I keep getting questions about Lucky's status, and we really appreciate everyone's concern. The latest is that he is nearly completely back to his normal, nose-in-your-face, barking at the neighbors, hyperactive, labrador self. Our only concern at this point is incontinence.
He is continuing to do his business in the house and even in his kennel. It's almost like having a puppy again except that puppies don't generally go in their kennel unless you aren't paying any attention. We talked to the vet earlier today, and he said that he's never really seen anything like this. It may be an unrelated urinary tract infection or something, so they want us to continue working at the "kennel (re)training" through the weekend and touch base with them again next week to see if things are getting any better.
All I know is that if it wasn't so hot outside, he'd be out there all the time right now. As it is, he can only be in tiled areas or in his kennel because he'll just go when the urge strikes. There's no warning, so it doesn't even matter how closely you watch him.
Friday, July 21, 2006
Monday, July 17, 2006
Cowboys in the News
The Dallas area was shocked this morning to learn that another football player was involved in a criminal activity. Of course, this time, the player in question is completely innocent...
The Dallas Morning News reports that Dallas Cowboys safety Keith Davis was returning home from visiting friends and family in Shreveport, LA. He is reported to have been on his way to church since he had missed the week before and doesn't get to attend during the season. Based on the information available from the Dallas Morning News article, while driving down I-635, Davis' car was approached by a dark car with tinted windows. Someone from the other car opened fire on Davis' Impala hitting Davis in the thigh and grazing his head. Davis is happy to report of his corn rows, though, "...my braids still look good."
Apparently, Davis' training kicked in almost immediately and he applied pressure himself to his wounded leg. "As soon as I realized I got hit, I started applying pressure to the spot. I was a kinesiology major in college. I guess I learned something from all of those courses." I wish I'd been a kinesiology major in college. Now I'll be worried every time that I'm injured that I won't know how to respond.
Not to mention the fact that I'm going to have to start "pimping" in my truck for my own personal safety, "I was leaning quite a bit. If I had been sitting straight up, I might not be here." Who knew that laying your seat back is actually a safe way to drive?
I'm wondering if you are like me, and if you are suspicious of this story. A guy driving down I-635 does nothing wrong. Is headed to church no less (at 5am). Suddenly, a hailstorm of bullets is unleashed on his car, and his training kicks in like an instinct to help treat the wounds. If you ask me, this sounds a little more like road rage. Maybe the two were racing and Davis' Impala won. Maybe Davis cut the other guy off (how likely is that really at 5am). Maybe a far more nefarious story is waiting to be unfolded, but, "I was just minding my own business driving home...I'm a victim," doesn't really add up for me.
Plus, this isn't the first time Davis has been shot. Back in 2003, just after Coach Parcells warned the team to stay out of trouble, Davis was involved in an incident at a strip club. Now, being a model citizen and church going boy, we know that Davis wasn't actually in the strip club. No, he was "picking up a friend" when a gun fight broke out. At that moment, Davis' quick thinking took over again as he moved to protect his "girlfriend" and he ended up shot in the elbow.
Maybe I've been around Papa too long, but when's the last time someone shot at you? I've been hunting with bunches of people. Been around guns all my life. Been around some crazy guys that should never be allowed to own a cap gun. I've never been shot. I've never even been shot at. This guy on the other hand seems to be a magnet for gunfire, and he's completely innocent.
hmmm...I kind of doubt it.
The Dallas Morning News reports that Dallas Cowboys safety Keith Davis was returning home from visiting friends and family in Shreveport, LA. He is reported to have been on his way to church since he had missed the week before and doesn't get to attend during the season. Based on the information available from the Dallas Morning News article, while driving down I-635, Davis' car was approached by a dark car with tinted windows. Someone from the other car opened fire on Davis' Impala hitting Davis in the thigh and grazing his head. Davis is happy to report of his corn rows, though, "...my braids still look good."
Apparently, Davis' training kicked in almost immediately and he applied pressure himself to his wounded leg. "As soon as I realized I got hit, I started applying pressure to the spot. I was a kinesiology major in college. I guess I learned something from all of those courses." I wish I'd been a kinesiology major in college. Now I'll be worried every time that I'm injured that I won't know how to respond.
Not to mention the fact that I'm going to have to start "pimping" in my truck for my own personal safety, "I was leaning quite a bit. If I had been sitting straight up, I might not be here." Who knew that laying your seat back is actually a safe way to drive?
I'm wondering if you are like me, and if you are suspicious of this story. A guy driving down I-635 does nothing wrong. Is headed to church no less (at 5am). Suddenly, a hailstorm of bullets is unleashed on his car, and his training kicks in like an instinct to help treat the wounds. If you ask me, this sounds a little more like road rage. Maybe the two were racing and Davis' Impala won. Maybe Davis cut the other guy off (how likely is that really at 5am). Maybe a far more nefarious story is waiting to be unfolded, but, "I was just minding my own business driving home...I'm a victim," doesn't really add up for me.
Plus, this isn't the first time Davis has been shot. Back in 2003, just after Coach Parcells warned the team to stay out of trouble, Davis was involved in an incident at a strip club. Now, being a model citizen and church going boy, we know that Davis wasn't actually in the strip club. No, he was "picking up a friend" when a gun fight broke out. At that moment, Davis' quick thinking took over again as he moved to protect his "girlfriend" and he ended up shot in the elbow.
Maybe I've been around Papa too long, but when's the last time someone shot at you? I've been hunting with bunches of people. Been around guns all my life. Been around some crazy guys that should never be allowed to own a cap gun. I've never been shot. I've never even been shot at. This guy on the other hand seems to be a magnet for gunfire, and he's completely innocent.
hmmm...I kind of doubt it.
Lukcy Update
So, Lucky stayed at an overnight clinic last Wednesday night and then spent all day with the vet on Thursday. Since he came home Thursday evening, he has not had any more seizures. He also not been himself, though.
He's getting a little better. At first he still acted as if he didn't know us. He paced the house non-stop and ran away when any of us got near. He wasn't interested in socializing at all which is very abnormal for Lucky. Additionally, he seemed to have forgotten the difference between inside and outside, creating a couple of messes for us to clean. Leah and I decided that we would give it through the weekend to see if he got back closer to normal.
As the weekend progressed he steadily improved, and last night he was trying to climb into my lap (like normal) to get some attention. He's also started responding to commands that he used to know like sit, down, kennel, etc. There are still a few things that concern me, though. I'm not convinced that he knows to do his business outside, he doesn't wag his tail (or even move it) anymore, he's still not interested in playing with his ball, and he doesn't make any vocalizations.
Previously, Lucky would whine when you didn't pay him enough attention, and he would bark like crazy when people walked behind our house on the trail. I haven't heard him make any noise for over a week now, and he doesn't seem to be at all concerned with strangers walking behind the house. Honestly, it concerns me that he's not barking, but it's also a relief that I don't have to listen to it.
Also, you could tell before when Lucky was losing interest in playing because he would stop holding his tail high, and of course, if he saw you from across the room he'd beat a hole in the wall with his wagging tail. Now he just carries it between his legs all the time.
Maybe it'll just take a few more days. We'll wait to see.
He's getting a little better. At first he still acted as if he didn't know us. He paced the house non-stop and ran away when any of us got near. He wasn't interested in socializing at all which is very abnormal for Lucky. Additionally, he seemed to have forgotten the difference between inside and outside, creating a couple of messes for us to clean. Leah and I decided that we would give it through the weekend to see if he got back closer to normal.
As the weekend progressed he steadily improved, and last night he was trying to climb into my lap (like normal) to get some attention. He's also started responding to commands that he used to know like sit, down, kennel, etc. There are still a few things that concern me, though. I'm not convinced that he knows to do his business outside, he doesn't wag his tail (or even move it) anymore, he's still not interested in playing with his ball, and he doesn't make any vocalizations.
Previously, Lucky would whine when you didn't pay him enough attention, and he would bark like crazy when people walked behind our house on the trail. I haven't heard him make any noise for over a week now, and he doesn't seem to be at all concerned with strangers walking behind the house. Honestly, it concerns me that he's not barking, but it's also a relief that I don't have to listen to it.
Also, you could tell before when Lucky was losing interest in playing because he would stop holding his tail high, and of course, if he saw you from across the room he'd beat a hole in the wall with his wagging tail. Now he just carries it between his legs all the time.
Maybe it'll just take a few more days. We'll wait to see.
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Apparently, He's Not So Lucky
What a crazy last few days! Our dog, Lucky, started having seizures Saturday night. Mom, Jeff, Katy, Logan, Leah, and I had all been up watching a movie and came back downstairs about midnight. Lucky had been outside, and when I went to bring him in, I realized that he had gotten out of an open gate. We found him in front of the house and brought him inside for bed.
Maybe 30 minutes later, he was lying on the floor in our bathroom, and I heard him making noise banging up next to the cabinets. I thought he was chasing a fly at first, but as the racket got worse our curiosity made us flip on the lights to see what was going on. By that time, Lucky was on the floor, rigid, and shaking; he was in the middle of his first seizure.
We didn't know what to do, but he stopped on his own after a couple of minutes. The next 20 minutes or so he spent walking in a circle in my bedroom, but it was like he didn't know where he was and couldn't see right because he kept running into stuff. Finally, he went to sleep and seemed fine the next morning. We all wondered if he had been dehydrated or had maybe gotten into something poisonous when he got out of the yard.
Nothing else happened during the day on Sunday, though, so we figured things were fine. That night, he slept in Abbie's room, and when we got up Monday morning there was dog poo all over her room. We just thought that was a little strange because he hasn't messed in the house in a very long time, and Lucky was his same old self at the time. Looking back, we believe that he seized during the night, lost control of himself, and walked through his mess during his disoriented pacing routine.
Later in the day, just after lunch actually, Lucky had another seizure. Leah called the vet and took him in for a look. They drew some blood, said they'd call with results, and sent him home. Silly us, we let him sleep in Abbie's room again with the same results as Sunday night: a huge mess to clean Tuesday morning. The only detail that was different was that Lucky was not at all himself. He wouldn't let any of us near him.
In the next couple of hours, while waiting for the vet to open, he seized one more time and continued to be very disoriented and shy of everyone. When we finally got the vet on the phone, they said that the blood work came back and that they could tell he had been having seizures. Love that wealth of information. Anyway, they prescribed Phenobarbital twice a day to get the seizures under control, and they said that we probably won't ever know what's causing the seizures.
Leah went and picked up the medicine and gave him his first dose yesterday morning. After that first dose, he had at least 4 more minor seizures, and he spent the rest of the day looking like he was stoned. He drooled uncontrollably and obviously had no idea where he was or who we were. By the time I got home it was obvious that something else needed to be done, so Leah called the after hours number for the vet.
We got a call back from a different vet at the clinic; the vet that we will be seeing from now on. He told us that there are 10 different things that can cause seizures in dogs. They can test for 8 of them with a blood test and that we know it's not one of those 8. The 8 being things like poison, nutritional issues, illness, etc. The other two being a brain tumor or epilepsy. Epilepsy is the most likely cause when the first 8 are ruled out, and there is no real test for that. The best they can do is treat the seizures with the medication that we started yesterday. If the medication didn't work, though, then we could look into tumors. He said, though, that epilepsy will present between 1 and 2 years of age (Lucky is right between those two) while tumors don't generally present until they over 5 or 6 years.
We learned more about this condition in a 10 minute phone conversation than we had gotten out of two visits to the other vet. Needless to say, we'll be seeing him from now on, but we still had to deal with the fact that Lucky was continuing to seize. The vet told us to go ahead and give him more medication right then and then another dose a few hours later at bedtime.
What a challenge. If you've ever tried to get a dog to take a pill, I'm sure you know how tough that can be a challenge in itself. Imagine trying to do that with a dog that doesn't know who you are, isn't interested in eating anything (so disguising it in cheese or peanut butter doesn't do you any good), and may have a seizure at any minute. It took both of us both times.
As far as I know, Lucky was up all night long drooling all over himself and having minor seizures, but at some point the medicine apparently started working. This morning he's very lethargic, but not as skittish, not drooling, and he actually went outside to relieve himself. Hopefully, we can get these medication worked out correctly to allow him to have a normal life, but we do still have a lot more information to find out.
If you want to read a more technical explanation of seizures in dogs, there's a good page on labradornet, or you can just do a google search. There is a lot of information out there.
UPDATE - 12:06pm - I just talked with Leah, and Lucky's apparent improvement only lasted a few hours this morning. He had another seizure midmorning and he's been pacing and drooling again the past hour or two. Leah called the vet again and they said that it may take a week or so for the Phenobarbital to get into his system enough to really be effective. For now, they are going to give us another emergency medication to use to make them stop for today.
The next few weeks we are going to really have to keep a close eye on him. If we can control this with medication, give Lucky a good quality of life, and not have unreasonable expenses, then I am all on board. If we can't have all of those, we're going to have to make some tough decisions. It's not fair for Lucky if we can't give him a good quality of life, and I'm not interested in having another car payment size expense right now. I've just told Leah that we have to draw some boundaries now so we don't get nickel and dimed to death and end up spending a small fortune. We'll just have to see how the next few weeks go.
UPDATE - 3:30pm - After two doses of the emergency medicine, Lucky continued to seize (and accidentally bit Leah as she was trying to give him his second dose), and his temperature got critically high. 106 is a bad situtaion, and his rose to 110. Leah rushed him to the vet, and I left work to meet her there.
They packed him in ice and gave him Phenobarbital through an IV along with some Valium. His temperature came down, and the drugs knocked him out. At least for now, the seizures have stopped. We're going to have to move him to an overnight clinic in an hour or so, and I'll be interested to see how they report on his progress through the night. If it really is just a matter of getting enough of the drugs in his system, then they say he should be fine in another day or so. If it's something else (something worse), then I'm not sure that we are in a position to continue to down this road much longer.
Maybe 30 minutes later, he was lying on the floor in our bathroom, and I heard him making noise banging up next to the cabinets. I thought he was chasing a fly at first, but as the racket got worse our curiosity made us flip on the lights to see what was going on. By that time, Lucky was on the floor, rigid, and shaking; he was in the middle of his first seizure.
We didn't know what to do, but he stopped on his own after a couple of minutes. The next 20 minutes or so he spent walking in a circle in my bedroom, but it was like he didn't know where he was and couldn't see right because he kept running into stuff. Finally, he went to sleep and seemed fine the next morning. We all wondered if he had been dehydrated or had maybe gotten into something poisonous when he got out of the yard.
Nothing else happened during the day on Sunday, though, so we figured things were fine. That night, he slept in Abbie's room, and when we got up Monday morning there was dog poo all over her room. We just thought that was a little strange because he hasn't messed in the house in a very long time, and Lucky was his same old self at the time. Looking back, we believe that he seized during the night, lost control of himself, and walked through his mess during his disoriented pacing routine.
Later in the day, just after lunch actually, Lucky had another seizure. Leah called the vet and took him in for a look. They drew some blood, said they'd call with results, and sent him home. Silly us, we let him sleep in Abbie's room again with the same results as Sunday night: a huge mess to clean Tuesday morning. The only detail that was different was that Lucky was not at all himself. He wouldn't let any of us near him.
In the next couple of hours, while waiting for the vet to open, he seized one more time and continued to be very disoriented and shy of everyone. When we finally got the vet on the phone, they said that the blood work came back and that they could tell he had been having seizures. Love that wealth of information. Anyway, they prescribed Phenobarbital twice a day to get the seizures under control, and they said that we probably won't ever know what's causing the seizures.
Leah went and picked up the medicine and gave him his first dose yesterday morning. After that first dose, he had at least 4 more minor seizures, and he spent the rest of the day looking like he was stoned. He drooled uncontrollably and obviously had no idea where he was or who we were. By the time I got home it was obvious that something else needed to be done, so Leah called the after hours number for the vet.
We got a call back from a different vet at the clinic; the vet that we will be seeing from now on. He told us that there are 10 different things that can cause seizures in dogs. They can test for 8 of them with a blood test and that we know it's not one of those 8. The 8 being things like poison, nutritional issues, illness, etc. The other two being a brain tumor or epilepsy. Epilepsy is the most likely cause when the first 8 are ruled out, and there is no real test for that. The best they can do is treat the seizures with the medication that we started yesterday. If the medication didn't work, though, then we could look into tumors. He said, though, that epilepsy will present between 1 and 2 years of age (Lucky is right between those two) while tumors don't generally present until they over 5 or 6 years.
We learned more about this condition in a 10 minute phone conversation than we had gotten out of two visits to the other vet. Needless to say, we'll be seeing him from now on, but we still had to deal with the fact that Lucky was continuing to seize. The vet told us to go ahead and give him more medication right then and then another dose a few hours later at bedtime.
What a challenge. If you've ever tried to get a dog to take a pill, I'm sure you know how tough that can be a challenge in itself. Imagine trying to do that with a dog that doesn't know who you are, isn't interested in eating anything (so disguising it in cheese or peanut butter doesn't do you any good), and may have a seizure at any minute. It took both of us both times.
As far as I know, Lucky was up all night long drooling all over himself and having minor seizures, but at some point the medicine apparently started working. This morning he's very lethargic, but not as skittish, not drooling, and he actually went outside to relieve himself. Hopefully, we can get these medication worked out correctly to allow him to have a normal life, but we do still have a lot more information to find out.
If you want to read a more technical explanation of seizures in dogs, there's a good page on labradornet, or you can just do a google search. There is a lot of information out there.
UPDATE - 12:06pm - I just talked with Leah, and Lucky's apparent improvement only lasted a few hours this morning. He had another seizure midmorning and he's been pacing and drooling again the past hour or two. Leah called the vet again and they said that it may take a week or so for the Phenobarbital to get into his system enough to really be effective. For now, they are going to give us another emergency medication to use to make them stop for today.
The next few weeks we are going to really have to keep a close eye on him. If we can control this with medication, give Lucky a good quality of life, and not have unreasonable expenses, then I am all on board. If we can't have all of those, we're going to have to make some tough decisions. It's not fair for Lucky if we can't give him a good quality of life, and I'm not interested in having another car payment size expense right now. I've just told Leah that we have to draw some boundaries now so we don't get nickel and dimed to death and end up spending a small fortune. We'll just have to see how the next few weeks go.
UPDATE - 3:30pm - After two doses of the emergency medicine, Lucky continued to seize (and accidentally bit Leah as she was trying to give him his second dose), and his temperature got critically high. 106 is a bad situtaion, and his rose to 110. Leah rushed him to the vet, and I left work to meet her there.
They packed him in ice and gave him Phenobarbital through an IV along with some Valium. His temperature came down, and the drugs knocked him out. At least for now, the seizures have stopped. We're going to have to move him to an overnight clinic in an hour or so, and I'll be interested to see how they report on his progress through the night. If it really is just a matter of getting enough of the drugs in his system, then they say he should be fine in another day or so. If it's something else (something worse), then I'm not sure that we are in a position to continue to down this road much longer.
Sunday, July 09, 2006
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
Friday, June 30, 2006
Saturday, July 1, 2006
Sunday, July 2, 2006
Monday, July 3, 2006
Tuesday, July 4, 2006
Friday, July 07, 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.
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. :)
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. :)
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
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.
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.
Saturday, June 24, 2006
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."
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