Devil's Den Pics

Finally, I got around to uploading my Devil's Den pics. Inspired by Caci, I put them all on dropshots. It's a pretty cool site and much easier for managing pics than blogspot. Anyway, here are some links that you can use to view the images:

Friday, June 30, 2006



Saturday, July 1, 2006



Sunday, July 2, 2006



Monday, July 3, 2006



Tuesday, July 4, 2006

Book Reviews

I've now read both Dan Brown's Angels and Demons and The DaVinci Code, and I have to say that he is not a bad writer. Both of these novels have Robert Langdon, Harvard professor and symbologist, as the central protagonist and they both deal with conspiracies related to the Roman Catholic Church.

In the first, Angels and Demons, Langdon is called to Switzerland to help decipher a strange symbol left on the body of a murdered scientist. The symbol is related to an ancient organization sworn to destroy the Roman Catholic Church. As the plot unfolds, we learn that the Pope has recently died and Conclave is just about to start to elect his successor, but the entire proceeding is threatened by a very high-tech device that could destroy all of Vatican City.

This really is a good story with a very nice twist and reveal at the end. The characters are pretty well developed and believable and the ending is very nice. Overall, I think this is a great murder mystery/conspiracy novel that would leave anyone wanting to hear about Langdon's adventures.

In the second, The DaVinci Code, Landon returns to help the French police decipher cryptic clues left at the scen of a murder in the Louvre. Following these clues across Paris and into Great Britain reveals the truth of the murderer, a worldwide conspiracy, and startling information about the Holy Grail.

This could have been a great story if Langdon were built on as a character. In this novel, though, he seems to be a completely different person than the skeptical and cautious professor presented in Angels. That was really frustrating for me. I do have to say, though, that the book is still many times better than the movie, and that it addresses many of the plot holes that I had issue with in the movie.

Now we look forward to the next Robert Langdon adventure which Dan Brown is supposedly working on now. Apparently, it will be set in Washington DC and will deal with the secret history of our capitol. Sounds like it could be interesting.

Home Again

Our camping trip was great!

We didn't get to do the Butterfield as I had hoped. It would've been more than I could handle. We did a 3 mile hike on one day and it nearly wiped me out. Of course, I was carrying a backpack and a kid for part of the way. Jeffrey, on the other hand, claimed to be up for it even after carrying a kid and helping Leah manage the dog.

We also missed out on Farmer's Cave, but that was just due to a technicality. You have to have at least 4 people with two light sources apiece. We only had three people and 5 lights. Oh well, it's just one more reason to head back another time.

Jeffrey and I did participate in the horseshoes tournament on the 4th, and we made it all the way to the championship game. We dominated every other team along the way, and then got spanked in the final game. The score was something like 21 to 12. The trophy stays in Arkansas for another year.

The kids enjoyed seeing some wildlife around the campsite. We saw a cicada molting and another emerging from the ground. I think the second was drowned in the run off from the water faucet, though. We also saw a fox (twice), a groundhog (several times as its den was under a nearby rock), a raccoon (that was about the size of a small bear), lots of squirrel, a few snakes along the creek, fish in the creek, bats, and tons of lightning bugs. I didn’t get pictures of everything, but I have some of a few of the above.

The kids also got to do some hiking with us and go in a couple of caves. Reagan, Logan, Jeffrey, and I all went to the very end of Devil’s Den Cave. The next day, Logan, Reagan, Abbie, and Leah went about halfway, and Emma, Reagan, Jeffrey, Logan, and I all went about halfway through Devil’s Icebox, too. Abbie tried Icebox, but got a little scared and turned back. It’s really a much more difficult cave than Devil’s Den, and Emma only succeeded because Jeffrey and I could hold her.

All of the kids loved the hike to Yellow Rock, which we did a little differently this time than year’s past. In the past, we always hiked from Campground A to the Yellow Rock bluff and back again. This year, though, we started at the Yellow Rock overlook out on the highway and hiked the entire trail straight through. It was a longer hike (3 miles total), but a gentler grade. Since we started at the top of the mountain and hiked sideways, there was less stress on the kids. It also helped that we had two vehicles so we could leave one at either end of the trail.

Best of all, we missed being rained on by just a few minutes. As we were pulling out of the park, we ran into a downpour that we drove through for about 45 minutes. We ran into about 3 other rain patches on the remainder of the trip, but the first was the most stressful. As we drove through the rain, Leah and I racked our brains to think of everything that we had brought to be sure that there was nothing in the back of the truck that couldn’t get wet. We thought of nothing.

After we passed through all the rain, though, I thought of the camera. Leah wasn’t sure where it was; she just remembered that Jeffrey had taken it from the backpack just before he left to snap a couple of pics. She assumed that he had returned it to the top pouch of the backpack, and her assumption was correct. It had ridden in the top of the backpack, which was on the top of everything we had packed, through the rain. We pulled over after for a break, and after I shook the water out of it, I let it “bake” on the dashboard. It seems to be working fine, I just haven’t had a chance to plug it up and download the pictures yet, but I’ll get to it soon. I promise. :)

Devil's Den

We're getting ready to head out camping again this coming weekend. We're taking the kids up to Devil's Den State Park in northwest Arkansas. Jeffrey and Logan will be meeting us up there Friday night, so it should be a really fun trip.

If you've never been to (or even heard of) Devil's Den State Park, you don't know what you're missing. It's probably my favorite place to camp. I was first introduced to it in high school on one of my wilderness trips, and I've been back many times since. This is probably my 5th or 6th trip up there. So what makes it so cool?

Of course, the mountains are first on my list. Not only because they are beautiful, but because I'm afraid Melissa will torture me if I don't mention them first. I know they aren't as cool and big as the Rockies, but I have to believe that she would prefer any mountains to none.

Second, there is a myriad of hiking trails. One of them evens stretches directly down the center of Lee Creek for a good half mile or more....very cold. Another, The Butterfield, I've never done, but Jeffrey and I plan to give it a whirl on this trip. It's a 15 mile trek into the Ozark Forest.

Third, the caves. Most of the caves at the park are actually covered crevices. They're just cracks in the ground that have a sandstone covering. This makes them really easy to explore because there is only one tunnel, so you can't get lost. There are also the more familiar limestone caves on the property, too. One of them is accessible to the public, and I'm going to try and get at least Jeff and Logan in there this time around. The best part of the caves is that they are completely unfinished; meaning that there is no artificial lighting, handrails, or guides. You take a flashlight and have fun. The last time we were there, Jeff and I were exploring one and saw a few bats sleeping on the ceiling. Pretty cool!

Anyway, we leave early Friday morning to try and get there before lunch. I'll write more and post pics when we return.

VBX Pics

I finally got copies of VBX pics from the photographers. There's a total 1,150, so I cut through that and picked just a few for you to enjoy.

Here's a shot of our worship team:


And here's some shots of the crowd of kids (we even had the balcony full if you can tell that in the second pic):



Here's a shot of me on my "moon buggy" and one of me in one of our dramas:



Besides large group, the kids also had story time and outdoor games. We even rented a big slide on one day for them to enjoy:





And on the day of Leah's birthday, we did a big celebration for our fearless leader. First, we sang "Happy Birthday" and gave her a singing hat:

Then we brought out a cake and flowers, and if you look close you'll see a man in an orange shirt sneaking around behind her:

Next, our children's pastor sprayed her with silly string. The best part of that is that Leah had this great idea to buy him silly string the day before not knowing that we planted that seed with the intent of it being used on her:

Finally, I came out and posed with her:

And we moved the cake to the volunteer snack room:


Later in the week, I introduced Graham to the crowd. He's only been with us for a few months, so not everyone has been able to meet him. I didn't realize that he wanted to speak, so we didn't have a mike for him; that's why he's talking into my cheek. He wasn't trying to kiss me. It's not that kind of church. :)


And then it was all over. This is me driving back out at the end of the week on my "moon buggy."

VBX - Space Camp

Months after planning and writing began, VBX has finally come and gone again. Last week we had 662 kids packed into our church for VBX (Vacation Bible eXtreme - we don't want the kids to have to go to "school" in the summer). Our theme was Space Camp, and I was the Company Commander for the week as well as the 4th and 5th grade teacher. We had a great week with all the kids, and I do have thousands of pictures from various sources, but I haven't had a chance to go through them all and pick some for my post. I figured that you'd rather hear from me now and see pics later.

Most of the kids did traditional VBX stuff (games, crafts, teach, and small group sessions). We opted to handle 4th and 5th grade a little differently, though. They actually built bookshelves for My Friend's House, a local charity for foster children. It was a really cool project for the kids, and they all loved it.

We only had one injury this year: one of our 5 year olds managed to get his thumb wedged into the seat in the sanctuary during a large group session. We have folding seats (like a movie theater) and he got his thumb down near the hinge and got it stuck. His mom actually had to yank it out and then we took them to the emergency room for 9 stitches. I didn't actually see the injury because I was on stage during all of this, but I can only imagine what it would take to put 9 stitches in a 5 year old thumb.

Other than that, we had a ton of fun. I got to drive three wheeler around the sanctuary (which the kids loved, and I enjoyed, too), and I got to get all the kids wound up before sending them off with their leaders. We heard tons of stories of kids helping each other, telling others about what they are learning, and learning to trust Christ. It's probably my favorite week of the year.

Now it's time to start planning for next year. We're thinking of doing a Texas theme (maybe a rodeo or something). I think the other leaders just want to see if I'll ride an electric bull on the stage. :)