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.

Lake fun

For all of you wondering if it's possible to swim in Alaskan waters, the answer is yes...with a wet suit. Last weekend, we just had to get out on the lake before fall hits. We decided to make Saturday the day, no matter what. Luckily the weather cooperated, and even though it wasn't sunny, the air was still pleasant. The Brewsters, Hansens and a few lake neighborhood kids came along. With wet suits donned, my brave family had a blast innertubing, riding wave runners, swimming, and playing in the sand. Yes, we had our excavator build us a sandy beach with all of the extra sand he dug out of our lot. It is almost like Hawaii, well not really, but we can pretend. It was a great day at the lake, and now we have even more incentive to build our house faster so we can have more days like this sooner.

Here is our best sand castle builder, Miss Chloee.

Aaron is suited up and ready to make some waves. He is still not able to hear 100% because of the water he got in his ears after one too many wipe outs.

Dave, taking Aaron for a drag. Sorry the pic looks weird, our camera is on its way out.

Haylee and her friend, Bristol are holding on for dear life. Bristol and her 3 siblings live about 4 lots down the beach, so we are really excited our kids will have such great friends to play with in our new house.

First day of school

Another "first day of school" under our belts. This year we have an eigth grader, a fifth grader, and a first grader!! How time flies. Only two at home with me this year, although Chloee really wants to be at school like the big kids. Instead, she has to settle with "playing school" with mom and Jolee. She has her own school notebook where she is already pracitcing her letters, writes her name, and is now sounding out three letter words.
With two days down, so far so good. Jaron has not pulled any cards yet, which is always a good thing. They were all so excited to see thier friends and the new playground equipment that was installed over the summer. Haylee has already started cross country running practice. The homework is already coming home to. It's nice to be back to a routine schedule, but I could do without making lunches and driving carpool everyday!! At least we have one more year until 6:00 a.m. seminary!! Good luck to all you parents this year.

I swear, I'll never get Jaron to smile right for pictures, but hey...that's him.

Chop, chop honey

After ho-humming for several weeks now, Haylee finally decided to go for it and chop her mid-back length hair off. Just in time for the first day of school, Haylee went with the ever popular short, A-line cut with some high and low lights. She looks so cute. Take a look:

Holy cow, that's a lot of hair, Haylee!! The price we pay to be beautiful!!


Getting the finishing touches, and voila...she's gorgeous!!

Gettin' dirty

Last weekend I drug Haylee with me to run "The Mud Run", a 5k in Nikiski. The twist is that this route is all dirt trails along the highway and included mini obstacles like army netting, tire jumps, bails of hay, and a finish of a long, gravelly tube to crawl through, ending in a big splat mudbath at the end. I have completed lots of runs over the years, but this was definately one of the more memorable. Haylee really didn't want to go, but the money was already spent so we headed out the door. She did great even though she has troubles with her ankles and knees. The best was waiting at the end for her and jumping in with friends, Becky and Angela. Of course we had to have a mud fight in the pit, but we still didn't win the prize for the dirtiest runners. Maybe next year. Thanks agian Haylee for putting up with your old mom! And thanks to Erik for taking all the great pics.

Here we are before the run...nice and clean.

Here I am waiting for Becky and Haylee to emerge from the tunnel. Observe the lovely dismount from the dirt mound into the mud pit. (Haylee and Becky both attempted summersaults)

Let the mayhem insue...it started with a huge take down by Becky.

Here I am coming to my daughter's rescue as Becky is caking on the mud. Angela was the only smart one to stay out of that crazy mess! Of course, Becky made sure she got a little mud on her face.

We only got this dirty because we knew we could shower at the gym that was sponsoring the run. We had such a great time that we are planning on it next year. Anyone wanna join in??