Gotta post something

Since school has started and sports are in full swing, I have been finding it harder to make time to post. But, I know so many of you are loosing sleep at night as to what is going on with the Swanson clan, that I started feeling guilty about not putting something on here. Okay, maybe I am deluding myself concerning our "fan base", but I do need to update this thing. Lots has been happening with our family of course, but I haven't been able to post any pictures yet because I have been using a new camera I got for my birthday and I haven't taken the time to download any new pics from the new camera. It is a Nikon D80 I think, and I love it. Eric, you will have to give me some serious pointers on all this thing can do, but for now I can at least point and click.
Yes, I did mention that I had a birthday and since I do not have a blogging husband (he reads them, but does not post), I will have to do my own post about my birthday. I turned 32 on Saturday, and I am okay with that, I think. I had a great birthday weekend, with my family coming down to visit and a great float down the Upper Kenai River with my buddies. My sweet kids surprised me with a homemade birthday poster, balloons, and a yummy brownie cake when I got home. I am just glad I can still get through one box of candles for my cake (it had 36 candles in it). I will post pictures of the big day soon, I hope. Thanks to all who made my day special.

WALKING!!! Better late than never

The day we have all been waiting for has finally come. Our 16 month old, Jolee is finally walking!! She is so proud of herself. While she is not comfortable enough with setting off on her own yet, she is loving walking the length of the living room between Mom and Dad. We were so worried that we would have to take a non-walker to nursery in 2 months, but I think she will be on her own two legs by then. Jolee is such a joy in our family, almost always happy and content. She has found her voice though and is always jabbering about something (we think she picked up some Chinese watching the Olympics). I wasn't really in a hurry for Jolee to walk because they grow up so fast, but I am excited for her that she has accomplished a huge childhood milestone. Hooray for JoJo!!

Fair Fun

Last weekend was the last for the Alaska State Fair 08. Those of you from the "mainland" might laugh at our rinky dink fair, but it's a pretty big deal here. It's a place where you can get yummy giant turkey legs drenched in barbecue sauce, fresh, buttery corn on the cob, funnel cakes, Carmel apples, hand dipped ice cream, and the list goes on. I hadn't taken the kids for the last two summers, and more importantly, there was a concert Haylee and I wanted to see playing on Friday night, so we headed off to Palmer and Grandma Lynn's for the weekend.

Haylee and I made it in the nick of time to the Sean Kingston concert Friday night. For those of you who don't know who he is, he is an up and coming hip hop, Jamaican artist who has some really great songs out right now. I am always looking for bonding time with Haylee, and since we both like the same music, we made a night of it. The concert was really fun and the weather was awesome. Here is a pic of us jamming together. Sean Kingston is behind our big heads.

Saturday was exhausting fun fun fun. Grandma Lynn and I were crazy enough to take my kids and cousins, Addie and Syndney to the fair. They were all actually really well behaved and we didn't even lose anybody. We ate lots of yummy treats and spent way too much money on the rides. It was all worth it though, because we had a great time in the sunny, 70 degree weather.

Here is Chloee braving the kiddie rides.

The cousins enjoying some quality time together. Addie was fearless on the big kid rides!

The day ended with everyone getting to choose one special thing. Jaron got a cowboy gun set, Brady got a comic book written and signed by a popular local author, and the girls got hair extensions. Yes, I know, what does a 4 year old need with colored hair extensions? It was too cute to pass up. At least I didn't get them airbrush tattoos!

Here are some pics of my glamour girls.

Before...

And after...

A fun day was had by all, and we can't wait for next year.