Every family has its words or phrases. You know the ones - something cute a kid said, or a slip of the tongue that no one can forget. Here are the Swanson/Bentzen/Enloe/Bergman entries:

Shammur - my cousin Lonni's word for sandwich. 'Gramma, can we have a shammur?'

Groshy lips - Grocery list. Lonni again.

Shall we play inna dirt? – That Lonni! Our family acknowledges that there is something about Alberta dirt. Kids just wind up playing there. But only Lonni extends a polite invitation. Related to "Shall we go a-Hardisties?", which means Lonni wanted to go to Lake Hardisty and swim.

Hiking and Laking - cousin Steve's phrase for the hikes my dad would take us on when we were little, because we always ended up at a lake, usually Lake Dorothy.

Movie fyoo-ter - Movie theater, courtesy of my niece Karina. It makes sense if you say it fast.

Lospers - Annika's baby word for lobtser. Though why a small child needs a word for lobster begs other questions.

Brefkiss - breakfast, courtesy of Ani again.

Gullah - nephew Cody's word for motorcycle. No one has any idea where he got this.

Suzy – my mom’s word for female external genitals. As in, “don’t forget to wash your suzy”. I got to camp, where the girls’ toilet was called the suzy, and thought, “How did they know?”