The Internet just ate a post that I had been writing for about half an hour. I'm going to try to sum it up--which is ironic as I was just summing up the month.

I started the month in Kansas City for the AP World History Reading. I started it thinking that it might be my last time doing it, but my time with friends and the other professionals that I met have convinced me that I want to do this again next year. 

I had a nice "date night" with Janelle at Mykel's (which was my first time there).

I've had some sort of lingering summer illness that seems like it's on the way out (finally).

My family seems to be well-enmeshed in playing The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. At this point Rowen and Alex have beaten the game; although, Rowen missed a LOT of the side quests, shrines, and other activities that Alex completed. I doubt that I will finish it this summer break.

Katrina, Peter, Irene, Alistair, and Julian made their way up here and spent a week and several days with us. Much of that time was spent at home just enjoyed each other's company, but we also took three days to go up to Denali and back. They made it safely to their house this afternoon. Our house is eerily quiet without them--especially when Janelle, Connor, and Trevor were all at work.

I finally mowed the lawn. I already need to do it again.

There was some more, but I'm tired as I didn't get home until 1:30 AM today, so I think that I will leave it here. 

I just about forgot to write this post before I took Katrina and her family up to Anchorage for their flight home. It will be tomorrow by the time that I get back. Meanwhile, they won't be back up here until around Christmastime. 

I got in a lot of cuddle time with my two grandsons today and a little bit with my feisty granddaughter. Julian seems to be fascinated with my goatee; he keeps putting his hand on my chin when I hold him. Meanwhile, Alistair has been my buddy, often walking over to me and sitting by me or insisting that I hold him. For being under two years old, he has quite the vocabulary and is generally good about getting his ideas across. Today, he sat next to me for a little while and fell asleep. Irene, however, was more on the go  and was only willing to cuddle for a little bit (and on her own terms) while I was LEGO building.

Speaking of, LEGO Rivendell is completed, and it is absolutely amazing! I believe that it will get the primary location on the display shelf that Peter built across our living room. In this case, the primary location is the far right, which is the easiest to see every time one goes down the stairs. We tested it out for a bit, and I feel that it is a natural location for the set.

We will figure out what else goes up on the shelf before they get back up here.

Rowen and Connor have been doing a great job with their niece and nephews this trip. The past couple of days, Connor has been playing hide-and-seek with hilarious results. Just watching as Alistair's curly head is bopping down the hallway while he's saying "Here I come!" is enough to melt the hardest of hearts. Meanwhile, Irene always hides in the same place (reminding me of Faith's confession in Ant-man and Wasp) and asks Connor where he's going to hide before she closes her eyes. The counting issue is also adorable.

They are even good about holding Julian. I'm interested to see how they will interact with him in the next couple of years. Right now, he's the "milk dragon," ready to spit up in massive quantities without even a moment's notice, yet he is still a smiling chatterbox who seems aggravated that he cannot get his body to do what his older siblings are doing. 

I'm reminded of my younger uncles and aunts who were often tasked with keeping the Swanson grandchildren occupied. They organized massive games in my grandparents' back yard and often had us running and laughing much like I'm seeing Irene and Alistair react to Rowen and Connor. They are some of my happiest memories from my childhood. I hope that it will be the same for this generation, too. 

While we will need to wait until Christmas to have all of our children (and grandchildren) under one roof again, the past couple of days have led to an even livelier household as the Jacks came down from Anchorage to join in the fun. We've had to use all of the beds (including in the cabin) and an air mattress, but Rob still found himself sleeping on a camp pad on the floor. We've stayed up playing games and talking well past our bed times and had breakfasts of pancakes (including dark chocolate pancakes), sausage, and bacon the past two mornings. In short, it's been a fun few days.

The Jacks left for home a couple of hours ago, but the house is still filled with the sounds of (mostly) happy children as multiple people are playing games or building LEGOs. Katrina and Peter's family are only here for a couple more days, and I'm already not looking forward to the quiet. Sure, there are times that I have hidden away for a bit to rest, but I generally prefer the chaos over the calm. 

There is an unequivocal Truth in our universe, and some items of discussion fall into the areas of clearly good and evil, right and wrong. There are also plenty of conversational items which having the correct information would lead people to easy agreement. I do not like it when people choose the side of evil or intentionally remain misinformed (with the two states often conflating). However, there are items of discussion which I feel that it is okay to agree to disagree. They fall into the realms of personal choice and opinion or into areas where one needs to balance the benefits and disadvantages. Don't get me wrong--people can have strong opinions on these matters--I just don't think that people need to be in perfect agreement about them. There were two, in particular, that came up today:

Should everyone learn how to drive a stick shift? I'm in strong disagreement with this one. I find stick shifts to be cumbersome and unnecessary with little reason to feel proud about knowing such an outdated skill, let alone forcing people to learn how to use them. There are specific situations and vehicles that warrant learning how to drive a stick, but the vast majority of people do not need to. Note: I feel that the same follows about changing oil, replacing brakes, or other kinds of car maintenance. 

How much screen time is too much? I do believe that we should encourage one another to be more active; however, I tend to be much more free about screen time than most people I know. Like all things, it is better to be handled in moderation, but I do not believe that it's bringing about the downfall of our society. In fact, there are many benefits that are often ignored. Meanwhile, I have seen draconian measures taken by some parents have results that are the opposite of what they would want.

Again, these are areas where I'm willing to agree to disagree. I won't think less of you if you have an opinion different than what I stated. Well ... not much less anyway ...

In a bit of coincidence, I happened to read today's Second Reading yesterday during my daily Bible reading. It's not unheard of for this to happen, especially when I'm reading through the Epistles in the New Testament as those are usually the sources for the Second Reading at mass. Still, it is an uncommon--or even rare--occurrence which makes me want to explore the reading [Romans 5:12-15] even more.

In his writing to the fledgling Church in Rome, Paul spends a great deal of time detailing a logical argument that not only establishes Christianity as the ultimate end of Judaism, but demonstrates that Christ's redemptive sacrifice was meant for all people and not just the Jews alone. He further argues that people can gain that redemption through their faith whether they strictly adhere to the Law of Moses or not as all people fall under the shadow of sin whether they follow the Law or not. 

This is where today's Second Reading comes in. It justifies the concept of Original Sin, pointing out that people sinned and died due to sin well before Moses ever gave the Hebrews the Law. However, Paul uses this as a basis for celebration--for if sin can come from just one normal human being, then the redemption can come from just one man--more so if that man is also God as Jesus is.

In this, Paul's letter carries the same message that started the homily today, "Be not afraid." Our pastor noted that Jesus talks about not needing to fear more than any other topic in His teachings. Too often, we hold onto our fears (of our health and futures and those of our family and friends) and allow them to control us. These fears often keep us from our reaching our true potential. In them is the fear that we are not worthy (of love, joy, or blessings). Jesus' sacrifice proves that fear to be baseless.

I finally was able to pick up my Father's Day gift at the post office this morning (BTW, I love that the new parcel pick-up station is open before the main post office area is). The box it was delivered in was quite large. Inside was packing material and another shipping box. Inside of that was the box of the Rivendell LEGO set itself. However, inside of that was yet another box with the instructions, stickers, and multiple bags full of pieces.

All told, the set had 6167 pieces (not counting extras) spread in 49 labeled bags (some with bags within them) and a large unlabeled bag with a variety of LEGO base pieces. There are three separate instruction booklets. So far, I'm only five bags in on the first booklet (which takes the first 11 bags). I've joked that I would get this set done in an afternoon, but it's likely to take me a couple of days.

For now, I'm constructing it on the table upstairs that we usually reserve for puzzle building. I'm not certain where it will be displayed once it's completed. Peter has offered to build some display shelves. He has time to get them done.

Our trip out of Denali was beautiful, but largely uneventful. We seemed to be more determined to just get back home. As such, I do not have new pictures to share.
 
There was one element of the trip that was particularly noticeable and troubling: the widespread destruction of the evergreen trees just south of Denali, in areas near Anchorage, and all across the Kenai Peninsula. In some cases, what I thought were dead trees were simply a different version of tree that is more of a brownish color of green. However, so much of the drive was filled with the blight as indicated by the skeletal remains of entire forests of dead pines.
 
I am concerned about the ecological changes that this will bring, but I am presently more concerned about the potential danger that this much fuel adds to any future forest fire. Weather wise, our cool, damp spring certainly works to our advantage, as would having a moderate summer. Still, it’s only a matter of time before a dry period hits us, and I think that the consequences will be severe.
 
Speaking of, there’s definitely more work to be done in my yard in that area.

We have two nights at the McKinley Chalet Resort. They have nice rooms with excellent views. There is not an included breakfast, so we went to their on-site restaurant for a great (if expensive) breakfast buffet. 

We then headed over to the Denali Visitor Center to get our pass to enter the rest of the park. We decided against the bus tour and instead drove our own vehicle as far up the road as we were allowed. We then did the two mile hike along the Savage Canyon Trail. The grandchildren spent the time with various degrees of enthusiasm (and consciousness). Rowen absolutely loved “his adventure.” The weather cooperated beautifully. Alistair was particularly funny when he insisted on walking rather than being carried—every time we came to a stone in the trail, he would square up on top of it and jump off with both feet—even if it was flat with the ground. 

The hiking took longer than expected, making it so we skipped lunch (aside from some snacks), so we went for an early dinner at Moose AKa’s right when they opened. As the name suggests, their speciality is moussaka and other Eastern European dishes—such as the stuffed schnitzel that Peter and I both ordered. It was a good sized meal, but we still cleared every plate. 

I think that we wore the children and ourselves out. 

Eight people (three of them in car seats) in one Honda Pilot makes for tight quarters on a trip from Soldotna to Denali. Still, despite some occasionally unhappy young passengers and more construction stops than I anticipated, the trip went better than I expected. We had the opportunity to have lunch with Shawna when we passed through Anchorage and made it to the McKinley Chalet Resort by the late evening. 

Even with the various degrees of precipitation, some of the views on the drive were absolutely gorgeous. The biggest issue with the rain, mist, and fog was that it made me a bit drowsy on the drive. My primary defense is snacking—something that I’ve tried to cut back on doing. Alas, some sacrifices needed to be made. 

The proposed deal between the Justice Department and Hunter Biden went public today. A weapon's charge (as he was not supposed to own one as an addict) and tax evasion (which he has since repaid will bring him a total of two years of probation plus an additional two years of rehabilitation (and I do believe that he got off easy, if not easier than other white millionaires have in recent eyars). The Re-Trump-Agains have spent the day referring to this as a travesty of justice. To be clear, they are not specific about what Hunter Biden has done wrong, just that it involves corruption.

Meanwhile the charges against Donald Trump have been tremendously clear. He has now been indicted twice and is facing even more in the relatively near future. However, somehow the Re-Trump-Agains entirely ignore the corruption of this former President which has enough evidence to lead to these charges in actual courts of law (as opposed to the political theater of Congressional investigations). It amazes me that these Trump-supporters are so blinded by this obvious smoke-screen considering that Trump had even told people that the way to win a political fight is to accuse the other person of what you are guilty of doing (a playbook that he has held to tightly).

Here are some of the specifics against the former President:
Trump's organization has already lost at trial for tax evasion, and he is now under indictment for deliberate misuse and misrepresentation of funds. Much of this (but not all) is tied to the hush-money he sent to a porn star to stay quiet about his extra-marital affairs with her prior to the 2016 election. 
He lost a civil court case due to his sexual assault on a woman and is facing further criminal indictments due to his defamation of her.
He has been indicted for violation of the Espionage Act. Among the issues is that he knowing kept highly confidential information (including force deployments, ongoing military strategies, and nuclear technology) and shared it with people.
He is under investigation (and it looks like the indictment will be announced this year) for using the office of President to interfere in the 2020 federal election in Georgia.
He is under investigation by a special prosecutor for his part in inciting the January 6th, 2021, riot on the Capitol with the intent of overturning a valid election.
He is being investigated (although charges are less likely, not due to a lack of evidence, but due to the international aspect of it) for improperly using the office of President to increase his and his family members' personal wealth--specifically through deals with the Saudi royal family. [Note, Re-Trump-Agains accuse the Bidens of receiving millions of dollars in bribes but completely ignore that it's public knowledge that two of Trump's children received billions from the Saudis.]

I don't believe that the Bidens are clean--far from it. I don't want to get into how corrupt I believe that the Clintons were and are. However, Trump took all of it to extraordinary new levels and has somehow done so while making millions of deluded individuals believe that he is somehow the victim. Frustratingly, that's not even the worst of what his Presidency cost America--but that is a slightly different topic.

Katrina, Peter, Irene, Alistair, and Julian arrived safely in Alaska this morning. Their flight was a bit delayed, so we knew that we would not make it back home before Janelle had to go to work, taking Connor to his morning lifting in preparation for football. Thus, we had the chance to stop for a diaper change at a picture-perfect locations. After dropping the luggage off at home, we then stopped by Freddy's and Sweeney's to see Janelle and Connor (respectively) at work. However, Connor's football practice was running late, so we ended up giving him a ride to work instead.

Otherwise, today was a recovery day with all of us taking naps at one point or another. It was also a chance to play some Zelda. We may have even had four separate Tears of the Kingdom games running simultaneously at one point (two on Switches and two on emulators). Everyone's internal clocks were messed up enough that we didn't have lunch, but enjoyed barbeque chicken and hamburgers for dinner. 

We concluded the day by watching The Super Mario Bros. Movie--which everyone enjoyed. It was a good first day for their visit. Hopefully, the weather forecasters are wrong in their predictions for the rest of the week.

I’m currently in Anchorage, hoping to catch a few hours of sleep at the Jack’s home before picking up Katrina, Peter, and their children at the airport in the early hours of the morning and then driving them down to Soldotna. The goal is to get home before Janelle leaves for work (her last day before her vacation days kick in). It looks like we will be blessed with a smooth trip. 

I had a quiet Father’s Day. The big surprise was that all of my children chipped in to order the Rivendell LEGO set for me. It should arrive later this week, giving most of them a chance to help me put it together (if they wish). 

We were told in today’s homily that not all blessings are distributed equally. I have been fortunate thus far to feel continually blessed. I need to work on being better about accepting those blessings rather than waiting for something to counter them or feeling guilty that I have them when other people do not. However, that is difficult as I know that I don’t deserve them any more than other people in the world. 

For now, I’m thankful. 

On most days, I like the view from my computer. Out the office window to my right is a nice view of the wooded lots with only the briefest signs of human habitation. Out of the bay window in the art room, I can see the trees (those that remain) that are in our front yard--well, when the sun isn't beaming through it.

The bay window includes a semi-circle at the top which has no practical means to cover. Especially during the summer, the sun has a direct line-of-sight to where my computer sits. Fortunately, I have a nice-sized monitor and a chair that reclines. However, this is not the most comfortable way to write. Meanwhile, I can feel my forehead baking. 

It's only a problem for a couple of months because of how the sun sets closer to north than west around the time of the Summer Solstice (which is less than four days away) up here.