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.

JOURNAL 1/24/2008

A cold and snowy day. Out the door for work at 8:30 and came home around 5:00 pm. In light of the weather and our recent/ongoing illnesses we thought it prudent to cancel our Thursday night small group. Ordered Chinese for dinner (see pictures below). Sarah and I hung out with Lisa until around ten or so and then went to bed.

WITH EVERYONE IN MY HOUSE ON THE MEND FROM ONE ILLNESS OR ANOTHER I SUGGESTED WE ORDER SOME CHINESE, SARAH AGREED.

IT'S A COLD SNOWY DAY HERE IN IDYLLWILD

...and it is way too cold in this office.

JOURNAL 1/23/2008

Sarah felt better as the day went on. Jack showed little improvement. I took the day off to help Sarah out as she is tired and still not 100%. In the afternoon I took Bowden along to a Doctor appointment in Palm Springs to have a look at my mystery rash. he determined that it Shingles. I was surpirsed because I have always thought of Shingles as an older person's disease. I guess I am a fluke. The Doctor expressed concern that our kids might get chicken pox as a result of being exposed to Shingles. Ah well, let the good times roll! That's what I always say. This is turning into the perfect storm of maladies afflicting our home. Raise the black flag of pestilence.

JOURNAL 1/22/2008

Carolyn's birthday. I still have a rash, which is bothering me. Worked from 8:00 until 5:00 pm with an hour lunch. Sarah arrived home in the late afternoon, and was complaining of nausea. Shortly thereafter Jack and Sarah both began throwing up. They had a rough night. Someday our house will be healthy again.

JOURNAL 1/21/2008

Didn't sleep well last night. Woke up feeling better, but not great. Painful rash on the back of my neck seems to be spreading. Put away laundry and did the dishes. Puttered around the house cleaning a little, but didn't do much else with my day. Snowed off and on.

JOURNAL 1/20/2008

Worked from 8:00 am until 9:30 am. Went to church. Had a meeting for small group leaders at 3:00. Began feeling poorly so I excused myself from working dinner as my stomoach was feeling slightly nauseous. I had trouble falling asleep.