The Swensens: May 2012

Sunny St. George

Back when Corvallis was breaking records for having the rainiest March in history, I booked tickets to meet up with my sister and my parents at their condo in St. George in May. I had to have something to look forward too! Seriously! This rain can sometimes be too much! I flew out of Eugene on a direct flight to Las Vegas with the kids, where my dad picked us up. Mark joined us later on in the week. Oh, how I love St. George! We had perfect weather...HOT, HOT, HOT! Just how I like it! My sister came down with her kids and we had the BEST time...all of us, lounging by the pool, catching up, going out to eat, shopping, cooking, movies, etc. I hardly saw my kids because they were so busy playing with their cousins. It was a fabulous vacation and some much needed Vitamin D!

We couldn't get enough of YOU, Elsie!

Sisters are the BEST!!!

Thanks, Mom & Dad, for letting us come and stay with you! We love you so much and miss you everyday! We can't wait to come back! Same time next year!!!

Spring Tea

Nicholas & Karlee's preschool class had a "Spring Tea" where the moms helped organize a little tea party for the class. The kids came in from recess to find their classroom transformed. One of the mom's even made corsages and boutonnieres. It was so sweet! The kids were so quiet and on their very BEST behavior. This post is for the memory books!

Two Wheelers

Nicholas and Karlee have mastered their two wheelers at 4 years old! After riding their bikes with training wheels for the past two summers, they seemed bored with their bikes. So, we took off their training wheels and their pedals and let them them scoot around for a few days to get a feel for their balance. Karlee was bound and determined to learn. We threw her pedals back on her bike and she was off! Just like that! She spent a day falling and crashing but she would get right back up, usually crying & hating her bike, but DETERMINED to conquer it...again and again! It was the funniest thing to watch. Mark and I learned a lot about our little Karlee that day. She is one STUBBORN little girl. We always knew that but this made it even more evident.

Nicholas took a few days to want to try it out but by the end of week, he had learned too! Now, HE'S THE ONE riding off of curbs and riding with his feet tucked up in his chest. Karlee quickly follows. In fact, one time she told me to watch, and I looked over and she was riding down the driveway with her eyes CLOSED!!!! I had to catch my breath! We nicked that trick real quick!

Now we can hardly keep them inside! They are constantly wanting to ride their bikes and scooters. It's like a whole new world has opened up to them. Freedom like they've never felt before...and they LOVE it! They are requesting bigger bikes now. Maybe for Christmas! These two.....

....I love them!

Weekend in Portland

A few weekends back, we spent some days in Portland PLAYING while Mark attended the Oregon State Dental Conference. Macy just happened to have parent teacher conferences those days so it worked out perfectly for us to tag along. We checked out OMSI and saw the awesome LEGO exhibit on display there. AMAZING!!!

The next day, we met up with our good friends from dental school, the Baileys, at the Oregon Zoo. Jessica and I spent the day there with our kids while our husbands were in meetings. Sorry, guys! All work and no play! It was so fun seeing her and our kids loved having friends to run around with.

One of the best parts of the day, was riding the train!

"Tickets every one!"

Then a quick stop at the gift shop! Mom's a sucker! Every one got stuffed animals!

Before we left Portland, we had to stop by Voodoo Donuts which was just around the corner from our hotel. We waited in line for 45 minutes. It was CRAZY to wait in a line like that just for donuts but it was for the experience!!!