Picking Up Speed

Well, where to start?

July 4th. Spent the fireworks show on a boat with my family and Sophie. Yes, I did indeed have a birthday. OMGoodness. 17 years is a long time. Hopefully, I will survive lots more.

From July 5th-9th, I was at Fir Point High school Camp. That was pretty fun. Not the funnest ever, but it was fun because Jacob, Kenzie, and Sophie were there too!! So it was alright in the end.

Now, I  know I have said before about me being close to getting a permit, well, I'm serious this time. I started the drivers ed course online(to save time), and it is quite easy actually. I might have my permit by next Wednesday, the day we leave for Creation and then Montana. YAY!!!

I went to the river today with Sophie and her friends. Lots of fun. Even went rock jumping, tho I simply couldn't force myself to jump off the highest one. About 20 feet I think. Still had an enjoyable time.

Tomorrow will be a good time. Lauren is having her birthday party!! 16 years old I believe. Sophie will be there, nice thing. But, then on Saturday, Sophie is leaving for Sea Cadet Boot Camp in Reno....*sadface*..



Anyway, life goes on and time runs out.....

So when life throws a curveball, what do you do?

You charge the mound and take out the pitcher!

So, in a shocking and irritating turn of events, I will not be going to Creation. I am very disappointed and uber bummed. The only silver lining I can see is that I will be able to purchase a lot more cd's now and STILL save money. We will be going to Montana to visit, but on the 22 of July and only for like 3 days. We will be able to attend Eric's wedding. That will be most enjoyable.But, just not the same as Creation.

I will not be able to see my friends or my wifey. Very disappointing.

I will be going to a Highschool camp July5-9. That will hopefully be fun.

There is an opportunity for a possible job that has come to my attention. Seems there is a jerky maker in a town just north of us, and the person who was distributing his jerky to Crescent City, doesn't want to do it anymore. The job would mean, once a week buying the product from maker, then selling it at stores in Crescent City, hopefully making a profit. Eventually to do this I will need my license, but my father has agreed, should we try this, that he would take me the first couple of times till I could drive.

She's still there, much to my surprise.....

Me + Energy Drink+ Redbull Shot= Nothing Good

Yes, I am leaving Montana. Tomorrow morning at like, well, whatever time my dad decides is a good time to get up. After two and a half weeks here, going to EPIC Creation, working on vacation, visiting old friends, and drinking my first ever energy drink, its time to go. YES.
I just had my first every energy drink. A ROCKSTAR Lemonade, non-carbonated. And, when I had a all-nighter with Krys, James and Nathan, I had a.....wait-for-it.....a REDBULL shot AND a ROCKSTAR drink together. It was a very unique experience. Now, for all of those who know me, imagine me, on REDBULL and ROCKSTAR!!!! Oh yeah!!! It was epic!!! Of course, we had to go to bed at 2:30 am, but really???

WHO ACTUALLY GOES TO SLEEP THEN!!!!?????? OF COURSE we stayed awake for like 2 more hours and talked about the typical teenage boy stuff.....and then some!!!

But to end this post on a somber, depressing note, I am still leaving Montana.

I can see the wave of inevitable loneliness closing in fast.

Work is not SUPPOSED TO BE FUN PEOPLE!!!

Gosh, people!!! I hate it when they ask you the question, "so, are you having fun today?", and you have been working all day. WORK IS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE FUN(tho I'm not saying it can't be, cuz in rare cases it can). But seriously, what a stupid question. Work is usually what work is supposed to be, WORK!!

And working is what I am doing now. OH, wait. Before I go any further. CREATION WAS EPIC!!! I totally lost my voice and sounded even worse then a boy going thru puberty, which by the way is the goal of Creation. To lose ones voice before Sunday. Oh, yeah. Switchfoot was better than expected. The Newsboys were great even with a new look like Michael Tait.Most other bands were just okay, and Skillet, was of course, EPIC as always.

Oh, thought you guys would like to know who I was able to touch because I was able to get to the front row for a couple of shows...

I was able to touch: Tobymac on the shoulder,Michael Tait thigh(everyone said that on was kinda creepy, calve, and on his very expensive shoes, Duncan Phillips hand, and Kj-52's leg.

I swore never to wash my right hand again, but after being in the mosh pit, absolutely had too. GROSS!!! AAAHHHH!!! I think I still smell like that one big dude behind me.

Anyway, now I am in Montana staying at a friends house for two weeks so I can work for to weeks at a plany nursery, earn some money, and see my friends.

Oh, and I got married to Mckensey. And as soon as we got married we adopted a ladybug and named it Lady. sweeeeeeeet

*disclaimer* to those who took that last post way to seriously...ITS A JOKE!!!!! Did you guys really think I gots married for reals.....gee-wiz...

Deathly Close But Not Close Too Death

Three Days. That was the amount of time we were home between getting home from Iowa, and leaving to go to Northern, CA and Montana. We are leaving this morning to go to Crescent City, CA. We will be there 8 days, which means it will be the 19th when we leave and Creation is on the 21st, so, wow, its going to be nerve-wrackingly close. I'm just a praying that things work out.

But, anyhoo, see, I changed the URL of this blog in an attempt to rid my blog of those worthless, porn totin' chinease FREAKS!!! So far its seems to have been a success, no porn comments yet!!! Its a porn free blog!! If only the world would follow suite.

So, two cd's I recently got, Trip Lee's Between Two Worlds, and Breaking Benjamin's Dear Agony are quite amazingly Epic. With Trip Lee's throwing the bible at your face without fail(i mean that in a good way), and Breaking Benjamin just having a good ole rocking out, I have enjoyed listening to them.

heading home but not home for reals

We are leaving iowa in two days(its about TIME) and going home(whatever) only to be there for three days to go to the C-Oregon border, or a town there-a-bouts. Exciting right? Well, only if you are one who wants to move yet AGAIN to Crescent City, CA, or as I call it Nowheresville, CA.(im in Nowheresvile, Iowa right now). BUT BUT BUT BUT BUT BUT............!

There IS a light at the end of the proverbial tunnel, we will ( unless something un-expected happens) be visiting MT in late July. EPICNESS!!!

Sorry bout not postin much, one can only go to the library so much. Post output should increase more once out of Iowa, the Tornado capital of the FREAKIN world!!!!! I dare say we have had tornado warnings 90% of the nights we have been here in Iowa.

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Farewell

Please........

If you think this was plagiarized, please tell me.............cuz I know someone who thinks it was........

Three

Where in the world are those plates?! Exasperation was beginning to set in. It had been 5 minutes since I had begun looking thru our boxes for our plates and I was sure the casserole was going to burn. We had just moved from Miami, Florida, to a little town called Bigfork in Montana. My wife and I had wanted to move into the country for quite some time now. My wife had never liked living in a big city and its crowded, crime-filled streets. And now that we had two young ones with a third one on the way, she had started looking for a house in Montana where her parents and my mother lived. She also thought that moving to Bigfork, with its total population of 3,500, would give us more space, and be a better place to raise our kids. More family-oriented she always said. So I had had applied for a number of jobs, and finally got one as the editor of a newspaper there that was distributed to the valley that the town was in. I quit my job as a columnist, used the money we got thru a garage sale to help buy a trailer, sold our house, and off we went.
I was tired. My wife had been gone for several hours over at her parents who she hadn’t seen in more than three years. And if I knew my wife, would not be home for several more. As I began to open more and more boxes, I saw an oddly shaped box stuffed in the back where light refused to penetrate. Since the garage did not have any light because the light bulb was burnt out. I had left the door to the house open to let in a little bit of light. Because it was in the dark corner of the garage, I couldn't’t read what was written on it. So I brought it out into the light. I could hear the kids laughing in some corner of the house doing God-knows-what, so as long as they weren’t complaining of hunger pains or screaming bloody-murder, I had time to burn. I was reminded of how fast time goes when I had to pull out my reading glasses to read what was written in the box. It said “Johns stuff “. I don’t remember putting anything in this box, but who knows with my wife having packed most everything. I opened it up. It felt as if my childhood had come up and smacked me in the face. Inside the box, wrapped in bubble wrap, was my grandfather’s WW2 helmet. He had never told me how he was able to keep it. I was surprised how my wife had gotten a hold of it. I carefully took it out and looked at it in the dim light.
I was slightly surprised at how good a shape it was in for being over 50 years old. But, on the other hand, why should I be? As a child I had watched over and over my grandfather take it out and gently clean it. As I looked over the helmet, memories once distant and idle became active and soon escalated to a frenzied storm in the front of my mind, giving me a temporary escape from the present moment. As my fingers drifted over the rounded shell, I could still feel the many imperfections that dotted the dark, mossy green helmet. Three dents stood out from all the rest. As I felt them, they each, separately told a different story. Many a time I had heard my grandfather tell me about those three dents. Each story was different. And I never got tired of it. I still remember sitting at his feet, listening, captivated by the same stories, over and over. The first dent was the one he told me about the most, probably because I had thought it was the most exciting.
He had been there on D-Day. He was on the third wave of men to storm the beaches. It came after his unit has just made over a mound of sand and grass and was now lying in a crater, previously home to a pocket of five German soldiers they had killed. The crater offered temporary reprieve from the flying bullets. As they were lying there, waiting for more directions and reinforcements, one of the men who was particularly covered in dirt, blood, and sweat, took off his helmet and was wiping himself down with a handkerchief. Now, he couldn't have known, but in front of them, slightly to the left, hidden behind sand bags that blended into the real sand, was a German machine gun. The Germans saw them, but my grandfathers unit did not. My grandfather was about to likewise take his helmet off when the hidden Germans opened. The man with his helmet was killed instantly; my grandfather got hit in the helmet, but was uninjured. His helmet saved his life.
The second time was the biggest lesson learned. His unit had just taken a strategic spot in a cluster of trees that had taken many men to win. It was dark as a ravens feathers, and they had beaten the Germans back. Time to relax, and make toasts to the fallen. The fire was going, casting its light over everything. Making shadows look like soldiers, playing with your mind. Cards were being dealt, meals being eaten/cooked, and letters for home being written. Confident no more action would take place, many had taken their helmets off, and fallen asleep. My grandfather however, was one of the few who left their helmets on. It was about 1:00 in the morning when they hit. A whole unit of Germans. With revenge and surprise on their side, the quickly caused damage. Caught unawares, many were in killed, only six, including my grandfather, made it out alive. When he later did take his helmet, he found out to hi s dismay, that amongst the adrenaline, and fighting, and a bullet had hit his helmet. That made twice that his helmet had saved his life.
By now, I was usually beginning to fight drifting off, but I always persisted he finish the stories anyway. He always did. He was at camp, back from the front lines a ways. Two weeks away from going home. Another battle fought. More lives lost. Far back from the lines, there was little chance of being ambushed here. At least that’s what they thought. About diner time, an alarm rang thru camp. Grandfather looked at the sky, the feared German bombers where here. He ran for cover as the bombs fell. One of the bombs fell a little too close. Five minutes later he awoke, too red vision, and ringing ears. As quick as they came, they had left. There was screaming, smoke, fire, and running.Off in the distance someone was crying for his mom. He sat up, wiped the blood away from his eyes. As he did, he saw, it. A piece of heavy shrapnel lying right where his had had been. He slowly took his helmet off and looked at. Even with the helmet on, it had cut his head open. But this day, my grandfather says if he had not had his helmet on, he would have been killed. Three times. My grandfather would always say, the devil tried three times to kill him, but failed each time. He always claimed that was something he and Jesus had in common. That and having the uncanny ability to always be right.
I woke up to my son hitting me on the shoulder asking when we were going to eat. Right now, I said. I slowly sat up and shook the memories away from my eyes. I carefully put the helmet back in its box. As I stood up, I could smell something burning. It was the casserole, now thoroughly ruined, I was sure of it. I grabbed the magnet off the fridge with the local pizza place’s number on it. Oh well, I told myself, what is the phone for?

MONTANA PEOPLE....

I MISS YOU GUYS SO crazy much. It has been really bad down here without you. I don't think i will ever find a Youth Group i like. I Miss...Krys, you and all your bad jokes(and Mexico hugs, tho, i don't miss those that bad really) and NO, i have not found a HB yet but i am still looking. Kryssie, your quiet friendship. Aaron, I miss having a person around soo like me, yet so different.Samuel, you and your never ending HB teasing(and Mexico hugs).James, i miss you being there, always bringing me back to earth from..well, wherever i was.Peter, playing b-ball against you was awesome.Barton brothers, LIVE LONG and PROSPER.Dale, your friendship,your teaching, and our discussions about football.Austin, it is a pity i didn't know you earlier.Nathan, and all his..umm..nathanness.the Hemingway bro's, i was never board with you guys around.Jamel,i was never board around you either.Hobbit, our good(and not so good) discussions, and your really long words. and anyone else i forgot to mention, don't worry , I miss you too.

Top Five Things I Hate about California

1. The weather...OMG is it soooo hot down here, i think we have already broken the 98 degree mark

2.Weeds...there are weeds everywhere, you name it we got it, thorns, the whole nine yards

3. Population...c'mon people, there are people everywhere, it's ridiculous, it makes me feel claustrophobic, and with people come gangs, weirdo's, creeps,serial killers, and just plain scary people.

4.Laws..it's crazy down here, you can't pick your nose without having to pay money or get get a permit or something crazy.

5.It's not Montana..i know, i know, this last one is kinda lame, but hey, i just miss montana a LOT right now.



These are not in any paticular order, but, if i had to pick my least fav thing about Cal...it would probably be the extreme population...i mean c'mon..it's sooooo unsanitary

Hi, sorry, long time no post...

i just found a spot where i can leech off someonelse's Internet. Well, so far there has been not date set for our departure from the amazing state of MT. Anyhoo, the weather has been warm(finally) and it hasn't rained for a few days...which is nice....ummm...oh yea..here is a link to a letter written by Peter Furler(ex-lead singer of Newsboys) to his fans about hi departure.....

http://www.jesusfreakhideout.com/news/2009/03/27.NEWSBOYS%20PETER%20FURLER%20ADDRESSES%20FANS%20DIRECTLY%20ON%20HIS%20DEPARTURE.asp

i hope it didn't make you cry....i am actually excited for Michael Tait(former lead-singer from DC Talk), cuz i really liked him in his days with Dc Talk......soooo...now that i have run out of things to talk about..i have decided to do another music video(i am trying not to post to many, but there just so awesome) of a hip-hop band called Lacrae. I just recently "discovered" them and they are pretty cool. I encourage everyone to listen to it ALL THE WAY THRU!!!(yes, that means you hobbit,megan,jillian, and the rest of you hip-hop/rock/anything with a drum/electric gutair dislikers)