Alice in Training

Alice began her training for our next backpacking trip a few weeks ago. Here are some pics of her wearing her saddlebags. I figured if I am going to be hauling gear up the mountain then she can help and carry some stuff as well. I am currently training her with empty bags until she gets used to wearing them. I will slowly add weight as the training progressess. We have gone on several runs and walks with them and she is doing great. I am supposed to train her to like them by having her wear them while doing things she enjoys. So walks, fetch and runs seem to be doing the job. Now everytime I get her "pack" out and show it to her she gets excited and is ready to get moving.

Montana's Baptism

Montana - my 10-year old nephew - has been talking to my brother about baptism and he decided he wanted to be baptised on Sunday. What a great day! When David asked him if he knew what it meant to be baptised Montana answered, "Yes, to remove my sins". David then asked him "What sins?" and Montana said "All of them".

"Jesus said, Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."

Matthew 19:14

Summer Activities

Well it has been a while since I last updated. I have been blessed enough to have a really fun summer and have been able to enjoy a host of activities with a lot of my good friends and family. I am way to lazy to go back and add a lot of pics so here is a quick look at the end of my summer that included: Schlitterbahn, kayaking the Frio River, Camp Creek, spearfishing in the Gulf, Habitat for Humanity, dove hunting and wake surfing.

Dove hunting with my nephews.

Dad and his grandsons dove hunting.
Dove hunting with Alice.
Montana shooting skeet.

Zachary shooting skeet.
Working with Habitat for Humanity.
Our spearfishing bounty. We shot over 30 fish while scuba diving.
We were baiting this 46" ling in so we could spearfish it but it took the bait so I caught it on a rod. It is the biggest fish I have ever caught.
Montana and football practice.
At Schlitterbahn with all four of my nephews.

Swimming with the Wims

Last weekend I spent some time in Houston and finished the weekend off swimming at the Wims' house with the Hanna's, the Wims and Kathryn and Kaitlyn.
Callie loved playing "water horse". I would swim under the water while she rode on my back.

Callie and her daddy sharing a laugh.
Kaitlyn and Callie on the diving board.

Me and Callie.
Jack
Jumping off the board with Zeke. I would jump then throw him in the air really high. He thought it was "awesome".
Me and Jack.

Kathryn, Lisa and Jenny.

Sunset at COTH

I have been at Camp of the Hills serving as a cook all week. It is always fun to come back and work at a place that has so many great memories. From being a counselor here in 1996 to taking weekend trips, Spring Break work weeks and AFC retreats. Everytime I turn around at COTH I have a different memory of great friends and great times. One of the best things to do at COTH is sit on the back porch and watch the sunsets. Tonight was another great showing of God's beauty. I am always reminded of Psalms 19 when I am at camp - "The heavens declare the glory of God, the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Enjoy!

This was the first pic.

This one was only taken about five minutes later. Isn't the color change amazing.

Camp Creek

Two weekends ago I went out to Hogan's cabin at Camp Creek with Jeremy, Stacey, David and Sarah. Of course we took the dogs. Alice did great swimming around. She slept for days afterward because she was so tired.

Me and Alice on the jet ski.

Alice exiting the jet ski. She didn't like it very much.
Alice swimming.
Jeremy and Stacey floating. This is what we did the most.
Me and Jeremy going for a ride.

Mountain Campout

My brother and I took the two-mile trail up to Frist Meadows on Elk Creek on Thursday. We camped on the banks of the river, caught and ate trout for dinner spent the night at about 9,500 feet. It was a great trip that we are planning to take again but we will definitely stay for a longer time next time we come.

A view of camp on the banks of Elk Creek at First Meadows.


On the trail.
Me and David on the trail with the meadow behind us.
This was our first-ever view of First Meadow. When we saw it we were so excited. It was absolutely gorgeous.
Crossing the river to get to the campsite.












Preparing potatoes for dinner.
Checking the fish. We had brooke and rainbow trout.
My brother his plate of potatoes and fish.
A view of the meadow from camp. We were at the east end of the meadow.
Me and my brother at the trailhead at the end of the trip.