After the beach we took a couple of days to travel up from Long Beach to Leavenworth. The stop in Yakima wasn’t really anything to write home about - Yakima is quite different from the other places in Washington we visited - dry, dusty, more desert than anything. But it was a good stopping-off point. Becky shot pictures from the moving van like a wild woman. She did get a rather nice one of Mount Rainier:

Also, on our way up to Leavenworth, the girls had fun throwing rocks into this little mountain stream:

Once we made it to Leavenworth, we had a great time with family and friends at the wedding. We stayed at the Riverdance Lodge, which you really must check out via their website to appreciate. It’s a ridiculously posh vacation home which happens to be right next door to the house that Andrew & Heather were borrowing for the wedding. So, our family rented it to stay for a couple days. Fantastic choice.

I’ve got a whole set of photos on Flickr from the rehearsal and before and after the wedding, and it’s really hard to decide which ones to show here, so I’ll just give you one of them and you can go visit the set. In this particular pic, Andrew and Heather were kinda bored during the photo shoot and gave me this little pose:

Such fun. There’s one more I’d post, but somehow I didn’t get it uploaded to Flickr yet. I’ll make a separate post for that one picture - how often can you say you have a guy relieving himself against a tree in the background of a wedding picture?

The wedding was beautiful and went about as smoothly as any wedding I’ve ever been to. I played the piano, Ryan sang, Laura and Addie were beautiful flower girls. They also had a lot of fun dancing afterwards. What a fantastic time of celebration.

Ten years ago today, on a sweltering night in Charlotte, NC, friends and family gathered as Becky and I exchanged our vows and became husband and wife. I don’t remember a whole lot about the ceremony itself; the pictures, though, show a geeky boy of 21 looking warm in a basic tuxedo, and a girl looking beautiful if a bit uncomfortable in a white dress and veil. We look so young! Were we really ready to start upon a lifetime together?

Ten years later we have been through much. New places to live, new jobs, new friends; two beautiful little girls added to our family; a lot of what we promised in our vows: sometimes better, sometimes worse, sometimes richer, sometimes poorer, sometimes sickness, sometimes health. One of the few constants through it all has been my wife Becky by my side, supporting, encouraging, and loving me. While we have our ups and downs, we truly do make a great team.

That night ten years ago my buddy Daniel sang a song that Rich Mullins wrote that included these lines:

If you find a love that’s tender,
If you find someone who’s true
Then thank the Lord -
He’s been doubly good to you.

And truly He has been good. I love you, Becky, and thanks for 10 wonderful years.

The little four-footed creatures have a way of finding a place in our lives and hearts without us hardly noticing it… until they are gone. Frankie was part of our household for nearly nine years, from his birth as a little kitten out at the farmhouse until his untimely passing after an accident at home last Friday. Becky picked out some of her favorite pictures and asked me to post them… so here you go.

Some weeks ago Becky and I were enjoying a date night with a stop at our local Coldstone ice cream shop when we overheard some college students discussing a plan - a plan we liked so much we decided to turn it into a tradition of our own. It’s really quite simple: the first day in the spring and summer that the high temperature for the day surpasses the next 10-degree mark, we go for ice cream.

It just so happened that our date night weeks ago was on the first 70-degree day of the year. And it just so happened that yesterday was the first 80-degree day of the year. So after getting a bunch of outside work done, we packed the girls up in the van and headed for Coldstone. I figure we have at least two ten-degree trips still coming this season, and if, God forbid, we hit the third (110°F), we’ll at least be happy for the relief!

So here are a few pictures from the night. Oh, and our ice cream flavors:

Addie: Chocolate with sprinkles
Laura: Cotton Candy with white chocolate chips
Becky: Chocolate & Coffee with cookie dough
me: Cake Batter Chocolate with cookie dough

Two years ago today, about this time early in the morning, I was making phone calls to my parents and Becky’s parents to let them know they had a new granddaughter. What a blessing Addie has been to us in these past two years. Happy Birthday, young lady… can’t wait to celebrate many more with you.

This morning Laura and Addie and a few of their friends participated in a little fashion show for a Christian women’s group. They got to pick out dresses to borrow from a local store and then strut their stuff. I’m not sure how much Laura slept last night, she was so excited. Becky managed to get a few pictures of the girls and their friends. Enjoy! (You can click on the pics to see the bigger version on Flickr.)

Weekends are going to look a little bit different now that we’re having church on Saturday night. Something to get used to. This weekend was actually pretty great; a phone call from my sister saying “hey, we’re bored, can we come visit this afternoon?” changed our direction pretty quickly. So the folks and Rebecca came down in time for church on Saturday night and then hung around on Sunday until late afternoon. It was great to see them and hang out.

Saturday night went well down at Imago Christi - certainly better than the first week. Sermon was tighter, music was more together, adding Dave Paris on the guitar with the worship team was a big plus. Picking a song for the meditation after the sermon continues to be a challenge - it’s just hard to know what the right song will be until I hear the message. Saturday night I wanted to use the song “Jesus, Name above all Names”, but the 70’s style of the original song was turning me off to it. So for the last five minutes of the sermon I worked out a new tune in my head, and then sang it. It actually sounded pretty good. I should go write it down while I still remember it.

Watched a bunch of football yesterday and was surprised and disappointed to see the Colts lose to the Chargers; not so surprised or disappointed to see the Cowboys lose. I’m gonna have to cheer for the Packers from here on out. There has to be somebody who can beat the Patriots.

Well, that’s your weekend update from Iowa. It’s now Monday morning and there’s work to be done.

A birthday that is always easy to remember, coming as it does the day after New Year’s. Aaron turns 25 today. A full quarter-century. Feeling old yet, bro? I have a feeling 2008 will be a memorable year for ya. Happy birthday!

What a great Christmas, and now how good to be home. We spent several days at my parents’ place in Wisconsin, though for the first day or so they weren’t there… they had to go to Chicago to pick up my sister, who flew in from Panama, and my brother, who flew in from DC. They made it within about 30 miles of home before the snow storm got so intense that they couldn’t manage to get any further. So they got a room, stayed the night, and waited for the snow plows. By noon the next day they made it home. It was sure good to see everyone.

Christmas was a marvelous time. It’s always such fun with small children, and Laura and Addie just loved opening their presents and playing with their new toys. The carnage comes when we bring them all home and add them to the existing pile of toys. I think it’s time for a garage sale or a large donation to Goodwill.

We did manage to get at least one decent family picture taken, so here we wish you a belated Merry Christmas! (For family and friends: I’ll get a bunch more uploaded to Flickr sometime this week.)