Bike Ride Down the Silver Strand

This is my first attempt at using the video feature on our new camera, and it turned out to be a lot of fun! We took a little bike ride down Coronado Island’s Silver Strand and around San Diego Bay.

I’ll probably never try another one-handed bike ride project like this again, though. And the fact that I didn’t break my neck is also encouraging considering my history with biking accidents.

But it was a good opportunity to get a little more accustomed to the T2i’s video features, and I enjoyed editing with iMovie ’09 as well. Hope ya like it!

Gone to Colorado In My Mind

Confession: Colorado is my favorite state.

As a Texan I’m not supposed to be making these sorts of statements, but it’s true. My family recently returned from a week-long vacation in Roosevelt National Forest in Northern Colorado and it was some epic beauty.

We splashed around in the river, played games in the enormous 1st class airplane chairs in the living room, and even  took a trip into Fort Collins where I visited my first REI store. Now, I hate shopping, but I could spend hours at 2 types of stores: outdoor stores and electronics stores. Backpacks and computers are a few of my favorite things, and I was geekin’ out to be leaving the store with a new wicking layer.

The best parts of the trip – en mi opinion – were the family hikes around Colorado State University’s Pingree Park Campus.

At one point we got a little “misdirected” in our search for a waterfall, but it ended up being quite an adventure. I personally blamed the sign for pointing the wrong way, so I decided to make some corrections in order to ensure the safety of future hikers.

We were originally planning a trip to the beach, but one couple’s generous offer to use their cabin allowed us to head north instead of south. The family time, the hikes in perfect weather, the hot dogs over the fire pit, and the swarms of hummingbirds all made for an epic trip. Praise God for the generosity of Mr. & Mrs. Person and their amazing riverside cabin!

The Month of May

Late Night Tomfoolery At Cafe du Monde

Well, our 6-week stint in Southern California is finally at an end. Little did I know I was marrying into year-round gorgeous weather and some of the best in-laws a guy could ask for. And so much has happened with this side of the family!

John (youngest bro-in-law) graduated from high school, and his older brother, Ryan, was recently engaged – congrats again guys! My mother-in-law, Beth, had her retirement party today and there were graduation and birthday parties earlier in the month. Lots of reasons to celebrate.

Needless to say, it was a great time to be in the neighborhood.

Trips to New Orleans, Los Angeles, and other parts of SoCal allowed us a lot of quality time with friends and family, and we told quite a few people about PLC and our work in Iraq.

Alas, tomorrow we leave for training school in Phoenix. However we look forward to what God’s going to teach us during this time, and we’re particularly excited about spending time with future team members.

After the training we’ll head to Lubbock, TX to stay a night with my siblings, and then we’ll hurry (within the speed limit) to have a Father’s Day dinner with my dad and mom in Dallas.

So there’s your update. I’ve posted a few pics from our time in Cali here. Thanks for sticking with us!

Undercover Engagement Brother (in law)

The Proposal

Ryan, my brother-in-law, got engaged last night! He brought his girlfriend, Amanda, to the beach for a picnic and proposal. Cayla and I put on sneaky disguises and documented the whole thing.

This is my first experience with a DSLR type camera (apart from an hour in the backyard photographing bees) and I’m hooked! I’ve posted a few shots above and below, but there are even more here, and Cayla’s video with commentary is here. Enjoy!

Her "Yes!"

Strolling the Beach