and more.  He is a great kid and we are so happy and excited to have him start 1st grade next year (full-time school, yea!).

Jacob also turned a whopping 6 years old!  I remember well the day he was born, came out screaming and didn't stop for a year and a half.  For a while there we thought about sending him back, but I'm glad we decided to keep him.  He is so much fun.  He brings spunk and life and energy to just about everything he does.  Sometimes I think he might explode--it's like his personality and energy is too big for his little body!  He loves to get crazy, he loves to play soccer, he loves finding new ways to bug his little sister, he loves to color (and is getting really good at it too!), loves to play with his friends, and can't wait to grow up (even though I could wait a while).   He is a really loving kid and insist on being tucked in every night.  We love Jake so much and are so happy he is part of our family.

 He had a family party (above) and then a friend party.  His friend party was a "Spy Party."  The kids got invited to the ISS--International Spy School.  They each were fingerprinted and got ID badges.  Then they had to pass 5 levels of spy training.  The obstacle course was the favorite.  He had a magnifying glass cake and had a great time with friends.

Guess what?  I have a wolf in my house!  Tyler made it through his bear year in scouts and is an official wolf now!  It is suitable since he acts like a wild animal most of the time.

 The same night he got his wolf was the Raingutter Regatta.  Tyler made an alligator boat.  He did pretty well.  He won his first race and got put in the A Bracket.  He lost his next race but once he figured out the right way to blow his boat he did awesome!  The boys had a ton of fun.

 Don't let him fool you, he likes to come from behind!

All in all we've had a busy couple months.  And I am sure life will just get busier and busier as time goes on.  So I am trying to enjoy it as much as I can right now.  There are days when I have to remind myself, "Someday I will miss this," and I am sure I will.  So bring on the birthdays, the sport camps, scouts and homework.  Bring on the messes, the dramas, the giggles, the crazies.  Bring on the hugs, the kisses, the crafts, the crayons and the endless barrage of asking for snacks.  I've got to soak it all up and get my fill.

Our Little Visitor

Okay, so the other night Eric and I are sitting watching tv and we heard this tap like sound on the window.  It sounded like somebody threw something small and hit the window.  Then we heard it again...and again...and again!  We couldn't figure out exactly where the sound was coming from so the next time we heard it Eric muted the tv and we titled our heads just so to get a better idea of the situation.  Then suddenly something flies through the dark room right across the front of the tv.  We both caught a glimpse of the silhouette as it jetted by.  Can you guess what it was?  A BAT!!!  I kid you not, it was a real life nasty furry flying mammal disease-infested creepy BAT.  Eric flew off the sofa and flipped on the light and sure enough the bat was circling around the room.  He ran to the kitchen while I proceeded to cover myself up in a blanket and freak out.  We both were yelling, "There is a BAT in the house!  A freakin' BAT!"  Neither of us knew what to do.  I was freaked out (as Eric can tell you) but I can also say that Eric wasn't exactly in his happy place either.  We were clueless about how to handle this.  I was having visions of "The Office" episode where a bat in the office flies into one of the worker's hair.  AAHHHHH!!!!   After a few minutes, and a frantic phone call to Eric's parents to get their behinds down here and help us, the bat landed above the closet door.  I just had my iphone on me so the pics are terrible (my first priority was NOT getting a great shot of it), but it is the little dark spot on the top left corner of the skinny door...   Now it may look small in the pictures, once it landed, but trust me, when it was flying around it seemed huge.

Eric's parents got here and we devised a plan to slowly put a fishing net over it (Eric's job) and Sharee slid a spatula behind the net to knock the bat into it.  Eric then covered it with something and released it outside.  My job was supervisor....distant supervisor.   So it all worked out, but Eric's been gone a lot lately and what if I had been home alone?  Eek!  I can handle snakes, mice, whatever, but there is just something about bats that are sooooo  CREEPY!  We figured out it crawled in through the fireplace vent so needless to say the hole has been blocked.  All in all an exciting experience I never want to have again.  THERE WAS A BAT IN MY HOUSE!

Spring is here!

Well, Easter came and it was everything the kids had hoped for. It started with an egg-scavenger-hunt at Grandma Swenson's house and a hot dog dinner. The kids had a blast gathering all their eggs, and there are so many fun places to hide them at grandma's house! Even Joey got in on the action, even though we just put his on the patio. He still was excited each time he found an egg.
Then Easter morning came and we got to sleep in until a late 6:50 a.m. (hey, compared to Christmas it was a dream!). The Easter Bunny did not pass us by, in fact he went a little crazy with the amount of eggs he hid. But the kids loved going through all their loot.

Joey had fun gathering eggs. This is his new camera face he makes when he sees the camera. CHEESE!

The kids ran around so crazy I barely got any pics and the ones I did get weren't great. As you can see.
On to other topics, we recently purchased a basketball standard. Our driveway is the perfect place to play a little b-ball, and since Tyler absolutely loved playing we decided to splurge and get one. Well, upon reading the instruction manual (translation: novel) we realized we needed to dig a hole 21" x 21" wide and 4 FEET deep, that's right, FEET. Ugh. So we went to work, did some ourselves, paid a nominal fee to one of the young men to help, finished it up...well, tried to finish it up. It got so deep you couldn't even shovel anything out anymore because of how narrow it was. You'd end up getting about 1/2 cup of dirt on the shovel by the time you got it to the top. So, after racking my brain for solutions, I realized we needed to get down in the hole. Alas, I am too big to fit down there, but guess who isn't?
Jacob was my special helper, he got down and dirty in there, filling up bucket after bucket of dirt and passing them up to me. He did awesome, in fact even enjoyed it. All the neighborhood kids wanted a turn, but I am sure their mothers wouldn't have been too happy if I sent them home covered in dirt. That picture doesn't do the hole (now referred to as "the pit of despair") justice. It is DEEP. But it is just about done and hopefully soon we can get the concrete poured and get this thing in!

It can get pretty windy here in Salem at times and today was no exception. Luckily I had the foresight to give in to my kids whining at the store yesterday to buy them a kite. I did, and boy am I glad! Today was perfect kite-flying day, didn't even have to try to get the kite up and it flew and flew and flew! All the kids took turns, including the local rapscallions, and they all thought it was pretty awesome. Not bad for $9 entertainment! (Yes, $9. I bought the expensive one because the $2 ones never work)

Yes, I actually laid down on the road for that last picture. I just wanted you to see how high we had it flying--the string was all the way out. The kids were very excited. And it was even a little thrilling for me too (mostly because of the fact that I am a terrible kite flyer--I was pretty proud of my accomplishment). Plus we got to spend a little time together outside. All in all a success. Here's hoping for another windy day!

Playing Catch-up Again

Our house is constantly filled with the pitter patter of little feet, whether my own kids' or the neighborhood kids'. I don't mind the kids playing here ( I prefer it actually--so I know what my kids are up to...) but sometimes I feel like I spend half my day crouching toward the floor picking up the tornado that is my family. The older kids aren't great but at least can clean up themselves when I tell (read: threaten) them to pick up. But Maggie's definition of cleaning up consists of putting all the toys on TOP of her bed, as opposed to where they were before, on the floor. I know, I am working on it. But the worst, the culprit of 90% of the mess in the house is this little felon right here...Look at that innocent expression. Don't let him fool you. He knows how to make the biggest messes in the shortest amount of time. Case in point, the kitchen drawers. His favorite is this one where I keep all my rags. At least four times a day I see this. And I find rags all over the place. Maybe he just wants to be very clean, I don't know.

I decided to head down to my mom's house for a few days. The kids have been dying to go and I won't be able to go down over spring break, so the kids got to skip a couple days of school and have a mini-vacation. We were lucky enough to get free tickets to Disneyland for the day and it was a blast. I didn't get many pics though. As you can see below, getting a decent pic of my kids is nearly impossible these days. This is the best out of about 10 shots....
The best picture of the day was on the tram from the parking lot to the park. No one is tired and grumpy yet, all fed, all excited, all energized!
Tyler is making big headway in the thrill department. He went on Space Mountain with me and though I got "You're the worst mother ever" looks from people in line as Tyler was crying, begging me to not make him go on it, half way through the ride he shouts to me that, "It's not that bad." To look at our picture after the ride you wouldn't know it, but he said he would even go on it again...next trip. It was a milestone. We even got to meet Woody!
Another day at my mom's we went to a museum called Pretend City. Highly recommend it to anyone traveling to Orange County. It is a whole city, just in miniature. Includes post office, restaurant, beach, police and fire station, grocery store, farm, construction site, home, bank, doctor's office, dentist's office and more. Everything is hands on so the kids get to pretend to be the dentist and play in the moon sand at the beach, ride in little play cars around the whole place, buy groceries in little baskets, etc. It is so fun, my kids love it. The even have a craft station where the kids can make a craft.

Even Joey had a great time.
He felt even better after this... Can you tell what he is doing in this picture? I know it's gross, but I didn't even mean to capture it, I just took a pic because he was finally holding still for a moment. Look what I ended up with!
Another of Joey's favorite cabinets in the kitchen is the bowl cabinet. His favorite is this strainer. He pulls it out and wears it over his head around the house. I don't blame him considering the rough housing his brothers involve him in. Hey, little guy has got to protect himself! Guess I better wash it after this.
And I had to document Tyler working so hard on his homework. He sat down and did it without complaint--a moment to remember.
Today, between sessions of general conference, we went up Payson Canyon and had a picnic. It was beautiful weather and great to get outside for a while. The kids behaved really well and I could have stayed there all day! Eric and I actually got to sit and talk for a little! Joey loved the freedom. That's Doritos cheese on his fingers. It wouldn't be a picnic without the Doritos.
Jacob in true form, happy and smiling with mess all over his face. Yes, we even had doughnuts as the treat--bet you wish you could come on a picnic with us, huh!

Tyler built a teepee, with a little help from Jacob, until Jake got distracted collecting other things.
The finished product, complete with fire pit on the right. I thought about leaving Tyler here overnight but decided I didn't feel like driving back up here tomorrow. So we brought him home with us.
All in all an eventful month!

Catch Up

Well, it's been quite some time since I've updated anything. Time is flying by quickly and before I know it March is here! A few fun things going on. If you've been to our house you know the ceilings are very tall. So, when a light burned out we finally broke down and bought a mega-ladder. The boys were dying to try it out so we set it up and they climbed up and down again and again. You can't tell in the pics, but the top of the ladder is probably about 20' high. The ladder isn't even all the way extended! They climbed even higher than this, and they thought they were soooo cool!Tyler was hesitant and it took him a little while to climb all the way up, then of course Jacob gets on, hustles right on up to the top and looked like he was going to climb right off the end. No problem. My little daredevil. I'm going to have to worry about this kid when he's a teenager... No fear.
For President's Day weekend we went down to St. George with Katie and her family, Jessica and her family and Eric's parents. It was fun. We did some exploring, the kids got muddy, shot some guns, and I even shot a clay pigeon! It took me 5 tries but I finally nailed it. Just call me Annie Oakley.
The hooligans hooliganing.
On Monday morning we decided to take our little family and go hike the famous "Swenson's Crevasse." Hiking there is really fun because of all the slick rock. You can walk steep inclines, and there are lots of places to explore. The boys were having a ball.
Maggie got adventurous too.

Eric brought his rappelling gear and we tried to get the boys to go down a small descent. Joey was happy just playing with the ropes.

Tyler starting on his way down....
That's about as far as he got...

At school, the boys had some fun projects they have been working on. Jacob had his "Kindy 500." All the kindergartners make cars our of boxes and "drive" around the school. They stop at different places and learn about different places in the United States. Jacob was so proud of his racecar. He pretty much did it all himself. I had to assemble the box but he did all the painting and glueing..he was adamant about me not helping. And it turned out great!
Although he looks goofy in the pictures...
Joey is growing fast and keeping us laughing. He can be so much fun. He loves to be loved.
Tyler has been in basketball for the first time. It is a hoot watching the kids play. He was lucky enough to play on a team with his cousin. Ty loved it...definitely his favorite sport.
For Ty's school project, he had to make a WORKING invention using at least one simple machine. (I know, I had to look up simple machines on the internet too...apparently they are lever, wedge, screw, incline plane and ...I can't remember the other one.) Ty came up with a Gumball Show. You put a gumball down the chute, use the lever to push it off the cup onto the inclined planes, it falls into the soda bottle top into a screw and then falls into a little cup. It turned out pretty cool, but he got a little generous with his gumballs and only had one left at the end of the night.
Maggie is growing up way too fast...she acts like a teenager most of the time. Here she is on the phone with my mom. She talked to her forever, walking around with her inside out nightgown on, her hands on her hips, her high heels on, talking like a teenage girl. So funny.
Anyway, lots of pics, little words. Life is good, all is well in the Swenson house.