Elisabeth's Birthday Party

On Friday night we had a birthday party for Elisabeth with tons of her friends (Tammie, Brooke, McKenzie, Aspen, Hannah, Alyssa, Jessica, Teisa, Keisha, Emree, Kierschte, and Rebekah). It was CRAZY! But a lot of fun too. We watched Tinker Bell and ate junk food, played musical chairs, and even threw in a little fighting at the end (and then I made them huddle and say nice things to each other). Whew! I think Elisabeth has some really great friends.

Halloween

These are the Halloween costumes the girls had this year. They are actually both Elizabeth Swan costumes from Pirates of the Caribbean. I don't know why the picture was sort of blurry. Maybe they were just too overwhelmingly cute for the camera to handle.

Let It Snow, Let It Snow

Our

first
snowman
of
the
season.

BEWARE! ... Pirates Be Comin'

IT'S OFFICIAL!!!

Tuckered

This was Bekah the other night after a long day at play. I had tucked her in bed with her sippy cup, and this is how I found her when I came back in to put Lissa in bed. She didn't even flinch when the camera flashed. She was so tired. I think it was funnier in real life, but I thought it would be fun to share.

The Red Barn

So we forgot to actually get a picture of The Red Barn, but we went there for Family Home Evening on Monday to pick out our Halloween pumpkins. It was a lot of fun, especially when we realized that Roy (um...er...I mean Rebekah) had left the car door wide open (we noticed as we rode away on the hay ride). Pretty funny! And even more funny is that no one bothered to shut it for us. Anyway, we rode out to the pumpkin patch and chose our pumpkins and then had yummy ice cream for dinner. It was a really beautiful evening but very cold! I think we'll make this a yearly tradition.

Witch-A-Palooza

Last weekend (October 11th) my sisters and Mom and I went for a Girls' Day Out to the Park City outlets and to see a dinner theater show called Witch-a-Palooza in Gardner Village. We had a great time! All of us were able to come except for Marci who happened to be in the process of giving birth to child #5 and grandchild #25. :-) I love my sisters...and aren't they beautiful?!!! Thanks to all of our hubbies for letting us have some time away.

That's a SSSSSPICY pot roast!!!

Today I over-seasoned our pot roast with the McCormick Grill Mates Spicy Montreal Steak Seasoning. (I knew it was extra spicy when Roy, who LOVES things hot, choked on the first bite he took...not a good sign.) And since the roast was extra spicy (and garlicky), so was the gravy that we made from the drippings. I figured there would be much weeping and wailing from our kids for sure. They are not what you would call good eaters. However, to my utter astonishment this was the first meal in forever that Elisabeth ate (and asked for seconds) without one single complaint...not even about the green beans. Amazing!

Swensen Grandchild #25

Our new nephew, Chandler Wayne Harward, was born to Tony & Marci Harward this morning at 2:52 a.m. He weighed in at 5 lb. 15 oz. and was 18 3/4 inches long. He is 3 weeks early, but Marci was able to hold him off for the past 6 weeks, so we are thankful for that. She was very ready to be off bedrest. Chandler needed some oxygen help for his lungs, but he's breathing room air now. He's so sweet and perfect and doing well. Chandler is named after his Grandpa Swensen and is grandchild #25 for Wayne and Ginger. He is Tony and Marci's 5th child. We like to think that Samuel was there helping send him off on his earthly mission. We are sure they are good friends. Welcome to our family, Chandler!!!

Story Time

This is Bekah reading to Rick's dog, Mac. It was so cute how she would read the page and then turn the book to show Mac the pictures. I wish you could see the book better in the picture, but you get the idea.