Yeah, those aren’t two things that would traditionally go together, are they?  But I’ll explain…

Saturday, we went to the Mariners game.  We picked this one because the giveaway was an Edgar Martinez Funko Pop, and Rerun asked if we could go.  Edgar is his favorite player, and ever since we went to the first game where Funko Pops were the giveaway (the first “special edition” one was the King Felix Funko Pop), Rerun has been a collector.  So of course we had to add an Edgar to the collection.

It was also the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11’s landing on the moon, and in conjunction with the Smithsonian, 15 MLB ballparks have specially made, 3D rendered replica statues of Neil Armstrong’s spacesuit.  T-Mobile Park is lucky enough to be one of the 15 ballparks, and Rerun was thrilled to get to pose with the statue.  Because it’s a replica, you can touch it – and Rerun held Armstrong’s hand.

So, even though the Mariners lost the game, we came away with good memories of a beautiful summer’s evening at the ballpark, a Funko Pop to add to Rerun’s collection, and a special rememberance of Apollo 11.

And happy birthday to Ressis!  Hope it was a fun one!

For the record, Thumper was always a water baby.  Here he is at one of Danny’s birthday parties (Danny nearly always has a swim party), when he was almost two years old.

Yes, he has always loved the water this much – which is why it is so important that he gain some water safety and swimming skills, now that he is older.  Drowning is the leading cause of accidental death for kids on the autism spectrum, and getting them lessons could be the difference between life and death.

Thanks to Tad being at swim camp – and too exhausted for his regular lesson – a certain little somebody who loves the water got his very first swimming lesson this evening!

Thumper got into the pool and began jumping for sheer joy and sensory overload – which put a smile on pretty much all the adults’ faces.  Fortunately, one of the instructors was nearby to help Thumper up when Rerun tried to “help” his brother and knocked him over.  This did not put a damper on Thumper’s mood, which was a good sign.

The boys’ regular swim instructor and I had a brief chat about Thumper’s communication abilities and his motor skills, and then she got started.  He was almost too happy and giggly to get any real instruction, but he was having a great time and was sad to get out of the pool.

When we can start him with regular lessons full-time, he is sure to be a happy student!

So, Ane is a working girl now.  She has her very first job, working as a swim instructor for swim camp at the pool – the same pool that she used to take swimming lessons at, and where the boys still attend.  She’s on the payroll, has taxes deducted, the whole works.  And she’s only 15 and a half!

This week, Tad is attending swim camp while his sister is working.  Despite Ane’s initial misgivings (even though her boss reassured her that she wouldn’t be teaching her own brother), it sounds as if Tad is doing pretty well at swim camp!  There are some older kids attending as well, so that does help.

Many, many thanks to Gichan for his driving services.  Ane has officially finished driver’s ed, but can’t get her license until her birthday, which is still months away.  And since I am driving into Seattle every day for Rerun and Thumper, Gichan is Uber-ing the teenagers around – one to work, one to… well, work, I guess, because he is “working” at swim camp.