Monkey and Me

We got a free book recently in a Cheerios box called Monkey and Me. It has a little rhythm to it, kind of sing-songy. It goes "Monkey and me, monkey and me, monkey and me, we went to see, we went to see some...penguins" (and other animals). As I was reading it this morning, Xander was saying "da, da, daaa, da, da, daaa, da, da, daaa," going along with the rhythm in the book. I guess we have another blossoming reader in our family!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

The most important thing about Thanksgiving for Zack was making our turkey cookies. Mark started the turkey right at noon, and it only took about 2-1/2 hours to cook. So dinner was actually ready early!!! We had Dad and Cathy, Michael, Kay and Tim, Mo and Jenn, Kevin, Danny, Eileen, Elizabeth, Alannah, Alyssa, Damien and Christopher, Gramma, and the four of us. It was a crowded house, and very loud, but we all had good conversations and a great time visiting. We were thinking about those who couldn't be with their families for Thanksgiving, like Ken and Jessianne. We had to include the famous (or infamous) couch pictures of various groups (families and grandchildren). We had a very great (and disaster-free) Thanksgiving, and we hope that all of you did, too!!

Here's our turkey cookie!!

Xander enjoyed it...a little too much?

The boys were sampling our turkey cookies


Watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade



Mommy's little laundry helper




Playing with Grandpa's face





This was Dad's suspicious face when Danny tried to give him a mimosa!!

Xander, Christopher, Damien, Zack (the four youngest grandchildren, not counting the great-granddaughter)

Christopher, Elizabeth, Alyssa, Xander, Alannah, Jenn, Damien, Tim, Zack

Happy Thanksgiving from the Swans!!

Christmas Parade

On Saturday, Zack got to go to the Raleigh Christmas parade with his Uncle Michael and his cousin Tim. When I told him that Tim was going, he said, "Oh yeah, I like him. He gave me monster trucks." It was only about 30 degrees when he left, so he had some long underwear and two pairs of pants, a turtleneck, a hoodie, a fleece jacket and a winter coat. I also sent him with a big quilt to wrap up in. He hung out by the Snoopy's, and Aunt Mo was there, too. When he got home, I asked him what his favorite part was. It was not the fire trucks or even Santa Claus. It was the huge monster truck that Bob and the Showgram (local morning show) used as their float. Their theme was 'Grandma got run over by the showgram.' He even got to have a donut for lunch!! He was wound up when he got home. Tim told him that he would try to take him a monster truck rally in February. That makes Tim and Uncle Mike good in Zack's book!!

All bundled up

The monster truck that was mentioned as the

favorite part

Tim and Zack

Snowing in November

When we woke up this morning, Mark wasn't feeling well. He called his boss, who told us it was snowing!. We opened the blinds and couldn't believe our eyes!! Xander woke up and I showed him, then when Zack woke up and looked out the window, I asked him what it was. He said rain first, then realized it was snow. His face was priceless!! Snowing...in Raleigh...in November... unbelievable!! I just had to take the boys out for a little while, even though it was only 7:30. So we looked at it, caught some snowflakes, tried to make a snowball, and took pictures. Xander kept falling down and getting his pants wet. The looks on the boys faces were enough to make the very brief snow well worth it. They had fun while it lasted!!

What is this white stuff, Mommy??

Catching snowflakes on his tongue

Within an hour, it was ALL GONE!

This was actually last week sometime--he fell asleep watching Sesame

Street, then slept right through lunch on the couch!

The Beginning of Something New

Well, this should be interesting, putting my life up on the web. On the other hand, it's an easy way for people to see what's going on in our life. So I guess I'll start with today. It was a rainy day, so I decided to go to the playground at the mall. Unfortunately, by the time we were all ready, it was already 11:00. I packed a lunch of crackers and fruit, called Maureen (luckily it was her day off) and Kevin (at work) and headed out. I was very pleased once we sat down, that the people next to us had also packed a lunch. There was no way that I could afford to buy lunch at the mall--they don't have a dollar menu!! The boys played hard after lunch, and we stopped for cookies on the way out. Just an ordinary day, but it's a start. We'll see how this goes.

Oh, I put up some pictures here, a few weeks old, just trying everything out on here.

The Swan Family on Halloween.
Diego walking with Daddy

Baby Jaguar looking for treats.

Zack trying to pick up the pumpkin at the pumpkin patch.

Xander looking in the pumpkin, but not touching it. He didn't want to go near it.