"Gettysbird"

As we got in the car and set out for our trip to Gettysburg, I asked Adam, "Where are we going?"  Adam enthusiastically replied, "Gettysbird!"

We had a great day.  Amazingly, neither Phil nor I had ever been and we both have always wanted to see it.  It was way cool, and different than we had pictured it.  We were glad to go in the Fall when the colors were so pretty.  The kids were real troopers.  Obviously, they didn't have a clue about the significance, but Adam was very interested in the short film they showed before we took the Auto Tour of the battlefields, and he stared at the soldiers walking around in their period uniforms.  

These are all scenery photos, so just enjoy.
McPherson's barn.  This is where the Union and Confederate Armies met on the first day of battle.

Adam learned all about cannons and got really good at spotting them.  "Cannons say boom, boom, boom!"

Sorry, I can't tell you who this monument is for, but I just thought it was so pretty.  There are SO MANY monuments, it is truly amazing.  It would take months to look at each one.

I just thought this barn was cool.  Where I am standing for this photo is where the Union Army retreated to after the first day of battle.

Again, just struck me as cool.  I actually took a whole series of photos of these tracks and am thinking of doing something with them in Adam's room.  I'm sure he'll appreciate the artistic thought...

The view from Little Round Top.  This was my favorite part, since it was so pretty to look out.  It's obvious why the Union worked so hard to guard this position - a definite vantage point.  I said to Phil as we were driving away, "Yeah, if I had that place, I would defend the crap out of it."  Super profound.  I'm sure I'll say that to my students some day.

More from Little Round Top.

Ok, one more.

Phil and I had our eyes peeled for this monument all day - Minnesota!!!!  We finally found it!

I'm sure we'll be back again - you could spend days and still not see everything.  We'd also love to do more hiking around, but may need to wait until the kids are older to do a trip like that.  Oh well, we do what we can.  It was great to finally see it, though.  We feel so lucky that we can just decide to go to Gettysburg (Gettysbird) for the day.  A wonderful perk of living in this part of the country.

Fall Fun on the Farm(S!)

Daddy took three days off of work this week since he's been traveling so much and we had an absolute blast!  The kids got to visit not one, but TWO farms in one week for Fall Festivals.  We visited the famed Cox Farms on Wednesday and then went to Ticonderoga Farm on Friday with Adam's class for a field trip.

For those who are not local, Cox Farms has an amazing Fall Festival with tons of slides, animals, food, a corn maze, and more pumpkins than you can shake a stick at.  We had great weather this day.

The slides are the kids' favorite.  Maybe Daddy's favorite, too.  That's Adam cheering for Daddy in the foreground.

This photo pretty much sums up the day...Phil and I racing to keep up with our slide enthusiast.

Kids weren't a huge fan of the goats this year, so Daddy had to pick up the slack.

Just kidding...right???

How cute is this girl?  She walks everywhere, now, and just got herself a pair of beautiful pink Minnie Mouse shoes.  Girl loves her some Minnie.

This was the biggest and favorite slide.  Adam was so excited that he was big enough to slide in his very own lane this year.  As you can see, though, Daddy is having all the fun on this one.  (You can sort of see Adam behind Phil's arm.  Totally stealing his thunder.)

Mama and Clara loved it, too.  Clara kept asking for more slides!

Then, two days later, was Adam's field trip.  He got to go to a farm AND ride a school bus.  Don't know which he was more excited for.

First bus I've ever seen with seat belts.  Someone loved his ride to the farm.

Hello in there, Mr. Goat.

Mama and Clara on the hayride to the pumpkin patch.

Both kids got to ride a see saw for the first time (that I can remember).  Clara now walks around the house chanting "up and down, up and down, up and down."

Lovin' life.

The slides were again the highlight.

Adam enjoyed his last slide of the day with his teacher, Ms. Young.  She is great and so much fun.

Fall Wreaths

 Once again, I was inspired by Pinterest.  

I made this one for fall...

 and this one specifically for Halloween.

Just the Right Size

 Clara got a stroller for her baby a few weeks ago, but Adam figured out that his sister was also just the right size for a ride.

 Clara doesn't seem to mind.  Love how these two play together.

Don't Worry - We're Still on the Scene

 www.theswensonscene2.blogspot.com
No need to panic, everyone.  All you need to do is add a "2" to the web address and you'll find our familiar faces here at The Swenson Scene...Life Goes On.  I was having some trouble with the old blog (wouldn't let me load any more pictures - now how fun would that be???), so I thought it would be easier just to start afresh over here.  Sooooo, if you want to take a walk down memory lane, you can always visit the old blog, but make sure you update your links to include the "2" because I know you won't want to miss a thing  :) 

Just to prove we are alive and well...my three loves.

So happy to have Daddy home after a long business trip.

Some shots I took of Adam that I just adore.  

Such a happy boy.

See ya around!