halloween

Our ward does a trunk-or-treat on Halloween and the kids love it. It has taken me a couple years to warm up to the idea. I hated that it took away the traditional trick-or-treating experience, but since that's really all they remember ever doing it's not so bad. They did go out to a few house in our neighborhood afterward. I will admit it beats walking around all cold and tired for hours.

The Indecisive Fairy

The Clone Trooper....
not to be confused with a Storm Trooper! Two different things apparently.
I love how his mask squishes his nose. I'm pretty sure he didn't love it so much, though.

Spiderman

The Cowgirl

All done and trying to get warm waiting for dad to deliver the hot chocolate and donuts..... yum!

Swensen Halloween Party 2009

As you can see, Nate and I don't get "into"Halloween much to the dismay of our children.

Isn't she just the cutest cowgirl you ever did see?

We had lots of yummy soups for dinner and played lots of fun games.....
So the condensed story behind the "Stick the Nail in Grandpa's Thumb" game goes like this: My dad was recently remodeling a bathroom for my aunt and his nail gun double shot. One went into the lumber and one went into his knuckle! Ouch!! So that's how the game came about. The kids were trying to stick nails into grandpa's knuckle. My two year old niece, Brinley won!

The dads were gaming it up too..... on their iphones. What a bunch of losers!!

Cookie Walk

Donut Eating Contest

This is Tye with his cousin Ben. Ben is 8 years older than Tye to the day... they share a birthday and are great friends. Ben is in 7th grade and is one of the tallest kids in his grade. Then there's Tye who is one of the shortest kids his age. The comparison was just too cute!

Tye needed a drink break during the game. So much for winning!! :)

halloween parade

So every year the parents are invited to the school to watch all the classes march in a parade to show off their costumes. My camera must not have been on the right setting because all my pictures turned out really weird, but you can see how much care Kaden had for me and Nate standing there cheering him on.... Thanks, bud! Are we so embarrassing that you can't even look at us? At least we got a weak little wave.

Rachel, Rachel, Rachel. Remember how she was going to be a black cat? Well, she wasn't. The night before the parade she was in tears again about not wanting to be a cat. Instead she wanted to be a fairy. So now we've gone from a cat to Dorothy to a fairy. Part of me wanted to tell her tough luck, but then I decided to be a nice mom and figure something out..... without having to spend any money. So I called her aunt Kerstin to see what she might have from previous years. We were able to come up with fairy wings and a pink tutu and it sufficed! Thank goodness! It wasn't the most spectacular costume, but if you know me that's about as good as it gets whether it's planned months ahead or the night before!

let the festivities begin

We had our first Halloween party of the year last night at Grandpa and Nana Bishop's house. They fed us yummy soups and rolls and supplied the whole family with homegrown pumpkins from their garden to carve. A fun time was had by all.... eventually anyway. When we arrived Rachel was in tears and not talking to anyone. We finally got it out of her that she didn't want to be a cat anymore, but Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. WHAT??? It was so out of the blue. I had no idea she was thinking of dressing up as something else. After clinging to either me or her dad for awhile she decided to go ahead and have some fun. I have to admit my patience with her were gone, so Nate did most of the consoling. I thought she was the cutest kitty ever, but my opinion didn't matter much to her last night. Hopefully we'll be able to make it through a few more parties without any more major melt downs. I didn't get pictures of everyone all dressed up, but there are still plenty of opportunities coming up....

This is Nate's masterpiece! It's a beaut, isn't it? It's like a wretched old witch.... I love it!

holy shmoly

I just freaked out a little. I just noticed on my pregnancy ticker I only have 67 more days (give or take a few) to get ready for our new little one. I remember when I was pregnant with Rachel I had the nursery all decked out and ready with about 5 months more to go. I know the more kids you have the less there is to get ready (and the less time you have). I already have most everything I need, but I'm lacking a plan. Haley is still in the crib..... I so don't want to deal with moving her to a real bed yet. I haven't even bought a single, that's right not even ONE little, teeny, tiny thing for her yet. Gasp!! Every baby deserves a few new things. I have got to get on the ball. I couldn't be having her at a more busy time either. Work has picked up for Nate a bit so he is traveling more again. Halloween is coming. Then Nate's birthday. Closely followed by Rachel's 8th birthday which entails a party, baptism shortly after, etc.. Thanksgiving. Oh and then CHRISTMAS. Oh, I need a plan big time! So maybe I should get off this computer and get started....

growing up

My baby girl is growing up.... (sob, sniff, sniff...) Haley loves to put on all the fluffy skirts we have in the dress up box and twirl around. So cute! I wanted to take her picture while she was twirling, but as soon as she'd see me put the camera up to my eye she would plop down, wait for me to take a picture, then say, "I wanna see."

{Here's a snap before she saw what I was doing.}

And she thinks she owns the computer. Here she is using the scrolling wheel on the mouse and clicking on pictures.... she's two! What is the world coming to?! (Please don't pay any attention to the mess of papers everywhere, her snotty nose (the screen reflects nicely off of it) or the fact that her hair isn't done... Thank you! It's a good thing this was taken on a cell phone and not with a high resolution camera.)

TUMS

These things are a necessity at about midnight...... 3:00 a.m...... then I'm usually good the rest of the night.

The problem is I found the container empty.....

Haley and Tye decided to make them an afternoon snack today! "Mmmmm, yummy," Haley says!! And I say, "Ugh!"


See how it says 60 chewable tablets? I just barely opened them the other day. I only found about 8 uneaten or semi-eaten Tums laying around the vicinity of the container. So I figure the two of them together ate approximately 50! Seeing that all it says on the back is "keep out of reach of children" and no other major warnings I figured they would probably be okay, but called Poison Control just to be sure. Sure enough, they'll be fine. Maybe a little diarrhea (gotta love that!), but otherwise fine. Seriously, my children may be the demise of me. Just when everyone is feeling better someone has to do something to worry me!

just another day in paradise

WARNING: Long whiny post!!

What was suppose to be a fun family get away exploring things like this......

Turned into exploring things like this instead.....

Insta Care

&

So here's the story:

Nate was working in the St. George area (Hurricane, to be exact) so we decided to meet him down there Wednesday evening to have a fun little trip for Fall Break. We haven't gone on any family trips all year so we thought this would be a nice break from our everyday life. Boy were we wrong! My brother, Rick and my sister's husband, Ryan also work with Nate so their wives also drove down for the "fun".

We arrived at our hotel a little before 8:00 p.m. The kids did great driving down and I we didn't even have to make any potty stops for me! We got settled and excited for the fun days ahead.

The next morning Nate and the guys still had work to do periodically throughout the day so I took the kids down to the free breakfast by myself, but Tye was coughing and coughing so we tried to eat as fast as we could. I felt so stupid because the day before he had perked up from having a fever and cough and I thought we were out of the woods. And of course all the people would be older than 55 and not "kid" people. It seemed the only other kids within a 30 mile radius were my nieces and nephew still up in their hotel rooms. Some of the kids got yelled at by an elderly couple who wouldn't close their door all the way. Haley pushed it open then I whisked her away before they saw me, but then the other kids in the hall got their wrath. We usually stay in a condo or something, but with last minute plans it didn't work out. It was time to get the kids out of there so my sister, Shelly and I took our kids out to the miniature golf course our fabulous 5 star (ha, ha) hotel had.... which we just assumed was free, but it wasn't.... The kids were entertained for a whole 30 minutes!! I told some to start at the end so all 8 kids playing wouldn't be waiting for each other. Whoops! The last hole swallows the ball and you don't get it back. Luckily the lady at the front desk gave me another golf ball with out paying for it. Who knew it was so high-tec to gobble up your ball at the end???



(Never mind the two year old with the binky in her mouth.... I haven't figured out a convenient time for ME to wean her from it yet!)

Haley entertained herself by stepping on giant ants and picking them up.

After golfing the kids had fun running around and chasing lizards.

Next on the list: swimming. It was nice and warm and of course swimming is always a hit.

Little did I know Kaden was wilting.

I knew Tye wasn't feeling well, but wasn't willing to admit defeat.... yet. He wanted to golf, swim and have lots of fun. He was cheerful, but was getting worse.

So after lunch Nate and I took him to the Hurricane Valley Insta Care.  The doctor there was really nice and considerate of what I thought, but she never made a real decision on what he had or what to do about it. His fever had come back and his cough was getting pretty barky. Was it croup? Did he have H1N1? Was it something else? Hmmm.... that's why I took him to the doctor.... HELLOOOOO.... to get answers. We did get some cough syrup with codeine to give the little guy a break from the non-stop coughing. He was worn out! He actually slept on my lap during the whole doctor visit and then most of the afternoon.

Then Rachel zonked out and I thought the worst..... but she was just tired and nothing else. Phew!

Kaden started running a fever, but was determined to keep going. So while the other kids slept he went to a park with his cousins..... not very considerate, but how awful to be on vacation and be stuck in a stinky hotel room. So after a VERY boring afternoon cooped up in a our room we let the kids go swimming again (minus Tye and Haley). I'm glad we let them because that would be the last of our fun (if you can call it that)!

Ok, maybe not the last of the kids fun, but definitely the last of my fun. We went to Pirate Island that night for dinner. The kids of course loved the arcade and never wanted to leave. It was a late dinner and Haley was getting sleepy so I was snuggling her on my lap and she started coughing a little then gagged and threw up a little on me. Ugh! Seriously! I tell Nate and he gets ready to help me try to clean it up and then the mother load comes out. I was soaked! ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? Right then and there we knew we were heading home first thing in the morning. We almost started home that night, but opted for one more night of bliss on a hard, spring loaded bed. Tye ended up coughing up some blood in the night, but when I called the doctor they acted like it wasn't a big deal. What? Well, it's a big deal to ME!

Nate had a couple hours left of work that next morning. By the time he got back I had everything packed and waiting for him to take to the car. We were out of there! Sadly my brother had a migraine for a day or two so they were happy to be leaving and my sister, Shelly had kids teetering on the edge of illness and wasn't feeling well herself.... I'm sure it didn't help that my kids were spreading all their joy.... so they got all packed up too.

We were glad to arrive home and I was soooo thankful for my bed. I never knew a crappy bed could make you go into labor. Okay, not really, but it did give me contractions and left me sleepless. Surprisingly, the kids all slept well both nights in spite of everything that was going on. I know it wasn't the end of the world, but I was so disappointed. It looks like we won't be going anywhere until after the baby is born now, but I'm okay with that.

FYI- We took Tye to the on-call doctor Saturday. He does have croup...... had something else at the beginning of the week. No one was ever tested for H1N1 or seen by a doctor when they had the coughs and fevers...... who knows what it was. Kaden is on the mend and should be good to go to school tomorrow. Haley and Rachel are fine.... there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Nate is off to Baltimore (oh no, the light is fading!!). Here's to hoping (once again) for a better week because it's been a LONG two weeks already!

contortionist tye

This picture makes me laugh so I thought I'd share..... Don't his legs look like they're on backwards? How he can even twist like that is a mystery to me! Go ahead, try it. I did! It wasn't possible. Being pregnant didn't help the situation much either. It gave me a contraction. I'm going to go lie down in a proper position now.

thanks for the welcome

Oh the joys of the autumn welcoming committee! It's like it just has to make a grand entrance..... "HEY EVERYBODY, I'M HERE".... and then they start dropping like flies! Life has been put on hold for the past week and a half and counting..... fevers, coughs, vomit.... you name it. Fall Break is coming up in a couple days and I'm hoping everyone will be well enough to go on a little trip and have some fun. I think there's a chance. Here's to hoping! {And wishing, and praying!}

to do's

So I gave the kids "to do" lists after dinner last night. I wasn't in the mood to fight with them and have to tell them what to do a million times. Our routine is basically the same every evening, but Nate was out-of-town and I needed to en-"list" some help. {Ha, ha.... I'm a dork!} I had no idea how well it would go over, but Rachel and Kaden thought it was the awesomest thing ever. {I'll be adding this to my bag of tricks for the future!} Kaden's list was the same as Rachel's just without the last "to do". She's had a tooth hanging by a thread for a few days now and it keeps bleeding every time she eats..... I was so sick of it. I offered her a dollar if she would just pull the darn thing out, but she wouldn't. So it got added to her list and since it was on "the list" she HAD to do it! She decided to start at the bottom of her list and work her way up. {That was surprising!} She pulled it out with no problem. Then asked for her dollar! In my mind the offer was void, but I gave it to her anyway.... If she'll be brave, I'll do anything.

total teeth lost: 8

2nd grade basketball

(Rachel is in the blue shirt/gray pants and the pink shirt/brown shorts... in case you can't tell.)

I know the quality of these photos from my phone are super awesome, but I just had to share them. Rachel asked to play basketball so I signed her up for 2nd Grade Basketball. She was excited about it until Nate took her to her first practice and she was the only girl on her team. She wouldn't participate at all. Nate still took her to her first game hoping she would try AND to teach her that she can't just give up when she has committed to do something. Still no luck. She wouldn't budge, but there were some girls on the other team so it got her a little more relaxed about it all. Then I took her to her next practice and she walked right in and didn't bat an eye. She participated the whole time and had so much fun. When her 2nd game came around this past Saturday she climbed back into her shell and refused to play. There were no girls on the other team either this time and she was intimidated by all those boys! By the time the 4th quarter was about to start someone asked her if she'd play if her dad could run along side her. None of our bribing or pep talks worked so why not give that a try? She said yes, so we got permission from the refs (who were so nice and more than happy to let Nate help her) and she went out on the court and played so well. You could tell she was nervous, but as the more time passed she got more comfortable and Nate was able to sit down. The other team was good.... like 2nd-graders-shouldn't-have-that-kind-of-talent good, but they were all so nice to her and even the parents from the other team were cheering her on. Even one of the refs helped her out and took her under his wing. She was so proud of herself after and admitted that she had "a little" fun. So we'll see what the next games bring.....

football date night

Nate and I were given tickets to the BYU vs. Utah State game Friday night. We had a lot of fun up in the old folks section. There were actually lots of young families in front of us, but it seems from looking at the picture they were all a lot older above us! That would maybe explain the relative quietness of our section. All the pictures we took with Nate's phone were hilarious. Of course, they were all of me pulling ugly faces, but not on purpose so they are deleted from off the face of this planet. The one you see is the only surviving photo.

To start out the evening we drove down to the stadium with my brother-in-law, PJ and stopped at Sonic for a quick bite to eat while waiting for PJ's friend to show up. We go through the drive-thru, pull up to the window to pay and the girl working there gazes straight into Nate's eyes (while probably batting them). She takes his debit card, reads his name, looks back at him staring "deep into his soul" (in Nate's words) then closes the window. We all didn't know exactly what to think. I thought she was going to ask him for his I.D. or something, but when she never did and kept just staring at him we all got a bit uncomfortable. So when she comes back do I make it known that I am his wife, we have four kids together and one on the way?? Does he purposely show his wedding ring? We had a good laugh while we waited for our food. So she comes back, hands him his card, the drinks and then the food, but left him with one more longing look...... I'm surprised she didn't ask for his phone number! WHAT THE? It was so funny. So now we tease him about his "Sonic Love".

Anyway, we had fun at the game just being together with no kids distracting us and no one wanted to stare into Nate's eyes...... besides me, of course! And it's always good when BYU wins.