I love coming home to this...

The best part about Davis being old enough to babysit is that the kids get creative when I'm gone and do something really sweet to surprise me. I left the 3 boys home and took Sadie to swimming. This sign was waiting for me in the kitchen upon my return. (We love you, Mom! Look on back)

Yep, that says we cleaned and vacuumed the house! They were hiding behind the island in the kitchen and jumped out to yell surprise once I read their note...I loved it!!!! It was very sweet because, man, we have had a long week with Carter gone on back-to-back business trips. I felt guilty, because more than once this week I had thought about selling one of those boys at a garage sale :) I will keep all 3 of them for sure now...

Their creativity goes up a notch when Sadie joins in the fun. This is what Carter and I pulled up to after a date the other night:


I'm not sure if you can read it clearly, but they wrote Beach Party! in sidewalk chalk on the driveway. They also filled up a bucket full of water balloons that they were planning to launch at us, but we were able to convince them to war w/ the bathing suit wearers only. Ffffewwwww!

Their water balloon fight turned into a car washing of the van, which was definitely needed. I had kind of forgotten how much fun washing the car can be for these guys, especially when it is their idea and not mine...

They were having so much fun with the car wash that Carter and I had a second to sneak in a badminton game. I had secretly been training during the day with Mason and Davis, so Carter was completely bewildered when I schooled him repeatedly :) I came away with several titles including, "Champion of the Swift Family", "Champion of Kirkwood Avenue", "Champion of Minnesota", and "Champion of the World". However, Carter still maintained the coveted title "Champion of the Dreaded Point of Doom". Don't ask!!!!

Spa Treatment!

Carter and the boys went on their annual Father-Son Campout in Western Wisconsin and this year Harrison was finally deemed big enough to join them. Sadie and I decided to make it special for us, too, so we threw a spa party for a bunch of Sadie's gal pals. Sadie was in her element as the hostess! I wish I had a picture of all of the girls together, but alas, I was too busy painting fingernails.

Harrison was sad that he missed all the spa stuff when he was camping, so we put a clay mask on him in the bathtub! The best part is how my bathtub is actually the same color as the sea foam mask. People were just way too excited about all of the fiberglass color options in the 1970's :)

Winter in MN

Check out Harrison sledding in our backyard and the giant icicles which were hanging from our roof.

Kids' School Christmas Programs

Mason & Sadie had their Christmas music programs at their school today. Sadie was a cutie in her Santa hat and Mason did a great job playing his recorder. It definitely added to the spirit of the season.

Sadie's Birthday

We celebrated Sadie's 7th birthday on Saturday. We had a special birthday dinner for her with candles and chinese food at her request. She sure is growing up and we love her so much!

Oakdale Stake MTC

Last weekend our stake held a Missionary Training Conference for the youth in our stake. I had the opportunity to help to organize the conference and it was an incredible experience. Many times throughout the weekend I felt the Spirit as the youth in our stake got a glimpse into what it's like to be a missionary. It brought back many wonderful memories of my own mission. My parents were also in town visiting us for the first time since their return from their mission to the Ukraine. They participated as investigators and did a great job. It was so nice to see them again and for our kids to spend some time with them. My kids are lucky to have such awesome grandparents!

Boundary Waters

At the end of the summer, Davis and I went up north to the Boundary Waters between the US and Canada. We paddled and portaged for 4 hours or so until we arrived at a beautiful lake called Perent Lake where we camped on a small island. We went swimming and fishing and had an incredibly relaxing time. It was a birthday present for the 12th birthday. I'm proud to have him as my son.

Mall of America

Meredith, Anna and Travis are in town this weekend. After picking up Travis at the airport this evening we headed to the Mall of America, went on some rides, had dinner and did a little shopping. Our kids sure do love Meredith and Travis - they are great with kids!

County Fair

The Washington, MN county fair has become an August family tradition for us. We have a great time seeing the animals, riding rides, watching the lumberjack show and eating heathy fair food. Although Mason doesn't look too happy in this photo - he must have just been told no more rides.

Spotlight on Sadie

Sadie's has been having a fun summer. In early July she got her ears pierced while she was out visiting family in CA. She was a little nervous about it but also very excited. After she got back from CA she attended cheer camp and had a great time. She's a cutie!

Summer B-Day Parties

Harrison and Sadie recently had a blast at their friends' birthday parties - Jake and Annie. Harrison makes a great Buzz Lightyear!

Strawberry Fest

We spent a few hours yesterday at our town's Strawberry Fest watching the parade and going on rides. The kids had a blast.

Atlanta Airport

Last week I was flying back from a business trip to Florida and was connecting through the Atlanta airport. As I was walking through the airport I ran into a good friend of mine who I hadn't seen in about 8 years - Christy Smith. Christy was one of my seminary students in Texas when I taught New Testament when we lived down there. She was also in Young Women's with Brooke. She was one of those youth who always had her act together. It turns out that Christy is teaching seminary herself and has been for a few years now in Utah where her husband is going to law school. In fact, a year or so ago when I was teaching Old Testament seminary here in Minnesota, Christy was teaching at the same time in Utah. It was great to see Christy again!

As we briefly talked in the airport we also discovered that her husband and my parents recently had dinner together in Kiev, Ukraine. My parents are on their mission there and Her husband, Chase, is doing a summer internship with a lawfirm. It's a small world.

Harrison's B-day!

We have a great family party for Harrison yesterday. He was a handsome little man who was very excited! The other kids did a great job celebrating with him. He is such a wonderful part of our family.

Cute Kids

Here are a couple cute shots of Sadie and Harrison.

Our house...in the middle of the woods

We've had a great spring here in the north country. Brooke shot some photos of the yard last week. The leaves are almost all on the trees.

View from the Back Deck

Side Yard


Swing in the Front Yard

Swing Again

Pinewood Derby Gold

We had a fun Pinewood Derby this past Saturday and at the end of it all Mason stood atop the podium claiming first place! He had a great attitude and cheered for all the boys from his pack. His good friend Alex Coutu came in second place.