The year in {BRIEF} review...

Well, there is no way to catch up on a complete year of activities, what with our busy social lives, so here is a recap of some of the highlights...

2013 consisted of:

Trips to the pumpkin patch

 A trip to Disneyland....

 Trips out to Grandma Calder's (a favorite destination we won't have much longer) and the beach...

 Lots of soccer from both older boys (Jake LOVES it)...

 A new puppy (YIKES!)...

Tyler WON his Pinewood Derby!!!!!

Lots of Joey's signature CHEESERS....

A GIRL'S TRIP to Seattle!!!

Another trip to Grandma's and the BEACH!

 A successful hunting trip (yuck)...

 FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!

 Another Halloween...

Maggie turned 5!

 Just general goofing around...

Not one but TWO facial traumas...

Joey had 8 stitches,    Maggie had 40 (in 3 layers)!!!

BYU football games...

Cold walks!

 And MORE trips to the beach!

Phew!  Let me tell you picking out only a few (yes, I consider this a few) pics from the year was tough--my kids are so darn cute.  But there is a brief recap.  Christmas is right around the corner so be ready for some more pictures!

No you aren't hallucinating....

I am here.  And I'll tell you why--I lost my resolve to keep up my blog a while ago.  They have kind of fizzled out of fashion because most people these days turn to facebook or twitter to keep the world updated on their lives.  I, however, am under no pretenses that ANYONE cares what I ate for breakfast, that Joey peed his pants, or that I am watching "The Biggest Loser" while eating candy.  In fact, the whole reason I kept a blog in the first place was not to inform the world of my day to day, it was a way for me to keep a family journal for my kids to look back on.  And let me tell you...they LOVE looking at all the old posts.  No one can deny that looking at pictures and reading about yourself when you were little is thrilling.  So guess what, after ALL these years I finally figured out how to make it into a book!!  Not that it is at all hard, it is just one of those things you keep putting off for...ohhh....5 or 6 years.  (Yikes--had it really been that long???)  So I ordered it today!  Considering the time span it covers it will probably be 500 pages long, but my life is just that interesting.  I can't help it.  Yes, I know I can keep it indefinitely on the internet, or even saved as a digital file on my computer, but I just have this thing about having something tangible.  Example--we got a Kindle reader a year ago and guess how many books I've read on it?  About 1/100th.  I just couldn't do it--half the satisfaction of reading comes from feeling the pages in your hands, turning them, the smell of the paper.  Is that weird?   I'm sure in 10 years physical books will be a thing of the past, but I will wait until then to make the switch.  Heck, I was still using VHS tapes when they didn't even SELL them anymore.  I'm in no rush. So I don't know how often I will post or how long I will keep it up, but for now I will try to be back in the swing.  I don't care if people read it--I am doing for myself and my family, a chronicle of our lives.  The good, the bad and the ugly.

One funny note to start us off--we were reading scriptures together as a family last night and talked about building on the foundation of Christ.  We were attempting to explain what that meant, so we asked the kids what the most important part of our house was.  We all agreed even though it is tall with gables and stone on the outside, that it is foundation in the basement that is what makes it strong.  Eric turned to Jake and asked, "What if the basement floor was made of marshmallows?"  (You get where he was going with it...)  Jacob, serious as a heart attack and without missing a beat, replied: "I'd eat it."

Snow much fun!

Well here in Utah we have certainly welcomed the snow and COLD!  Okay, well maybe I didn't exactly WELCOME it, but it came anyway.  Last winter it barely snowed at all and never even got too cold, but this winter is a doozy!  We've had a few big snowstorms and for the past week if it gets over 10 degrees it's warm!  The boys have had a blast playing the snow, and luckily I can still use Joey as an excuse to not go outside.  I still have to help the boys with their snowclothes.....ugh.  But it is worth it when they show me their cool snow forts and stuff.  

 Eric and some other guys (Tyler and Jake included) went pheasant hunting a few weeks ago.  They had a really good time, the boys thought it was very cool.  I really liked this pic.

 We set up Christmas, and I have tried very hard to let go of decorating and letting the kids have more fun with it.  They do and they love it.  My tree may not look perfect and my stockings don't match but the kids are loving every minute.

Tyler has been working very hard learning guitar.  He is getting really good and played us all some Christmas carols.  He's been saving up for an electric guitar!  Yeah right, like I want one of THOSE around the house!

 Eric and I threw an ugly Christmas sweater party.  It was so much fun.  Adults only, so we were able to invite a lot of friends.  I must say there were some pretty darn ugly sweaters around!

 The Friday before Chrsitmas we spent up in Salt Lake at the Marriott hotel.  They have an indoor pool and sauna--that was the kids' favorite part!  It was very crowded up there, everyone wanting to see temple square lights and all, but it was still fun.  A lot of swimming!

 Joey and his signature "cheeser."

 We took a trip over to the BYU bookstore over the break and picked out some fun goodies for our friends over in Belgium.

 CHEESER!

We spent Christmas eve at Grandma Swenson's house.  The kids all got matching pj's to wear, as per tradition.  It was chaotic but that was mostly because of my kids.  

Christmas morning was great.  The kids were so excited and Santa did indeed come!  I knew he would, my kids are pretty darn great.  Jacob got an electric scooter!

Maggie got tons and tons and tons of girly stuff!  Crafts, jewelry, Barbies, dress up, you name it.  She was in girl heaven.

 Joey got in on the fun.

 Matching jammies!

 Once, again, the CHEESER!

And holy cow, look what Santa brought Tyler!  Well, I guess I can put up with the noise just because of the sheer look of joy on Tyler's face.  And I have to admit, it does sound pretty cool when he plays "Sweet Home Alabama."

All in all a great Christmas season.  I am sad/glad it is over, now we enter the doldrums of winter.  But all is well in the Swenson house so I will go to bed grateful tonight.

I'm back!

It's been a while but I'm back for a bit.  We've had a couple birthdays and some happenings around here.  Joey turned a whopping 2 years old!  Holy cow, the time flies fast.  Joey is a sweet as pie little boy who loves hugs and kisses and snuggles and all things mommies love.  He is a bit (okay, a huge) "getter-in-to-things" boy.  That can make life hard.  He sees his older siblings do things and he thinks he can do them too.  Then I see him standing on the kitchen counter Playing in my melted Scentsy wax and I wish he would just knock it off!

 Tyler is getting to be quite the young man.  He has been begging for a suit for a long time (whaaaaaa?)  I have resisted since he complains enough as it is about putting on khakis and a button up shirt.  But I finally gave in, and lo and behold here he was dressed and ready for church an hour early!  Who is this kid?!

 Halloween was fun as always.  Jacob the vampire....

 Tyler the lion tamer...

 Joey as Scooby Doo and Maggie as Belle.

 Hail hail the gang's all here.  It was night full of candy, fun, friends and good times.

 Now it's my little Maggie Moo's turn to have a birthday.  Okay, her birthday really isn't for 2 more days but we had her party today.  It was a princess party with a My Little Pony cake, per her request.

Making beautiful bracelets and crowns...

Princess dance party!

Oooooooohhhhhh, aaaaahhhhhhh.........   Lots of girly gifts.

Blow Maggie blow!

We love Maggie so much--she definitely completes the family with her "feminine touch."  She is a girl who knows what she wants.  Loves all things girly but holds her own with her brothers.  I told her to stop growing but she shrugged and said, "I can't help it!" Maggie loves to play with hair, although I wish she'd do it a little more softly!  She loves to dance--I will find her in her room playing music on my iphone and having a personal dance party.  She changes her clothes at least 3 times a day.  For all her sweetness and spunk we are so glad she is part of our family.  I always sneak a peek at her after she has fallen asleep--somehow, in the time between tucking her in and when I check in on her later, she has piles of books on her bed, a new pair of pajamas on and a cup from her toy kitchen full of water by the bed.  I look at her while she is sleeping, and I have a moment of quiet to realize how lucky we are to have her.  We love you Maggie, happy birthday!

Do you need a new fridge? Yes, you do.

First things first, guess who else started school in the family?  Maggie is an official preschooler now.  Boy, is she ever excited about going to school.  She absolutely loves it!

 Joey wanted to get in on the picture taking action as well.  What a stinker--almost 2 and into EVERYTHING!  And I mean EVERYTHING.  More to come on that in a few weeks for his birthday post.

 Now on to the highlight of my day.  Have you ever bought a large purchase and wondered if you made the right decision?  Well, I do all the time, but I have to say I am in love with fridge.  It is the most awesome appliance ever made.  It even has a snack drawer for the kids so they don't sit around with the fridge open deciding what they want.  Awesome.  Before we moved here we had a teeny tiny fridge, more of a large cooler than an appliance.  When we picked out our fridge I wanted a large one--not like half my kitchen $10K large, but large.  I got this one and have never had to cram or Tetris things into my fridge.  Anyway, So Eric is in charge of getting the breakfast foods for the fathers and sons campout this weekend.  He had quite a large list of things he needed to buy in bulk.  So off I went to Costco.  Let it be known I have a love/hate relationship with Costco.  It is a great place to get deals on all the things you need, from socks to BBQs to digital cameras.  However, who has ever walked out of Costco with nothing but the things on their list?  I for one, have never.  I am good about buying things I will use, but inevitably still purchase more than I went in for.  Sometimes I see people there leaving with only one container of milk and a pack of apples.  Huh?  A feat of strength of will-power I will never have.  Anyway, back to my story.  So I had the task of getting all the supplies for the campout--lots of milk, juice, eggs, sausauge, etc. etc. etc.  By the time I was done I felt like the Duggars (19 Kids and Counting).  I managed to get it in car, home and then I wondered how in the world I was going to fit it all into my fridge!  But I have to say after moving a few mostly empty bottles of salad dressing, a few other things I was able to fit it ALL in!  Can you believe it?  17, count them, SEVENTEEN gallons of milk/juice, 72 eggs, fruit, veggies, and sauces galore all fit into my fridge and the door still shuts smoothly!  I fell in love with my fridge all over again.  Yes, the other stuff is a bit crammed in, but it still all fits!  It. is. awesome.  So I ask you, do you need a new fridge?

Yes, you do.