Fun at the Falls

Here are some pics of when I took Jack to the Falls. He is an easy kid to please (most of the time).

Biking

Getting Back Out There

So, the sun is out and so are our bikes. After a long slumber, Karina, Matt, and I are all riding again. It took Matt a little while to get going again because it had been so long. But I think it helped that I told him that riding a bike is like. . .well. . .riding a bike. Before he knew it, he was cruising through the cul de sac with no help from me.

The Springwater Trail

So, I wanted to get going again too. Last Saturday I decided that I wanted to do more than just ride around town. I decided to go out on the Springwater Trail and ride for a while. I started on it at about 12:45pm. There are mile markers, so I thought I would ride for about 5 miles and then head back. The 5 miles went so quickly, though, that I thought I could try for 10. It was going pretty well, even after I reached 10, and I thought to myself, "It is only about 6 more miles until the mile markers end. Why don't I just go for it?"

I did.

When I finally got to the end, I wanted to see exactly where I was, so I rode out before turning around on the trail. I was at OMSI! I had no idea.

The Dreaded Moment

Then I started to ride home. I realized very quickly that I had made a horrible mistake. I was on an older street bike with over 16 miles to ride, and I had probably never ridden for more than 3 miles at once in my entire life.

I could have just taken my sweet time, but I needed to get back for the Easter service that evening. I labored through the ride, stopping to stretch and drink water 3 or 4 times. After a while, I got the sensation that I was probably going to throw up. Funny enough, the next thought I had was that I did not object to throwing up at all. It sounded like it might help.

Well, I did make it home, just in time to shower and head out to church. My legs were tight, but it was still an experience worth having.

Today, I rode 10 miles out and 10 back. That was challenging, but not nearly as debilitating. Fun stuff.

All-Star Jack

Enjoy!

Eeeeee-Cola

Get it? Like that commercial for Ricola? Heh heh.
So, we were out at Ecola this past week. If you don't know, Ecola is a one-year Bible school at the Oregon Coast (Cannon Beach). This was the third year that I had the opportunity to teach out there for a week (they bring in two different teachers each week). I taught the Minor Prophets, which was challenging, exciting, and enriching. It was great to hang with the students a little bit, and also to get to spend a week away as a family. Here are some of the pictures:

Weather was not really a highlight. It was rainy most of the week. But we made a trip out to the World Famous Tillamook Cheese Factory. It was a great time, mostly because we all got to have some great ice cream at the end of the tour. Jack really enjoyed his (which was really Karina's). As Matt and I were standing in line to order I started naming off to him some of the different options. Then he looked up at the posted menu and said, "Can I have chocolate peanut butter?" I guess he didn't need me to read it for him.

As I said, the weather was pretty bad most of the week. We spent a lot of time in Ecola's Rec Center playing games. Still, we did make it out to the beach on two of the days. No swimming (this is Oregon, after all), but it was fun just hanging out.


Here are the boys, haning out in a little fort that we found.

As far as we can remember, this was Jack's first time out on the beach. As you can see, he was pretty impressed with the whole concept. He especially enjoyed picking up the sand and letting it slip through his fingers.


Meanwhile, Matt enjoyed doing some adventuring. Here he is, climbing on a log.

The week was really fun. It makes me very thankful for my family, that they are all such enjoyable people with whom to spend time.

Oh, one last highlight! With March Madness and all, Matt and I were watching ESPN and they were re-showing the 1979 National Championship game, when Magic Johnson led Michigan State over Larry Bird and Indiana State. Here is a quick pic:

As we watched the game, Matt kept making the same baffled comment over and over again: "They're playing in shorts!"