Here's my little shepherdess! Isn't she cute??!! I definetly think so!

We're at Dollywood today.DP &

We're at Dollywood today.DP & I just rode the TN Tornado. 3 flips 70mph @ 4g's. Very cool. Up next-Daredevil falls fastest H2O ride in US! AARGH!

Oh yeah! It's about Time!

Also on yahoo sports, I saw this awesome bit of news. Steve Atwater Joins "Ring of Fame"

He was a defensive back for the Denver Broncos for years and had a buzillion ferocious hits on any receiver or running back who came over the middle. He'll probably not make the ring of fame - but it's awesome they're inducting him into the ring of fame!

Oh Yeah!!!

Over $59,000 Per Day - WOW

Logged onto my yahoo this morning to grab e-mail and check up on the news and saw O'Neal signs $100 million, 5-year deal with Miami. Wow - that is a boatload of money. He makes more a day than I make in a year and half. Ouch!!!

Oh well - with that kinda cash, I'd probably become some sort of alcolholic, druggie, womanizer and die at a very young age, alone, unhappy and detached from the world.

So - I guess its' good I make what I make!

Uggghhh!!! I'm ILL!

Man 'oh man!

Have I eaten TOO many blueberries lately!

As soon as I got home from work, started to feel the urge to hurl. (Course, probably some of it is from a heightened amount of stress at work today! Argh!) Never did - but the urge is still there.

Oh yeah, and the other end. Well, let's just say that we all know what eating too many blueberries does the the coloration of "it" and the "almost but not quite" consistancy.

Ok - loggin' off to go lay down and be still, very, VERY still.

Ou.....

oh, man!

...t!

Iggy is ILL

Hey ya.

My pick-up truck is sick. Had to take it to the pick-up-truck hospital this morning.

On Friday the girls and Doreen loaded up the last of the broken bricks in the yard. When I got home we unloaded them then parked the truck for the weekend.

I go to get in Monday morning to drive to work and the drivers side window is busted in. Completely shattered - glass EVERYWHERE. So I walk back in the house and tell Doreen I'm taking the car.

Last night I clean up the mess and this morning we drop it off at the auto glass place to get it replaced. (And to patch the leaky holes in the rubber around the windshield. In Colorado where my folks had it - they don't get much rain - here however, we get a TON of rain and so every time I drive it in the rain the windshield leaks like a sieve!)

After we pick it up tonight or in the morning, we're going to take it right to the brake place and get those fixed. I parked at a golf course last Thur afternoon (My first golfing trip since our last vacation in Montrose with Dad and Scott.) When I parked on the hill and talked with my friend a moment or two while getting all the gear together - the truck started to creep forward. Aye, yai, yai! So I put a block under the tire and have ever since that time.

After I get it back - I'm gonna build a speaker box to stash behind the seat so I can actually listen to my radio w/out all the extra buzzing. Currently the 'magnets' in the speakers are holding them to the back wall of the truck!

Iggy is a work in progress and someday I hope to have it in classic - tip, top shape - but for now - I just need it functional!

Out!

This was one of the geocaches we found on Sabbath afternoon with our friends. One reason we love geocaching is beause too many times we'd say, "Lets go somewhere." The other would then say, "Where." Then the great debate on where to go would ensue. With Geocaching we see ALL sorts of COOL locations - actually get out and see them up close and personal and really enjoy all the neat stuff around us. We learn lots of things as well. For instance the 'cache' that Tammi (Green shirt, 2nd from the left back row) is holding is actually a 2 liter bottle before it is 'expanded' to it's actual size and filled with soda. They transport them small to save on space and money. Isn't that cool??!! It's awesome to learn stuff like that.

Takin a break in some shade from our geocaching on Sabbath Afternoon!

Although you can't see it, Joelle and Natalie are holding the 'treasure' that was geocached behind that tree. They got a plastic band and whistle out of it and we left a couple of trinkets in trade. What FUN!

Through the blueberry bush you can see Kristine, one of the friends who went with us. But just check out all those gorgeous blueberries in the foreground. Man, they were everywhere and it didn't take long to fill a 5qt bucket.

Here's Doreen picking the biggest and best blueberries. Yummy!

What an AWESOME weekend!

The only bad about it - it ended! :)

Our weekend was fabulous!

Sabbath we went to 1st church, then Sabbath School, then we were free for the day. We ran home changed and picked up food then headed to a park to picnic with some friends. After the picnic we spent the rest of the afternoong geocaching on Southern's campus. We found 5 hides. What a blast!

After we finished that we all went to our house, had a lite supper and sat around and talked in the cool of the a/c and relaxed. Everyone split a bit later and we put our girls to bed early - cuz they were plum tuckered out! I spent some time on the web, Doreen read, then we watched a movie together - Jerry McGuire - then crashed.

We all slept in a bit Sunday morning. I made waffles for breakfast. Yummy! We organized the girls toys - got a bunch of them sorted to to give to my mom for the next trip to Mexico, then did a bit of cleaning around the house. Joelle and I went out to the 'garage/storage unit' my in-laws are having built and climbed on the wood a bit, then she rode her bike and I was on the scooter and we went round and round and round. What fun!

Ate a quickie lunch and then all took naps. Oh yeah!

Got up, changed and headed back out with some friends to hit one more geocache for the weekend then to Grandma M's house to get together with other friends and went blueberry picking! It rained on us - but that was ok because it cooled things down tremendously and was quite comfy then. The girls just ran around the blueberry patch occasionally picking, mostly eating just having tons of fun.

Got home super late, whipped the girls through a bath, got everything in the house, cleaned the 10 quarts of blueberries we picked a relaxed for a bit then crashed to end the weekend!

And what a good weekend it was! Truly!

Some Thoughts for Your Day

Some of these I've seen before and others I've not. I pretty much got a chuckle out of 'em all though. Hope you get a kick out of them too!

Have a GREAT weekend!

Birds of a feather flock together... and then crap on your just washed car.

A penny saved is a government oversight.

The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right time, but also to leave unsaid, the wrong thing at the tempting moment.

The older you get, the tougher it is to lose weight, because by then your body and your fat have gotten to be really good friends.

The easiest way to find something lost around the house is to buy a replacement.He who hesitates is probably right.

Did you ever notice: The Roman Numerals for forty (40) are " XL."

If you think there is good in everybody, you haven't met everybody.

If you can smile when things go wrong, you have someone in mind to blame.

The sole purpose of a child's middle name is so he can tell when he's really in trouble.

There's always a lot to be thankful for if you take time to look for it. For example I am sitting here thinking how nice it is that wrinkles don't hurt.

Did you ever notice: When you put the 2 words "The" and "IRS" together it spells "Theirs."

Doreen took the girls Blueberry picking this last week. Yummmmmy! Here's Joelle and her friend Jannah picking a blueberry bush clean!

Here's Natalie concentrating so she can pick that perfect blueberry. Judging from the taste of them - she did PERFECT!!! :)

Now, I'm not sure if more blueberrys got eaten or picked for bringing home that day. I'll have to admit from my own personal experience - (Picking Bing cherries in Michigan when I was little) that more got picked and eaten than brought home!

Here's me gettin' all ready to 'blast' some nasty weeds that have grown up that a regular weed-wacker string can't take down. Look at that blade on that thing. yowza!

Kids say the funniest things

Hey y'all,

It's been a while - just haven't felt like posting, or been to busy to care! :) I look at each of my friends and family blogs each day, and then take a look at my unchanged site and say to myself, "Time to post." "Time, when do I have time?"

Well - I'm makin' time right now! :)

Before I start, just a quickie recognition of thanks to my wife who writes these things down on our calendar so we can remember them when we're old and can't remember anything! :)

My kids, as well as 99% of them out there, sure say some of the funniest things...

At our 4th of July picknic in the park, I took Natalie to go the restroom - she had to go poopie. Of course with thousands of people out there, we had to wait in a short line. (Isn't it amazing how much shorter the men's restroom lines are than the women - ALWAYS!!! ***GRIN***) By the time we got in and got her sat down - you guessed it - she didn't have to go anymore. So when we got back Natalie walked up to Doreen and said, "Mommy, my butt didn't work in the potty!"

Waaaa ha, ha, ha, ha! :)

The other day I was squatting in the door way of the girls room helping Natalie put her shoes on. Joelle wanted to shut the door for some reason or other, so she said to me, "Scootch your big butt out of the way daddy, please."

Hooooooo ho, ho, ho, ho! :)

One afternoon while the family was hanging out in the living room, Natalie's tummy was making some noises. She said, "Did you hear someone laughing in my tummy?"

He, he, he!

Kids say the funniest things! :)

Have a GREAT day!

Friends OR 12 Years OR A Converted Pickup

Hey y'all! How are ya?!!

We're doing good.

A great weekend is the responsibility of that!

Friday afternoon Iggy got converted. It's now a Tennessian - although as you can see in the pictures - it's still a Coloradian at heart! :) It's always good to get stuff done. And registering a vehicle is not always the most fun - but it went relatively smoothly!

It was the weekend of friends. Some old, some new, all friends. Friday Doreen got to visit, and I got to meet, a classmate that Doreen was in 3rd grade with here in TN. It was fun watching them catch up on 20 years of living. (She also ran into another elementary pal at church - so I'm sure they'll be spendin gsome time together soon too!)

Sabbath we went to 1st church, then Sabbath School. In between the two - I ran home to put the lasagna in the oven and turn on the time bake - we had forgotten to do to that before we left! OOps!

After 'church' we ran home and changed and then 6 more adults and 3 more kids showed up and we had a wonderful meal talking time. It was great. We spent a bit of time outside so the kids could expend some energy and the adults kept right on 'a talkin! :) Most every one left, but one couple and we stayed up till almost 12:30am just talking. It was good - very good!

Sunday morning we did some little piddly things around the house, ran a couple of errands and small things. Watched Tiger Woods win the British Open and an update on Tour de France.

That evening some old college pals arrived from visiting family in S Georgia. They were on their way home to N. central Arkansas and stopped by for a quickie visit and a place to bunk for the night. Some other college pals who live here came over and we had a grand old time catching up. Their was 8 adults and 11 kids in our house. Some chaos - but lots of talk and laughter! :) Everyone left about midnight and we all crashed.

They left Monday morning - after I had gone to work. I got of work a little early cuz yesterday was a very special day - Doreen and I have been married for 12 years. Oooooohhhh weeeeee that's a long time. And that is good!

So - since we'd had lots of friends over and lots and lots of fun, Doreen, the girls and I went to McD's for our anniversary. (It was raining cats and dogs out). We ate at home, but got a couple of McFlurries (M&M and Oreo) and a Hot fudge and caramel Sundae and a couple of orders of french fries to chase the ice cream down. Then the girls played on the indoor playplace a ton while Doreen and I sat and talked and watched. It was a good anniversary.

We stopped and rented a video to watch to celebrate as well - "In Good Company." But when I opened the DVD case, inside was a movie called "Cursed." Doh! Now I'll ALWAYS check before walking out the door!!!! So, we had no interest in that flick - so I ran it back, they were out of our 1 st choice so we ended up watching "National Treasure." Which turned out to be a VERY good movie!

All in all it was a very, VERY good weekend. The only thing wrong with it - it ended!

Have a great week!

Iggy has been converted. (See the license plate)...

...but you'll notice that Iggy still sports the colors of it's home-state with lots of pride!

Some old friends and families.

These are the offspring of 4 families that went to Southwestern Adventist University together. (5 of us were communication majors) Wow, that's a LOT of production! :)

Catching up with some Very good friends - the Leukerts.

Our kids and our friends kids. (L to R - Michael, Joelle, Matthew, Natalie & Greta)

Joelle & Daddy watching the British Open, wishin' we were watchin the Broncos play! :)

A daddy and a Natalie cuddlin on an afternoon!

Cool Sportz Stuff

Got lots of cool sports stuff going on right now that is lots of fun to watch.

- The Broncos are doing some pre-pre season stuff that is interesting to follow, gearing up for the season.

- The Tour de France is 2/3rds of the way through and Lance Armstrong is in the lead. Awesome. I only wish I could ride a bike a hundered miles. They go over 2300 in the time it probably would take me to 50! Waaa ha, ha, ha! It's awesome to watch the stragety, the strength and the endurance to win a Tour de France. It's amazing he's won 6 straight with a good chance to win his 7th.

- A PGA Major, the British Open is half way through and Tiger's got a 4 shot lead. He's got 10 majors under his belt chasing the record, Jack Nicklaus aka the Golden Bear, for 19. This also happened to be Nicklaus' last PGA event. A golfing icon is moving on. Touching.

- The MLB played their All Star game this week. Fun to watch. The American League hitters are just awesome.

- Finally, NASCAR is closing in on the race for the championship. My guy, #24 is having his worst season ever. Six of the last seven races he's finished 30th or worse. Ouch! Still enjoy watching cars run over 100mph around a track.

Sports are a welcome distraction from some of the more unenjoyable things of life!

Have a GREAT weekend!

Universal Coolness Number

F37723277J

Can you figure out why this serial number from a one dollar bill got flagged in wheresgeorge when I entered it?

It has a Universal Coolness Index of 97.3%

What's a Universal Coolness Index?

The Universal Coolness Index (UCI) is a formula that evaluates each number

according to its interesting properties. The UCI has a maximum of 100.0, and

its minimum depends on the number of properties being tested. Currently, the

lowest UCI on record is under 12.5%. A number cannot score 0% on the UCI

because, by definition, it becomes cool as soon as it is identified as the

"least cool" number.

Cool Numbers currently defines six tiers of coolness. The tier

that a particular number falls into depends on its UCI score.

Extremely cool (Hall of Fame material): 99% or higher.
Very cool (Gallery material): 95.0% - 98.9%
Cool: 90% - 94.9%
Almost cool: 75% - 89.9%
So-so: 50.0% - 74.9%
Definitely uncool: 49.9% or lower.

So here's why this bill scored with a very cool score.

- This bill contains a 4-of-a-kind and 2 pairs. Only 0.15% of 8-digit numbers have this combination.
- This bill has 3 unique digits. In 0.71% of 8-digit numbers, there are 3 or fewer unique digits.
- This bill contains 2 pairs together. Only 10% of 8-digit numbers have this combination.

Awesome!

To look more into this go to coolnumbers.

Feast OR Famine

It's amazing how things happen in 'bunches.'

"Famine" We'll have weekends when no one's around to call, no one calls us etc.

"Feast" Well, this weekend we've got an elementary friend of Doreen visiting on Friday. Sabbath we're having 3 families (6 adults, 3 kids) over for lunch and somesort of afternoon activity. Sunday night old college chums will be visiting from Arkansas and staying the night.

I've got a good feeling it's gonna be a good weekend!

"Famine" No extra vehicle maintance in quite a while.

"Feast" The truck needs the carburetor rebuilt. The altinator in the car dies and has to be replaced. To get the truck to pass emissions inspection it has to have a catalytic converter installed. All those add up to big bucks! :)

"Famine" My boss is around for this week.

"Feast" He's been gone for the last two weeks, home a week and a half, then gone for another two weeks. (I've gotten more done in the LifeTalk video department in the time he's been gone, than in the past 3 months. I hate red tape & micromanaging!!!)

Feast or famine - interesting!! :)

Sabbath went went to some friend's house to see their 8 puppies. They're like a Scottland Sheepdog type animal. Joelle just jumped right in and loved on them all over the place. Natalie took a bit of warming up to 'em.

Joelle just LOVES any animal. She absolutely LOVED holding these puppies. Precious!

Check out that look of concentration. She wanted to hold one so bad, but at the same time really didn't want to. I got her to 'semi' hold this one. Towards the end of the day she was holding one on her own. Cute CUTE!

Joelle trying out a 'real' bike! :)

Downton Chattanooga has been in a period of rebuilding and beautifying. They've added some fountains for the kids to play in, parks, beautiful walkways and whatnot. Sunday we went for a sightseeing tour to see all the pretty, prettying they've done. It is very, VERY nice!

A winding pathway up the hills was beautifully decorated with flowers. Of course both girls beat Doreen and I to the top! :)

A local artist got some pieces of driftwood out of the Chattanooga River and made a 'horse.' The girls loved it!

Here's my girls on a glass bridge staying dry under their umbrellas.

Waiting...

It seems like lately, we're doing a lot of waiting. Waiting for answers and activity on a lot of things in our lives. Is "just wait" not one of the hardest answers to get from a question to God? A 'yes' or 'no' is pretty definite. But a just wait - is really hard to handle, especially right now! :)

We're waiting...

...For our Illinois property payoff,
...For our Vonore, TN property to sell,
...For things to pan out with this job or get a new one,
...For things to come together so we can build OUR home.

So for now, we're just waiting!!! :)

Favorite Movie Music

Last night Doreen and I watched, "Love Actually." It's a pretty good little flick. If they could have not had so much language in it - it'd been a bunch better! :)

Anyway, in the extras - they talked a LOT about the music of the movie. It had some good stuff in it and it just amazed me how much they put in to get the right music for the background. The right music can really, REALLY enhance the pictures, and the wrong choice just kills the scene.

It took me back to the first movie in which I actually noticed the 'music.' Iron Eagle. Man the music in that flick is just awesome.

Other movies that I really, REALLY enjoyed the music are...

-Top Gun
-Dances with Wolves (The score is amazing in this one)
-Romy & Michelle (Sorry, I'm an 80's music fan!! He, he, he)

So I'd be interested in hearing what movie's music really resounded with you???

My daughters re-enacting Gene Kelly in "I'm Singing in the Rain." Toooooo cute!

I took one afternoon and waxed Iggy the truck down. Sure helped it look a little better. Still needs a paint job and lots of other body work - but now I can stand to drive it! :) HE, he, he! Course my girls LOVE to ride Iggy's tailgate!

One of the days I took off after being gone two weeks for work was to take the family to Dollywood. After we got there, we realized it was Kids Fest time. So my girls fell in love with the Pink Panther and Clifford. It was a very good day!

I tried not to be too much of a 'back-seat' driver when Joelle drove me around Dollywood! She actually did a pretty good job. :)

Natalie taking her mom for a spin in a '57 Chevy! :)

This is just about the perfect way to spend an afternoon!!!

My inlaws are having a storage shed/garage built here on the property in Chattanooga. It's a perfect place for a couple of little girls to ride their bikes!

I'm working with Natalie so she starts learning how to ride her bike.

At our 4th of July picnic with family, we were at a park that had a HUGE fountain in it that all the kids - and those who wanted to - could run through and get thoroughly soaked and cooled down. (Joelle's standing on top of a turtle that blows water out it's mouth!) It was a fun day!

Wet Little One... Here's Natalie playing in the same fountain just having a ball.

Star Trek Personality Test

Got this from My Bro-in-law.

Star Trek Personality Test.

Here are my results...

Star Trek Personality Test Results: ESTP

This test says you are an ESTP (Extrovert, Sensor, Thinker, Perceiver).* In Star Trek, you share a basic personality configuration with the characters of Geordi La Forge, Montgomery Scott, and Tasha Yar.


Qualities

People like you are generally highly observant and totally present in the moment. You're active and adventurous, so you can sometimes be impulsive, even when confronted with danger. You're not interested in regrets if your impulsiveness causes you to make an error, however. You're a free spirit, even though you may strike others as conventional.

You enjoy taking risks and tend to come down very hard on yourself for any perceived weakness.

You're very adept socially and easily make friends, especially when people are honest with you. You're talkative and adaptive to people and situations, though you prefer to be casual. You can be logical and calm, but you love to have fun. You've got a great sense of humor, and you're charming whenever you want to be.

You're also quite literal, a practical person who makes good use of your intense curiosity.

Goals


Your primary goal in life is the freedom to have fun and to fully experience life in the here and now. Your reward is to be surrounded by people who share your sense of risk and see the humor in life's little situations. You love to play with your children, or with others who are able to relax and be "big kids" themselves.

Work

You must have freedom to act on your impulses at work. You probably do better in jobs that do not immediately serve the public, as you tend to get irritated and even hostile with others when you're under stress. You're quite social, but you can fall out of step with others' feelings if you're not careful.

Relationships

As long as things are casual, you can "go with the flow." But when something is important to you, you're willing, even eager for an argument. It is vital that your mate be able enjoy the occasional heated debate, but beware of the partner who turns all conversations into arguments. You like to experience things fully, including the dramatic and unpleasant. You also get easily bored, though when a relationship is new, you tend to be generous to a fault.

Jobs

Good careers for your type include emergency medical technician, corrections officer, security chief, civil engineer, chief engineer, marine biologist, and developer of electronic games.

Moving

Doreen and some friends were talking yesterday about the number of times they've moved in their lifetimes. So I got to thinking about the number of times I've moved.

The magic number - from the ones I can remember was 19 times.

Englewood to KY
KY to MI
Once in MI
MI to OH
OH to Montrose, CO (Gunnison rd)
Gunnison Rd to Indian Rd
Indian Rd to Lucas Rd
Lucas rd to 58.50 Rd
Moved to Campion Academy Dorm
CO to TX
TX to IL
IL apt 1 to Apt 2
IL Apt 2 to Knob Prairie Rd
IL to Kenworth Truck
Truck to Yakima, WA
Wa to TN Apt 1
TN Apt 1 to TN Apt 2
TN Apt 2 to Twelve Oaks
Twelve Oaks to Chattanooga

My wife has moved 21 times in her life.

How about you? How many times have you uprooted and gone somewhere else??

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!" :)