We had a great Father's Day at the Swanson house! We are very grateful for the 2 wonderful dads in the family -- Roger and David. And we miss and remember with much love my Dad, Wallace.

David got to plan his day, so he picked Outback Steakhouse for lunch and then a round of golf. The weather was beautiful (if a little warm!) so the course was crowded. I piloted the golf cart from one patch of shade to the next while David and the kids played. Below is a picture I took while they were warming up.


Rachael had a great round. I am amazed at her patience for this game which is so frustrating to so many people. If something goes wrong, she just moves on to her next shot. She had a ball go off in the wrong direction and David said, "Talk to it", so she said, "Bad ball!"


Trevor, on the other hand, is not that interested in golf at the moment. He spent a lot of time picking up lost balls and tees that were "barely broken, I think you can still use it". I think the picture below may have been taken at the only hole he actually played. He is barefoot because he was searching the creek for lost balls at every stop. And because he's my Arkansas boy!

We finished off our Father's Day celebration at Dairy Queen!
David, you deserve all the celebration you can get! You are an amazing father and our kids know it! We love you!!!

Trevor made it home from camp on Saturday. He was tired and hungry! But he had a great time and had lots of stories to tell. I will write more about his camp in a future post.

Rachael left today for camp after a few last-minute worries about whether any of her friends would be in her cabin. By the time David dropped her off, she had found out that she knows her counselor and several cabin-mates -- crisis averted! We look forward to hearing her stories when she gets home on Friday.

Babysitting

Here's a little preview of a future post. Trevor left for church camp yesterday. Below is a picture someone at camp posted on Facebook of Trevor and his friend Stevie. Think they're having fun?

But today's post is really about Rachael's first time to babysit on her own. She kept our little friend Will, who is 21 months old, on Tuesday night while his mother had a meeting at their house. The kids and I have kept him a couple of times but this was her first solo gig.

Things started off a little rough; Will didn't understand why he had to stay in the playroom instead of with his mom. I stuck around awhile to get them off on the right foot. After we got him off the floor in the corner of his room, where he was softly crying, we took him to the playroom and distracted him until he forgot about Mama for a minute. Then we strapped him into his stroller and Rachael set off to walk around the block with him. I made the first lap with them, then headed out myself.

Rachael did a great job with him! They walked for awhile and played in the backyard. Will saw Jenna through the window once and said, "Mama". Jenna said that Rachael grabbed him up and took him around the corner quickly and that was the end of that. When I came to pick her up, they were playing in his room and he didn't even pay attention to his mom when she came to check on them. Rachael really enjoyed her evening and I think Will did too.

Summer Weekend

We have had a busy weekend! My camera was never where I needed it, so I don't have any pictures to post, but I have a few stories.

Trevor had a big baseball game Saturday afternoon. It was the first game of their end-of-season tournament. He had a hit each time he was up to bat (2 huge ones into center field). He scored 2 runs and caught a fly ball at 2nd base for an out. The game got very exciting at the end, and the Rockies barely pulled it out. Trevor got his 4th game ball of the season for his hard work. Now they play again on Monday night and if they win, they will be in the championship game on Thursday night.

After the game, Rachael and I were out shopping and we met my blogging idol -- the person who inspired me to start this blog. Her name is Kelly and she lives in Bentonville. I don't remember how I even found her blog, but I love to read it. She has a 1-year-old daughter and she is just so sweet and genuine -- I love reading her posts. She started her blog as a way to "scrapbook" for her daughter and now has thousands of followers. (I don't aspire to that, just hope the family enjoys it.) She was very gracious when I chased her down in a parking lot!

Today after church we headed for the lake and met Chris and Kate for them to scuba with David. They are doing some "refresher" dives to get ready for their honeymoon in Mexico later this summer. It was a long boat ride up to the dam to meet them, and the water felt great after being in the hot sun. Then we got rained on, but we outran the storm. If you don't know it, Swansons are famous for being caught on the lake in thunderstorms!

Big week coming up -- Trevor is going to church camp for the first time on Wednesday - Saturday. He is excited and a little nervous. He will be about an hour away in Oklahoma. He will be in a cabin with some friends, and I know he will have a great time.

Hope your week gets off to a good start tomorrow. I'll try to take more pictures for my next post!

Update on Baseball

Trevor had such a great baseball game last night that I just had to do another post about it. On the hitting side, he got 3 hits (one double) and a walk and scored 3 times. He got to slide into home for one of his runs, which he really loved!

But the real accomplishment was that he pitched for the first time in a game. The coach wants to give everyone a chance to pitch and this is something Trevor had been dreading. Every game he would be worried that he would have to pitch. I mean sick-at-his-stomach worried. It was just something new and you have to stand out there all by yourself and everyone is watching -- I can see where it would be nerve-wracking. So last night he saw his name on the list to pitch and spent the whole game hoping the game would be over before it was his turn. In the top of the last inning, when his team was at bat, he was relieved because Michael was up to pitch next. And Michael did pitch next and did a good job, but was getting tired, so the coach put Trevor in with 2 outs. So he got to pitch to 1 batter. I could tell he was nervous, but he did really well. His throws were hard enough to get to the plate. Some were a little high, so he got to a full count and on the last pitch the batter swung and missed so the game was over. Trevor came back to the dugout and told us "That was actually fun -- sorta". It doesn't even matter how he did; it's just fun to see your kids conquering fears, trying new things, and getting over hurdles. And hey, as David said, "he pitched a no-hitter"!

Baseball, Spring 2010

Trevor is playing baseball for the first time this year. He decided he wanted to play after everyone had already started practice, and we couldn't get him on a team with any of his friends, but he has been learning a lot and doing great. He plays in the Rogers league for the Rockies. David just told me last night that they are ranked #2 in their....well I don't know what it is called, but anyway....sounds good to me! His coach, Tom, is just wonderful with the kids and so are the assistants -- we are blessed to have Trevor on that team.

Obviously, since Trevor started late and hadn't played before, he had some catching up to do. It has been a great learning experience. In 2 different games, he has batted in the winning runs. After every game, Coach Tom calls the team together and gives everyone kudos for something they did in that game. If they did something really spectacular, they receive a game ball signed by the coaches. Trevor has received the game ball twice.

We're headed for our last regular game of the season tonight -- Go Rockies!

Dance, Dance, Dance!

This post is about Rachael's dance recital, but because I am not an expert at uploading photos, we will talk about the dog in the picture below first, since this pic is at the top and I can't move itThis little guy appeared on the rocks on the other side of our cove. The kids swam over to say hi and he swam back with them and climbed up onto my raft, breathing like he might have a heart attack! He hung out with us all afternoon. I swam him back to his side of the cove, but he swam right back with me! We named him Charlie. He's welcome at the dock any time.

And now...on to the dance recital: Rachael danced in both nights of the recital this year. On Friday night she filled in for a girl who had to drop out about 2 months ago. We are so proud that Rachael was one of 4 dancers awarded a dance scholarship for next year! I really appreciate her teachers choosing to recognize her for her hard work and passion for dance. It really is her thing!

This is Rachael with her gansta friend Madeline. Madeline is in costume for her hip hop number.

This is Rachael's tap costume. They danced to "Sweet Georgia Brown". It was a really good dance.

This is her costume for her jazz dance to "Million Dollar Bill". That costume is really cute but there us a price for beauty -- those sparkly things were sharp! The girls were all scratched up.

We are so glad that Roger & Shirley got to come for a visit to see Rachael in her recital and to watch one of Trevor's baseball games. In between, we squeezed in some lake time and some time to play golf and tennis. Did I take any pictures? Nope, but I'm really trying to do better! We can't wait to see GG and Papa again!

Memorial Day Weekend

We enjoyed spending time at our boat dock on Memorial Day weekend. For the first time since we've lived here, it was warm enough to swim on Memorial Day! On Sunday, some of David's friends from school joined us.

This is me, Rachael and Chris, one of David's office-mates. Rachael is reading her Harry Potter book.

This is Mauricio, Brian, and Kate. Kate is engaged to Chris -- they are getting married in Mexico in August. Mauricio is Anna's husband and Brian is Anastasia's boyfriend.

These "kids" must feel like they're visiting their parents when they come to see us, but we love spending time with them and they are so nice to Rachael and Trevor.

We are glad to have our summer off to a great start! The kids have finished school and are enjoying some downtime.