Remember

Every year on Memorial Day, Millersport holds a parade with a color guard, American Legion members, the high school band, and a bunch of children on decorated bikes (they also hold a bike decorating contest). The parade goes from the elementary school down to the canal, makes a loop, and stops while the American Legion members shoot a volley over the canal. Then the parade resumes back up the street and turns back to the cemetery, where the band plays the National Anthem, one of the local pastors gives a speech, Taps is played, and the American Legion members fire another volley. This was my year to give the speech; below is the text of my speech.

In my upbringing, Memorial Day meant a few things. Primarily, it meant the running of the Indianapolis 500. It also meant picnics and firing up the grill, maybe for the first time of the year. For many, this is the weekend of big sales, and it’s the last gasp of Spring before Summer hits – school children are already thinking about summer break and Memorial Day always meant the end of school.

None of these things are bad. The Indy 500 is a great race. There are great sales this weekend. It’s always great to spend time with your family and friends and to get outside and enjoy a long weekend. And the end of a school year and the beginning of summer are all great things to celebrate.

But the difficulty is that when we take Memorial Day over for all of these purposes, then we dilute and forget the true reason for the observance. I’m convinced that much of our culture has a very short memory. We spend our school careers cramming as much last minute information into our brains, hoping we remember it the next day for the test, and then, once we’ve finished the test, we jettison it all. One question I asked all the time as a student, and never understood until college, was “How does this affect me?” I lived under the incorrect assumption that history was just a bunch of stories, some of which were inspirational and encouraging, others of which were embarrassing and discouraging, but really just a bunch of stories about dead people, and that those stories didn’t have any bearing on me.

How wrong I was.

Our history is vitally important for us to remember. In Reason and Common Sense, the first volume in his five-volume work, The Life of Reason, the philosopher George Santayana writes: Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness. When change is absolute there remains no being to improve, and no direction is set for possible improvement: and when experience is not retained, as among savages, infancy is perpetual. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

All we need to do is look in the mirror to understand that change is the only constant in the world. I cannot go back in time. I will never be the age I was yesterday. I cannot change what happened in the past. However, this does not mean I can just forget the past. Do we want to have to fight the same fights our forefathers fought, or do we want our children to have to fight those same battles?

Unfortunately our culture has a very short memory.

Today we remember those who have given their lives in service to our country in the United States Armed Forces. As we remember them, we celebrate the freedom they fought for, the freedom that we have to spend this weekend the way we want to, the freedom to gather together, and even the freedom to ignore the sacrifices made on our behalf. If we do not remember these things, we could easily end up giving away the freedom they fought for. We can too easily slip into the attitude of “let someone else do it” or “let someone else pay for it” forgetting that everyone gets to choose whether to be part of the solution or part of the problem. But we too easily forget.

Today as we reflect on the sacrifices made on our behalf, remember to remember. In the Bible, the word “remember” is found over 166 times. In Genesis, after the flood, God provides a rainbow so that Noah will always remember the covenant God made with him. In the book of Numbers, the people of God were required to have tassels on their garments, so every time they looked at the tassels, they would remember God’s commands. God commanded the Passover as a remembrance of His deliverance of His people out of Egypt. Samuel set up a stone, calling it Ebenezer, which means “stone of help” as a constant memorial of how God helped them.

On this Memorial Day, I ask you, what helps you remember? You might not know the stories of those who gave their lives in service to our country. Rediscover the lost art of reading. Go to the library and read about the heroes of the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, the War of 1812, the Spanish-American War, World War I. Talk to a veteran and learn the stories of those who were there. Don’t ever think of those who gave their lives as a homogeneous group – every one of them has a name, a family, a history. Every soldier who died in service to our country left behind a legacy, the legacy of freedom we enjoy today. When we’re done here, take a moment and walk around this cemetery and notice the flags. Note the names you see, and recognize how many of those family names are still in town, how “those people” are really our people.

Which brings me to this: it can be easy to classify some people as heroes – after all, they lived heroic lives and died for what they believed in. They accomplished heroic actions and died to give us the freedom we enjoy. It can be easy to call someone a hero and to ignore the fact that when you ask a hero about his heroic measures, he will always tell you, “I was just doing my job. I just did what I was called to do.”

And when you realize that, you might just realize that every one of us is called to be a hero, too. The memories that I’m talking about today, the memories of these heroes who gave their all for us, they are only dead memories if they do not spur us all to action. To truly honor their memory, we must learn our place in the story.

Our memories require action. What are the requirements of your memories? As we reflect on the sacrifice made by our brothers, sisters, parents, grandparents, neighbors, friends, and those who have gone before us, serving our country, even to death, a proper response is to serve your country as well. Some have served and continue to serve in the military. Others serve in their churches or in civic organizations. Here are some responses that we all need to take part in: Become an informed voter. Work to make your home and neighborhood a better place. Don’t just sit around and complain about how our society has gone downhill since you were young – do something about it! Don’t just complain about politicians and politics in general – work to affect them. Use the influence you have to make the world around you a better place.

Memorial Day is not about random cook-outs and sales. It is about the memory of those heroes who died bravely serving our country, and it is about our response to that memory. So as we go from this place, take a moment and contemplate how God would have you respond. Then don’t hesitate. Go and live out a fitting response. But know that doing nothing is no response at all.

Jesus told a story about a king who gave three of his servants money, telling them to put it to work. When he returned home, the king asked the servants what they’d done with the money. The first servant had doubled his money, so the king put him in charge of ten cities. The second servant had earned 50% more, and the king put him in charge of five cities. The last servant had hidden his money in a piece of cloth. He responded to the king:  ‘I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.’

“His master replied, ‘I will judge you by your own words… Why didn’t you at least put my money in a bank so I would earn interest?’ Then he said to those standing by, ‘Take his money away from him and give it to the one who has ten.’

“Sir,” they said, ‘he already has ten!’

“He replied, ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away.’”

This parable is relevant to our situation today. We have all been given different amounts – but how we respond is what matters. The actions of the past demand a response today. What will yours be?

Christmas Parade

Millersport puts on a nice Christmas parade, but wow, Gatlinburg's Christmas parade was something else.  We headed down the mountain around 3:30 and found somewhere to park (we found a really good spot, it turned out, as we were able to buzz straight out after the parade).  Then we walked up and down the "downtown" Gatlinburg area for a while, checked out a fun craft show (indoor), and staked out "our spot."  We found that many people set their chairs out the night before to stake their claim for parade-watching, but we (a) didn't have chairs; and (b) we didn't have chairs.  But we did have a blanket, and Tara found us a great spot by a trash can and a light post.  "Great" because it was a spot by the road and because we had something to lean on and because the odor from the garbage can was drifting the other way.  AND because the people next to us had two little boys, aged 7 and 5, with whom Jonathan and Andrew had a blast before the parade.

The parade itself was a lot of fun.  Not much candy, but I did manage to get hit on the head by a bag of M&Ms (when I was changing batteries on the camera) :-)  The temperature dropped while we were out there, but we dressed warmly - in many, many layers, and we bought hand warmers. 

Pictures will follow...

My Memorial Day Speech

It surrounds us.  It’s everywhere we look.  It affects everything we do, everything we watch, all of our actions, everything we say.  It affects this gathering today.  It certainly affected our gatherings yesterday in church – including those who chose not to attend church. And it affects the various parties we’ve had all weekend.  Yet we rarely think about it or even talk about it.  In fact, we often bemoan its lack of existence. It’s part of the beauty of it; though it’s everywhere we look in this country, it never forces itself on us. 

What is it?  It’s freedom.  On December 15, 1791, the United States Constitution was amended with this statement: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. We are free to practice our religion – or not practice it, if that’s what we choose.  We are free to speak our mind, even when it’s not popular and even when our speech goes against the government.  We are free to gather together.  We are even free to directly petition the government.  If we don’t agree with our elected officials, we are free to vote them out of office, and we’ve done that time and again, and we’ve even changed our national leader 42 times peacefully, without incident.  We enjoy a freedom that makes us unique and special among all the nations in the world.

Yet we all too infrequently think about our freedom.  Did any of you get up this morning, thinking, “I hope I don’t get arrested today for flying my flag” or “I hope the police don’t detain me for gathering in a crowd in a cemetery”? Or yesterday, did you have look-outs posted at the door of your church to warn the people inside if the police were coming?  Or when you were complaining about politics and politicians, it’s our very government that protects the freedom you have to complain about them.

We also too often don’t think about the great cost of our freedom.  Those who bravely volunteered to go into harms way, to fight for our freedom.  Those who paid with their lives.  While Memorial Day is a holiday dedicated to celebrating those who have valiantly given their lives to protect us, I also want to recognize some unsung heroes of our country. 

I want to recognize the brave family members who stayed home while their loved one was away.  The parents who pray every day that their son or daughter will return home safely.  I especially appreciate the wives and children who wait for their husbands and dads to come home, and the difficulties they experience when they do return from war.  Some of you in this community have experienced this firsthand; that the person who returned from war is a different person from the one who left.  He’s seen too much.  He’s been traumatized in ways we civilians couldn’t imagine.  And instead of a hero’s welcome, he’s shunned. That’s no way to treat someone who went to war so the rest of us didn’t have to.  That’s no way to treat someone who fought to protect our freedom.  And the way we treat our freedom itself is no way to honor those who fought and died, those parents who lost children, those children who lost parents, those who sacrificed some of their best years to ensure our freedom.

Please make a point of respecting our soldiers and veterans.  When you see a uniformed soldier, stop them to thank them for their service.  The same goes for our veterans.  Even if they never saw combat, they still fought for our freedom.  Care for the families of our soldiers, including those who have returned from the battlefield.  Keep them in your daily prayers.  Send care packages and personal letters to our soldiers, reminding them how much we honor and respect them.

And take your freedom seriously.  You might say, “Hey – I am here at a Memorial Day celebration!  I decorated my bike!  I am dressed like an American flag!” Sure, those are indications that you take this holiday seriously.  Those are indications that you love your country and are proud to be an American.  And to an extent, I know I’m doing what we preachers refer as “preaching to the choir” because you have made the effort to be here to honor those who have gone before you.  But the question is: what do you do with your freedom the rest of the year?  When it’s not Memorial Day, how do you use your freedom?

We have the freedom of religion; do you practice your religion to its fullest, or do you just go through the motions?  Do you speak out against injustice, evil, and oppression whenever you see them, or do you simply expect someone else to do so?  Do you research all of the candidates who run for public office so you can make an informed choice when you go to the polls?  Do you even vote?

Use your freedom wisely.  That is the best way to honor those who fought for your freedom, who died to give us the freedom we enjoy.

Christmas Eve Services

This was the scene at our Christmas Eve services last night.  Our kids were the "acolytes" who lit the candles before the (second) service at 7:30 They were so proud of themselves.  Andrew really wanted to pass the offering plates, too, as you can probably see from the photo.

They were very serious in their trip down the aisle with the light of Christ.

Right up onto the stage they marched, ready to light the candles.

They only needed a little help from dad.

Here is Andrew, hoping that he will get to collect the offering.  He had already been practicing lighting the candles over and over again and was super excited to get to do it!

Merry Christmas, from our family to yours!  We hope the joy of Christ's birth is renewed in you this holiday season and throughout the new year!

Happy Birthday!

This is what I came into my office to find this weekend. The preschool classes had decorated a banner and they put it up on my bookshelves. I love working here!


(is it just me, or does the "birthday" banner say "BYOB" on the right side?)

Easter!

What a great day! This morning, we roused the boys from bed way early (I never like to wake them up; they are so peaceful and cute sleeping) and took them straight to church for the sunrise service.

This was the best Easter sunrise service I've ever been to. It was based on first-person monologues with songs in between them, and they were extremely well done. It was obvious that not only were the characters very good actors, but that everyone put a lot into their parts.

Speaking of great, then we had a fantastic Easter breakfast following the sunrise service. Yumm!

I thought the first service went well, but I felt like the service was really quick (and I rushed through the message). Now I'm taking a breather between services.

Later, after I get a nap (which I am starting to really feel like taking!), we'll have an Easter Egg hunt at home. The boys colored eggs yesterday (more like Jonathan colored eggs and Andrew, well, he wasn't feeling very well and wasn't listening very well, either), and they are going to get to find them this afternoon (when it's warm out!)

Christmas at our House

Q: What did the Thief's kids get for Christmas?

A: Your bike!

Christmas was wonderful at our house. The kids were so excited about Christmas and couldn't wait for Christmas morning. On Christmas Eve, we all got dressed up and went to church, and Jonathan even got to have his own candle for the candlelight service (we did services at 6 and 7:30 and both of them featured candle lighting). Jonathan really wanted to "stay with Daddy" for the second service, but we convinced him that the sooner he got home, the sooner he'd get to sleep and then he'd get his presents.

In the morning, the boys wanted most to go down and see the tree and presents. Of course we let them!

After breakfast (we didn't want the inevitable meltdowns that come from hungry, overstimulated children), we read the Christmas story together.

Then it was time to open gifts. The boys had a fantastic time, and they made out like banshees. Jonathan got a parking garage and road set (that interacts with his train set), a big fire truck, and a bunch of other toys. Andrew's Christmas focused on construction, as he got a backhoe, a bulldozer, and a construction playset.

Soon there were toys, wrapping paper, and boxes all over the living room, and our boys were happily playing with everything. They even played nicely almost all day!

The Thief wants to wish a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all my readers!

My First Annual List of Christmas Pet Peeves

(If you know me, you know that two phrases I dislike extremely are "First Annual" and "pet peeve).

1. The Christmas Song. How egotistical can you get? What makes this song "The" Christmas song over such notables as "Joy to the World" or "Silent Night"? Or... how unoriginal can you get? Couldn't you have called it "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire" instead? That at least would have been original and would have linked the title with the song. Which annoys me.

2. Early Christmas. I used to complain about retailers putting their Christmas displays up too early... all the way before Thanksgiving. Now I understand that they need to move their products and Santa moves product, but putting him up before Halloween? C'mon here! How do they know it's the real Santa and not some ghost from the haunted house down the street dressed up like Santa? Ever think about that?

3. Santa Baby. Worst.Christmas.Song.Ever.

4. No Money. No, I have plenty of money. But not everyone does, and what annoys me is that there are those among us who do not have the money to buy essentials, let alone gifts, yet the extravagance of those who do have is ridiculous. I see commercials advertising $1000 items as "stocking stuffers" - hello! - I thought stocking stuffers were supposed to be like an orange (in the toe), some candy, and some little trinkets. I always loved getting those things in my Christmas sock (which I laugh at pictures of; we used to put out our "biggest" socks, which meant our oldest and most stretched-out tube socks). So if we're celebrating Jesus birthday (more about that in #5 and #6), how about giving to him this season?

5. Giftmas. I understand that non-Christians like to celebrate a fun gift-giving holiday, and I know that all the gifts make retailers happy (and give them means to support their families). But if you're a Christ-follower, the holiday is all about Jesus' birth. Which brings me to #5.

6. December 25 isn't Jesus' Birthday. Yeah, we know that. As we used to say in elementary school: Whoopie-doo! The big deal isn't the exact date on which Jesus was born to Mary; the real issue is celebrating his birth. Since we don't know the exact day, and since it is our tradition to celebrate it on December 25, let's celebrate it then. Pagans: you can still celebrate Solstice then, just like anyone is free to celebrate Giftmas or Festivus.

That's all I've got for now. Merry Christmas! And if you don't have somewhere to go for Christmas Eve and you're in the area, our church services are at 6 and 7:30 Wednesday evening.

Thanksgiving!

So much has happened in the past year, so much to be thankful for! In fact, we have a lot to be thankful for right within the last couple of weeks. Just a couple of weeks ago, I was wondering if the house would or could possibly be ready for company. We had people in pretty much every day doing something, whether it was plumbing, running electric, putting in doors, and so much more, but shortly before the first of the company came, the house was (almost) ready for company.

There is no door on the main level bathroom, which is OK because for some reason the toilet isn't operational (a good reminder not to use it). There is a lot of cosmetic work that still needs to be done, closets and pantry need shelves, and there are some other things that are still waiting, but the laundry room is operational, as is the new upstairs bathroom!

We hosted my family for Thanksgiving, and it was great. On Sunday afternoon, my brother and his wife got here for their stateside visit, and it was great to see them. On Tuesday, my parents got here, and on Wednesday, my sister and her family got here.

Our Thanksgiving meal was a thing of beauty. Everything made with fresh ingredients (if at all possible) and lots and LOTS of real cream. Mmmmmm. I consumed a year's worth of carbonated caffeinated beverages. Mmmmmm. How many miles do I need to run to make up for it all?

We've played lots of games, including such classics as Mouse Trap and Dominoes (with the 4 year olds) and Pangea, Settlers of Catan, Chrononauts, and Bohnanza with the adults. It's been a lot of fun with not much drama at all (except from Andrew's little cousin on his first night sleeping here. Oh, did I say "sleeping"? He didn't do much of that, and was up "ready to play" at 1:00 am - but even he decided the second night was fine for sleeping!)

This was the best Thanksgiving all year!

Halloween Police Blotter Report

From the Buckeye Lake Beacon.

• Oct. 27: Police were called by the new owners of the Spurgeon house on Lancaster Street who are concerned strange occurrences. They reported that while repairing the home they have heard strange noises, unexplained footsteps and harpsichord music. Visible objects floating in mid-air on the second floor have also been reported.

This place is just down the block from us. On Trick or Treat night, the residents (?) [or whoever the people on the porch were] weren't handing out candy (even though they had some large bowls of it). Perhaps the candy was reserved for haunts.

Preschool Harvest Party

I'm not going to write much about Jonathan's class and their Harvest Party, but I wanted to post a couple of pictures.

The kids had a blast, of course. There were several games and all three classes rotated through them. Jonathan's favorite was the fishing game.

Jonathan mostly loved running around with his friend, Christopher. They were quite the pair, the policeman and the fireman... When they had a relay race, instead of running individually, Jonathan and Christopher ran together.

Andrew wants so much to be a big boy, and he made himself right at home with all the big kids.

Tara was "roped into" being the room mother and planning and executing the party, and did an excellent job, but it was exhausting! I came down and helped her, mostly doing "crowd control" of the eight little whirlwinds (plus our extra little bumble bee, who was buzzing around everywhere). There's a reason I didn't end up running the family preschool...

Halloween, Continued.

Not only was there much candy to be gotten, but there was also "Boo's Diner" complete with free hot dogs.

The fire station also rolled out the red carpet with free nachos and they also invited the kids to sit in the fire engines. Andrew the Bee loved this part most!

Jonathan was the coolest police officer out there - and for a while, was also the coldest!

The kids had a great time, though there were some who went a little overboard on making things scary. A litte much for the little ones.

Halloween

I've not been one to dive headfirst into Halloween festivities, though I hear that it's the #2 retail holiday in the US (behind Christmas, of course). I have never liked the emphasis on all things scary, witchcrafty, and demonic. However, I do like the community aspect, such as giving out candy to kids (and our kids love dressing up and getting candy).

Trick or Treat night was Thursday in Millersport, and the community turned out in droves. We live on the "main drag" and were expecting large crowds, so we "hired" Rudy to hand out candy on our porch while we went to get our candy. He didn't know what to expect and even brought a book to read... heh heh heh. We had something in the area of 600 pieces of candy for him to hand out! The whole town turned out for the festivities, including many people who set up camp along the street to hand out candy (that's what you do if you don't live on our street, apparently). We even had an extra couple invite themselves to set up shop on our porch - apparently they did that while the previous pastor lived here.

Jonathan was a police officer (thanks to his grandma, who, against her feelings about Halloween, made him his costume. Andrew was a bumble bee. I'll post some pictures of both boys in a separate post. But the local policeman wanted to get a picture with Jonathan, and here it is. Apparently they will soon have their picture on the Millersport Police website...

Happy Birthday!

As of Monday, Andrew is 2! He had a great birthday, including dirt cake (complete with gummy worms, his favorite part). He also made quite a haul in the toy department. We got him a Plasma Car. "Nanna and Poppa" got him a Batman Big Wheel, and "Gramps and Grandma" got him a Little Einstein Rocket (which Jonathan has appropriated as his new favorite toy) and a big purple ball (suitable for bouncing on).

After his nap, we went to the Blackhand Gorge for a bike ride, where we took some fun pictures of the boys. After that, we picked up some take-out and had a picnic at a park in Granville (and the boys had a great time playing). We "met" a family like ours there - possibly the first family we've seen who actually behaves like we do when at the park (actively playing with their kids instead of just sitting on a bench and watching the kids). Jonathan and their older son Drew (both four) had a great time playing together. Then (at a reasonable time) their parents told them it was time to go home so they could get baths and read books. Sounds like us!

We all had a happy Andrew's birthday!

Vacation 9, in which we go for another Hike

On the last morning of our vacation (not counting travel days), Tara and I got up early and headed back to Zion. This time our destination was the Observation Point Trail.

Despite the posted warnings and the announcement that this trail was not for those with a fear of height, there was nothing scary at all on the trail. At the observation point itself, you could potentially be afraid, but nobody forces anyone to go by the edge.

The trail was beautiful and the scenery was awesome. This was a long-ish hike (we took a side trek up to the Weeping Rock that added an extra mile to the 8), but it wasn't really all that strenuous of a hike. It probably helped that we were hiking on a relatively cool day; it would have been pretty tough had it been 100 degrees! But anyway, the view was breathtaking.

We got a lot of different scenery, from the wide open expanse overlooking the entire park to narrow canyons. We saw burned trees (lightning strikes are apparently pretty common up on top), and we saw flowers. We saw all sorts of different colors and textures in the rock.

It's hard to describe what it's like to hike in a place like Zion. It serves as a reminder to me just how creative God is... though Ohio in the Spring is pretty with all the green and the flowers, there's nothing like mountains or canyons here. The beauty of Zion is why it's so popular. I can't imagine going during the busy season; (even as an extrovert) I like to enjoy nature in (somewhat) solitude. I remember meeting a young man in the Smoky Mountains who brought a poetry book to read in the backcountry; I thought it was a little much, because to me, the backcountry itself is poetry that is more beautiful than the written word can capture.

And with that, we left Utah for Las Vegas, from whence we flew to Chicago (but not before M-I-L "broke even" on a slot machine in the airport and not before our sunscreen got confiscated as we (unknowingly) tried to "smuggle" it past security in the bottom of my carry-on). Then, after a night blessed by loud notifications that F-I-L's blackberry had received incoming e-mails... at 2:30 am, we returned home.

Vacation part 8b, in which we're still hiking

It wasn't long until we reached the end of the trail and the famed Double Arch Alcove. It was absolutely worth the hike. It was an absolute beautiful setting.

Here we are, dwarfed by the Double Arch.

You might wonder why the bottom of the picture looks so bright. No, it wasn't because of a bad camera or the wrong shutter speed or anything. What we never counted on as we were hiking up was the fact that there was still snow up there! As you might have been able to guess from our attire, it was warm out - warm enough that we didn't expect to encounter the white stuff! We were much more careful about creek crossings there, as that water was cold! Jonathan and I did decide to have a little snowball fight. The snow reminded me of when I was a kid and my siblings and I made a bunch of snowballs and but them in a bread wrapper in the freezer and brought them out on the hottest day of the summer. It was worth it just to think about what the neighbors thought: those crazy kids, having a snowball fight in the summer... The unfortunate thing was that the snow was in no way fluffy after all that time in the freezer. Nor was this snow.


Then it was time to head back. As we hiked Jonathan talked non-stop. He kept a running commentary the whole hike. We were alternately a train, police officers, pirates, alley cats (he's a big fan of the movie The Aristocats) or some combination thereof.



As we hiked, Jonathan (naturally) got tired. We would then feed him some trail mix or peanut butter crackers; it was absolutely amazing how quickly he would derive energy from these snacks. One minute he'd be groaning that he couldn't walk another step, and the next moment he would be running down the trail. We motivated him for quite some time by pretending to be police officers chasing a robber. Just when we were ready to "catch" the "robber" someone would put on their siren and spook the robber who would then "run on ahead." The boy has a very active imagination, let me tell you!

On the return trip, we decided to count how many times we crossed the stream. We counted 60 times. Which means that we crossed it (there and back) approximately 120 times each.

Once we reached the trailhead, we headed back for St. George, looking out for somewhere to eat. We asked Jonathan what he wanted to eat; he wanted a waffle. So we found an IHOP and pulled in, only to find that on Sundays, kids eat free! WooHOO!

Then the cook made too much French Toast, so I got an extra piece or two. Oooh, that hurts; you're twisting my arm... (actually all our leftovers became the boys' lunch the following day).

So Jonathan successfully hiked all 5 miles, crossed the stream (no, not in the Ghostbusters sense) some 120 times, climbed on rocks, climbed under trees, waded, threw snowballs, saw two log cabins, and had a great time with his parents!

Vacation part 8, in Which the Boy Goes Hiking

Sunday afternoon is usually perfect for a nap... except this time I had not led the service and I wasn't feeling particularly wiped out (ah, the wonders of being on vacation), and there was still a lot of Zion to be hiked...

One place I wanted to visit was Kolob Canyon, the northwest part of Zion (outside the main park). Tara found a good sounding hike and she, Jonathan, and I headed out for a hike. We chose to hike the Taylor Creek Trail (the referenced site has a good description of the trail). It is a 5 mile roundtrip, but we figured that we could turn around any time and if we needed to, we could take turns carrying Jonathan.

The trail followed along Taylor Creek, and it soon became evident that creek crossings would be the order of the day. We were glad to be wearing Keens. (Aw, shucks, Blogger will only let me upload 5 pics per post. I'll post more with some creek-crossing pictures). Jonathan loved it! Did I mention how convenient it was that he had his own Camelbak hydration pack? Not only did he get to be a "real hiker" but he got to carry his own water as well.

He also loved climbing on (and over) the rocks.

One highlight for me was that we would get to see some old log cabins built by frontiersmen. Turns out we completely missed the first one on the way up, but we found the second one.

We were getting rather tired and figured that this would be a good place to turn around, so we stopped and ate some food. But then another hiker came by from up the trail, telling us that we were only 10-15 minutes from the end of the trail. We figured we could handle that.

Happy Birthday, Jonathan!

Jonathan is now 4 years old!

Since his birthday fell on a Sunday, we couldn't celebrate like we did last year; last year we had all his gifts waiting for him at breakfast - we decided that he'd probably have a fit if he couldn't just play with all his gifts right then. So we gave him some smaller gifts then and made him wait until after church for his big ones.

So after church, he received... a treasure map!

He followed the map out the front door (I was really glad the rain stopped for a while), around to the back yard, through the gate, down the slide, around the "quicksand" box, through the other gate, into the garage.

There he found his treasure (wrapped in gold paper).

He got a big pirate ship (from Grandma and Grandpa), a train set (for his "new" train table), a book from Aunt and Uncle Dunce, some (talking) Cars, and an ambulance that works with his train set).

Vacation part 5, in which we do get to go Canyoneering

As I said a while back, the Zion Rock and Mountain Guides folks were really cool about repaying our money, but we didn't want repayment; we wanted to go canyoneering! They were really cool about that, too. They said, "How's tomorrow work for you?"

It worked fine; after all, "Nanny" was spending time with the boys (as an aside, we invited her to do stuff on her own and she went with us when we went out to eat and when we went to downtown St. George, but she preferred sticking around the resort, taking the boys to the park and to the pools, which were just across the street from our condo). So on Friday morning, we went back out to Zion.

We got hooked up with our guide - now, mind you, we weren't paying the big bucks just to get stuck with a tour group of strangers. This was a trip with just Tara, me, and Seth, our twenty-something guide. Once we had all our equipment (including harnesses, wetsuits, socks, canyoneering shoes, carabiners, etc), we headed out in a jeep toward Silver Reef, Utah. We turned off the main road and went down a steep gravel road (the kind that would have terrified Big Mama, even if it had been paved). After a while of bumping along this road, we found Yankee Doodle Canyon, a rather off-the-beaten-path slot canyon that apparently was pretty much unexplored until quite recently.

As neither of us had ever done this before, our guide started us out with rappelling lessons (once we had our gear on). Tara, of course, was itching to get into the canyon. The idea of putting herself at the mercy of the ropes and harness and dropping into the canyon was absolutely appealing to her (of course, she was also the one who wanted to brave the deadliest trail in the National Parks the previous day). So she got set and rappelled down the first rappel. No problemo, chief.

Then it was my turn. Though it was still cool out, I sweated enough to steam up my sunglasses. If you're a rappelling expert, you might notice that I look a little, um, stiff. But once I got the hang of it (the hang of it? haha, I crack myself up), it was actually fun.

In fact, when it came time to do the second rappell, which was something like 4 times as long as the first one, I really enjoyed it! I was disappointed to find out that these were the only two rappels we would experience in this canyoneering adventure. Once we move, I am definitely finding out where one can go rappelling in the Hocking Hills or in West Virginia. It's a blast!

This isn't to say that the adventure was done once we'd rappelled twice. There were plenty of serious down-climbs. It would go something like this: Seth (our guide) would tell us that this would be a pretty technical downclimb; that we could do it with or without ropes, so what would we like to do. Our hesitant answer would always end up being "with" rather than "without" but as soon as we would get into the climb, we'd realize that we didn't need the ropes at all.

Besides rappel #2, my favorite part of the canyon was a climb down into a pool of murky, cold water. I hardly noticed the bugs in it (Tara certainly noticed them). I didn't really even notice how bad the water smelled until I was out of it. I was prepared to be submerged, but it ended up only being chest-deep (btw, we didn't get any pictures in the wetsuits; our camera was safe in an (unneeded) dry bag). The only way to get out of the teacup-shaped hole was to imiatate a whale beaching itself. Now that's fun.

Once we'd navigated this hole, we dried out and ate some of our food. Can you believe that our little family went through four loaves of bread in one week? Then we left our stuff and went for a down-canyon walk. We were hoping to find a place to try out some rock climbing, but that didn't happen. So we went back and got our stuff for the climb out.

We roped in for safety and climbed out. I don't think Tara probably used the ropes at all; I did here and there. She's a bit more sure-footed than I am (or at least more confident while climbing). Anyway, we managed to climb out, and then it was time to head back down the gravel road toward "civilization."

We both agreed that this was a great trip and that we'd love to do canyoneering again.