A Day of Fun in the Sun

Hey ya!

Well, we're home and relaxing from a day of fun in the sun at Dollywood. Right now they're in the middle of Kids Fest- so the girls really enjoyed it. We saw a couple of 'productions' of something about the Pink Panther - that Joelle just thoroughly fell in love with and now has her own Pink Panther stuffed animal and the other was about Clifford the Big Red Dog - which Natalie soaked up and now has her own Clifford (the small version *GRIN*) stuffed animal. We went on a coupla rides, played in the water area (a lot) and had a decent meal and just had lots of fun. It's very good to spend quality time with family, especially after being gone for a coupla weeks on a trip for work. Of course it helps we decided to buy season passes this year - and we're already getting our money's worth! :)

I hit a milestone on Wheresgeorge this evening. After coming home, putting the girls to bed - getting everything put away and writing this, I logged some of the cash I got in change from purchasing various things onto wheresgeorge. The 5 bills I listed tonight put me up over 1000 bills I've logged onto wheresgeorge since beginning in (Profile) March of 2002. The total of those 1003 bills is $8,176, so I'm averaging a little over $8 per bill. Cool!
I've gotten 126 hits on those 1003 bills, so I'm averaging a smigg better than 10% of bills I log getting a hit. Awesome!

One other quick mention - we're trying to decide what to do, wether to build to buy in the area. Deciding which would be better - home wise - and more profitable in the long run is quite the challenge. So pray for us.

Anyway - that's the news from around here.

See ya later - alligator! :)

Movie Tag Follow-up

If I told you to go out and buy any DVD you want - this instant, what would it be?

My top 3 choices,

1 - Star Wars Trilogy (Original 3)
2 - Back to the Future Trilogy
or
3 - Iron Eagle or Karate Kid 2

Oh yeah

Movie Tag

Ok - I'm back home so I can do this one now! :)

1. Total number of movies you own: 97 DVD's & 50 VHS
2. The last Movie you bought: Star Wars II
3. Last Movie seen in the Theatre: Mr & Mrs Smith on Tue & Batman Begins on Wed.
4. Currently in your DVD player: Flight of the Phoenix
5. Favorite Genre: Comedy, Action, Mystery/Suspense & Romance (In that order)
6. First Movie in the Theatre: Karate Kid II
7. Most Watched: The Last Starfighter
8. Largest Impact: It's a movie, pure enjoyment.
9. Favorite Scholarly flick(ie non-fictional): IMAX: Touching the Void
10. Sexiest Sex Scene: Top Gun
11. Suckiest Movie EVAH! (They should give us all our money back): Don't own a Suckie one! :)
12. 5 favorite Movies: (No Particular Order) All 6 Star Wars [Counts as One], Top Gun, Mannequin, Italian Job & Back to the Future 1 & 3. (BTTF 2 was a BOMB!!)

I'm Finally Home!!!

P! T! L! I'm home at last!

It's good to be home!!!

Missing home! Last night I

Missing home! Last night I stayed up way to late watching the NBA game 7 & a movie for a hopeless romantic missing home 'Serendipity' Later!

Dodging a Bullet

So if you had to ride in a vehicle with your boss for 12+ hours - would your enjoy that ride? Would it be comfortable for you?

I just doged a huge bullet today. The boss said he was going to ride back with us on Sunday - thankfully we're TOO full. Ain't got no room. That ride would have NOT been fun at all.

I rode to Cincinnatti last year with my old boss and that was about a 6 or 7 hour trip and it was a lot of fun. We had a GREAT conversation on the way up and back.

Oh well - I've got two days left here in MI then we head home - hot dog!

We're going back down, a little out of route, stopping by Niagra Falls. The guy I've got with me is from Hawaii and never seen the falls - so we're going to go out of our way a little bit to let him see them then boogie woogie home!

Later!

Movies on this Trip

We've been doing a TON of work - but we've also had a LOT of down time. I've been watching quite a few movies with Micah and by myself as well. Kinda cool!

Let's see...

We went to see,
Mr & Mrs Smith (Great Movie)
Batman Begins (Awesome movie, fantastic story, cool cinematography & "Wow" action.)

We've watched,
Star Wars II (And ALL the extras)
Indiana Jones, the Last Crusade
Bourne Supremacy

I've Watched,
The Terminal
IMAX Nascar

and parts of a few others while watching other stuff on TV.

Hollaaar! :)

Greetings from MI Campmeeting II

What Up?

Today as I was directing the Live programs we're doing, 2 per day, from the Michigan Campmeeting, I realized it's been right at 10 years since I last directed any video programs. It's taken a few days to get back into the flow of it again. The first program was VERY stressful and trying to keep track of everything going on and actually 'direct' once again was extremely tough.

But, it's as the old cliche' says, "It's like riding a bicycle" I've gotten right back in the saddle and I hope what we're doing looks good! :)

Found out last night that my trip is being cut short. Yeeeehaaawwww. I was originally supposed to be gone for a month. But then the trip was off, then back on - then changed and I'm not going. I'm extremely thankful for that. I've been gone a week and a half and won't be getting home until Monday - so I'd say that is LONG enough.

So here's an odd question for you to ponder and react to. It's just one of the wierd things that runs through my head - especially since I've been gone for so long.

When you walk into a bathroom - how do you choose which stall (with a 'bowl') you are going to use. I'm going to take away two obvious choices. #1 - It has toilet paper, #2 - It is clean/unstopped up! :)

The restroom at the Academy (Great Lakes Adventist Academy) has like 8 or 9 stalls (with stools) and I went to use one today and while I was in there, I pondered why I chose the one that I did. It's because of light - I like a light toilet stall. Don't know why, but I usually choose a well lighted stall.

Well - that's all from here for now.

Take care! :)

Hey from Michigan

Hey guys,

I'm sitting here in my motel room, watching the NBA 6th game Pistons vs Spurs.

Life has been a struggle lately. We're (one of my video guys, Micah, is with me) trying to video many of the meetings at Campmeeting. Our boss is the speaker at the evening meetings, so, that actually the reason we're here.

We're really struggling because the equipment we have isn't really isn't suited for this type of stuff.

Yesterday was the first day we didn't have any real problems and have to rewire a piece or two of equipment.

Just wanted to say "hi!"

later!

Being Read

Jerry tagged me to see what’s on my bookshelf, so here it goes:

1. Total Number of Books You Own- over 100

2. The Last Book I Bought- A Louis L'amour Book

3. The Last Book I Read- Ayn Rand, "Atlas Shrugged"

4. Current Book Reading- Nothing

5. Fiction or Non-Fiction?- Fiction of Course

6. First Book Read- A Dick & Jane Book

7. Most Read Book- The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy (Or any Garfield Comic Book!)

8. Largest Impact- Can't Narrow it down to one. Probably the Bible. (For a cliche' answer)

9. Favorite Scholarly Book- Can't think of One

10. Sexiest Book- Early books by Clive Cussler with Dirk Pitt as the hero.

11. Biggest Disappointments - Ayn Rand - Atlas Shrugged

12. Five Books That Mean Something To Me- Wow - that's a hard one! :)

Ok, I’m tagging Scott, Staci, Sue, Tim, and Cheryl to play next.

Yeah - that's about the way I see it.

I just found this article in Editor & Post.

It really, REALLY resonated with my feelings. I don't know if I'm getting more cynical as I get older, or if things have gotten so bad in socieity that these people just really aren't that trust-worthy.

Read it and let me know what you think!

Gallup: Public Confidence in Papers, TV News Falls to All-Time Low

Heading out to go camping in our pickup, the girls got all cozy with Doreen. Very, VERY cute - don't you think?? :)

Joelle helped me start a campfire on Sabbath morning then we just sat there and watched it burn for a while. This is a photo I'll cherish for years to come!!!!!!!!

Sabbath morning, I started a fire for our 'tribe.' One of the logs fell out and I started playing "Statue of Liberty." He, he, he!

On the hike down to a waterfall, Natalie had to stop and sit for a minute. Doesn't she look like a prima-donna??? :)

On Sabbath we hiked a couple of miles down to this waterfall. It's about 70 feet tall and very beautiful! The water was very, VERY chilly!

On the way back from the water falls, Natalie was just plumb tuckered out and had to be carried most of the way. This is how she rode much of it - when she wasn't wanting mommy! :)

Don't the girls look all cozy? The temps got into the low 60's at night, so it was nice and cool. The perfect weather for camping!

Doreen (L) and Tracy are dueling it out over Coleman campstoves making a delicious breakfast! Yummy it was!

Joelle & Natalie found a natural bridge across the creek. They went back and forth many 'a time and not once did they fall in.

While breaking camp, one of our friends was acting like he is 'Atlas' with his tent. Kinda funny!

My favorite part of camping - the campfire.

Mom was wanting a couple of shots of our home with the columns in place and the grass etc. Here's a couple of photos for you to see where we're currently residing!

Here's a view of the back with the 'cobblestone' type sidewalk we put in.

I HATE Mosquitoes

Did I mention that I hate mosquitoes?! Oh - I did? Good! Cuz I really, REALLY hate mosquitoes.

This weekend during our campout, I got the required 5 or 6 mosquito bites. That's all part of the deal of camping, I guess! :)

Last night I went out with the girls to the pickup my dad gave me. I had to take part of each door off and thoroughly lube the handle, locks and the thing you roll the window up and down with. (It's a 1980 so I gotta roll the windows by hand. He, he, he) They were all sticking and getting tough.

In fact, yesterday afternoon - I ran half a dozen errands for work and 4 times I had to crawl in through the passenger's door cuz the handle on the drivers door quit working.

Well - it's fixed and working just peachy now. But while we were out there working on that - I ended up getting bit 18 times. I was so focused on getting the project done - I didn't even notice!

Aaarrgghhhhh! :)

Oh well - sa la vie! (I think that's how you spell that!)

Anyway, we're running into some issues getting things ready to head to Michigan Campmeeting for work. Always its some icky technical bit that we have to jump through hoops to get working right. Aaarrgh! (That and we're trying to do it with 'cheap' equipment.)

Other than that - things are decent.

Hey - have a great day and slap a mosquito if you see one! :)

For those having a bad day... Uncle Dick sent me this in an e-mail over the weekend and I just got to it today and laughed and laughed and laughed. It makes my challenges at work not see quite so bad. In fact I set this as my desk-top background and get a chuck out of it just about everytime I see it!

Music Discussion

So last night I had a hour and a half phone call discussing the music for VBS. Basically I asked him to run the PA booth for the 5 nights since I'm being forced to be away. (work)

He called back and wanted to talk about the music. Doreen and I chose 4 songs out of the 10 that we thought would be appropriate for our church. We're using songs 1, 2, 7 & 10 (If you listen to these clips, remember we got the package from the ABC that the songs have REALLY been toned down! WAY DOWN!)

My friend told me he was only comfortable with one of the songs. #10.

Then we went into this discussion of how powerful music is and how it can be used for good and evil and way into depth on it.

Basically, what came out is he won't run the pa and his 11 & 12 year olds probably won't be attending VBS because of the music etc.

In the conversation, it felt to me that he was saying that if music is not orchestral or choral or a 'march' type music - God doesn't like that. He said that if you look in nature you see and hear a God of peace and harmony any you wouldn't hear Bon Jovi's "Welcome to the Jungle" in nature.

(He claims to have done a bunch of studying from the Bible, Spirit of Prophecy, music books and read a number of scientific studies on how the body reacts to different music.)

It was also stated that churches that don't follow 'those' type of standards, God is having to 'wink' at their ignorance and that 'He' will look around those decisions to let them into heaven when the time comes.

I kept calm on the phone, but couldn't inside because of putting God in a box - and believing that God does not like 'other types' of music and is so limited.

The conversation went on to touch on that a VBS is mainly to get kids to know God in a fun atmosphere and to give them something enjoyable to do during the summer. But the conversation came around that we should be careful how we view God. He said that many would like to view God as a cool guy in jeans, t-shirt and leather jacket - but that we shouldn't because that's an incorrect view of God.

My feeling is that Jesus is all things to all people and if they truly know Him, I've got a feeling He doesn't worry too much in what 'style' they view Him.

Anyway - I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on this. Doreen and I have been discussing this and would like other input.

I personally can't believe the 'narrow-minded-ness' I heard last night. I know as Adventist we should be a peculiar people, but to be a narrow-minded legalistic I'm right and everyone else is wrong I don't think fits the bill. Ya know??!!

Let me know what you think!

Camping, Work & Shopping.

Hey y'all -

Good to be back with ya!

So we had a great weekend camping with friends. I honestly was draging my feet at actually going because of ALL we've gotta do to before VBS starting in a week and my 'month long' torture trip from work starting in a week and 2 hours. But, as Doreen predicted - it was thoroughly enjoyable. The weather was just about perfect and so it was just a fantastic weekend.

Today back at work, we had to move the final staff member from Vonore to Collegedale. It was a HOT day, and we ended up unloading in the rain. Oh well! At least the rain cooled things down to make it a bit more bearable.

While moving we had lunch, a lasagna from Herb & Sue. Boy it was delicious. (Betty made it after getting the recipie from Heather! - Kinda round robin there! He, he, he)

I heard some stories from 'work' that were the more accurate of some stories I heard just as I was walking out the door on Friday. Boy that just ripps me off. Guess I'll just have to live with it and work around it - somehow!

Then I get home early and grab a nap I seriously needed. My head was pounding from the heat and the lifting and the work stuff. Boy did that help. A NAP does one wonders!

Afterwards we had a quick supper and did some shopping. What a challenge that was. I've been needing some new shoes and the store is doing a complete remodel and everything is a mess. But after some searching we found some shoes for me, and found some extremly cute ones for the girls and then checked out - finally and got home! Wheeew. :)

Well - I gotta get to bed. This day has wore me out!

See y'all!

Free Family Flicks

Hey, I really LOVE this area. Since Doreen and I have been married, we've lived in podunkville and redneckcity. This is our first time to live in a real live city! :)

A friend just called Doreen last week and told her about a 'program' they have at the local mall. (Of course it's an evil plot to get kids and adults hooked, but oh well.)

It's Hamilton Place Summer Kid's Movies. Basically an adult can go up to the Customer Service desk in the mall and walk away with as many as 5 free tickets for a movie of the week. Obviously these aren't 1st runs, but who in the heck cares. They're for the 10am showing. They also have two movies a day. One rated "G" for the super little ones and the other "PG." Kinda cool.

Anyway, my wife and kids have an opportunity to go see movies like, "Rugrats go wild, Scooby Doo 1 & 2, Chicken Run, Stuart Little 1 & 2, Spirit, Shrek 1 & 2, Jimmy Neutron, Spongebob Squarepants"and many, more this summer.

Ain't that just the coolest thing.

Psssst - "Don't tell anyone, but I may play hookie from work a coupla days and go see a morning flick with my family. Most awesome!" :)