November 3, 2010- Mailbox

 I like the big picture but I also really value the little things that show extra thought or care. So when Greg mentioned that the mailbox needed repainting I was all over it. Luckily, Kady was excited about it as well so we took on the project. It was much more time consuming then we thought it was going to be but well worth it.

The mailbox still said ABR because it is one of those little details that isn't important when you are trying to get an adventure base off the ground but now that all of the 'big rocks' are being taken care of the little things can get attention.

Its the little details that make something special even though no one other then the mail man and us will ever really see the little YD symbol on the flag.

On a side note since I am a little behind on my updating I am sad to have to inform you that the mailbox has met the snowplow and needless to say... the plow won.... so we will wait to see how it fares for the rest of the winter. But it still will at least be a beat up new mail box instead of a beat up old one and we have learned that we need to use a different kind of paint for next time. Maybe just using what we had on hand wasn't the best idea. :)

November 2, 2010- Calibrate NW

A few of our YD Adventures staff got a chance to go to Calibrate NW. The conference was specifically designed for Church Planters but it wasn't about the methods of church planting it was about Jesus. It was a really great two days with some heavy hitters on the preaching circuit including Francis Chan, Carlos Whittaker, Richard Stearns, Jim Putnam,John Bishop,Judah Smith,Alan Hirsch, and Mark Driscoll. I really was impressed with all of the different speakers. I liked that they all had different philosophies on the church and weren't shy about their differences. I really appreciated Judah Smith's talk. He was asked to speak on the topic of honoring those who have come before us which I think is something that is easy to forget being young and full of crazy ideas but is good to remember that none of us are pulling ourselves up by our boot straps. We are all building off of the legacy of someone who has gone before us.

The overall dresscode for the conference was pretty funny. Plain has a really relaxed, Eastern Washington style where as the average church planter apparently is an urban hipster with skinny jeans, thick glasses and urban flannel not to be confused with country flannel. They are completely different flannels.

For those of you who may need help visualizing a hipster.

If you would like to see some of the speakers in action here is the link to the video's of the conference http://vimeo.com/calibratenw

October 30, 2010- Fall Birthday's

We got together to celebrate all of the family fall birthday's. It was a full day of fall festivities, pumpkin carving, carmel apples, and apple pie.

October 29,2010 Just Plain Fall

The new team came to the ranch so we took them out for some practice.

I was pretty stoked that Ken let me drive.

The Ranch is a beautiful place!

October 26, 2010- Ski waxing party

Kady and Becca came over and we had a ski waxing party. Kady and I were both learning and Becca was the teacher. It is a lot more time consuming then I thought it would be.

 

October 24, 2010 - Picking up a bed

Kady and I were pretty impressed with ourselves and with the Subaru Outback because we fit both of theses beds in. It was pretty sweet!  

The library makes home deliveries through the mail! I got a little over excited when I was ordering books and they come in these colorful little packages. People at work thought it was pretty funny but I have read almost all of them.

October 14, 2010- Sore muscles...

So going from a pretty sedentary life to some intense hiking leads to muscle pain. But it was good pain. By the last few miles  i was feeling some muscles I haven't felt since 2 a days in High School but within 20 minutes of being done I was ready to do it all over again (just with a few days in between) It was funny because I could go up stairs no problem but going down stairs was a painstakingly slow process.

October 13, 2010 - The Enchantments

I went to work expecting it to be a normal day but instead Becca called to see if I wanted to go backpacking... when oh in 2 hours...
So I finished up the pressing matters and quickly packed up what I had and met Becca and Kady at Cole's Corner. They were super great and added extra food and clothes so that I would have everything I needed since it was my first backpacking trip.
It was a GREAT trip! We did it in 3 days. We went up Aasgard Pass. It is about a 2,200 foot elevation gain in 3/4 of a mile.  I didn't take any photos because I was not willing to carry the Nikon the whole trip but these are some of the other people's photos and when they post the rest of them I will put them up. But for now if you want to check out this useful link from wikipedia you can see where I was at.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Enchantments

 The first night we slept down on the far side of the lake

 The hiking poles came in really handy coming down because when you have that much elevation you have to come down that much and it was switchbacks which the poles helped to take some of the stress of of my knees. On the way up I just strapped them to my pack.

It was a fun group of YD Adventures staff. 3 of us from the Washington base (Stonewater Ranch) and then Ryan and Susan from the Idaho base.  What better way to learn how to backpack then with 4 people who have spent the last few years guiding high school students with YD Adventures.

October 10, 2010 - Deception Pass

After the anniversary celebration I got to spend the day with Jessica. She is now living on Friday Harbor. To get to Friday Harbor you have to use the ferry out of Anacortes so it worked out super well. We ran errands and went to Deception Pass

We hung out for the afternoon and then I headed back over the pass.

October 9, 2010- Celebrating 40 Years

This weekend we celebrated Youth Dynamics 40th Anniversary. It was a wonderful weekend celebrating what God has been doing through YD for the last 40 years and also looking to the future to where we are going.

October 8, 2010 -Oktoberfest

We decided to play tourist for a day. Well that lasted all of two hours then we had, had enough of the tourist thing. Leavenworth really isn't that big of a town and when you aren't into purchasing cheesy hats, fudge or taffy there really isn't that much to do.

Probably one of the coolest minature golf courses around.

Leavenworth Mountain Sports clearance rack.

 Little Germany

The beautiful changing of the leaves.

October 6, 2010- Photo Shoot Fun

After work one day I did a photo shoot for some friends just for fun. These are some of my favorites from the evening.

 

October 5,2010- "Off Season"

Some people wonder what we do in the 'off' season at the ranch. Well this is one of those things. Caliber (the horse) is being trained to pull the new wagon which is going to be converted so that we can do hay rides and sleigh rides.

October 3, 2010- My Office

The wonderful view from my office.