There IS a difference between a little and a lot... Good to know!

The other day, Nate was getting Tye buckled in his car seat. He was snapping the chest buckle thing shut and accidentally pinched Tye. Nate said, "Oh! Sorry bud. Did I pinch you a little?" Tye came back with, "NO! You pinched me A LOT!" We had a good laugh.

What goes up must come down... eventually!

So my life just got more complicated! Haley does great going up the stairs... just not so great down. She hasn't had a major fall, YET! I can't believe she's 10 1/2 months old already. Where does the time go?

Speaking of strawberries...

So this is our first strawberry ever harvested!! Pretty pathetic, huh? I'm just glad the plants didn't die. Next year should be better! I decided this year I would pray for my garden instead of curse it like last year... last years results were far from ideal. So far so good!

Another Staple

I'm slow at posting this, but on June 8th (a Sunday of course!) Tye fell off a bar stool and hit his head on the end post of our stairs. It split open about a 1/4 inch and just wouldn't stay shut. We tried steri-strips, but his hair wouldn't let them stick. I called the on-call doctors office and they said they didn't have a doctor in until 6:00 p.m.. So by the time we got to the office it had been 3 hours since it had happened and of course it's scabbing over by now and doesn't look as bad as it did before. They tell me that it's borderline... I could have them put one staple in or just go home. I wanted to minimize his scar (and had already paid them to fix him) so I opted to have it stapled just to close the gap a bit more. They numbed the area with a topical treatment and quickly stapled him. He almost cried, but did very well. So both my boys split their heads open in almost the exact same spot, on Sundays, and had to be stapled shut. Looks like it's going to be a fun life!! I hope they don't copy each other every time.

Strawberry Days Carnival

We take the kids every year to the Strawberry Days Carnival. It's the same every year so we know exactly what rides the kids will want to ride. We pay a small fortune to play a few games and get a little cheap stuffed animal. Then of course the whole reason for going (at least for Nate and I) is to eat the strawberries and cream. Yum, yum!! It's a fun little tradition. But what is it with carnivals and the weirdos they bring out? Do any of you see the "weirdos" anywhere else? The store? The bank? I don't. Where do they come from???

Swensen Family Reunion 2008

June 9-12 was our annual Swensen Family Reunion. We stayed in a cabin at Daniel's Summit. I realized I didn't take many pictures during our stay, but here are a few. We did a balloon launch for Sammy the first night. The kids wrote a little note to him and attached it to their balloon. It was fun to watch the balloons race out of our sight. We went fishing the next day. My kids never caught anything. I think most everyone else did, though. The BIG swing was a hit! The kids couldn't get enough of it. I finally decided I had better try it before we headed home. It was fun. I should've done it sooner!! At one point of our stay I couldn't find Tye so I went to our room to see if he was there. I guess he was soooo exhausted he made it to our room, but didn't make it to the bed. I almost stepped on him because he was just barely inside the door completely asleep. We did crafts, had a program, watched movies, played the Wii and just relaxed. It is always fun to be with family. We had a great time! We missed the McGees. Hopefully everyone can make it next year.

All Bros, No... Girls!!

Nate went on a 4 day Harley ride through the southern Utah national parks last week. When he and Tony (my sister Marci's husband) left the cabin we were staying at for our Swensen family reunion it was a whopping 38 degrees! They met up with Tony's brother-in-law, Trent and Trent's dad, John and hit the highway. They rode about 800 miles roundtrip, ate "Ho-Made" pies, got a nice booty shakin' in front of Denny's from a rather plus size woman (to put it nicely), got mauled by a dozen french ladies, met a lone man from Luxembourg on his own Harley trip and had many more fun and exciting tales to tell. He returned safely to 90 degree weather and we can tell by the smile on his face that this is only the beginning!

JUNEAU, ALASKA

This was my first trip to Alaska. Nate has been there a few times, but this was his first time in Juneau. My friend, Amber, lives in Juneau, but we sadly missed each other as our travel plans were the same week. She gave us a lot of "insider" information and we chose the "laid-back" (and less expensive) activities. BUT, we have our reasons... #1) We only had one full day to do any sight seeing. Nate came to do a touch-up in the Juneau Chapel and I (for food and lodging) had to help. #2) On our flights there I suffered a brain aneurism... no, not really. I didn't know my sinuses were all messed up, but found out on each plane descent that they were. I had excruciating pain above my right eye and then my shoulders felt like they were being sqeezed by a sumo wrestler or something. I pretty much thought I was going to die the first time. The second time I prayed for death!! Just kidding. I know I shouldn't joke, but it was an experience I hope never happens again or to any of you. So I didn't feel 100%. I doped up on meds to open up my sinuses. They must've worked. I had no problems on the way home. So... this trip was short, but soooo much fun and so worth it!


On Sunday, June 1st we arrived around 10:00 p.m. in Juneau. Monday morning we headed out to Mendenhall Glacier. We were able to walk along the waters edge up to the waterfall. I had hand warmers that kept my hands warm as well as my ears as you can see. It was early enough that it was still chilly and very quiet. We didn't have to worry about tourist bugging us... not that we aren't tourists ourselves, but it was nice to be alone. The tour buses started rolling up as soon as we were done. It was a great start to our day! We then went to the Alaska State Museum. It was interesting to learn all about the natives and history of the state.

I didn't realize I was oogling my husband... sorry! I just HAD to share!!

Later that day it got warmer and we went out to Outer Point Trail on Douglas Island. It is well kempt and easy! My kind of hikin'!! Ok, fine... walking. We didn't see anyone on the trail so once again we were tourist free. I LOVED this trail. We didn't see any exciting wildlife, but the forest was gorgeous and it was so fun to just be together. No distractions........

Whoops! Rrrring... rrrring!! Yes there were! This was only a half vacation. When the phone rang everything was put on hold. Here Nate is writing down measurements on the back of the Ensign. (It's the only paper we had in our backpack!)


And apparently we got back on a different trail (Rainforest trail) after walking down the beach. It spit us out at the highway about 1/2 a mile North of our car. So this is how we finished our "hike".



On Tuesday, June 3rd it was rainy and cold. Regular Juneau weather! We had to work the first half of the day which happened to be the better half. Later that day we went for a drive. I made Nate put his poncho on as we explored this soggy beach. He wasn't very happy about it, but our trip wouldn't have been complete without it!!



This is the view from our hotel room. The cruise ships come into Gastineau Channel everyday throughout the summer. You can see them leaving in a couple pictures.

Nate and I went our separate ways this morning... I am still on Alaska time, it's not after midnight yet!! (I need to go to bed.) He flew to Fairbanks to install some doors and then flew to Anchorage to meet up with Rick and Ryan to finish up some work or maybe just fishing (who knows!). He'll be home Saturday morning. I ended up with a 4+ hour layover in Seattle instead of my original 2 hour one. Ugh! That was crappy, but I am home with my little ones now. It was a great way to start my summer! I hope yours is off to a great start, too!