Saying Goodbye to Four Wheels

Will has abandoned all things he can pedal with four wheels... Yep, that means that cool little pedal car he got for Christmas sits lonely on the side of the back yard pavement (waiting for two younger brothers to grow up and use it – we hope!! ). And that also means that his training wheels have been abandoned.
Our determined little man worked all last night – after some basic lessons from Mom and Dad – to start on his own and pedal in circles all by himself! He went way past dark last night. And this pic was taken at 8 a.m. this morning – more than a half and hour AFTER Will had started again to work on biking! What fun!

In LA It's the Pits!

The Tar Pits. I remember being a young boy reading about the La Brea Tar Pits in school, as well as in my multiple books about prehistoric animals at home. Fun times! And then one day last year as we were driving down Wilshire Blvd., there they were! :) I knew they were in the area but not this close! Ten miles from our home in Burbank stands one of the most fascinating museums and active "paleontological digs" in the world! Right in the middle of the urban world. We had a great time, and plan to return many times in the future!

Check the link to Webshots for all of the pics - and some cool facts about the Tar Pits - on the left hand side of this blog spot. And for quick access to the website about La Brea, click here:http://www.tarpits.org/

Martin Luther King Jr Day!

Christy and some other moms got very creative yesterday! It being a school holiday and all, the women schemed to rent a "bounce house" for our back yard and bring all of their kids over for a little (or a lot of) fun! The Dominos Pizza man showed up at lunch time, and for 5 moms and 15 kids it was one fun ML King Jr Day!

Enjoy the pics and way to go moms!!

I Just Have One Thing To Say:

It is GREAT to be a Florida Gator! :)

Going on Record

Well, it is officially 25 minutes before the big game. And I know that I may pay dearly for this in the coming days and weeks... Nonetheless I must remain true to my convictions:
OHIO STATE IS GATOR BAIT!!

... now I shall return to my chips and salsa and the television.

Visit from Our Beloved Friends Across the Pond

There are those amazing relationships that the grace of God grants us in this life. I'm speaking of the ones where the cumulative amount of time you actually spend together may add up to two months (over many years) but the depth of relationship makes it feel like you've known each other all your life. I have had the joy of experiencing this grace with a small number of people. But, the ones who top the list visited us just this last week.

Ken and Beulah Robinson. Our dear friends from Northern Ireland - Enniskillen, to be exact. They live in a beautiful county and city! They are tremendous ministers - Ken is the District Superintendent and Senior Pastor of his area in the Methodist Church. We met when the Robinsons were still in Belfast, and served in ministry together for several visits there in the city. What joy to serve with these dear friends!

How much we value their friendship! And we were so blessed by their recent visit - going out of their way to see us (and some others) as they were in the states briefly to celebrate the marriage of their son Timothy in AZ. Congratulations Timothy and Carrie! And thanks so much, Ken and Beulah! So good to be with you!

Tony Bancroft is a GREAT Guy!

Just google him some time!

...that is all I have to say about that...

(Feel free to comment)

Tournament of Roses Parade and Burbank's Entry

What fun to be out here through the holidays this year and be able to see how excited this town gets over the Rose Parade! Truly a fun morning! We did not make it to Pasadena to see the parade this year, but I suspect we will in the near future! (Not quite that brave yet!)

But we had some fun right here in Burbank! For starters, as we waited for the parade to begin, we were able to get our own personal "fly-by" by the B-2 Stealth Bomber that flies over the parade signifying the start of the event!

I was tipped off by a friend that we might see the Stealth, so I was watching... It circled with a couple of F-16s for about a half an hour - but off in the distance... And Just when I thought it was done circling, the B-2 flew right over our neighborhood - waking up all of Burbank with it's thunderous blare. The picture above is the Stealth and the two F-16's quickly flying AWAY from the house... They caught me by surprise! Less than a minute later we were watching this same bomber fly right over the parade in Pasadena on television! Very exciting.

Second, our own Burbank entry came home two days ago and has been accesible to all in the area. So we visited the float today! What an amazing accomplishment! Here is a link to the details of the float: "Free Dog Wash" - http://burbankrosefloat.com/history/2007/2007_float_entry_fact_sheet.html

One of the things that is so exceptional about this float is that it is one of the very few that was constructed by the city of Burbank, itself - not by a professional "float building" company! Makes us proud!

Click up in the links section to see more pics of the float, and read a few of the details about it!

Fascinating!