Vacation in Mexico

Two weeks ago, we took a great vacation to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. We stayed at a really nice Hilton resort. The kids were excited to get to fly and to go out of the country. By the end of the trip, we were all even using a few Spanish words. This picture is David and the kids in the infinity pool looking out over the ocean. This was mostly a lounge-by-the-pool vacation for me, which is my favorite kind. I think I read about 4 books! This picture was taken at Edith's, where we went for dinner one night. It got a little cool and the kids and I ended up wrapped up in the serapes that you see hanging on the chairs. Rachael was serenaded by the mariachi band. That little senorita got a lot of attention!

The ocean was very rough while we were there, but we ventured in a little bit. One day we decided to walk to a public beach that is a good place to snorkel. This picture does not do justice to the waves, which would sometimes be about 20 feet high. And they seemed to come up very fast -- you'd just be walking along and suddenly there was a huge wave towering above your head. We couldn't actually walk to the beach where we were headed after all, so we headed up to the road and got on a bus to take us the rest of the way. David and Rachael snorkeled, but the water was to cold for Trevor and me. The water was so rough and the sand so stirred up that they couldn't see much. We had some adventures riding the buses (we were just too cheap to take taxis everywhere). Once we got on the wrong bus, even after asking where it went. We rode around for awhile and then the driver told us to get off and gave us directions to the right bus. Also, the bus stops are not necessarily marked. You can just stand along the highway and a bus will stop for you.

This was the part of the vacation that I looked forward to the most -- eating lunch at the swim-up bar in the pool at the hotel. We ate lunch there on our first day. I was determined to do it again on our last day, but that day it was very cold. My family indulged me and shivered their way through lunch, though.

The kids wanted to get one of these beds by the pool every day. Finally on our last day, David went out early and got us a bed -- the best one, in fact.

The highlight of the trip for David and Trevor was catching this striped marlin. It was 8 feet long. They fished with Roberto, who had taken David and his dad and his friend Mike fishing 18 years ago when we were in Cabo. Rachael and I went for the first day of fishing, but she got too seasick to go again, so we missed the marlin catch. This is going to be mounted (actually, they make a replica). Trevor tells me it is going above my bed. Trevor also tells me he is going to be a fishing guide in Mexico when he grows up. He is ready to go to work for Roberto any time.

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.

The Official Start of Summer!

Today was our official first day of summer because we spent the afternoon at the boat dock! The water was so warm, we couldn't believe it. Usually we are into June before the adults want to swim, but not this year! Our friends Paul, Siena, Peyton, and Spencer came out to play. Luckily they are good friends, because we must be out of practice at the lake thing -- the boat battery was totally dead and we forgot to bring the tank for the gas grill! We made do with a watermelon (named "Melanie" by Trevor -- get it?) for supper. Now that we are home, Trevor and Rachael are up in my bed in their jammies with popcorn watching a movie.

Tomorrow we will do better at the lake. David's classmate Anastasia and her boyfriend Brian are joining us, and we are hoping for some more company as well. We will get both the boat and the grill going this time!

I see that I will need to get in the habit of taking pictures to post on the blog! Kind of boring if you don't have pictures of cute kids to go with the post!

Trying Out This Blogging Thing

Oh my, I seem to have become a blogger! Since I am not a scrapbooker or a journaler, or even very good at keeping up with photos, I'm looking for a quick and easy way to chronicle our family's life and milestones and share our stories with friends and family.

For now, this blog will be pretty plain vanilla. Hopefully later I can figure out how to customize the layout and perk it up a bit, but I decided to just start! So here we go!