Me and Larry

Ok, I put this picture on my twitter yesterday but someone told me I was a "scaredy cat" for not posting it on the blog.

So here it is, my brush with greatness at Silver Dollar City.



I must admit, it kind of scared me to see Bob and Larry with arms and legs. Maybe that's just me.

And by the way, I sure am glad they didn't get a picture of me hugging them both. Now that would be embarrassing.

God of My World

Check out the new project from the Evangel Creative Arts Team called "God of My World." They'll be working on it over the next several weeks. You can even pre-order your copy here.

And I hear if you hurry you may even get it for free.

Pizza for dinner?

Last night we got back from Silver Dollar City pretty late. So we started getting everyone cleaned up ready to eat some dinner. (We couldn't bear the thought of eating another meal inside the park. Talk about crazy prices!)

After taking a shower and sitting down we come to the conclusion that we don't really want to leave again to eat. It would be better for the kids and everyone else if we just ordered something in.

So we decide on pizza. Easy right? Not so fast.

We decide to go with Pizza Hut. After looking on our GPS device and the internet we finally give Pizza Hut a call. Only it's not Pizza Hut anymore. It seems that Pizza Hut has gone out of business and another pizza place has their old number. But we're not sure we want to get pizza from there. So I call someone else, find out their specials and hang up. I repeat this with every pizza place in Branson.

45 minutes later we've decided to go with Domino's because we think it's the closest to where we are. So Tom and I get in the van and head out to pick the pizza up. (It's now been over an hour since we started this adventure.)

On the drive we pass two of the pizza places that were "farther" away from us.

About an hour and a half later we get back to the condo to eat pizza with some very hungry kids and wives.

Oh, it was Domino's pizza by the way.

Vacation Day 3

Here are the pics from Day 3 of the BIG vacation.

The view of Tablerock Lake from our balcony


Now back to Silver Dollar City.

First, Caden had the opportunity to milk a cow


We took a ride on the Lost River


And we got a little wet


Don't look in that hole!


And Crystal gave some Hoola-hoop lessons before we left, and I must say...she's pretty good. (That's her in the yellow shirt.)






Tomorrow is our next travel day. We meet some more people in Springfield then we start the long trip back home.

Also, tomorrow...I'll tell you about our dinner tonight. (Unless you've been reading my twitter.)

Vacation Day 2

Well we made it through a day of Silver Dollar City. Fun stuff, here are some pics:

Starting out in jail


Riding some roller coasters




Caden was able to find some rides




Never know who'll you run into




They wanted to go home


We'll do it again tomorrow.....

Vacation Day 1

Here are some pics from the first day of our big vacation this year. We met some friends of ours and rented a condo on Table Rock lake for the week.

Here is a pic of Tom and Kenda:


Here we are in the van ready to go!



Alexis found a wild pig from the Ozarks!



What's a trip to Branson without a little mini-golf?



Today we brave Silver Dollar City. Should be fun.

Happy Birthday

Happy 33rd Birthday to my wife Crystal.



I love you.

Around Town

Last weekend Crystal's brother Eric, his wife Stephanie and their daughter Elly all came to Wichita for a quick visit. So we spent time on Monday afternoon hanging out around downtown.

What is there to see? Well everyone needs to see the Keeper of the Plains. So we had some fun along the Arkansas river. (That's pronounced R Kansas)

Here are some pics:

This is a picture looking up at the Keeper of the Plains:


Alexis and Caden in front of the river:


Quick Shot of Downtown:


Everyone leaving:


And Eric also brought this game with him and I think I'm addicted now.

Thank You Very Much

Yesterday I was at the funeral of a World War II veteran. He was part of the D-Day invasion way back in 1944. He served under the command of General Patton. The burial had the full 21 gun salute, playing of taps and the folding/presentation of the flag to the family. I have to admit that it was really cool.

But during the funeral itself one of the grandkids talked about her memories of her Grandpa. She said he would sometimes talk about his experience in the war and explain to his grandkids and great-grandkids that he hoped his sacrifice and service would keep any of his family from seeing the same things he saw in the war.

I started to think about what he went through in the European conflict. What he saw, what he experienced. I've seen movies like "Saving Private Ryan" but I can't really imagine what he went through.

So at the grave-site service while the Army was doing their presentation it hit me that he did all that for me. I didn't have to go to a far off land to fight. I didn't have to leave my family and friends. I was never drafted. I've never gone through that type of conflict. My generation has benefited from all of their service.

And I am grateful.

I don't want to forget what all of the servicemen and women have done for me. And I know there are tons of deep spiritual applications here. But at that moment it was simple. I was grateful. Grateful to all of those who have served in my place. Those that have served before to make our country what it is today.

So I want to say thank you. Thank you very much. You are appreciated.

Where have I been?

Wow, it's been a little while since I've updated the blog. I'll be back soon...I promise.

And really, I have no excuse.

Speak Clearly

Be careful that you speak clearly.

Grocery Store

I was sent on an errand yesterday to pick up a Sunday paper. Pretty inexpensive trip right?

Well not for me. I can't seem to go to the grocery store and just walk out with one thing. It's almost a sickness.

So back to the trip yesterday. With my daughter with me, we called home to see if there was anything else we needed. Come to find out we really needed some more milk. So we headed back to the dairy isle for milk. On our way to the back we passed a great deal on Gatorade which I couldn't pass up.

So now we're carrying a newspaper, two half gallons of milk and five Gatorade bottles. Luckily we found a shopping cart in the back of the store to help with the load.

On the way back to the front of the store we passed something called a "Baseball snack pack" which my daughter really needed for her softball practice later in the day.

It was time to leave I decided. A simple trip to the store had turned into something a little more. So we headed up to the checkout. And then I saw it. Something I just knew I needed. The official Kansas Jayhawk National Championship DVD. With the commercial free broadcast of the championship game. Plus it has both semi-final games as well! So I can watch Kansas beat UNC anytime I want!



But there's a problem. There are no copies in the display. What will I do? How can I go on?

Luckily I found a copy laying by the check-out registers. So I knew it had to be fate. I put it in the cart and checked out.

So, long story long. I am not allowed to go to the grocery store on my own again. It's just too dangerous. A simple $1.50 trip turns into something a whole lot more.