Swiss Days

We went up to Midway this weekend to spend some quality Swalberg family time and go to the best craft fair ever- Swiss Days. It was a lot of fun. We have gone every year for the last 6 or 7 I think, so it's fun to see all of the regulars who sell things there.

The little stream at the condo is always the boys' favorite. We went there many times and saw little baby fish. The boys loved to throw rocks and leaves in. Heaven for them.

This is my one big "find" that I'm really excited about, although Adam doesn't share in my joy...

Eating yummy beef roast and cherry pie! 

Grammy and Grandpa with Elliott, who is eating vanilla ice cream.

The sweet boys. Ollie, of course, is wearing my sunglasses.

Megs and Steve

Grammy helping the boys out with the new sticker book she bought for them. It was so fun- I'm already looking forward to next year! ;)

Ollie O

This little guy...has to try on every pair of sunglasses he ever sees.

Loves huge ugly cars! He stops by all of them and tells us it's the coolest car he's ever seen. Adam even bought him a hearse to be funny and he carried it around for weeks!
Music lover? He has learned to "rock" which is what he likes to call his new dance move. He's also very good at recognizing music and songs and where they came from, i.e. "that's Daddy's phone ring" or "this song is on my baby show!"
Is a silly cute boy. Everything he does and says is so dang cute. Except that he has to do EVERYTHING himself now, which includes getting into the car through my door- it takes forever! Oh yeah- and those loud tantrums aren't so fun either, funny- yes, fun- NO! We love our sweet little Ollie so much!

Mmmm...

A new favorite snack I had to try since it involved peanut butter...so yummy! 

Holly the Dog

We were able to watch Adam's parents' dog, Holly for a few days last week. And other than banning our kittty to the basement for a few days, it was really, really fun! She is such a gentle little dog and the boys LOVE her. She definitely got her share of walks from Elliott, although for Ollie, the second she started pulling on the leash would pawn her off on one of us. So this got me to thinking. I've always wanted a dog, although I have never had one growing up. When we got married, we got a cat soon after, and always thought we would get a dog later. But now that our house feels like a zoo already, and I know dogs are a lot of work, (seriously- one more thing to clean up after???) we have no desire to get one anytime soon. So these are my reasons for wanting a dog- a friend for my boys, clean up crumbs from the boys, and bark if there are intruders. There is a list of cons that I won't go into- but they sort of outweigh the pros. But this is the perfect alternative! We can borrow a dog for a few days, the boys love the newness, we can love, walk them and play non-stop with them, we only have to clean up a few poops and deal with barking for a couple of days, and then we give them back! I think this may be a little how grandparents feel about grandkids. So if anyone needs a dog sitter- we are available, but only if your dog is as nice as Holly. We can't wait for the next time she comes!

Texas Roadhouse BBQ

We finally went to Texas Roadhouse BBQ for our first time last night- you know, the place over by Southtowne Mall. It was SO good! So my favorite food on this planet are potatoes (any kind) and get this- they will "load" them for you, which means they will add butter, sour cream, cheese and bacon to any  of them! So you can order mashed potatoes, a baked potato, fries (huge steak fries- yum) or sweet potatoes and load them up. Seriously- my dream come true! And let's not forget the pulled pork and ribs! Oh man- they are so tender and tasty! They serve warm rolls at the beginning with cinnamon butter too. They gave us a complimentary onion blossom appetizer since it was our first time, and another coupon for a free appetizer next time we go. Another great thing is the prices are pretty good. The kids meals were only like $3 and $4, and the bigger meals are a good deal too. I had a yummy "cowboy" drink that has strawberry lemonade, cranberry juice and sprite in it.  The wait was only 35-40 minutes, but we got there at 5:40, so I think if you go later, the wait would be longer. Try it out- it's one of our favorites now! (Thanks again Amy and Cody!!) We ate the leftovers for dinner tonight and they were just as good.

Wilco

We went to the Wilco concert at Red Butte Gardens last night. It was one of the best concerts I've been to- they gave such a great performance! 

Jeff Tweedy- the lead singer.

Jason, Rachel, Linds, Adam and Rich

We stuck together while the boys went up to rock out in the front.

Adam and Rich- and I can't believe I included the "dancing queen" in this picture- we were laughing at her moves the whole night!!

They played for a long time and even came back for TWO encores! It was an amazing show- and if you don't know Wilco- you should check them out. (I have them playing as the first song on my playlist- a song called Kamera.) I love that he always uses "honey" in his songs- I think it's so sweet! ;)

Blah...

Do you ever have one of those crappy weeks (or days, or hours) that you just can't seem to shake the funk? And then you go to church and it seems like everyone's lesson is exactly what you needed to hear, like they prepared it just for you? I love that! It gives me a new perspective on my attitude, problems, whatever. It really enlightens my mind and helps me be more positive for the next little while. What if I wouldn't have gone because I felt too depressed and not in the mood? I totally would have missed out! I'm thankful for the gospel and beliefs that I have so I can see the bigger picture! And to all those teachers who are wondering if their lessons even make sense to people, or touch them in any way- thank you! I'm sure this happens every time they are teaching- someone definitely needs their lesson today! :)

Bear Lake

We went on our annual trip to Bear Lake last weekend. (At least we try to go every year...) This time it was my Mom's ward campout and the next few days were the McEntire reunion. It was so fun to see everyone! I love my Mom's ward- I consider lots of them great friends. And the McEntire family is just amazing. They are the most kind and loving people I know. I love to hear stories about my Dad and feel what his brothers and sisters are like- it makes me feel like I know him better, even though he died when I was a baby. 

Anyway... the boys were in complete heaven! They wanted to be down by the water every second they were awake. It was nice that the lake is shallow with a really gradual slope- so we didn't have to worry.

Elliott wrote his name in the sand. I love how he makes his "E" it is so cute! I never want to tell him that there are only 3 arms...

My niece, Addie loved the water. It was so fun to watch her splash and play! Poor Linds had to keep a close eye on her because she would just crawl deeper and deeper. And she liked to eat the sand.

Little Ollie can't ever seem to keep his face clean. This is when he was playing in some sand mixed with dirt- but I have no ideal how he got it all over every inch of his face!!
We had such funny weather. The clouds would roll in and it would get windy or rain, and then it would be warm and sunny.

The blow-up plane was a big hit with Elliott. He even carried it the whole time down to the water without any help.

Snack Time!! We had lots of these, because what's a campout without the best treats ever?

These are my cousins, Amanda, Keith and Kayley Scott. They are all so beautiful and look so much alike- I thought they could be triplets.
The Marvin McEntire fam: Vera, Rena, Wanda, Marvin, Yolanda and Bentley. Marvin is the oldest of 12 kids, and my dad was the 2nd- needless to say there is a huge age difference in cousins... My Mom got more pics from the rest of the families- I'll have to steal them and put some on later.

Sand castle time. The boys couldn't wait to build one.

Relaxing with our feet in the waves. I love the beach!!

Elliott and Benny- always having fun.

Benny buried in the sand.

Our last time to the beach right before we left for home. I can't wait to go back next year!

Oh yes- we got to walk on a path surrounded by these beautiful grasses and flowers. They were so pretty!

Ollie's tan lines from his sandals.

Happy 29th Adam!

It's Adam's 29th Birthday today- he's finally as old as me!! Adam is such a fun hubby and best friend. He always has some new interesting fact to talk about and we laugh a lot. His hobbies include: playing guitar, fixing vintage musical instruments, collecting vintage anything, making jokes about everything- even if it isn't funny, MUSIC, MUSIC, MUSIC and keeping anyone he knows updated on the latest music finds, riding his new (vintage) motorcycle, talking with friends and playing with our boys. Hope you have a great day today!

Adam- 5 years old (looks a little like Elliott huh?)

Sunrise, Sunset

Oh my! I definitely have a little obsession with the sky and how beautiful and different it is every day! (Maybe I'm just a SPOL girl!) I have a great view from my back porch and the sun is always ready to come up when I'm leaving to go running, so I usually snap a few shots if I really love it. But most of the time, we are out running just enjoying the beauty of it all. I love that it changes so fast, from one minute to the next. 

{October 2007}

{August 2008}

{Summer 2008}

{August 2008}

This was the sunset on the way back from an early date last week. We were actually in Maggie Moo's waiting in line and I saw it from the window and pointed it out to Adam (as I always do...) A second later the girl working there yelled to the crew and everyone else in the little shop, "The sunset it gorgeous out there, so you might want to look before it's gone!" On the way home we were driving toward it so we had this awesome view.  Adam thought it was silly to stop, so I rolled down the window and snapped a shot. Then as we were driving I saw another woman stopped on the side of the road hanging out of her SUV taking a picture. I knew then that there are others like me! ;)

When I was working at the flooring store in Orem, during the winter we would have these amazing sunsets. We had a huge window to see them and I would always watch them while I finished up my stuff for the day. Adam's Dad would always emerge from his back office and CLOSE THE SHADES! Without even seeing the sunset! I would always open them back up and show him what he was missing. So he eventually stopped shutting them and maybe even saw a few beautiful skies.