We didn’t make it to Santa Fe and C-470 before one of the new tires on the trailer blew. I’ll save you all the nitty-gritty details, but turns out that Wal-Mart had given us the wrong weigh-class tire so we spent 4 hours driving around and waiting for Discount to set us up. We finally made it to camp 4 hours later than we had hoped )thanks in part to some traffic issues on 285)…but we did make it…and we had a blast!

Five families…10 adults…14 kids. Camping in God’s country and having a blast. No big fights (adults or kids) and the weather couldn’t have been any better. This is truly one of the greatest places on earth to spend a weekend with family and friends. Here are some pics to prove it…

Roasting S’mores the First Night

You have to play poker…right? (And yes, Anita won)

The kids wanted in on the action too

The crew fixing one of the Beaver dams on the property

Logan “chillaxing” in the shade

Lindsay eating a little snack of Antelope and Potatoes

I think Kyle needs a shorter BB Gun?

The ATV was a highlight for the kids (no, he didn’t drive it)

Warming up in the morning

Corrina and Raquel

Greg, Paul, and Trent

Shawn (aka “The Great Fisherman)…yes, there are fish in that pond (that’s the pind we fixed last year!)

The moon was incredibly bright all weekend

Showing off the camera skills…oh yeah!

We spend the first part of the weekend in Topeka, KS with Grant and Amy English (and their kids of course). On Monday we took the 2.5 hour trip to Nevada and introduced the kids to my spiritual hero. We went back the next day and are now in Olathe, KS spending a few days with Anita’s sister, Lisa. Here are a couple of pics from the visit in Nevada:

Me and My Hero!

The Whole Gang

The visits where short, but brought back a lot of great memories. This man is truly a spiritual giant in my life…not to mention the patriarch of the family (my oldest living relative). He was a pastor for as long as I can remember and I grew up wanting to be this man. He was kind. He had integrity that I didn’t know anyone could actually have. He loved Jesus with his whole life…heart, soul, and mind. He walked the walk and talked the talk. He is my hero. Period. I want to be just like him when I grow up.

I must admit that while I wanted the boys to meet him (Lindsay got to go to the birthday celebration so she already met him), I was a little apprehensive for the visit. I had an image of this man that I selfishly did not want to be tarnished. The last time I saw him he was strong and healthy…the man I admire and look up to more than anyone else. But that was just selfish.

And it was hard. His health is good, but his mind is fading. His long-term memory is great (he can pick people out of a picture from 50+ years ago) but his short-term memory is another story. But he is still the man I admire. He still loves Jesus and he is as kind and gentle as ever. I am glad we made the trip. In the pictures above you are seeing 5 generations (although two of them aren’t in the picture). This man is my family heritage. He is also my spiritual heritage. I am who I am today in large measure because of him.

This particular weekend was spent with Greg & Susie (and their 3 girls), Michael & Amanda (and their son Noah), and Lindale & Briana (sp?) (and their son and daughter…this was the first time we’d met them…great family). All told we had 8 adults and 9 kids. Does it get an better?

Of course it was a hot weekend, but we spent most of it at the beach or on the boat. The first night sucked royally…wind blew hard all night…nobody got any more than a couple hours of sleep (and most didn’t get any sleep at all). But the next day paid the rewards as we water-skied and tubed for most of the day (thanks to Greg & Susie for pulling us around the lake).

I tried to be manly and get up on the wake board, but it was nothing doing. I did get up on the skis twice (but if you blinked you might have missed it). Nothing like trying something manly to keep you humble!  Lindsay was able to get up on the training skis once (she was up on the skis but couldn’t quite stand up). Always fun to watch your kids try something new and exciting and love every second of it…they especially loved being pulled by the tube!

We didn’t get a single picture…but our friends did so as soon as they post them we will share. Now we take it easy for the rest of the evening and get back to the “real world” of school (math is over for me, but I’m right back to it this week), work (ugh!), and the mundane parts of life that make it real. I always have a hard time getting to my devotions over a long weekend, but still feel connected with God anyway…He’s so good!

Oh yeah…almost forgot, Logan (our 8 year old) also learned to ride his bike this weekend! Now, of course, we can hardly get him off of it. It was a long time coming, but he picked it up fast once he put his mind to it (sounds like someone else I know…that would be me in case I was being to obtuse ). I’m so proud of him!

We slept in. We read. We prayed. We shopped (of course). We walked. We ate. We watched two movies.We got connected once again to one another and to God. Again, it was an amazing weekend!

Our focus for the weekend was praying for each of our kids. We talked about what was going on in each of their lives and how we could and should be praying for them. We talked about ourselves as parents and how we can do better. We talked about our own spiritual journeys. And we prayed…we asked God for guidance, for help, and for each one of our kid’s needs and futures.

We also spent some time praying and reading Scripture for ourselves. For me, God dealt with some old agreements as a father that He wanted to heal and restore. I also made three new commitments that will help me be a better dad to my kids. And God also shared His heart with me and asked me to slow down and just be with Him (abide in Him) and stop looking so far into the future…to be more present with Him now and enjoy the journey a little more.

I can’t adequately express what this weekend meant. It was fun, it was restful, it was needed. I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone. I am thankful that God provided the opportunity (thanks again Emilie!) and that we were able to make the time to get away and spend it with each other and with God. We came back home rested…rested physically, rested emotionally, and rested spiritually.

We didn’t take many pictures (didn’t fit with the NOTHING theme), but here are a couple we did take)… 

Don’t we look rested?

 
The Mountain Getaway
Thanks again Emilie!

We always have fun with family and friends. The view is unbelievable and the fishing is usually out of this world (I caught 9 trout this year). The weekend typically includes poker, s’mores, rides on a recreational vehicle of some kind (this year it was a motorcycle thanks to my buddy Justin), working on the pond (see photos), and just taking it easy by the fire. This year was no exception…we had two new couples/families and had a great time. We missed some of the “old guard” (i.e.: Bill & Cindy and Larry & Shelley) but we are truly blessed to be able to use this pristine land and just get away from it all for a few days. If you’d like to join us just drop me a line…the more the merrier!

Here are some of the more memorable photos from the weekend…

 
The Busy Campsite

 
The Amazing View!

 
Some of the Gang hanging out by the fire.

 
Paul chilling out with some camp coffee
(not sure what the one glove thing was about?)

 
Food Fight!

 
Don’t they look like they love each other?

 
Does it get any better than this?

 
Logan & Kyle getting some good sleep.

 
Beavers have nothing on us man!
(Of course this broke about 2 hours later…but we’ll fix that)

 
Just as we were getting packed up to leave this hail storm pounded
us for about 5-8 minutes. That was a new one for us…now we’ve seen it all!

Today we venture off to Como, CO for a long weekend in the mountains with friends and family (the Memorial trip we couldn’t make thanks to the snow). I hope you have a great one as well…back next week with photos of the fun.

So what did we do? We improvised of course. Friday night was spent just trying to figure it out and get over the disappointment of a lost camping trip. Saturday we spent the afternoon with everyone who was going camping (as well as a few that weren’t) and barbecued at Paul & Leslie Foster’s house…followed by a couple poker games of course (and yes, Anita won one of them).

Sunday and Monday we headed down to my Granparent’s house in Cañon City. They spoiled us rotten and took us to the Royal Gorge on Monday afternoon. The weather was good and we had a great time. Not bad for a sudden change of plans. Here are a few pictures from the trip down south. Don’t miss the video at the end (Lindsay’s favorite part of the weekend I think).

 
My Grandparent’s Victorian House in Cañon City, CO 

 
My Grandparents (Ross & Charlotte) posing with the kids.

 
The beginning of the Royal Gorge afternoon.

 
Lindsay, Logan & Kyle riding the carousel.

 
A great view of the world’s highest suspension bridge.

 
A little ”wildlife” (the Elk in the background too).

  
Who doesn’t love a petting zoo?

 
The Air Tram across the Gorge…did I mention I hate heights?

 
A little perspective for the video.
This is the Royal Gorge Skycoaster from across the Gorge.
It’s the same ride as at Elitches, but swings out over the Gorge!!

Here’s the video of Lindsay and me riding the Royal Gorge Skycoaster. We both kind of talked each other into it, but I was impressed that Lindsay went through with it (although she wanted to back out a few times). You’ll note in the video that she is the one that pulls the rip cord. The video doesn’t really do the ride justice…it swings you out over the canyon…an awesome experience…and one that I got to share with Lindsay!!

If you can’t see the video above, click here to see it on YouTube.

All in all a great weekend salvaged from what I thought was going to be a bummer!! You just can’t go wrong spending time with family and friends. A memorable Memorial Weekend…one for the memory banks.