Nate did  really well though! As you can see from the photo, we were sitting in the upper deck, which was “pretty cool” to Nate, although I think he wasn’t into the actual game play as much as he might have been if we were sitting closer. (There is just something about HEARING the ball smack into the catcher’s glove when the pitcher (Yu Darvish) throws a 97 mph fastball!

Nate really did get into the cheering, and he loved all the different songs and chants that go along with live baseball games! Another thing that Nate thought was especially cool was recognizing the “songs about Jesus” that a couple of players had as their “intro” songs that played as they came up to bat.

It probably would not have mattered to Nate any, but the 47,085 fans that were at the Rangers stadium appreciated that the Rangers were victorious over the Yankees 2-0!

Erica made an “Ice Cream” themed cake – the girls always LOVE the cakes that Erica makes for them! 

Playing with new friends.

Nate kept scooting closer and closer – he was pumped that it was not all girls at the party!

Always room for one more!

Granddad and Uncle Drew chillin at the cake table with Hope. (Disclaimer: You never actually ‘chill’ when holding hope… thanks Granddad!)

While in Asia, we don’t have regular access to swimming, so we thought, while we are in the USA for awhile, we should get our kids swimming as much as possible.

Elizabeth is excelling and just this week she swam the length of the pool without any floatation device or help from her teacher!  She was so proud!

Anna is also making progress in the pool. She does tend to get a little ‘goofy’ and is not quite as focused on learning to swim as Elizabeth. However, after seeing Elizabeth’s recent accomplishment (and reward) she is becoming more motivated.

Nate is a natural in the water. Part of the motivation for us to get the kids into swimming lessons is Nate’s love (and lack of fear) of the water. We figured if Nate was just going to fearlessly jump into the water, we should probably teach him how to get back to the side of the pool safely! The first few weeks of swim lessons, there was a lifeguard posted permanently at the side of the pool where Nate was, he was having a problem of letting go of the wall and then sinking to the bottom.  Nate!

Hope comes to most swimming lessons, sometimes she sleeps, other times she very intently stares at the activity going on in the pool. She may have to wait till next time we are in the US before she gets swimming lessons!

Starting to adjust to empty and (relatively) clean streets in America! After living in Asia for the past decade, seeing an empty street like this at any time of the day makes you think for a second that something terrible has happened!

If you are reading this, you probably already know that I am a huge Gator fan (class ’96) and also a big fan of Tim Tebow, arguably one of the best to have ever played college football!  So this morning I’m watching Florida put the finishing touches on a Kentucky Fried Blowout and then my heart stopped when I saw this;

I mean, I’ve seen Tebow hit people, and get hit by people so hard that it makes you start to believe some of the ‘Chuck Norris’ and ‘Superman’ quotes (aka Tebowisms) that always seem to float around Tebow.  So to see him laying motionless on that field made me go numb.  My brother, who was listening to Gator radio (via the internet), and I were discussing what might have happened – both of us stunned.  Then after coming back from commercial I got to see a visibly dazed and wobbly Tebow walk off the field.  Whew!

I felt better about things, but was still unsettled.  It was obvious that the ‘worst’ had not happened and that Tebow was not paralyzed or otherwise seriously injured, but it was also obvious that he was not right.  My brother joked that they were going to have to hide Tebow’s helmet to keep him from coming back into the game.

I didn’t come to that, in fact he was taken out on a golf cart and then eventually left the stadium in an ambulance while the game was still on-going.

Tim Tebow has been known to put a favorite quote from the Bible on his eyeblack that he wears in the games.  In this game, he wore Isaiah 40:31 which says

but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

I’m not exactly sure of all the reasons that this passage is meaningful to Tebow, I can take a few guesses considering his background.  What is interesting to me is verse 30 that precedes this quote;

Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;

I’m confident that Tebow will play again, but even if he did not, he’s the kind of person who has more going for him than just football, and he’d be okay.  He seems to have the proper perspective on what is important in life, and while everyone else might have been calling him ‘Superman’, I have a feeling he understood the truth in Isaiah 40:30!  Let’s pray for ‘renewed strength’ for Tebow in the next few weeks as he recovers.

President Obama invoked the words “playoff system” Thursday when the Florida Gators, college football’s national champions the past three seasons, visited the White House.

The president spent eight minutes congratulating the Gators, mentioning several players by name. Near the end of his remarks, as he has done before, Obama again called for a playoff system:

“I don’t want to stir up controversy.  You guys are the national champions — I’m not backing off the fact we need a playoff system.  But I have every confidence that you guys could have beat anybody else.  And so we’ll see how that plays itself out.”

After what surely must have been an awkward pause, Obama added: “I noticed they got all quiet after that.”

According to the White House transcript, that was followed by laughter.

Apparently there was a bit of controversy stirred up by Obamas ‘playoff’ comment as sports announcers on ESPN and other places seemed to feel that Mr. Obama has more pressing matters and that he should keep out of the business of college football.  There has been talk of Congress getting involved, at the encouragement of President Obama, in forcing the hand of college football to develop some sort of playoff system.

While I personally would love to see a playoff, I absolutely agree with the guys at ESPN that Mr. Obama has bigger fish to fry and he needs to stick to things that matter a lot more than college football… like people’s livelihoods, their homes, and the safety of American troops deployed around the world.

Obama recognized Tebow by specifically mentioning him during the brief visit.  (I really wish Tebow could hang with Obama for a day or two, maybe Obama could benefit from having a little bit of Tebow in his life…)

Obama called Tim Tebow, the Gators’ quarterback, an inspiration for many people. Tebow is a Heisman Trophy winner who speaks openly about his Christian faith.

“He puts faith, family and academics above football. And that’s incredible when you think about what he’s done on the field,” Obama said.

Tebow said in an interview after the ceremony that he appreciated the president’s remarks.

I was looking for some media to share in my Society & Culture class for a lecture on Australia and I came across this funny ESPN Sportscenter commercial with  Steve Irwin and Albert, the mascot for the Florida Gators!