Messy Monday - #6

This week was the Messy Monday 2012 Grand Finale!  Carolyn's parents graciously treated us to a cookout, so we weren't as messy as we usually are, but we still had plenty of fun.  Messy Monday has been such a blessing for us this summer - we've had so much fun.  I have loved getting to spend a bit of time with my girlfriends - doing motherhood together - and watching the kids try (and love) many new things with their friends.

Carolyn brought out her parachute with the plastic balls and the kids had a great time.

Adam and his friend Jack.

Trying to catch some bubbles.

The Messy Crew.

Adam loved getting to run under the parachute.

Staying true to form, Clara wanted to be right in there with the big kids.  She got a little bit smushed at the end, but I couldn't deny her the fun.

Look at all the joy!

She took a little time out to hang with her baby friends.  I wish I would have snapped this photo a little earlier when ALL the babies were on the blanket.  I think there were six of them at one point!

Thank you, Miss Carolyn!  We love Messy Mondays!

They've Got Mail!

 The kids have gotten packages before, but they each got their very own letter in the mail for the first time a few days ago from Grandma and Grandpa Swenson.  Adam was so excited to see his name on the envelope.

They each got a letter with a photo of themselves at Grandma and Grandpa's house.  Adam read his aloud and then he read Clara's to her.

 Thanks, Grandma and Grandpa!  We love mail!

Besties

It's absolutely beautiful to watch this friendship develop.  Very blessed to have met a great Mama friend at the gym and our boys couldn't be more excited about it!

Evan and Adam

We were at Evan's house for dinner the other night and Adam got to roast his first marshmellow.  He liked it (big surprise).

Having a little chat.

Hugging it out.

Messy Monday - #5

This week, the kids dipped plastic balls into colored shaving cream and rolled them down ramps.  The kids quickly modified this activity to include throwing the balls into globs of cream and watching them stick as well as spreading the cream over many surfaces with their hands.  Adam is done with school for the summer, so he was able to come.  He had a blast!

Once again, here was our most enthusiastic participant.

"Deez!"

"Hmmm...maybe tasting wasn't such a good idea."

Yes, that is a giant glob of pink shaving cream behind her ear.

Her car needed a good scrub.

Noticing a Trend

 I'm beginning to think that Adam doesn't like shopping...

Couldn't believe this one.  How do you sleep like that???

Maybe he would sleep better at night if we let him sleep in a shopping cart.  Something to consider...

Finally!

Not that we're rushing you, Clara, but CRIPES!!!  Eighteen months old and she finally today decided that she wanted to walk across the room all by herself.  Up until this point, she had taken a few steps here and there, but just flat-out refused to walk without holding someone's hands.  All of a sudden today she was really into it.  It feels a little silly since it's been so long, but I'm still super proud of her!

Adam Meets Curious George

Probably the most talked-about event in the Swenson house lately has been Adam's chance to meet Curious George.  What can I say - it was epic!

Although we had been talking about meeting Curious George for a few days, Adam could not believe it when he walked in and saw Curious George standing right there with the Man in the Yellow Hat.  He gave him a high five right away, but declined the hug, so we went in to find our seats.

Adam sat very nicely and listened to two stories, getting up out of his seat only once to go and touch George's feet as many of the other children were doing.
  That's Adam's head in the foreground of the picture.

After the stories, he was all about going to see George again, and this time he went straight in for the hug.

So happy to get his picture taken!

What a great memory for him and for me.

Kid Stuff

Just some random shots of the kids...

I thought this was a hoot.  Was shopping for dresses a couple months ago with the kids.  How typical...the guy so bored he falls asleep, the girl totally into it with dresses piled onto her lap.

Clara was having a great time.

Much to my delight, Clara loves saying cheese for the camera now.  She says, "deez!"

She has started saying a lot more words: hi, up, down, done, open, Adam, and tickle are some of her newest.

Still no walking for this eighteen month girl, but she keeps herself busy taking care of babies - real or pretend - she loves them!  She is very helpful in the daycare at the gym :)

She also loves to read books, pretend to cook, and do anything Adam is doing.  Adam will even let her play trains with him some times - as long as she is Rosie and he is all the other trains.

Adam just finished his summer school program today, so we have a few weeks off until we start back up in September.  He continues to develop and change at an encouraging rate and we've been having a blast.  He likes playing outside, especially in the water, playing with friends, painting, and of course, playing trains.  He's become very helpful at the grocery store and enjoys talking about favorite memories.  Recent topics of conversation include Grandma and Grandpa Swenson's recent visit, getting a Christmas tree, and meeting Curious George.  

This is the best I could get of them both looking at the camera.

I still can't believe this kid's smile.  Full of happiness and I love it.

Mmmmmm...chips and guacamole.  One of my favorites.

My boy and me :)

Shawna in the House!

My cousin Shawna stayed with us for a night on her way to Germany, where she will be living and working for the next year.  It was great to have her, if only for a short time, and the kids loved it.

"I love Shawna...she is silly.  And, I get to wake her up from naps."

"I love Shawna...she feeds me ice cream."

We will miss you, Shawna, but can't wait to hear about your adventures!

Messy Monday - #4

I'm behind on Messy Mondays again.  Last Monday, Clara and I went and did some driveway painting.  This one was a big hit with all the kids.  Carolyn made paint by mixing water, corn starch, and food coloring.

Everyone always comments on how Clara just gets right in there with all the big kids.  Here is a perfect example:  That's her right in the middle dipping her brush into the big bin of water.

 She's lovin' it!  She did some painting with the colors - yellow especially - but then realized it was a lot easier to dip her brush into the bigger water bin.

Livin' the Dream in CA: Part V "Hiking"

The last CA post!  Sad to see our trip come to an end.

After our day of wine tasting, we came back towards San Fransisco and stayed at this awesome historic hotel called The Huntington.  It was our splurge of the trip, but it was worth it.  Very pretty and they had an outstanding breakfast in the morning.  

After breakfast, I bought some new tennis shoes (I foolishly hadn't brought mine) since we had decided that our activity of the day was going to be hiking.  We headed north over the Golden Gate Bridge and ended up at Muir Woods.

We started at the beach and hiked uphill a ways to some great views.  A pretty good workout, too.  It was cloudy, but we were kind of glad.  We had gotten plenty of sun the previous two days.

We still had a ways to go up at this point.  Snapped a photo while we caught our breath.

That little black thing on the hill at the right is me!

After we hiked the beach loop, we wanted to go into the woods a bit and see the big trees.

Mission accomplished.  Big trees...check.

 Seriously amazing.  Photos really do not do justice.

Peek-a-boo!

 Phil and trees...

 Beautiful.

 

I should really end the post with one of the more beautiful pictures, but I have to leave you with this.  The last night, we stayed at a hotel by the airport and ate at El Torito.  This was one of our favorite go-to restaurants when we lived in California and we definitely miss the GRANDE margaritas!  Had to take advantage while we could.

What a great trip and time away with my husband!

Livin' the Dream in CA: Part IV "Wine!"

Ahhhhhhh, the grape.  After the wedding, Phil and I set out on our own for a couple of days to have some adventures.  We kept with our theme of fun yet relaxed and headed out to Lodi, CA to go wine tasting.  It was great to have some time for just the two of us to do whatever we wanted to when we wanted to.  Again, let me emphasize that we DO love our children...it was just a nice and needed change of pace for a little bit. 

We had been to Lodi once before when we were first married and living in CA.  We loved its quaintness and the fact that it's much quieter than Napa/Sonoma, so we decided to revisit.

We started out at Jessie's Grove, a place we had visited last time.

We spent some time in town and ended up at this cheese store called Cheese Central.  One of the best places on Earth, as far as I'm concerned.  The lady in there was so nice and let us try ANYTHING we wanted and made great recommendations.  We tried a lot of great cheeses and walked out with two cheeses, some prosciutto, and some crackers. 

We took our little snack to our final vineyard of choice, Borra Vineyards.  This ended up being one of the highlights of our trip.

We met Dave, the tasting room manager, and he let us pull some chairs right up to the counter and spread out our snack as we tasted their wines.  Their wines were phenomenal!  We chatted with Dave for quite a while - he was a hoot!  He may or may not have also given us a few extra pours  :)  It was the best time we have ever had wine tasting.  We bought two bottles to take home with us, and then Dave gifted us with a bottle of Intuition - their newest wine that hadn't even been released yet.

Outside the tasting room at Borra, there is a GIANT vine that has been growing there for over a hundred years.  It grows out over a trellis and is super impressive.

Tell me these don't look like senior photos...

This picture probably makes me look like I love the vine more than I actually do...

Would have been a great place to sit if it weren't a million degrees outside.  Oh well, we'll go inside and drink wine instead :)

Amazing how many grapes this vine still produces.

Still to come...hiking at Muir Woods!  What a great trip!