Memorial Day Parade

The Boalsburg Memorial Day Parade (which actual takes place 2 day before Memorial Day) was last night, and as per our annual tradition, we were in attendance.  You must understand that our town is only 6.5 square miles in size and has a population of less than 4,000 people, so you can't really go with high expectations for the parade.  In fact we can't even afford full size horses for our parade:

Actually, the selling point for the parade and the reason why so many people attend is because ~90% of the parade entrants throw candy.  In terms of amount of candy received, this 30 minute parade ranks somewhere just below Halloween, but above Easter, and he doesn't have to move more than ~5 feet because people literally throw candy directly at him.  All he has to do is wait, bucket in hand:

Since it is a small parade, there isn't really much in the way of floats.....actually there are no floats at all. More like lots of fire trucks....

...and MORE fire trucks....

Other than the token politicians riding in the back of various models of sports care, the only other main contributor to the parade (other than the fire departments of the 25 nearest towns) are the local girls twirling classes, of which I didn't take any pictures, but there were at least 5 different twirler groups in the parade (3 of which were playing the same song while twirling.  Can't we at least have some originality?).  One of our friends made the comment after the parade, that "if an alien race were to come to earth and observe only this parade, the only logical conclusion that they would be able to come to is that small twirling girls must be the number one cause of fires on Earth".  I just hope that there isn't a fire anywhere in the surrounding 25 miles because for those 30 minutes on a Saturday evening in May, every available truck is cruising our little Main St. throwing handfuls of candy to waiting kids and would be hard pressed to get anywhere in a hurry.

Birthday Time!

Lucas turned three just over a week ago!  Since Lucas is obsessed with animals (side note: for those that have received cards from use recently, have you noticed they have animals on them?  Lucas has been picking out the cards!), particularly crocodiles, we decided to go with an animals theme for his birthday, go figure.  The night before, despite Craig's lack of enthusiasm, we decorated the kitchen area, with balloons, crate paper hanging from the ceiling and I have to admit a pretty cool animal themed Happy Birthday sign.  The next morning was french toast, with whipped cream (can't forget the cream), and strawberries.  Lucas almost didn't notice the decorations (too groggy), but once he spotted it he was thrilled,  he liked the toy animals (table decoration)!  Lunch was suppose to be outside since Lucas loves to be outside, but the weather didn't cooperate, so we headed to Chick-fil-A.  He loved playing in their play place (it is the nicest one in town)!  He was also allowed to get an ice cream cone, which he is usually pretty good about eating it, but it was hot and melted too quickly, so we are walking through Walmart (to quickly grab these cute animal plates that I had to have) with a dripping, falling apart ice-cream cone, Lucas holding onto a balloon, and me needing to make a run to the little girls room.  I couldn't help but laugh, I am sure it was an amusing sight to see!  That night we had Lucas' favorite food:  Pasta with broccoli!  Since I wasn't quite ready for a just friends party (maybe next year, when he is a little older), we had a bunch of his friends and their families over for cake and ice cream, Lucas picked rainbow chip cake and caramel ice-cream.  He had a crocodile cake and some animal themed cupcakes!  Lucas seemed to have a great time.

Just some notes, for posterity, about 3 year old Lucas:  He loves being outside, especially if his friends are there, and he loves grapes along with strawberries and blackberries.  He is a thinker and it gets him into mischief on a regular basis.  He is a good, but very active kid!!!  He is into animals, swords (don't ask me where this came from, but lately everything is a sword), and his most recent favorite color is pink (ugh!).

Boalsburg Celebration of Military Service

In anticipation of Memorial Day, the Pennsylvania Military Museum, which is located in our small town, hold an annual Celebration of Service.  There is a lot of pomp and circumstance, including military parades and various speakers, but the big draw for the kids is the military vehicles, including 5 helicopters, that are on display.  We have the privilege of nearly having our windows shatter when the helicopters fly directly over our townhouse at an altitude of no more than a couple hundred feet as they approach the museum lawn for landing.  Absolute worst is when the 2 Chinooks fly overhead.

Lucas had a great time (and I admit that I did, too) climbing in and out of the helicopters and armored vehicles.  Katie spent the time talking with friends (boring!) instead of examining the Apache Attack Helicopter machine gun (like me), or jumping up and hanging from the tail fins (like Lucas).  Thankfully nobody saw Lucas performing his acrobatics, or the fact that the piece he was hanging was clearly label "Not A Step:  Do Not Apply Force".

Dipping Chocolate Strawberries

This past Saturday Lucas and I dipped chocolate strawberries while we listened to Adele.  Though Lucas' idea of contribution is standing right next to me licking a spoon dipped in chocolate, then stealing another spoon covered in chocolate, and trying to continually dip the spoon in the chocolate.  Got to love it when the three year old wants to help!  However, he did look pretty stinking cute in his apron and hat, with his two spoons and mouth covered in chocolate.  It was necessary to document the moment.

A recent conversation with Lucas

The other morning we were taking Craig to work.  I was having a conversation with Craig, when Lucas pipes in and says, "Daddy stop talking to mommy.  I need to talk to mommy."  My reply is, "what do you need to tell me Lucas?".  Lucas reply:  "Mom what are you doing?"  Can you guess who thinks they are the center of my world?  Boy is someone in for a little shock come this September. :)

Did I really just see what I think I saw?

Last week I was visiting a friend (that lives across the street) we were chit-chatting at her kitchen table and during our conversation I just happen to look out her back sliding glass door, just in time to see what looked like a black bear running past the window.  I looked at my friend to see if she saw what I saw and she asked me "did you just see that?".  We ran to the door and sure enough there is a black bear running behind the row of apartments.  Who would have thought?  We do know of a family that has a black bear in their area, and one time found it wandering in their garage, but they live up by the hills.  We live in an apartment complex, the bear must have crossed at least one major road (4 lane hightway) to get to the apartment complex.  Not what I was expecting to see when I looked out the back door.

Library!

Pennsylvania has this program called, "one book, one child".  If you keep track of the books you read for the month of April and meet your goal, they give you the book that they are doing for the program.  Every year it is a different book, so it is a great way to get some free books.  This year the book was called, "Stop Snoring Bernard."  They also have a party where the author comes talks about the book and the library provides fun activities that are related to the book.  For the sake of complete honest ... there is also cake involved!  Lucas and I attended this event, last week.  Lucas loved it.  He is a big fan of animals so this was definitely his kind of book and party!  Plus he loves cake!  He even sat up front with the rest of the kids while the author (who was also the illustrator) gave his presentation.  Lucas interacted with the group and presenter, and just had a riot!  The author even signed his copy of the book.  At first Lucas was right up there ready to get his book signed, but the author moved so he could sit down and Lucas got shuffled and pushed out of the way in the process.  It didn't phase him, though, and he did not have a problem stepping up and getting his book signed.  We won't mention the part where he went to the bathroom to wash his hands, without telling me and I spent several panicked moments looking for him!

Everything goes in the pockets!

Lucas has discovered pockets and how handy they are for storing things.  Everything goes in his pockets, and I do mean everything.  Marbles, toys, food, etc.  If he can fit it in his pocket that is where you will find it.  The other day we were at the grocery store and we walked past the grapes, Lucas loves grapes  and he wanted some.  We were in the process of buying a bunch of junk food for a movie, so am I really going to tell the three year old "no you can't have something healthy"?  So we get some get grapes and are now in the self checkout.  While I am in the process of checking out, I notice a couple laughing as they stare at my son.  I know from past experience that this is not good, so I look down at Lucas who is eating the grapes and sticking them is his pocket, which is already bulging from the number of grapes he already managed to fit in there.

green poop!

The other day Lucas decided that he was going to use the potty.  During this event (yes it is an event because Lucas doesn't use the potty unless he wants to, though bribery sometimes works) he informs us from the bathroom that he had a "green monster poop on his bottom".  Seconds later he informs us that he got it off, but now it is on his hands.  Yes, it was in fact on his hands, but I don't want to put much though into how it got that way.

Lambs!

As has been previously mentioned on a number of occasions, Lucas likes animals!!!  For playgroup last week we went to campus and saw the baby lambs! It was cold and windy but we were partially inside and Lucas seemed to love it.
While we were there Lucas wanted to take a picture of the lambs, so the picture of the lambs rear ends is the picture that Lucas took!

Just a side note that I could totally see my child being the ring leader, as the kids were running up the way and my child was the smaller, younger one, but up front, leading the pack.

Which brings me to another Lucas moment.  The other day we were heading home from church, Lucas was talking about what he did in nursery, "sang a song, ate a snack, played with toys" pause "hit someone", "What!", did I just hear that right, "Lucas did you hit someone in nursery today?", "yes".  Talked with a nursery leader she wasn't aware that Lucas hit anyone, but that doesn't necessarily means he didn't.  Especially when another nursery leader makes the comment, "Lucas tries so hard to be good, you know he wants to be good."  I'm thinking that comments like that just let me know that he wasn't a hellion, not that he was actually good.

Still a boy!

This past week we had our twenty week ultrasound!  Yeah!!!  Let's celebrate were halfway there!  Unfortunately the last half involves being fully pregnant in the summer.  Things went well and the baby appears to be developing well!  Best of all, he is still a boy!  Once again more than willing to give us that little bit!  But unfortunately that is the only thing he was willing to give.  "Wow this baby is moving!"  "Are you sure you didn't have any sugar before you came?" (this one was asked three times, followed by...)  "Do you drink a lot of caffeine?" "Wow he is really dancing around!"  Words you do not want to hear from an ultrasound tech, especially since you have heard them once before, and last time that baby turned into our little ball of very active energy running around your house, that would give the energizer bunny a run for his money!!!   My thoughts are, "Can you sedate him?"  "What!? Am I missing something?" "What lesson was I suppose to learn that I have not learned yet?"  So there you have it, we may be getting another Lucas!  This may account for the reason Craig was able to feel him for the first time this week!

"Rhett is my favorite friend!"

One of our really close friends just so happens to live right next door to us, and they have a little boy, named Rhett, who is about a year older than Lucas.  They have become really good friends.  As soon as Lucas wakes up he wants to go play with Rhett.  The two of them have been know to talk to each other through the wooden wall that separates their deck from ours.  Some evenings we will hear Rhett out on the deck calling Lucas's name and vise versa.  If we are heading out and we tell Lucas that his friends will be there, Lucas will ask, "Is Rhett going to be there?"  The other day we were at a baptism and Rhett came and sat by us.  Lucas comes and sits on my lap and says, "Rhett is my favorite friend!"  Don't be deceived, these two have also been know to conspire, like the time it was dark and cold outside and Lucas had no pants on and had bare feet, but these two decide they are going to take a little jog around the building.  Little buggers!

Being Pregnant

The last couple of weeks I have been consistently asking Craig this question in one form or another "We want to do this 3 more times?  Really?"  I really shouldn't be complaining, since it took us longer than expected to get to this point and it really hasn't been awful.  But, this is my blog and you don't have to read it so I am going to blog about anyway.  It's just that this time has been more difficult than Lucas.  Symptoms just seem to be showing up early than they did the first time.  My belly seems a little bigger at this stage now, then with Lucas, it is just different this time around, not necessarily awful and miserable, just different and slightly uncomfortable.

Time Out For Women

There is a two day women's conference that is put on by Desert book and tours around the U.S. called "Time out for Women".  This is not usually my type of thing, but several women from my ward were going, and a few of them had gone in the past and really enjoyed it.  I decided to give it a try, plus it was a   weekend away from my child and husband, which was needed!  I was pleasantly surprised.  I am not saying I am going to be a groupie or anything, but I am glad I went and I did have a good experience.  Several of the women in the group that had previously been mentioned how the setting was much more intimate and done on a smaller scale.  This however, didn't stop us from waking up at the crack of dawn and standing in the line to be on the third and fourth row.  Even though we were the first ones in line, I wasn't about to fight the lady for the second row.  A huge group of women all with the same focus in mind is deadly and brutal.  I thoroughly enjoyed most of the presenters and the music was pretty good, though I enjoyed the violinist more than the singing group.  A few of the presenters talked about things I really needed to hear, and made me re-evaluate my life and the way I go about certain things.  All in all it was a success!!!

Feeding the Ducks!

It was a beautiful day, gorgeous!  For playgroup we went to a park that has a pond to feed the ducks!  Lucas loved this!  I bought a whole loaf of cheap bread, thinking we would never use it all, Lucas quickly proved me wrong as he eagerly used the entire loaf!  Those lucky ducks had a feast and were well fed!  He also enjoyed chasing the ducks and following the ducks around.

Still in Diapers!

Lucas definitely does things on his own schedule, completely throwing out the window any milestone chart that the "average" child follows.  This whole potty thing is just not happening.  We have tried, positive reinforcement (bribery) (this does not work, he just decides that he doesn't want a treat, he doesn't care), going cold turkey, even threatening him (he can't go to preschool without being potty trained and he knows it).  Lucas understands all of this, he understands the concept, he know that mommy, daddy, and all of his friends go potty, he even gives you applause when you go and has even offered us a treat as reward.  He knows when he needs to go, which is the frustrating part.  One time I was sitting at the computer, Lucas was playing with his friend, and watching an educational show, he comes up to me holding his diaper, butt naked and tells me that his diaper is dry, he went pee and poop in the potty and he would like his treat!  My thoughts are, "are you serious kid?"  I am not even going to try to understand, I am just going to roll with it.  Basically Lucas literally decides when he would like to use the potty, there are days when he says "I need to go potty" and keeps himself completely dry, and others when he refuses to try to go potty.  The conclusion I have come to is Lucas is going to decided when he is going to go potty, and hopefully it is before preschool starts.  In all likelihood he will probably start using the potty consistently the day he starts school!

Early Ultra Sound

(This is catching up on some things that happened previously, so excuse the timeline from being out of order)

Due to a slight concern regarding a cyst on one of my ovaries, we had an early ultrasound at 15 weeks.  So on March 19th we were able to find out that we were having (drum roll please!) another baby......................boy!  It's a boy!!!  When I asked the ultrasound tech if she would be willing to take a look in that direction to see, she was willing, but reminded us that it is difficult to identify this early in the pregnancy.  Lucky for us our children don't seem to have a problem exposing themselves!  And this child was more than willing to give us a good look.  As we were looking at the screen, Craig and I were pretty sure it was a boy, but the tech didn't say anything, initially, so we weren't sure, then she asked us if we were sure wanted to know, and she said she thought it was a boy.  However, by the end of the appointment she was thoroughly convinced it was a boy!  Craig is once again relieved and feels like he just dodged a bullet, again!

Snow!?!

It snowed!  In the middle of April and it's snowing!  I looked at Craig and said, "This is still Pennsylvania, right? Are you sure were not in Utah?"  His response, "at least it's not July."  It was very distressing, especially after the previous week, which was a heat wave and absolutely wonderful!  I went from wearing shorts one day to pants and a sweater.  We had soup two nights this week and I only have soup when it is really really cold outside!  I hope mother nature makes up her mind, so we can have a little more spring before it gets too warm!

Water Balloon Fight!

Another beautiful day!  Lucas had a mini water balloon fight with his friend.  They had lots of fun, and it was pretty cute to watch them, even though they were standing right in front of each, inches apart, they still managed to miss each other in their attempts to get each other wet!

Easter

Easter morning we attended church.  We were able to have dinner with some of our close friends, which was a lot of fun and seemed to make Easter that more special!  Lucas had an Easter Egg hunt with a few of our friends in the neighborhood, we had six kids and over a hundred eggs, Lucas made out like a bandit!  He is still talking about hunting for eggs.  Which is an improvement because up until Easter we were still hearing about Trick or Treating.  I figure we'll probably be hearing about Easter Eggs until at least the 4th of July.  We dyed Easter eggs that night.  Lucas did really well at this and was able to dye a few by himself which he was really proud of!  Lucas opened up his Easter packages.  Thanks for the all of the Easter candy grandparents!  (It is being used a positive reinforcement, when Lucas goes potty!)  It was a busy, but wonderful day!

An exciting Easter weekend!

Craig was going to the temple with the youth on Easter Weekend, so we decided to make it a fun getaway, so on Friday we took Lucas to the D.C. Zoo!  Lucas is obsessed with animals!  It was a pretty nice day, slightly windy at times, but very pleasant.  Unfortunately, everyone else thought it would be a great day to go to the zoo, too.  It was complete chaos trying to park, Craig ended up dropping us off at a random street corner and heading to the metro station to park.  Lucas and I were on our own for awhile and I have to admit that it is slightly intimidating to be on your own with a child in a very, very busy area!  We conquered our fears made it to the zoo, and Craig found parking, so all's well that ends well.

Lucas was so excited he loved the zoo!!!  He went from animal to animal, wanting to see more and more! He loved the birds and reptiles!  As previously mentioned it was pretty busy at the zoo, but fortunately Craig's height came into play and Lucas was able to see everything!  For example the Gorilla area was very busy and it was difficult to see anything, until Craig put Lucas on his shoulders and then Lucas was able to see every Gorilla, as other children on their father's shoulders struggled to see.  There was lots to see and Lucas saw pretty much all of it.  We had a difficult time convincing him to leave!  The zoo was a success, Lucas still talks about our trip to the zoo and the different animals we saw!

Friday night we went to Cafe Rio, yes, you heard right we had dinner at Cafe Rio!  There is now one in the D.C. area, and it was wonderful!  It didn't have quite the same feel as one in Utah, but the food was still excellent!  You could easily pick out all of the LDS families, which pretty much made up most of the people at the place!  Best of all, Lucas loved it!!!  Not really surprising since Lucas loves Mexican food!

Saturday we attended the temple, Lucas and I wandered the temple grounds while Craig went with the youth.  It was a pretty nice day!  I wanted the temple to be a special experience for Lucas considering it was Easter weekend.  We had a special Easter Egg hunt, centering around Christ's Curification and Resurrection and the days lead of to these important events.  Lucas thought this was fun and loved picking up the egg, that I would try to discreetly drop with him right behind me.  He still found it exciting, even though he was totally watching me drop the eggs!  It was a pleasant experience and I could not have imagine a better place to be at on Easter weekend!

Before we headed home to decided to drive downtown and see the cherry blossoms since it was that time of year!  After sitting in traffic for an hour we finally arrived, but much to our dismay there were no cherry blossoms in bloom, it was disappointing, lots of people and festivities going on to celebrate the event, but yet no blossoms.  Apparently the warm weather had made them come and go earlier than normal.

Explaining the baby to Lucas

I picked Lucas up from a neighbors home after a doctor's appointment and while we were driving in the car I explained to him about how he is going to be a big brother and have a baby sister or brother.  I don't think he completely understands the concept, but his responds was, "Ooooooooooooooh, that's neat mom!", he also made the comment, "baby brother and sister, for Lucas."

Number two!

For those of you who do not yet know and read this blog.  We thought it was time to let it be officially known that Craig and I are once again taking the plunge into the unknown and that we're expecting another child.  Lucas is getting a baby brother this fall (September).  We are really excited, Craig is relieved that it is another boy! The time works great, since Lucas will be starting preschool in the fall (if he is potty trained by then, keeping our fingers crossed on that one).  Things appear to be going well!  We have already had two ultrasounds, and will be having the twenty week ultrasound in about a month.  (I was hoping for one ultrasound this time around, but no go).

Adele

So think I have mentioned in a previous post my obsession with Adele, her voice is amazing!  Well, I think I've been listening to her a little too much.  We were standing in a check out line at the store and "Rumor has it" starts to play.  Craig was holding Lucas, and he looks at me and points to Lucas.  Lucas is singing it, getting several of the words right.  I was a pretty proud parent at that moment, passing on the important stuff to my kid!  Since then he has done it in the car, when one of her songs plays on the radio he starts to sing to it.

Spring!

The last coupled of weeks have been beautiful, warm in the upper 70's, unusually warm for this time of year.  Lucas and I have been taking walks after his nap.  We are seeing blossoms on trees, they are getting green!  I love the Spring we have been using our grill, like every day last week!  Unfortunately all good things must come to an end, it is pretty cold today, windy, but at least the sun is shinning!  I made this pretty cute Spring cake last week!  I was pretty proud of my accomplishment, it tasted pretty good too!

Lucas calming his friend, adorable!

Last week we watched Lucas's little friend, Aubree, whose mother just had a baby.  Aubree was having a tough time being left behind so I tried to calm her down.  I told her that her grandma would be back, and that after they finished watching Elmo, we would go blow bubbles.  A few minutes later I hear Lucas, talking to Aubree telling her her grandma will be back, and "do you like Elmo", "it is okay, Aubree", "do you want to blow bubbles, it will be fun."  It was super adorable.  Lucas is very aware when his friends or someone is upset or sad, and is eager to comfort them.

ARRRGH, Matie!

Lucas has been on this Birthday kick, he loves celebrating birthdays, wants to bake cake all the time.   Whenever I am cooking something he asks me if it's cake!  A couple of weeks ago he was able to go to a Pirate Themed Birthday, we dressed him up as a pirate, and I taught him how to say, "arrrrgh, matie!".  He loved it.  We heard about Parker's Birthday party for days after that!

Spring Break!

For spring break we made a day trip to Pittsburgh, to the Children's Museum.  It was lots of fun!!!  Lucas painted, made his own paper, climb through this maze type thing, played with balls, but his ultimate favorite was the water.  He loved the water, they had rain coats and cloggs the kids could wear to keep dry, though that didn't help and Lucas found a way to get soaking wet by standing over the water so it went right up the rain coat.  Craig seemed to enjoy it too, we spent more than an hour in the water area.  It was pretty awesome we will definitely be going again!  We also went to eat at the Golden Corral, we don't have lots of buffets out here so it was fun.  They had the best banana pudding I have ever eaten!!!  The old people and me were porking out on the banana pudding.  It was a pleasant day!  I always forget how close we live to Pittsburgh, we should do this more often!

Dr. Seuss Birthday!

Since we like any excuses to celebrate, Lucas and I celebrated Dr. Seuss's Birthday!  We love Dr. Seuss!  We read Dr. Seuss books, made candy "Cat in the Hat" hats and had green eggs and ham for dinner, and finished everything off finishing with cupcakes!  Lucas had lots of fun!  He loves celebrating birthdays.

T.V

(Guest blogger Craig filling in for this one.)

Katie and I like movies.  We also have a selection of TV shows that we enjoy watching.  We also like enjoying the full cinematic experience that can be had when watching movies and TV.  I long ago convinced Katie on the need for surround sound while watching movies, but seeing as we were now the last of the Swensons without a new TV, I decided it was time to convince Katie that our audio/visual experience was no longer up to par and that we needed to invest in a new TV.  Surprisingly, Katie was not opposed to the idea.  Actually we had been talking about it for several years and had just been waiting for the right time.  Well, that right time has come and we are now the proud owners of a new plasma screen television.  We don't actually have a picture of the TV installed on my custom built entertainment center (we've been too busy watching and enjoying the visual wonder of it all), but here you can see Katie documenting the setup process.

Check out those curly locks!

Valentine's

We try to keep it low key on holidays.   This Valentine's I decided I didn't want to spend the entire time in the kitchen, so I just made Red Velvet cake for us and neighbors.  Lucas decorated cookies on Friday for playgroup.  Craig cooked dinner, steak and potatoes, with strawberry fluff (because we love fluff).  We figured that since it is a day of Love why not make the things you love!  Lucas made some Valentine's for his friends and then delivered them, I am not ashamed to admit that we just dropped off the last of them today (as in Thursday).  I sent Craig to work with some special cookies made just for him!

I won't lie, though, our morning was kinda of rough, dishes to clean and things to do, but by the afternoon, after we had both taken a nap, it ended up being a pleasant day.  We made crayon hearts with out friends that afternoon.  Pretty low key.

Our really good friend took Lucas for a couple of hours after dinner, at first I thought, "oh that's nice, I don't know what were going to do, but sure why not". I just want to say, you know who you are, Thank You!!!  It was really really nice and made our Valentine's, so Thank you!  Lucas loved the outing with our friend was so excited to go!  When Craig was buckling him in the car, Lucas looked at Craig and then our friend and said, "go!" no hesitation about leaving Craig or me behind.  We just want you to know, good friend of ours, he would not do that for anyone else.

I of course can't end this posting without mentioning the icing of on the cake, how wonderful my husband is, we are not big into public displays of affection, chocolates and flowers, but can I just say, husband you know me so well!  Lately I have been a little obsessed with Adele.  If you have not heard of her, look her up and listen to her.  I wouldn't not be surprised if you become a little obsessed too.  Yes, she is that good!  Craig bought me her CD for Valentine's which just reiterated to me how well he knows me and loves me!  I love you, too!  Happy Valentine's!

Trip home!

(It has been over 4 months since we last posted to the blog, so here comes a massive update:)

Lucas and I made our semi-annual trek to visit family for a month.  Just so you don't think I abandoned Craig for an entire month, he headed off to a conference and visited with his research mentor for a couple of weeks.

Lucas and I made the most out of our trip, we were able to go to the tree house twice, which Lucas loved, especially when his cousin Eevee was able to come with us.  We were also able to make a trip to the Aquarium in Sandy, which was fun, Lucas still talks about seeing the sharks, big fish, and penguins.  Lucas and Eevee did well together, which was a big improvement from our last visit.  They loved being around each other, and when they weren't together, Lucas was asking me where Eevee was or talking about what he did with Eevee.

Lucas loves the aquarium

Cowboy Lucas at the Treehouse in Ogden

 Craig always says that if you were to ask what was on my list of things to do when I go to visit family, it is mostly places I want to eat at.  I won't dispute that, when I go home there are some restaurants I would like to go to, but most of the time it involves going to eat with family, like meeting up with my aunts for lunch and Mexican food, catching up with my old co-workers over pizza, eating all you can eat french toast (so good!) with my really good girlfriends,  grabbing a bit to eat with my sisters and mother after my sister has just ran her little heart out at a track meet (more to come on this later), or spending an evening with my sister and sister-in-law and having fish tacos for the first time.  Lets be honest people, that is how we socialize:  over food!  So that is what Lucas and I did, a lot (probably too much), but it was delicious and I will admit that I ate two pecan mudslides and had a really good chocolate malt!

Okay enough about food, because that is not all we did, we did so much more!  Every time we go home we always get sick in one way or another, sure enough less than a week after our arrival the plague hit in the form of the stomach flu.  I was the first victim, followed by the rest of the family, the only survivor was, surprisingly, Lucas, who made it through unscathed.  Unfortunately, Lucas did not make it completely through the trip without incident, the inversion really wrecked havoc on Lucas.  He spent a couple of nights coughing his lungs out, poor little fellow.  We would take him to the store with him hacking away and people would look at us suspiciously, I was thinking, "hey people, blame it on your bad air!"  Looking on the bright side off things, we didn't make one trip to the E.R or insta care.  Success!

Riding on the train

Lucas started singing the ABC song while we were away, it is pretty cute, though he doesn't much care for the letters J and K, as they are not included in Lucas version of the Alphabet song.  Lucas really likes public transportation vehicles, especially buses and trains!  So we took a day trip and rode the frontrunner to downtown.  Eevee and Kim were able to join us, and the kids had a lot of fun.  They would stand in the aisle with their hands out and rock with the movement of the train, all the while saying "whoa, whoa".  I thought it was really cute, but it was not cute to the lady passager sitting a few rows in front of us, who kept sighing and huffing about it and acting completely annoyed!


Lucas and I also had the opportunity to see Kenzie (my youngest sister) run.  Kenzie is on the cross country team in high school, and right now she is doing in-door track.  This was a ton of fun, to cheer on your sister as she is putting forth all of her effort to succeed (I got a lump in my throat ever time I saw her do it) and let me just tell you (impending bragging)....Did she ever succeed!  She is so fun to watch and she is doing really well.  Really, really well!  It was pretty cool!!!  (Kenzie, I though of putting an embarrassing picture of you pulling a funny face here, but I restrain my self.)

For Christmas my sister gave me a ticket to see Andy Grammer while I was town.  I went with my sister and sister-in-law and it was a blast, probably one of my favorite things I did while I was there.  My favorite thing being the early morning walks with my mom, I know cheesey, but the truth.  I have always been a momma's girl and I don't see that changing anytime soon! (Thanks Kenz for making thos walks possible.)

The day before we left we were shopping in celebration of Grandma Les's birthday, grandma was asking Lucas if he was excited to being going on the airplane, and who was he going to see when we landed.  Lucas response was, "I like my daddy.  My daddy is pretty, pretty, pretty tall!", and a little later we were pulling out of the parking lot and there were some people walking pass Lucas says, "Peoples go peoples, dang peoples."  I have received several comments on the how much Lucas is talking, and boy does he talk nonstop!

Last but not least,we were able to make it down to the Swenson clans house a few times!  I am sure Lucas felt more at home here, because Craig's family looks like Craig, especially his dad.  They gave Lucas all the attention he could ever want and then some!  They are wonderful and we are luckily to have such wonderful family!  As wonderful and fun as our trip was, it was nice to come home and see Craig.  Lucas saw Craig and said, "That's my daddy" and ran to him.  He has also spent time rediscovering his toys and hanging out with his friends!

Lion Movie

For the past several months we have been waiting for the Lion King to go on sale.  Finally Craig came home the day after Christmas, (shopping on my behalf, thanks Craig!), and though he wasn't successful with any of things I sent him off to do, it still turned out to be a successful trip because he found the Lion King for a good deal!  Do I even have to mention how much Lucas loves this movie?  It has animals and good music, what more could you want?  All he talks about is the "Lion" movie, he has already watched it twice, the second time being last night!  Craig did tell me that he wanted to know what happened to the daddy lion at the end of the movie the first time he watched it, and last night when we watched it, he commented that the daddy lion had big owies, so sad.  Though we still love this movie!  One of our favorites!

New Year's Eve!

We have never done a whole lot on New Year's Eve.  The day was pretty much a regular day.  We had munchies and hung with our friends.  Downtown State College has their version of first night.  We went down there to see the ice sculptures, at first we weren't impressed, though we did stand in line so Lucas and Craig could go down the Russian slide that was made out of ice!  Lucas thought this was fun.  I thought it would scare him, because it seemed to go pretty fast, but he loved it!  We headed down a main street in State College and were able to find the more impressive ice sculptures, these were pretty neat, and huge!  Headed to our church building where a youth activity we being held, because Craig is a youth leader.  It was fun, Lucas loved running around!  We arrived home way too late and put Lucas to bed and brought in the New Year with our good friends!  We look forward to what this year has to bring!  Hope we can do better and be better than we were last year!

Christmas!

Lucas slept in, yeah!  First we needed to explain to him what was going to happen and then Craig went ahead to take pictures and turn the lights on the tree.  Lucas was really excited, we showed him the empty plate and note left by Santa.  Lucas did such a good job at taking turns unwrapping the presents!  It was a very, very pleasant and wonderful morning!  I do have to mention that Grandma Nean and Grandpa Boyd....you rock!  You are forever in my circle!  We have been wanting to get Lucas a Geo-Track train and while he was unwrapping his presents I was regretting not getting him one!  (I am beginning to think you might have secret spy cameras in our home.)  Ironically enough he was playing with those bouncing ball things the night before, (so seriously, where did you hide the cameras!).  I am also going to mention how wonderful my husband is, I love you hubby!  I have been wanting a food processor this past year.  I have a tiny one that I am constantly using, though it is falling apart.  We decided that it just wouldn't be possible to get a food processor this year, we don't usually buy presents for each other anyway, but decided to stuff each others stockings.  After the presents were opened and I was finishing up breakfast I noticed a present on the table and I thought Lucas had forgotten to open one, but Craig informed me that is was in fact for me.  I opened it and quickly figured out that it was my food processor!  All this time that Craig was telling me it wasn't possible to get one, it was sitting under his desk at work.  Best present ever!  Thanks honey!  Church was very pleasant full of music, Craig sang in the choir and even had a duet that he sang in German, it was beautiful!  Finished the day off with our close friends (they are practically family).  All in all is was a wonderful Christmas!  This was our first Christmas away from home and family and I have to admit it was a success!  Though we missed our family and friends, it was nice to be at home as a family.

Christmas Eve!

Reindeer pancakes for breakfast to get us in the mood!  Had a low-key afternoon, took a nap!  That night we headed over to a family's home that goes to our church and acted out the Nativity.  It was fun!  I am so glad we went.  Because there is only three in our family we don't have enough to really act out the Nativity, so it was fun to be included.  Lucas was not interested in dressing up and being a shepherd, though.  Craig makes a great shepherd (though I'm not sure whether he looked more like a shepherd, a hobbit, or Rambo), Lucas not so much, he was obviously more interested in playing!  Later that evening we caught up with Santa riding a fire truck in a nearby neighborhood, Lucas thought this was pretty neat!  Then we went home and set out a plate of cookies and carrots for Santa and the reindeer!

Christmas Popcorn/Muppet Christmas Carol

The Swenson clan usually watches Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol on Christmas Eve.  Due to plans on Christmas Eve, we decided to watch a Christmas Carol on Friday night (also known as "Christmas Adam" in the Swenson home, because Adam came before Eve.  Get it?  Wink.  Wink.).  Because we have Lucas (and also because I prefer it) we watched The Muppet Christmas Carol.  I cooked Christmas popcorn, which is basically lime jello popcorn and raspberry jello popcorn, which turned out really well!  Lucas seemed to enjoy the movie and of course the popcorn!  I think we are watching too many movies, however, as recently we have been letting Lucas watch the good old Christmas Classics, but now that is all Lucas wants to do is watch a movie and have popcorn and M&Ms.