Wednesday night we held the teens Bible study at Marc and Talisha's house. While I was giving my devotional, I noticed that Lori and Talisha were laughing back in the corner. I have a one-track mind, so I didn't notice that Addison was enthralled with my sermon. As you can see in the top picture, he started off in the corner, observing my delivery with great interest. As time went on, he rolled his walker closer and closer until finally he was right in front of me, looking up and listening intently. It's nice to know that at least one person was paying attention.

Schwinggg

Does anybody else remember those uncomfortable blue plastic swings (similar to the one Kassady is sitting in)? I tried one out one day when all of the other swings (like Trey's swing) were taken. One of my legs got stuck in those stupid leg holes and while struggling I lost my balance and ended up side down with my head in the dusty rut (caused by swingers kicking off) that you find underneath all swingsets. That was my last time in those kind of swings.

Give Generously to your City Parks and Recreation Dept.

Yesterday, Trey and Kassady headed to West Park with one of their favorite friends, Emme. They had a lot of fun. Lori had to peel Kassady off of the swings. There's nothing like playing at the park. I remember some good times at Green Street Park in Frankfort. I recall the first time I scaled the "big" slide. I stood unsteadily on the top rung, looking to the ground far below. If my memory serves me correctly, I stood there for about 3 minutes with all the kids lined up on the rungs below me, shouting for me to hurry up and go down. And then, I couldn't tell you how many times I fell off that little merry-go-round with the handles while it was going as fast as we 8-year olds could push it.

Of course, the cool playground was over at TPA park. They had the red caboose, the long curly slides, and that circular thing that you could go upside down in. Those were the days...

Tarzan

Trey decided he wanted to climb a tree yesterday, so we went out in the back yard and with a little help from yours truly he clambered up onto a branch. Our trees really aren't made for climbing, so he clung stubbornly to the limb, declaring that he was a monkey like Boots (from "Dora the Explorer").

This is the first time that he has attained heights of more than 6', so I was the cautious dad, making sure that he didn't take a tumble. At first, I stood at the base of the tree making sure that he was OK. Then, I thought of when I was his age. For whatever reason, I think parents today are more protective than they used to be when I was a kid. I was jumping off the roof of my house with a trashbag, thinking that it would function as a parachute. The response I got was, "walk it off. You'll be OK". I did more crazy things as a kid, but I survived.

Today, parents sit anxiously on the sidelines of the playground, worrying that poor "Johnny" or "Susie" will fall and get a boo-boo. Relax, let kids be kids. Guess what? No matter how stressed out you get, how careful you are, you're still going to be taking your kids to the emergency room. They will still stick peas up their noses, jump from great heights, shoot each other with BB guns, get chased by mean dogs, throw snowballs at passing cars and whatever else comes to their minds. You live and learn.

So, I backed off and let Trey do his thing. He did pretty good actually, even to the point of swinging off a branch and dropping to the ground. He'll be OK.

Open up the archives...again

Speaking of Canon City (read on down the page), I found this old pic from my GBS quartet days (this one: Aaron, Nick, Phil, Shane, and myself) from when we visited the Royal Gorge. I remember climbing up on this ledge to get my picture taken. Phil Bishop took the picture from about 100 feet away while cheerfully commenting on how I would probably fall to my death. It wasn't until I was down on the path that I saw the signs that said "Danger: Do Not Approach Ledge".

Royce Mitchell: Unplugged

Royce hasn't quite been the same since I joined the group. I had the same effect on my fellow GBS quartet members.

Ministering to the Moabites

We had awful weather on Sunday. We were in Colorado and if you have paid any attention at all to the news, you realize that the state was just hammered with snow. In fact, shortly after we left for Utah, they shut down I-70 in Colorado for 18 hours. We decided to go for it so we could be assured of making it to Monday's concert. Man, we hit some bad weather. We saw some pretty serious accidents on the way. After driving through the night Sunday, we made it to our Monday destination.

We spent all day in Moab, Utah, home of the nation's largest Jeep Jamboree. Jeep owners from all over the world make their way to Moab to ride some of the most incredibly difficult trails you have ever seen. Last year this town of 4,200 had more than 30,000 Jeeps show up and more than 75,000 people. It is the extreme sports-persons paradise. In fact, I met a guy who moved here just to get away from the grind and enjoy life. He was the VP of a huge corporation in California, making the big bucks, but wasn't happy. After visiting Moab, he knew this was where he wanted to be. He moved there, started a tour company, and in his words, "really started living". He said that he barely makes it during the winter, "eating just beans and rice", but he told us emphatically that he's never been happier. Dan, Doran, and I spent the day walking through town checking out all of the cool sites/sights.

They have also filmed several movies in Moab, including several John Wayne movies. Also, several scenes from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Mission Impossible II, and Thelma & Louise were shot among the awesome red rocks.

We sang at an Independent Baptist Church in the evening and had a great time visiting with the pastor and his wife afterward. Moab has a fantastic diner (if I remember correctly named, quite appropriately, The Diner) with some great sandwiches on the menu. I ordered the Killipeoke Chicken sandwich. Very tasty!

(photos from www.discovermoab.com)

This is the Great Adventure (all apologies to SCC)

Dan and Doran (Liberty Quartet's version of Abbott and Costello) looking for adventure and excitement among the parking lots of Moab.

Dan exploring the possibilities of converting this overgrown ATV into a bus. These machines are awesome! They can cover any type of terrain. They're made by Mercedes and special-ordered from France and Germany. Next time we're in Moab, we're going to hit the trails.

Moab, UT has some of the most beautiful red-rock cliffs that I have ever seen. This is a restaurant overlooking the town.