Spring Shenanigans

Spring time brings old pastimes and new ones.  Simone's new pastime is riding her flashy new fairy bike.  What four-year-old wouldn't want a sparkly fairy bike complete with streamers and flowers?!  Springtime also brings baseball in the street with pitcher extraordinaire Terry Erickson.    Last weekend we visited the LaVigne clan in MPLS.  Cousin time was highlighted by a visit to Drew's fire station.  The kids loved climbing on the rigs.  But the true highlight was hearing the fire call go out and seeing Drew and the guys get into the rig and drive away to a call.  We all thought it was pretty cool to see the heroic firefighters respond to a call.

Easter Fun

A spring concert.

We were lucky enough to attend the most fabulous spring music concert last weekend.  Simone and her friends from the YMCA daycare put on a top-notch performance.  Simone's class stated with the Color Song, then went into Little Bunny Foo Foo and ended the concert with I Love My Little Dinosaur Pet (sung to the tune of I Love My Little Calendar Girl).  Simone kept telling us that she was nervous, but when the songs started she was up there singing and dancing and didn't skip a beat.  Jameson noticed that "Simone knew every word to all of the songs".  My personal favorite was the little hand on the hip dance move that she perfected.  Simone was lucky enough to have a large fan base: Dad, Mom, Cullen, Tracy, Jameson and Quinn.  And she made her fans very proud.

Lucky 7.

I feel like we write the same post every year.  Time flies when you are having fun!  Cullen is now 7 years old!  We've had 7 of the greatest years navigating parenthood with this great kid.  Cullen is sporty, smart, sweet, empathetic, caring, energetic, imaginative and cool.  We are biased, but he's an absolutely awesome kid and we are lucky to be his parents.

We celebrated his birthday with a burger BBQ with the Swanson family.  The next day, he hosted 10 friends at South Lanes bowling center for pizza and pins.  The highlight may have actually been the mustaches and the crane "try to win a stuffed animal" game.  The boys loved anything competitive and had a blast.

Happy 7th birthday Cullen!

Paradisus

In February, we experienced Paridisus.  The Swanson family was lucky enough to take a trip to Playa del Carmen, Mexico.  The resort where we stayed was the perfect blend of relaxation and family fun.  The kids learned the value of a swim-up-bar.  The vacation almost started out on the wrong foot when we found toy guns that Cullen had stashed in the carry on.  After the gun was discarded, the vacation commenced!  Cullen and Simone did great on the flights and when we arrived at the resort, their sights were set on the pool.  The resort offered a personal concierge to make dinner reservations and most importantly, put personal touches in our hotel room.  After returning to our room from the pool or beach, Allan (the concierge) would fill the tub with bubbles and balloons.  Cullen and Simone were in heaven.  Paradisus Esmeralda also hosted a waterslide and three pools.  Every afternoon, there were nachos and cotton candy next to the pool.  Cullen ate so many, we thought he would turn orange.  Simone was partial to the cotton candy machine.   Overall, Dirk and I were able to relax by the pool with some fruity cocktails and just enjoy being with the kids.  Sure, there were moments when the kids were crabby (see the photo of Cullen at Xcaret).  But overall, we had a great time.  Truly relaxing.  

BGC Basketball

Wooden, Krzyzewski, Ryan,.....Swanson!?  Yes, I now consider myself in this hallowed group of coaches.  Why is this you ask?  Well, we just closed out an undefeated season in Youth Developmental Basketball.   Although, my coaching was essentially making sure the kids remembered what number sub they were.  I want to think that my little contribution went a long way in helping these Kindergartners, 1st and 2nd graders stay focused on the game.  In all honesty, I'm not really even sure about the undefeated part.  Our sharp shooter, Brent, informed us before every game that we were 15-0, I was a bit skeptical being that we had only played 10 games.  I did know that we won those 10 games though.  This was because our player/coach Talon would always inform me that we were up 10.  Funny thing was that, according to him, we were always up 10, even right after the opening tip.  The MVP in this coach's eyes, and they are a bit biased eyes, was one Cullen Swanson.  This was Cullen's first year playing basketball.  Which is odd because I've been watching him shoot baskets since he was 2yrs old.  Typical of Cullen, he jumped in with both feet.   If we played at 4, he wanted me to pick him up early so he could shoot around before the game.  If we played at 5, we wouldn't leave the Boys and Girls Club until 6:30.    It was a fun year all around, it's such a wonderful thing, watching these little kids and the excitement when a shot went in or a good pass was made.  The season ended on a perfect note.  Our big guy, William, got the ball with 5 seconds left, turned around and threw up a long jump shot and in it went as the buzzer sounded.  It was for the win, by 10.

Advancing.

Both Cullen and Simone have advanced belt levels.  Cullen is now a cammo gold belt and Simone is a gold belt.  Simone was both nervous and excited for her first testing.  They were quizzed on their belt colors and mastered their 7 curriculum moves.  Watch out bullies and bad guys.  The Swanson kids are fierce!