Overheard

Our little family was driving around the other day. I can't remember where we were going or what we were doing, but in the backseats this is what Nate and I overheard.
Emma: "This time light my bum on fire!!"
Jake: "Okay, WHOOSH (apparently the sound of lighting someone's bum on fire)"
Emma: Pause. Then in a "surferish" tone, "Dude, hey dude. Smell that? What's cookin'?"
Jake roars with laughter
Emma: "No really dude, what's cookin'?"

Ah, the pride a parent feels when they overhear their children playing and laughing together.

All Hallows Eve

Here is the Halloween Report from our family. It is really kind of crummy here because they don't let the kids in elementary school dress up for Halloween. I swear those Halloween parades in elementary were the greatest. The other thing about dressing up for school is that you can wear your costume without your coat over it. As Jerry Seinfeld said, "I don't recall Superman ever wearing a jacket." The coat with the costume is a drag, and during school you didn't have to wear your coat. Enough of my blathering on about this.
As soon as the kids got home from school we packed up and headed to my parents for a Halloween party with my siblings and parents. It was fun, my kids trick-or-treated in my parents neighborhood which wasn't the highlight because we don't know anyone there, but the kids didn't seem to care. Then we went back to my parents and paarrtied!!! We had a great dinner and some great games (thanks Nat and Ju!).
Jake was really funny all night long. He referred to everyone by their costume. He liked answering my parents door and he would say things like, "Red Power Ranger, that is a great costume. Oh, Dracula how is the trick-or-treating?" Nat dressed up as a devil and he just called her 'devil' all night. During one of the games we drew out trick or treat cards. If it said trick, you had to do a trick, and if it said treat you got a treat. You get it. So Jake pulls a trick card and it says to fly around the room like a bat. So he starts flapping, not a stretch, then he starts pretend biting people and yelling, "Now you have rabies!" I am not sure who told him that bats give you rabies but it was pretty funny for Jake to run around and give my whole family rabies. . Then during desert Bob asked the kids if they liked "Camp Rock" and Jake just comes out with "hated it". He didn't even skip a beat. This is a boy who has obviously been forced to listen to too much Disney Channel pop against his will. All in all, it was a great Halloween.
Here we are. I am supposed to be a cat (I didn't realize the headband I was wearing was so fluffy until I saw pictures), Jake is Anakin, Emma is Hannah Montana, and Pete was a Monster (not a stretch).
My camera ran out of batteries, so I have to get some pictures of Nate in his costume from my Mom, it was pretty funny. You'll have to tune in later for the pics.

It Has Begun: the first of the Halloween posts

The Halloween festivities have begun. We carved pumpkins with the Jacobsons, Emma had a Halloween party at her dance class, and Emma went to a friend's house for a party. So, here is a sneak peek into Halloween at our house.
Our pumpkin carving has taken on a tradition of sorts. Jake and Nate carve a pumpkin, with a face as simple as possible and get it done as quickly as possible. Then Emma and I carve another pumpkin using a stencil, not a very hard stencil mind you, and spend a bunch of time trying to get a good looking pumpkin. We have carved pumpkins at the Jacobsons for the last few years and it is always fun. My friend Audrey is really into carving pumpkins and always makes these elaborate, impressive pumpkins. So it is pretty funny to see Jake and Nate's circle eyes, circle mouth, and Jake-carved-nose pumpkin along with all these fancy-schmancy pumpkins that the Jacobsons do. You might not be able to tell from the pictures but Emma's has a ghost with a moon and a tombstone. Jake's has 2 circle eyes (different sizes of course), a nose, and a circle mouth. It looks great and he is happy. I guess that is all it takes for successful pumpkin carving.

For Emma's dance party she decided to just wear one of her dress up dresses instead of her Halloween costume. Fine by me. So she was dressed as Ariel. Her friend in the pictures is Alexis.

Here is most of the Hannah Montana outfit. She ended up getting pretty sick of the wig, but overall I think she enjoyed being a diva. I am in for it for the next 15 years. Actually, she was really cute about the whole thing. She told me about everyone else's costumes and how great they looked too. I just know that she is one who loves getting all dressed up and it is not going to end any time soon. BTW- these pictures completely freaked Nate out.

Pretty Uneventful

Because Nate is gone to Redmond, WA for the week I am updating my blog to keep him in the loop of what is happening at home. And what is happening at home...not much. I, of course, got sick with a cold on Sunday right before Nate flew out. As a result of having medicinally wiped out my immune system I can't shake the cold. It doesn't help that I can't sleep very well without Nate here, and Nate usually gets up and gets Jake ready and off to school while I am spoiled and get to sleep in a little. Well enough about why I feel so crummy and on to what is going on at the Swensons!!!!
First things first, on Monday, I got up, got Jake up, and he got all ready and to the bus on time. I know that most of you who know me thought for sure without Nate here Jake would end up missing the first few hours of school each day, but no. I have been a responsible parent. Which is a lot to say now that my oldest is almost 8. I guess responsible parent may be pushing it, but when it comes to getting him to school I am a responsible parent. Because of the many who will question this I got actual photo evidence to prove it. You can't see the numbers on the clock, but I assure you they read 8:12. That my friends is the exact moment Jake must leave the house to make it to the bus stop in time.

The only other thing that was kind of fun that Nate missed was that as I was looking for a costume for Pete in some of Jake's old clothes I found a cute Halloween outfit for Pete. So, without further adieu here are the pictures of Pete in a little monster outfit (this is not his costume).

As you can see things in this new outfit started out pretty uneventful, but the series of pictures shows just how much Pete liked me dressing him up. Oh well, he's young and I am the Mom.

Disneyland

We finally took our trip to Disneyland. We went with Nate's sis Natalie, who is one of my BFFs (that is so awesome that I can sound so hip, oh, I just said awesome, nevermind) and our friends the Jacobsons, who we basically didn't see. Disneyland is the most magical place on earth, but you add 95 degree weather, and crowds, and it takes away some of the magic. We had a great time, but I really want to go back in like February when the heat and the crowds aren't as bad. I am not a nice person when I am hot, and my feet hurt from standing in lines, even in the most magical place on earth. Don't get me wrong, I love Disneyland and was so grateful I got to go with my family and have a vacation. Plus, I got Nate away from work for a whole week WOOHOO!
Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure:
Here are some Pete pictures, basically he did a lot of sleeping in the stroller.
Emma loves Minnie and the Princesses. She didn't even eat most her meal at the Princess lunch because she was turned around in her seat watching the Princesses.
Here are some pictures of Jake. He has his Dad's ability to look angry all the time. It is quite unsettling to take a 7 year old to Disneyland and get pictures of him looking angry.
Here are a bunch of pictures of Emma and her cousins Julie(older) and Kate(younger) at the princess lunch. I don't look forward to when Emma thinks the Princess lunch is too immature for her because it is so fun to watch the girls get so excited about the princesses.
This is a great picture of Jake and Nate and Emma on the rockets. I especially love it of Jake because he is so excited.
Just a photo op shot, but don't you love how Jake isn't even smiling and Emma thinks she is supposed to pose for the camera. Goofs.

"Baby Boy Erickson!" and "Baby Boy McGuire!"

Yes, I am not kidding I got not just 1 new nephew today, I got 2!! I am just so relieved both boys arrived safe and sound and now everyone can relax and get some sleep while some nurses take care of babies and let the pain meds do their thing.
First nephew: My sister Nat and her husband Jeff finally had their baby. It was a rough 24 hours for them, but he finally arrived at 11:36 this morning. He is 7 lbs. 12 oz. and 20 1/2 inches long. I absolutely fell in love with him the minute I saw him. He is beautiful and I am so glad he is doing so well.
Baby Boy Erickson about 30 minutes after he was born.

Second nephew: My brother Billy and his wife Jacee also had their baby today. Labor and delivery are never what I would call "easy" but from what it sounds like it was as smooth as you could expect it to go. He was 8 lbs. 11 oz. and I am not sure how long he was. I am so glad everything went okay because they are down in Texas where we couldn't be there so we just had to keep calling and giving love and support over the phone. I won't lie to you, I really think it stinks for my brother to have a baby so far away, but I digress. He has a name, so not just Baby Boy McGuire for him. Cade William. I think it is adorable. I have seen pictures, but nothing that I have the ability to post...hopefully I will talk them into some soon.
With my sibling having babies a few things hit me really hard today. I truly can't believe the instant love I have for these new little members of our family. I know that I am emotional, Nate says I have emotional diarrhea, but when I first saw Nat's baby I couldn't believe how much I loved him. It is just surprising to me that it is such an instant thing. Then when Billy called to tell me they had their baby I just felt this overwhelming desire to be there with them and see and hold and love this new little one. I just know these little ones were sent to our family for a reason and I love the immediate connection that I feel with them. Enough blubbering, I know.
Anyway, Happy Baby Day for the McGuires!!!

More Info

I have been asked repeatedly about my new niece because of the lack of information I provided. Here's the deal. She is Nate's sister Holly and her husband Adam's new baby girl. The name has been up in the air, so, sorry there. She was 6 lbs. 9 oz and 20 inches long. She came a few days early and is doing great. We were the first Swensons outside of her mother to see her! She looks a lot like her Dad. Nate and his siblings have all had babies that look more like the spouses than the Swensons, so the assumption as of now is they have pretty recessive genes. We are just happy she is here and doing so well. Adam and Holly will make great parents too, except for the fact that they are both attorneys :)