7/28/2003
A lot has happened since our last update - but it's all good. Mostly we
have been busy going on vacations. So far we've been on 4 camping trips
this year. Our most recent was to the Silver Lake area Dunes on Lake
Michigan. We had a blast. We rented a Jeep and actually drove it on
the Dunes. You should have heard the kids scream for joy as we climbed
some of the tall dunes! The big news for Chelsea is that she just got back
from a 2 week trip with Grandma & Grandpa Swanson to Texas. They drive
there in their motor home to visit Chelsea's Great-Uncle Rick. We were
worried that it was too long and home-sickness might set in, but Chelsea had a
great time - she said she wasn't ready to come back yet. Check back soon
for a photo album of her trip (we still need to develop and scan her pictures).
5/31/2003
Everyone here is sick! It started with Alyssa, spread to Chelsea, then
Dad, now Mom is trying to get it. About the only good thing was that
Chelsea and Dad had Thursday and Friday off School/Work.
5/27/2003
We had fun this Memorial Day weekend. For the first time in a long time
(maybe the first time with the kids) we went to the Memorial Day Parade in
Dearborn. The neat thing was that grandpa was in the Parade driving his 53
Ford. It was a long parade but we had fun. Check out the pictures in
the Picture Gallery.
5/12/2003
It's been forever and a month since our last update - sorry. A lot has
happened for sure; guess I just haven't been inspired to write much
lately.
The biggest news (and saddest) is that Ben is no Longer with us. In
January he woke us up in the middle of the night and we found him stumbling
around in the kitchen. He was having a bad seizure. We rushed him to
emergency and they did what they could, but the next morning we were faced with
an awful decision. They said that he most likely had a brain tumor and
there was not much they could do. The Vet said we could put him through a battery
of (expensive) tests, but the tests would only confirm or deny the diagnosis.
Either way the only thing they could do was to make him comfortable - in
other words, drug him so he couldn't feel (or do) anything. So, we made
the heart wrenching decision to let him go peacefully. I was there with
Ben when he was given the injection. Even thought he could barely move
(due to the seizure drugs) I know he knew I was there when I walked into the room.
We talked for a while and then they gave him the injection. He just
went to sleep as we talked. I'm really glad I was there even though
it was one of the hardest things I've done in my life. He was just about
the best dog (and friend) you could ask for. No dog could run as fast or
jump as high as Ben. No dog was better with the kids. Ben, we love
you and we miss you!
On a Happier note, we bought a pop-up camper and went on our first camping
trip about two weeks ago. We went to the State Park in the Irish
Hills. The idea was to do something easy first. We learned about the
camper and learned about the things we should take (the best way to figure out
what you need is to forget it - we did our share of forgetting). Even
though it was pre-season and most everything was "closed", we all had
a fun time just hanging out with each and being a family. It's nice to
have some low stress time together to talk or just sit together. Copper
went with us and he seemed to like camping too. He and the girls were
together 90% of the time. Check out the Picture Gallery for some pictures
from the trip.
A bunch of other stuff has been going on: Alyssa's soccer season has started
(and Dad is assistant Coach this year), Alyssa's Dance Recital, Chelsea's 4th
Grade Program, Girl Scouts, Children's Choir, Birthday parties, ....
12/13/2002
A lot has happened since our last update. Here is a quick summary: Edie had
to find a new home (see the Pets Page for more info), the kids went back to
school, we bought a pop-up camper trailer, Halloween was a bunch of fun,
Thanksgiving was a small but nice family get-together, and now we are eagerly
waiting for Christmas.
7/30/2002
This past weekend was pretty fun for the family. We went camping with some
friends from college. The group was us, one couple with 2 children, and
another couple with 4 children - the youngest was only 9 WEEKS old.
Everyone had a great time. We stayed at the Jellystone
Campground in Frankenmuth Mi.
The campground was very clean, had a lot of activities, and the kids got to meet
Yogi Bear in person. We were pretty worried about the weather, but it
ended up working out fairly well. It only rained for about 30 minutes
during the day on Saturday. Saturday night (Sunday Morning) it rained from
about Midnight until 6AM. The good news was that we didn't lose much
daytime to rain. The bad news is that we were tent camping. Our friends
both had pop-up trailers with air conditioning. By Sunday, both Denise and
I had decided to give up tent camping. We have already been shopping
for a pop-up. Anybody interested in going camping with us when we get the
new trailer?????
6/18/2002
Just got back from our family portrait appointment. Our parish is putting
together a parish member directory and has scheduled a photo shoot for each
family. We will get a free 8x10 and a copy of the directory.
However, after putting $170 on our charge card for extra prints it doesn't feel
so free.
Unfortunately, we have a bit of bad news. Edie (our new Greyhound) is a
great dog, but she has a little problem of being aggressive when she's woken
from a nap. Well, the kids really loved to hug and kiss her when she was
lying down and she had snapped at the kids a couple of times. The final
straw was when Edie connected with Alyssa near her eye. Alyssa is OK, but
we didn't think it was worth any further risk. We all really really hated
to see her go, but it is for the best. The Greyhound organization will
find her a new home (probably one without young kids). We miss you
Edie. Good luck in your new home.
On another pet note, our hamster recently got out of her cage over
night. She was out for over 24 hours. We looked everywhere but
couldn't find her. Finally Denise found her behind our master bedroom sink
cabinets at 2:30 AM. It made for an interesting night (morning), but she's
now back in her cage where she belongs.
4/1/2002
We have a new addition to our family. Check out the PETS page for more
details.
3/14/2002
We recently experienced a sad event. Denise's Great Aunt "Sister
Elinor Patrice" died on March 1st. She was an amazing woman in so
many ways. She recently celebrated her 70th anniversary as a Nun.
There are so many things that I could say about her, but if I had to sum it up I
would say that she was an incredibly caring person. She was always
genuinely interested in how everybody was doing and was willing to do anything
for anyone. I'm sure there were hundreds, if not thousands, of people
praying for Alyssa - I wouldn't be surprised if Sister Elinor mobilized over
half of the prayers. We attended a service for Sister Elinor at the Dominican's
residence. It turned out that Alyssa was a bit of a celebrity.
All of the Sister's were very pleased to finally meet the little girl they had
been praying so hard for. Thanks for everything Sister Elinor! God
Bless You.
O God, through your
only-begotten Son, you have overcome death and opened to us access to eternal
life, by your help, complete the desires that you began in us. Through the
same Christ our Lord. Amen. Alleluia.
3/8/2002
This weekend is a big weekend for the whole family. Chelsea and Denise are
leaving for the 2nd Girl Scout camping trip of the year. I'm sure they'll
have a blast. Alyssa and Dad and home alone for the weekend. We have
a number of things planned. We've started our weekend with a trip to the
Book Store, the Beauty Shop, and a restaurant. It seems very likely that
we will end up at Chuck E Cheese's and the Pet Shop before the weekend is over.
3/5/2002
We are working on converting the Family Web Site over to the new Comcast
service. If you've made it this far, then you know the new web address is
either: www.dirkswanson.com OR mywebpages.comcast.net/dirkswanson/index.htm
. Please pass the word on to others who may not know about the new web
address. We have also taken this opportunity to redesign the site a
bit. What do you think of the new look? Some things are not working
quite right yet, like Alyssa's photo gallery, but things should improve with
time.
One of the things we will be changing is where we post "news"
updates. Alyssa's page was becoming more about the family and less about
Alyssa - mostly because there has not been much to report about Alyssa's medical
condition. So from now on, general family news will be posted on this page
and specific info on the kids will be posted on their pages.
Check back for updates and let us know what you think of the web site. | 
