vacation

So, I just got back from California.

It was a lovely trip, and sunburn notwithstanding, I'm not sure how it could have been better.

Mom and Dad at Moss Landing State Beach

We started on the the coast, a little bit south of San Francisco. Moss Landing is between Santa Cruz and Monterey. It's right on the water, and fishing is BIG business here. Maybe that's why the food at our lunch spot was so good. We ate at Phil's Fish Market, and oh my land I could eat there everyday. They WON Throwdown with Bobby Flay, and I think we all know why. I would fly out there now, just to eat there again.

Phil's Fish Market: hard to find, but easy to eat their awesome food.

The next day we went to San Francisco. And we outdid ourselves on the tourist agenda. Not to mention we took my Auntie Carolyn with us. Carolyn is 80, but she's incredibly fun to be around. I had a great day seeing the sights, and hanging out with her.

Dad, Auntie Carolyn, and Mom at Pier 39

We went to Pier 39, ate Chowder in a Sourdough Bread bowl, and the took a driving tour around the city.

The Golden Gate bridge, socked in by fog.

We went over to the ocean, and the Cliff House. From there I could look down the coast where the boardwalk used to be. Now, it's all been developed into housing.

Where the ocean meets the city of San Francisco.

Then my dad drove us up over Twin Peaks, and because the fog had started to burn off we could see the whole city.

San Francisco, as seen from Twin Peaks.

San Francisco

Then we drove through the city, and after some shopping we drove down Lombard St.

The Cable Car that was dropping people off at the top of Lombard.

Going down Lombard: the crookedest street in America.

What a great day!

The next day we took a drive through the Napa valley, and saw all the vineyards and wineries. It was beautiful, and a relaxing day for everyone except Dad, because he drove. :)

Since our time in the bay area was done, we drove up the coast to Mendocino. Even though there was a music festival going on, we had a nice time walking around the town and looking at all the little shops there.

Mendocino coastline

Then we drove a little bit more, and stayed in Ft. Bragg for the next day. On the north coast it was gray and overcast, but that made the weather really cool and nice. It was a welcome change from the heat of the Napa Valley the day before.

The rocky beaches of Ft. Bragg.

We didn't do much in Ft. Bragg. We looked around the town, slept in, and Mom and I went hunting Sea Glass down at Glass Beach. Here's Mom with her treasures, coming back over the "difficult access".

And here's me, in front of the rocks and water.

And a fun time was had by all. :)
K

wedding

Hanna dancing with her Dad, my Uncle Mike.

Yesterday I went to a wedding.

My Mom's brother, Uncle Mike, married off his oldest daughter. And it actually was his first child to get married.

We all had a lovely time, and the two little boys were very well behaved.

My nephew Noah, dancing with Bernadette.

Hanna talking with my Dad.

In the past, there has been some family drama. (Isn't there always???) But yesterday was lovely. Everybody had a great time, everybody got along, and everybody had a great time with the rest of the family.

The Bride and Groom: Hanna and Louis.

Now, look at this next picture, and tell me that Hanna and my sister don't look like they could be sisters themselves. It's shocking!!! Angie and I look nothing alike, yet Angie and her cousin look SO much alike it is crazy. As Uncle Mike said, "It's all in the Genes."

Hanna and Louis with my sister.

Mary and Drew dancing. (He's the 3 year-old!)

My two nephews, dancing with their cousins, the bride's sisters.

I asked Noah (the 7 year-old) if he had a good time at the wedding yesterday. His response?
"Yes. It was really fun. (pause) Especially the dancing."

And a good time was had by all.
K :)

Lincoln, Nebraska

Where has the summer gone???

This is the big news of the summer so far:
2 weeks ago, about 70 of us hopped in several identical 12-passenger vans and went to Lincoln, Nebraska. There is a baby church there, and our church here in the springs wanted to support them. So, we went and did our WHOLE Vacation Bible Experience (VBX) at their church. And, we had about 6 or 8 guys that did construction or repair work around their church while the rest of us did VBX.
It was really a great week.

There were about 140 kids total that came, and only about 25 or 30 of those are affiliated with their church in Lincoln, so the rest came from the neighborhoods and community centers around there. There were 50 kids that made a decision for Christ that week, so that in itself was worth the trip. My mom went, and helped with the cooking, and it was fun to have her there, even though we only saw each other about 5 minutes a day.

Painting

Getting ready for VBX

Construction on the ceiling of their Gym

Evening service with our group, me playing the drum

Group Picture!

I had a fantastic trip, and I'm glad we went. It was worth it to encourage the Lincoln church, and most of all to see lots of lives changed for Christ.

dad

So, I guess I've been on a "break".

I wasn't really meaning to, but school ended with me being sick and then after getting over that for a week or two it was time for VBX and I've been working that like crazy this week. Next week we pack and get ready, for the next week where we take the whole kit-and-kaboodle to Lincoln, Nebraska to put it on at a church plant there. It will be a great trip (my MOM is going!) but will cause some work nonetheless.

Anyway, sorry I've been away. I didn't mean to ignore you, but I didn't want to cough in your face...

:)

OK, now for the real topic of discussion today. My dad is awesome.

I know, I know, Father's Day is coming up, and we SHOULD be talking about Dad and how great he is. Except that my dad really is.
Here's a picture:

 This is Dad and Mom at The Broadmoor on their 40th anniversary. Isn't that tender, that they've been married forever? You may recall that we might or might not be allowed back at the Broadmoor, due to an unfortunate incident in the ladies. I wrote about it here. If you click on it, get a tissue because it is FUNNY.

One thing I love about my dad is that he did such a great job of raising 2 girls. I truly believe that a lot of the good qualities I have come from my dad. From his great example, his patient correction, his teaching me to drive a stick, to everything else.

This picture is of my sister (on the right) and myself (on the left) when we were young. We both turned out pretty great, if I do say so myself.

I used to live a ways away from my family, and for 14 years I only saw them once or twice a year. But now I live in the same town, and I consider that a blessing. We belong to the same church, and we have family lunch on most Sundays. This last Christmas we went up to the mountains for a week of together-ness. That might have been a bit much, but we all still love each other. And more importantly, we still talk to each other.

This picture is my dad in his natural habitat: with the dog on his lap.

Just wanted to say how much I love you dad,and what a fantastic dad you are.

Thank you,
K

the hair dryer

I would just like to take a moment and say that I am not really looking forward to the weather this summer. For the past week, it has been really dry, and kind-of hot here. But, this is only the first week of June, and the "summer" hasn't officially even started yet. What is it going to be like in the middle of July?

I am not looking forward to living in a hair dryer this summer. I'm going to start doing a rain dance right now...
K

tower of blocks

When my oldest nephew was about 3, his favorite thing to do was to build a huge tower of building blocks (taller than him!) and then knock it down. Now, he could build the tower, or you could build the tower, but he was going to be the one knocking it down! For a few years I was his regular babysitter, so I built lots of these block towers, and then picked then up again. But this could go on forever. He never tired of knocking down that tower, and watching it fall all over the floor.

Recently I have felt like I was under that tower as it fell all over me. Like everything came crashing down. Now, don't get concerned. I'm no heading off to Nepal to find myself, nor am I going on the "eat, pray, love" tour. But I do feel like I've been toppled over.

I think that the end of school, and having more on my plate than usual at work, and then getting really sick, and feeling obliged to go to the graduation parties and graduation ceremonies of all my graduating seniors in Youth Group has put a little pressure on. But, I've missed a bunch of that because I got a nasty cold that almost immediately turned into bronchitis. On Friday I should have been at our school's graduation, but I was at the doctor. Today I have 2 grad parties that I really want to go to, but I'm home taking my inhaler.

Really, there's no happy ending here. I'm sick and have to deal with it. I have missed several obligations, and still have work to do at school, but life goes on. I guess the end of this story is that I have to crawl out from under these blocks and go on.

And I will.

Thanks for listening...
K

spider

Today in my class:
Student: (while I was speaking) There's a spider!
Me: Go get it! 
Student: (brave 6th grade boy) OK, what should I do with it?
Me: STEP ON IT!!! (much volume)
Him: OK, I've got it. Wait...it's still moving.
Me: STEP ON IT AGAIN!!!!! (more volume)
Him: OK, it's dead. Now what do I do?
Me: (Much less volume) Go get, like, 12 Kleenex and pick it up. Then throw it in the trash. But, please make sure it is dead first.

Oh if you could have been there... you would have laughed SO hard at me.

I'm just sayin'...
K

performances

Today I went to a concert. It was the spring concert of a youth orchestra here in town. Several of my students play in this group and had invited me to come  listen.

I really enjoyed it. The music was great, and the kids did a fantastic job playing. Now it was not perfect, and in fact, it was far from it. There were notes that were missed. There were people who played out of tune. There were wrong rhythms.

But, the important thing, the thing that made me smile was not the correct-ness of the notes, or the percentage of playing that was in tune. It was the fact that these kids were doing it! They had practiced, they had worked on the music, they had worked together, and now they were performing.

The thing that makes music special is that very thing - the doing of it that bring us together as people. It's the thing that leads us into a relationship with others. It's the working together. It's the cooperation we find in each measure that makes those performances special.

May you find, or continue in, something that gives you that same experience. The practice, the cooperation, the rehearsal, the performance.

Way to go PYO! Great job today!
K

the changing of the guard

Today is the big wedding. William and Kate got married this morning, with all the pomp and circumstance that an occasion like this requires. This morning I did not get up at 2am to watch said event, but I do remember getting up with my Mom 30 years ago to watch Diana and Charles get married. If it didn't involve that special 2am time, I probably would have gotten up to see at least some of it, but I am pooped. Just could not make it out of bed that early, and still work today.

I've seen the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, and it is pretty impressive. Today marks a big change in the line of succession for the British monarchy. It also happens to mark that we only have 4 weeks of school left. This, I am celebrating! I feel the changing of the seasons, even though we are in the middle of Spring, and Summer is officially a long way off. We are starting to talk about the things we are going to do this summer, such as planning for trips, and making lists of supplies for VBX at church.

I love that feeling of having something to look forward to - something to anticipate. I love the eagerly waiting before a trip or vacation, of seeing if it meets or exceeds what I have been expecting. I also love anticipating summer vacation. But I am also acutely aware that this means that time is passing as well. Time is fleeting, and flying by faster than I can handle sometimes.

I'm not sure that I am taking advantage of the time that I have, or if I am using my time wisely. As I get older, it occurs to me that time really is precious, and if I'm not making the most of what I have then I'm not being a good steward. Good stewardship applies to time, and not just money. Just as we should carefully consider how we use our money, we should carefully consider how we use our time.

I sure wish I had known or realized this when I was younger, and had more time! As I get older, and hopefully wiser, I realize how valuable time really is, and how my decisions about time matter.

Here's to the changing of the guard, and the seasons, and life...
K

the end of an era

Yesterday, my Auntie Crystal died. Well, techincally, she is my mom's aunt, more accurately my mom's mom's sister.

This is me, Auntie Crystal, and my cousin Kasey, taken on a trip out to CA a couple years ago. We are standing in Shuberts (look them up!) in Chico, CA and it's the ice cream and candy store that Uncle Charles and Auntie Crystal ran for a bajillion years. Really, I don't know how many, but I do know that in 1938 it was started by Charles' Uncle Leonard Shubert, and then Charles and Crystal ran it forever, and now their son, my uncle Chuck owns it, and his son Nate actually runs it. My mom worked there when she was in college!

Anyway, Crystal's sister, Grandma Annie passed away a couple years ago, and Grandpa Glen passed away a couple years before that, so Crystal was the last of that generation who was still around. She was 92 when she died.

Even after Grandma Annie and Grandpa Glen passed away, I could still talk to Auntie Crystal. And she was SHARP! She remembered tons of things, and was very active, even up to a couple months before she passed away. This is not a great picture, but it's me and Auntie Crystal playing cards. And I recall that she beat me several times. I blame mom for the bad photography...

Auntie Crystal and Grandma Annie had a great relationship. They were friends, lived in the same town for, like 50 years, and raised their kids together. Now that they are gone, I realize what a blessing it is to have that kind of familiy relationships. My sister Angie and I have always had a good relationship, but now that we are adults, it really is great. This morning I got up at 3am to take Angie and Dan and the boys to the airport. Here they are all ready to go (at 4:30am!):

I am grateful for the richness of my family, and the deep history I have gotten from them. I am grateful for the experience growing up with Grandpas and Grandmas, and aunts and uncles, and the weighty respect I have for their generation.

I'll close today's family thoughts with a couple more pictures. This one was taken in the summer of 1926. Crystal is on the right, and Grandma Annie is in the middle (in the crib). Their sister Gracie is on the left.

This one is the same 3 sisters many, many years later. Crystal is on the left, and Grandma Annie is on the right.

Goodbye Auntie Crystal. Miss you already.
K