Beauty & The...

Halloween Night came and went...and Hannah dressed up as Belle from Disney's Beauty & The Beast. I dressed in all black along with a cape and long black wig. I don't know what I was, but it was weird. And it was a windy night! Well, it's over now, and Diane says that if it's like this next year, we'll dress as Eskimos.

We went over to my mom's to trick or treat (since only mom will give Diane and I any candy!) and I got to scare my little nephews...apparently Spiderman fears the big hairy thing that was Uncle Kevin!

By The Bay...

My folks had to cancel their trip to a "beach" cabin at Netarts Bay near Tillamook this weekend... so Diane, Hannah, & I went instead! Michaela had to work and had school monday, so she didn't come unfortunately...and Hannah...well, it's only first grade! So, we headed out, and arrived before dusk on Saturday, and I must say; it's a nice place. Small, quite, with a woodstove to keep us warm, and a full kitchen. I tell, you, sunday was friggin' cold on the bay! We went down for a walk, but had to come back, as the wind blew Hannah away! Thank God for the woodstove, and plenty of wood (yes Dyke, I chopped more!). We (mostly Diane) cooked chicken soup, tuna surprise, pancakes, cinnamon rolls, and cookies. We went out for oysters and clams. It was very peaceful, except for one thing; Hannah. A 6 year old just doesn't understand relaxation. It was literally every 2 minutes on Sunday that she complained about the quiet and "being bored". Grrrr... but we enjoyed it anyway, and on the way back monday, since we were going through Tillamook, we stopped at the Tillamook Cheese Factory. Neither of the girls had ever been, so it was really fun for them. Hannah was especially excited, being the little mouse that she is. She had more than her fair share of cheese tasters, and still had room for Root Beer Float ice cream! Much fun, but I'm certainly glad to be home, although Hannah isn't feeling very well...too much cheese?

Foggy Ball!

Hannah had a 9 O'clock soccer game this morning...and you couldn't see from one goal to the other! The fog hadn't rolled out yet, but they played their little hearts out...it may have been from the fact that it was the only way to stay warm though. Hannah played on a team with Claire, Sydney, Collin, and the "secret" crush, Winston. Lots of scoring by both teams, and Hannah scored at least 3 of 'em! "Two in a row!" was her cry at one point. She rocks.

The Mercy Project

So we played Grace Lutheran Church in Vancouver, WA. There weren't very many people there, but we rocked. We played for about 45 minutes for the youth group there. A few original songs, but mostly covers and worship tunes. We rocked in a version of Nothing But The Blood that Brandon had come up with, but the slapping on the bass actually caused his hand to bleed! So we wrapped it up with one more song, and ended the set for the night. We're on backup for playing the Annex this fall, so that might pan out. Other than that, it's just (just, right, it's everything!) playing as the worship band for LGPC youth.

LGPC Harvest Fest!

Sunday night was Lake Grove Presbyterian Church's Harvest Fest. It was lots of fun; there was all sorts of games outside under the bigtop: tic tac toe, jousting, those hammer-to-show-your-strength thingy's, and a bouncie house. There was more, but I didn't get to them. Inside was the food - BBQ ribs and bratwurst, hot dogs, coleslaw, baked beans, even brownies and ice cream! The Mercy Project played live music (I'm drumming for them now) and Danny Ray did his amazing illusion show...which just about creeps me out everytime I see it! After this was all over, the High Schoolers went upstairs for some personal time with Danny, and lo and behold, the youth group from Columbia Presbyterian was there!
Good times, especially when James performed an Ashley Simpson song!

Hannah: Soccer & Singing

So Hannah has been playing her little soccer-heart out on saturdays, and I finally got some good photos of it! She and her team, the Dominators, rock...they didn't score yesterday, but they played hard! Even when Marcus from the other team (the Dragons) kept kicking players on her team on purpose, they were in it!
Hannah sang with the Joy Choir at Lake Grove Presbyterian Church this morning. Actually, all of the choirs sang this morning! It was commissioning sunday for the Music Ministry today. The band of High Schoolers that I work with, The Mercy Project, will be playing later today at the church's Harvest Fest. Look for that story in the near future!

Homecoming!

Lake Oswego High had their Homecoming Dance last night, and Michaela went with Peaslee (Sam) and a whole gaggle of their friends. Diane, Hannah, & I held a table at the Old Spaghetti Factory for them, and then went home, leaving the young and beautiful people to their dinner, and then to their dance. Michaela slept until about 4 this afternoon, so it must have been a good time!

Fish Co

I was testing the new camera with the kids...they're a rowdy bunch.

NYWC 2006 Con't...

Got more pics! So the second night, I caught the band Nevertheless on the small stage. They rocked. The Mercy Project is better though (shameless plug). I got tired and left between bands, then joined Jim for brats down on 6th street...on the way there, ran into the guys from Nevertheless. That was cool. Saturday afternoon, we (all youth workers) were treated to lunch at Stubb's BBQ for free! There was even live music, courtesy of...hmmm...I've got the card somewhere...but it was way cool. Hillary, Angela, and Vick from First Pres Portland joined us. Today Building 429 played a set after a seminar, and then there was a 1000 Foot Crutch & Kutless concert that Jenn, Lucien, and I were front row for. That was cool. There was even some real moshing (not just the jump-up-and-down that Christians like) and crowd surfing. Between the concerts, Lucien and I wandered the streets to find the Stevie Ray Vaughan Memorial by the river. I had to be a little touristy! Well, no brats tonight as Best Wurst is closed. It's sad. We have one more day, and then we'll fly home tomorrow night. Merry Christmas to all, and to all: A Good Night!

You Want Me To Do WHAT?!: Part Two

You Want Me To Eat WHAT?! strikes back, as Charlie gives 7th graders Carter & Paige coffee grounds to digest...just 3 spoonfuls, but OH! what a ride! Carter was disqualified when he was the first to blow chunks... Paige won for the girls, making it 2 - 0 girls. this was, of course, followed by many jumps off of the couch by the sarasaraanna brigade.

NYWC 2006

So Jim, Kathleen, Lucien, Jenn, & I from Lake Grove Presbyterian flew down to Austin, Texas for the National Youth Workers Convention Thursday. It's several thousand youth workers and classes, concerts, free stuff, and lots of ipod giveaways. Ryan Caldwell also joined us from Joplin, Missouri. He and I went to the Vicky Beeching concert last night, and then all of us caught The David Crowder*Band and Kendall Payne today at the big General Session. Hillary from First Pres in Portland and I skipped classes this afternoon to watch the Twins error play after play to get swept in the series. Ryan & Jim get beds, and I sleep on the floor. Last night, the 2 of them had races with the Sleep Number Beds to see who could get it to 100 first. Ryan won narrowly. Jim slaughtered on reaching 0 again though. What can I say; we were tired. It's after midnight local time now, so as I get cool pics, I'll post more.