Oh, The Promises We Make!

It's one of those things that seem like a novel idea...until the kids actually hold us to it! We mentioned to our kids that we MIGHT go sledding over Christmas with their cousins, but when they translate our words from parent talk to kid talk, it suddenly goes from a mild suggestion to a 'parent promise'! So all day we were reminded that we 'promised' to take them sledding. It really shouldn't be a big deal, to get our lazy butts out sledding, but it always is. Really though, going from a nice warm house with pleasant adult conversation and really really good food, to freezing cold temperatures (like 10 degrees...no exaggeration) and the physical exurtion of pulling the littlest sledders back up the hill, it should be a no brainer! But when all was said and done, we're really glad they (the little people) made us do it. We had a great time, and we made some great memories. We rummaged through all of the old snow clothes at Grandma Moser's house and used some of the contributions from Grandma Swaner's Christmas stocking (mainly the cute bumble bee hat that I'm wearing which was a gift to Myah), and then the nephew who wore just jeans and a sweatshirt (the smart gene skipped a few of us Mosers)! But we really had a great time. And there was even pie left for us when we got back to the house!

We Wish You A Merry Christmas!

Have I ever mentioned what really great friends and family we are blessed with? Sometimes I think that I must be the luckiest person on earth! So thanks to all of you. We love you and wish you a really really great Christmas this year!

Making My List...Checking It Twice

Ok, so it's been a while, right? I have been working really really hard in order to reach my goal of having everything done for Christmas a full week in advance so that I could relax and enjoy the holiday with my family! So after multiple trips to the post office (one of my least favorite things to do) and a half dozen Walmart excursions (even worse than the post office, but since we aren't lucky enought to have a Target...), school plays, gift wrapping, baking, cleaning, and the list goes on...I'M STILL NOT DONE!!! I am a 'list person' and I find great satisfaction in crossing 'accomplished items' off of my list, and while my list is getting shorter, it seems as though I keep adding more items to the bottem of the list! Bummer. That's OK though because we are so blessed in so many ways, who am I to complain??? I really just want to wish everyone a really MERRY CHISTMAS! I'll try and get some blogging done...after my list is accomplished!

Derrick...Husband, Father...and Complete NUT!

This wig is a classic...I remember playing with it when I was little, and I think that it was actually worn by my mom back in the day! But I have to say, nobody wears it quite like Derrick!

Here's To The Little Elves!

Wow, it feels like time is flying way too fast! We just flew right into Thanksgiving, and now we're preparing the house for Christmas! I remember back in the day, how totally exciting it was to pull all of the Christmas decorations down from the attic, and to run through the house decorating things just how I thought they ought to be decorated. And how patient my mom was in telling us that everything looked just perfect...but then later that night some little elves must have snuck into our house and moved everything around because by the next morning, it just didn't look the way we had left it! So now I understand that rather than be frustrated, it's best just to let the kids decorate things however they want, and to smile and tell them what a great job they did. Then, after bedtime, those same little elves will sneak in and change things all around! So I'm assuming I'm with many mom's around the world when I say, let's pull out the Martinelli's later tonight and give a special toast to the 'little elves'. It's all just so magical!

Halloween...Is it really worth it?

Of course it is! What other time of year do we get to spend a ton of money on costumes and candy, so that our kids can go out and accumulate enough junk food to easily provide for our 2 year food storage?! Our house this year was filled with a little vampire, a werewolf, a cute little witch, and a not so little rock star (with a pretty successful pony hawk...inspired by the one and only Sanjaya, who if you have been living on another planet for the last year, was a not so talented contestant on american idol who had really great hair!). All in all, we had a fun Halloween...and I think for the first time in our Swaner family history, we made it the entire week of Halloween without anyone throwing up!

Skyler the rock star in the 'preparation phase' of the pony hawk, and below...the finished product!

Please...Just Look at the Camera...And SMILE!

Boy, we had the day of all days! At 8:30 sharp we attended the ward primary program, but we had to get there early to get seats good enough to see our punk kids! It was very sweet...they all actually sang! Then we went to the park for a little 'fall photo shoot', which is an adventure in itself...and YES MOM...WE TOOK A FAMILY PICTURE!!! At least sort of...as good as we could manage by propping the camera on a rock and setting the timer...then making a run for it! Now that is a day of many accomplishments! Myah's pictures were taken a few days ago, so they're in the next slide show down (I guess she has so many cute pictures, she needed her own show!)

Isn't She Lovely?

So Myah and I went to the park today to try and get some pictures of my sweet little girl! She did pretty good, once we got past her potty breaks every five minutes! It's a good thing we were in nature (since I absolutely HATE park bathrooms...YUCK!) So here are the best ones!

Brrrrr! Freezin' our Tales off, and lovin it!

Wahooo! I have no pictures to share, but it is a happy day...soccer games are over for the season. The only reason I am so relieved is that it is so so so cold! Hot chocolate and winter coats (and hats, and gloves, and everything else) just don't even begin to protect us from that 'cold Pocatello wind'! Brrrr! And Skyler's team won their football game today, so they get to play in the playoffs. AND...they passed him the ball...AND...HE CAUGHT IT!!! He's been wanting a chance all season, and today was his day. So to all my boys, I say WAY TO GO!!!

Triple Header Saturday...Again!

So here we go again! Another Saturday of ballgames, but what could be better? Especially considering all 3 teams WON...of course we're all about having fun, it doesn't really matter if we win or lose! And to make it even better, it wasn't too cold, relatively speaking (check out last Satuday's weather!).

You must be KIDDING!

Welcome to Pocatello! For all of you 'Vegans'(not referring to people who refrain from eating meat, but to those who live in Las Vegas),this is what we call SNOW up here in Idaho! But the fact that it is only October 6th, that's a bit crazy! Skyler is playing in a football game at the moment! Needless to say, I stayed home with the little ones while Derrick took his gallon of hot cider to the ballgame. Soccer games were cancelled today. I think perhaps I'll encourage my boys to pursue soccer rather than football. Myah and Tannon and I had a fun snow day. We may as well enjoy it since its supposed to be 70 degrees again on Tuesday. Variety is a good thing, right?

snow day, hurray!

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Fun Times!

How cute is she? Isn't this what life is really all about?

Adios Colten!

So we went down to Kaysville on Sunday for Colten's (my nephew) farewell. He's leaving to Washington D.C. in a few more days. The farewell was nice and all, but our family is really all about getting together and stuffing ourselves silly...and that is exactly what we did! So Colten, we'll all miss you, and you'll probably miss all the good eats! So get out there and make us proud (of course, you already have). But for now...auf wiedersehen, audios, ciaou, cheerio, and catch yu later!

Back To School

Who is more excited? The kids...or me??? I love these crazy boys, and I miss them while they're gone (sometimes), but the routine is so good for all of us! For me, back to school means a cleaner house, no more free babysitting (bummer), and the possibility of talking on the phone for five minutes without a thousand and one interruptions! To the Swaner boys, back to school means no more grouchy mom all day long, school lunch (maybe mom's not so bad), and new shoes!


Myah may be brotherless for 7 hours a day, but she's certainly not friendless! This little girl is our own little 'social butterfly' and she has such a great time every single day of her life. Maybe we could all learn a little something from that!


Myah started dance last week....LOVES IT!!!

Those 'End of Summer Blues'

We aren't really feeling too bad that summer is rapidly coming to an end, but we had to get just one more day of 'fun in the sun'! We spent Labor Day at Bear Lake and it was just such a perfect day! We all brought home a nice souvenier...a pretty mean sunburn, but just like the warm weather, that too is fading away rather quickly!

Summer 2007

It's been a long, hot summer, and I must admit...I was really excited for school to start this year! Maybe not so much to have the kids leave for a few hours each day (although I certainly wasn't dreading that part of it all). But I think we were all getting a little worn out from the late nights, the hot weather, the family get togethers, etc. etc. etc. But mostly, Derrick and I both just love the fall time! It is what we missed most while living in Las Vegas...that cool crisp weather, the sound of high school football games, yummy soups for dinner, and, of course, the back to school thing too! But before we jump into fall feet first, we have to remenisce about summer just a little, and what works better than pictures?