Disneyland

At the beginning of October my dad, mom, my sister and I all drove down to California to go to Disneyland (Yes! we left the kids and husbands at home) for a week of family fun just the four of us, our kids were not very happy with us but we had so much fun. We took a Haunted Disney tour and learned about some of the more spooky rides. We got to get on 6 different rides ahead of the crowd which was awesome. We had so much fun that we decided to take a family trip with everyone in June, the countodown is on.

Fun in the Sun

Well a new month is here and I find myself behind. At the end of September while we were in Utah Bonnie and Mont invited us to go boating with them. What a Blast! We had such a fun time on their boat, thanks Bonnie and Mont. We arrived at Deercreek Resevoir and had a fun picnic lunch after we headed down to the beach Rachel and Rebekah were on the beach only a few minutes when off came all the clothes and we had two little 2 year olds running around naked. I took some great pictures but decided not to publish them on my blog. Mont took us out on the boat and the twins had a great time helping Uncle Mont drive. The kids all had fun riding the innertube and we were able to see Brady's moves on the wake board. There is a cute picture of my dad and my sister. My dad rocks! Love you Bonnie and Dad!

Halloween

There are several events that have happened in our family which I have not blogged yet, but I wanted to do our Halloween before I changed my layout. Below are some highlights of our fun night of spooks and ghouls. McKaella was a witch, Jennifer was a maid, Kjirstin was a pink witch, Rachel was a kittycat and Rebekah was a fairy. I hope that everyone had a fun Halloween, we sure did. At the very last house we went to Rachel finally said trick-or-treat and then she went running down the street saying trick-or-treat it was really cute. As soon as we got home Rebekah climbed up on the chair and sat down and dug in to her candy.

In Memory of my Father-in-Law Claron Edwin Swenson

Claron Edwin Swenson was born August 7, 1941 to Don and Lucile Swenson in Salt Lake City, Utah. He quietly left this earth to the loving embrace of his Father in Heaven, his earthly father, mother and oldest son Scott on September 22, 2008. He was surronded in death as in life by his loving wife Carol, and eight children David, Kelly, Kim, Kristy Daniel, Aaron, Matthew and Kerry, and by his oldest sister Carol. Claron was a very honest, kind person who delighted in serving others especially his family. I was fortunate enough have been apart of this family for the past 18 years when I first met David on September 26, 1990. We were married in August of 1992. Claron loved his family and tried to do all that he could for them. McKaella was the oldest grandchild and he would take every opportunity he could while she was young to spend time with her. He was always thinking about me and my children and would often call just to find out that his son was treating me well and taking good care of me and his grandchildren. I will miss you very much.

Rock Climging Continued

The weather was beautiful that day and the whole family had a great time just relaxing and enjoying being with each other.

Rock Climbing in Red Rock Canyon

Rachel and Rebekah had lots of fun climbing on the rocks. They are a couple of Mountain Goats.

Labor Day Fun

On Labor day we took the girls to Red Rock Canyon here in Las Vegas and had a lot of fun rock climing.

Look a like meter

Well who would have thought! Our 4 of our kids favor me in looks, but only by a small amount and Rebekah looks equally like me and David. I hope you all enjoy.

August

Our stay at home was again very brief.  On August 15th we all piled into the van to head to California for David's sister Kimberly's wedding.  She was married in a beautiful outdoor setting in the middle of a redwood forest.  All five of the girls were part of the bridal party.  They all enjoyed dressing up, but Rachel and Rebekah loved their princess dresses the best.  The wedding was in Palo Alto which is only a short 30 minute drive to San Francisco so the day after the wedding we headed to San Francisco for a wonderful day just the 7 of us.  We are definitely going back to San Francisco soon.  On Monday we headed home and took the Pacific Coast Highway which is an absolutely beautiful drive, arriving home sometime around 3:00 am long enough for David to sleep for 3 hours and head off to work.  The next weekend my mom and dad came down to babysit the girls so that David and I could go to St. George for our Anniversary which was the day we drove home from California.  We had a great weekend, we stayed in a bed and breakfast and saw Les Mis at the outdoor theatre Tuachan.  The day after we arrived home school started and now I am finally getting a break.   We have had a wonderful summer and look forward to more adventures this fall.  I hope that you have enjoyed this, and to all my fellow bloggers please forgive me for the mess ups I am still learning.

July Continued

After a brief stay at home we returned to Utah for the 4th of July and went camping with Davids family.  This was the first camping trip for the whole family and we had a blast.  We then returned home for another brief stay.  On July 15th Bonnie, my mom and dad came down to Las Vegas to see Bette Midler, on the 17th the girls and I piled into our mini van for a nice 3 week vacation in Utah.  The girls took swimming lessons and we spent a lot of time with our family's.  Over the 24th of July David flew up and we all went to the Day's of 47 parade for the first time in about 12 years.  The girls had a great time.  (we left Rachel and Rebekah at home with Grandma.)  David flew back home on the 28th and the girls and I finished off our time in Utah, finishing off with the famous Preston, Idaho rodeo (Go Napoleon Dynamite).  Grandpa Parkin drove home with us on August 9th, and on Tuesday August 12th McKaella left for her first Girls Camp.

June and July

In June we headed back to Utah to celebrate Father's day with our dads.  This time we left McKaella, Jennifer, and Kjirstin with Grandma and Grandpa Parkin to spend some time with them.  On tuesday they headed to St. George where they had fun swimming and hanging out at the Holiday Inn with Bonnie, Mont and their kids.  Later that week I drove up to St. George with the babies so that Bonnie, McLane, McKaella, Jennifer and I could go see Les Mis (Loved it so much that David and I went back for our Anniversary in August.  

We returned home to celebrate Rachel and Rebekah's 2nd Birthday.  Having twins is a challenge, but it is also a lot of fun.  These two little girls are always going and getting into things.  If one doesn't think of it the other one will.  They definitely keep me on my toes.  They are adored by their older sisters and quite frequently get spoiled by them.  The weekend of their birthday we took the girls hiking up Red Rock Canyon just west of Las Vegas, we had a great time.

In May we returned to Utah for Davids sister Kristy's wedding.  The girls all had a great time at the Temple and later at the reception.  McKaella caught the bouquet.  The top picture is of Kristy and Tristan and all of the nieces and nephews.

Dear Friends and Family

I have finally entered the world of blogging.  I have been meaning to send out an e-mail to all our friends to update you on our new e-mail address and our current location, but life just seems to get in the way.  I hope that you will all enjoy a glimpse into the changes that have occured in the lives of the Swenson family since leaving Alabama.  We arrived in Las Vegas, Nevada on March 21, 2008 and have been going ever since.