I LOST MY CELL PHONE

If you have been trying to get a hold of me I apologize. My cell phone is on holiday, and it didn't bother to tell me where it went. If you need to talk with me call Sarah's phone or you can ususally get me on the camp's phone.

McCain vs. Huckabee

Frankly, I like/dislike them both about the same and I will vote for whichever of them gets the nomination without reservation. Thompson was my man- I have been unenthused since he dropped out, and then I was further demoralized by Romney's poor showing on Super Tuesday. Both of the remaining candidates are deeply flawed in my opinion, and I wish there was a candidate who was more pure in his/her political ideology. Having said that I think Huckabee is a lost cause, and I am pinning my hopes on McCain.

My biggest criticism of McCain is that he is a compromiser. He has this pattern of trying to appease the left, and snubbing those on the right in the process. I think he feels this demonstrates strength of character and a willingness to take tough positions despite opposition from his own party, but I feel that in a polarized political climate he is at best a weak link and at worst a traitor to the conservative cause. I resonate with Huckabee on social issues and I think that he understands that most conservatives are ready to circle the wagons and pass the ammunition on issues such as abortion and Iraq. I like that Huckabee is willing to die on some hills, and I just wish he was more of a complete conservative. McCain has demonstrated (to my consternation at times) that he will stick to his guns when the people find his positions unpopular, and that is one of the things I value most in our current president. I like that about McCain.

I am one of those voters who faithfully trudge to the voting booth and does my duty whether I am passionate about the candidate or not and I will be voting, without passion, for whoever wins the nomination. I think either candidate would have a good chance of beating whatever horse the democrats throw into the race, but neither excite any passion in me.

I am for McCain or Huckabee. (no exclamation mark)

APRES LUI LA DELUGE?

Was anybody else outraged by Gerald Thornton's defense of his truly indefensible brother this morning?

People are dead, public servants all, and this guy is talking about tickets his brother had received as though that justifies his "war" against the city of Kirkwood. I was outraged!

A separate interview with Charles Thronton's Mother makes me think that the Thornton family culture shares some of the blame for this horrific act. Their steadfast refusal to acknowledge any wrongdoing on his part and their abject lack of sympathy for the fallen or their grieving families was revolting. It leads me to believe that in the days leading up this tragedy they did a lot of head-nodding when Charles Thornton was spouting crazy things about his war with Kirkwood.

HE'S THE GUY... I GUESS.

SUPER TUESDAY!!!

I voted for Romney.

I'M SAD FOR THE PECKS TODAY

IT'S NICE HAVING FRESH CITRUS IN THE SNOWY MOUNTAINS

Thanks to Umpa and Grandma Fusano for the oranges. They are really good. They have those thick rinds that just fall off, and they are very sweet and juicy. Sarah and I were sharing one today and she said "My Umpa grows the best oranges."

WE'RE BACK FROM HUME LAKE

...and we had an amazing time.

It was beautiful up there...the kind of snow that fills the woods with a deep silence and sticks to every bough, twig, and pine needle. We loved hanging out with the Whites, and we did lots of fun things like going tubing, riding the mechanical bull, seeing the giant sequoias, playing games, hanging out, eating out, etc...

It was perfect, and the kids stayed healthy.

...oh yeah, and I fell in love with coffee. Where have you been all my life?

I RODE A MECHANICAL BULL

...but not for long.

Hume lake had an amazing tube run with a rope pull. The ride up was almost as much fun as the ride down. Sarah rode down with Bowden and I took Lucy. On our first run Lucy and I fell out, but all Lucy said was "Dat was funny!"



On Saturday we drove up to Grant's grove to see the Giant Sequoias. I'm afraid the pictures I took can't do them justice. They were immense... bigger than I had imagined. There was a sequoia that had fallen down and which the lumberjacks had lived in during bygone days. The kids enjoyed playing in it. The ceiling was blackened from all of the campfires that Lumberjacks and probably indians before them had lit. The most frustrating thing about my pictures is that you really can't get a feel for the scale of these trees from the photos. I stood in awe of God the creator.




These our our friends the Whites. It was very nice of them to invite us along on their trip to Hume. Emily is a nurse so she was working this past weekend as the camp's nurse. It was fun for us to tag along.








I finally gave in and bought a pair of chains. None of my pictures show how much snow there was up there, but it came up to the bottom of our window sill and in places I think it may have been as much as 4 feet deep. On our last night there it snowed another 14 inches. Driving out of the mountains was one of the prettiest drives I have ever been on. Chains were an absolute necessity though.






Lucy and Bowden pretending to be bear cubs in the dining hall.

VOTE ROMNEY!!!

I'M GOING TO HUME LAKE FOR A FEW DAYS. SEE YA NEXT WEEK.

MORE SHADOWY BOBCAT IMAGES

I was in the Mt San Jacinto Chapel getting a projector when I glanced up and saw the Bobcat come around the side of the Tabernacle and take shelter under the Ping Pong Table. If you zoom in you can see the dark outline of the bobcat hanging out under there.



Then it came out from under there, stretched, and walked over towards the gully. If you look closely you can see the bobcat coming out from behnd the tree in the foreground (to the right of the tree).



This one is really hard to make out. It hung out for a moment at the base of the tree right smack-dab in the middle of the frame watching some birds before it disappeared. I tried following it, but it was gone.

JOURNAL 1/28/2008

Worked from 8:00 until 4:30 pm. Came home a half hour early because Sarah called to say that Jack was throwing up. We're concerned that this may be the beginning of his bout with Chicken Pox. He was very needy and clingy all day. I kept telling him that it wasn't cool, but he didn't seem to care. Snowed off and on all day- heavy at times. It was a very slushy, wet heavy snow. The snow plow blocked a drainage pipe above the Cunningham's house so all the water flowed down into their garage. Keith and I went over and helped Bill Sanborn get the water redirected. Sarah made ham for dinner, which is one of my favorites. Read "The Week" before bed. Rosie and Justin got me a subscription to The Week for Christmas, and I think I will enjoy it a lot.

JOURNAL 1/27/2008

It rained hard all night long. I woke up several times to the sound of it on my roof. As a result of the rain all of the snow was gone. It rained off and on all day long, turning to snow in the late afternoon. Nanny tried to drive home, but the roads were a mess so she turned around and stayed another night. I worked from 8:00 until 10:30am and then again from 1:00 until 5:00 pm. Our men's group left after breakfast. Began a series on the book of Daniel in church today. Lucy has Chicken Pox and it looks like Bowden does too. It hasn't affected their disposition though, which is good. When I went to bed at 9:00 the ground was covered with snow again.

Seems it never rains in southern California
Seems I've often heard that kind of talk before
It never rains in California, but girl, don't they warn ya?
It pours, man, it pours!

JOURNAL 1/26/2008

Worked from 7:45 until 4:30. Nanny came up to help Sarah with the kids. Sarah is still getting her energy back from the perfect storm of illnesses that struck our home and the sleepless nights that accompanied it. nanny is much appreciated. Sarah worked dinner down at the dfining hall. I was sad to learn today that the Redskins released Gregg Williams and Al Saunders- two of the greatest minds in football. Truly tragic in my estimation. Spoke with Umpa briefly in the evening. It began to rain as i was putting the kids to bed and rain hard all night long.

JOURNAL 2/25/2008

A little warmer today. The threat of snow overnight didn't materialize. Worked from 8:30 until 5:30 pm. A men's group of about 40 arrived in the late afternoon. Kind of an uneventful day.

I CAN'T BELIEVE THE NEWS TODAY. I CAN'T CLOSE MY EYES AND MAKE IT GO AWAY.

The Redskins released Gregg Williams and Al Saunders. This just doesn't make any sense to me. They are two of the best in the business. I will say it plainly- Williams should be the next coach of the Washington Redskins. This strikes me as a huge mistake.