Guess who is the Spotlight Shutterbug in the new issue of The Bakersfield Voice?
Pretty fun news to be waiting for me when I got home this morning! :-D
2024 Christmas Letter
2 weeks ago
Friday, February 27, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Lake Hume
Last Thursday through Sunday I had the privilege of going to Lake Hume with a great bunch of students and other chaperones. We had a wonderful time--I've posted a few pictures here (the bulk of them are up on Facebook for easy group sharing and downloading). Lest you think Erik or the pets suffered by my absence, our friend Bill came over and hung out quite a bit--with Erik, and also with the pets in the evening so they didn't have to go to bed when Erik left for work (his nights are a little too long for them). Everyone survived. ;-)
Here is the group of Lovely Ladies who stayed together--playing, worshiping, sharing and having a really good time (Back, L to R: Kat, Lizzie, Rachel, Chelsea, Sarah, Stacy, Alex, Kris; Front, L to R: Nikki, Nathalie)
Broom Hockey!
Coming down the Tube Run
They even have a mechanical bull!
These brave ladies all jumped off The Screamer--a modified bungee jump with a harness that catches you part way down a LONG drop. 
Grayson and Micah in the Box Sled Blitz--cardboard and duct tape only!
We had absolutely BEAUTIFUL weather--sunny and clear and not too cold . . .
. . . although Kris didn't always agree with me on that!
On Sunday morning it was wet and misty and gorgeous
Here's the whole crew right before we headed home: 
It was a great trip, and so fun to get to know these neat young people! Check out my Facebook photos if you want to see more pics.
Following the stellar weekend of course, I came home and promptly got sick. So I haven't been doing much these last couple of days. I'm on the upswing though!
Hope all is well with everyone. :-)
Here is the group of Lovely Ladies who stayed together--playing, worshiping, sharing and having a really good time (Back, L to R: Kat, Lizzie, Rachel, Chelsea, Sarah, Stacy, Alex, Kris; Front, L to R: Nikki, Nathalie)
Broom Hockey!
Coming down the Tube Run
They even have a mechanical bull!
These brave ladies all jumped off The Screamer--a modified bungee jump with a harness that catches you part way down a LONG drop. 
Grayson and Micah in the Box Sled Blitz--cardboard and duct tape only!
We had absolutely BEAUTIFUL weather--sunny and clear and not too cold . . .
. . . although Kris didn't always agree with me on that!
On Sunday morning it was wet and misty and gorgeous
Here's the whole crew right before we headed home: 
It was a great trip, and so fun to get to know these neat young people! Check out my Facebook photos if you want to see more pics.Following the stellar weekend of course, I came home and promptly got sick. So I haven't been doing much these last couple of days. I'm on the upswing though!
Hope all is well with everyone. :-)
Friday, February 13, 2009
Temblor Range
It rained again today which cleared the air, allowing us to see the lovely mountains that actually surround the valley. The snow is at lower elevations now, and so pretty. I couldn't resist taking a little drive up to see them better!
It was still raining in Bakersfield, but clear in the hills. You can see here just about exactly when I drove out of the rain.
I didn't really know how to get where I wanted to go, but meandered my way toward the snow. It was fun to find new little roads to turn on; I did end up on a state highway 58 for the last leg of my journey, and was able to take it back home for a shorter return trip.
My favorite picture of the day
The hills are green from all the rain, making a beautiful contrast with the white of the snow beyond.
Panorama looking back at the valley
Red-tailed Hawk (it really is, Peter--can you see it's tail?) ;-D
Finally high enough to start seeing little patches of snow mingling with the green on the ground. . .
I turned around and headed back home just in time to see a rainbow!
Little road leading off into the mist
At this point on my way home, I could see the snow coming up behind me into the mountains, and the rain ahead of me in Bakersfield . . . and it was perfectly blue and sunny where I was!
May you take the time for a little side trip sometime in the near future!
P.S. You can pray for me next week--I'll be helping to chaperone our church high school youth group trip to camp at Lake Hume! Looking forward to it--we leave Thursday morning! :-D
P.P.S. Have you heard the news?? This wonderful, goofy pair is engaged!!!! Yay!!!!! Congrats to Ben & Pei!!!! We are SO excited for them! :-D
It was still raining in Bakersfield, but clear in the hills. You can see here just about exactly when I drove out of the rain.
I didn't really know how to get where I wanted to go, but meandered my way toward the snow. It was fun to find new little roads to turn on; I did end up on a state highway 58 for the last leg of my journey, and was able to take it back home for a shorter return trip.My favorite picture of the day
The hills are green from all the rain, making a beautiful contrast with the white of the snow beyond.
Panorama looking back at the valley
Red-tailed Hawk (it really is, Peter--can you see it's tail?) ;-D
Finally high enough to start seeing little patches of snow mingling with the green on the ground. . .
I turned around and headed back home just in time to see a rainbow!
Little road leading off into the mist
At this point on my way home, I could see the snow coming up behind me into the mountains, and the rain ahead of me in Bakersfield . . . and it was perfectly blue and sunny where I was!
May you take the time for a little side trip sometime in the near future!P.S. You can pray for me next week--I'll be helping to chaperone our church high school youth group trip to camp at Lake Hume! Looking forward to it--we leave Thursday morning! :-D
P.P.S. Have you heard the news?? This wonderful, goofy pair is engaged!!!! Yay!!!!! Congrats to Ben & Pei!!!! We are SO excited for them! :-D
Monday, February 9, 2009
Hart Park
We've been having rain and chilly weather, a switch from our 80-degree day last week!! The snow in the mountains surrounding the valley is at a much lower elevation, which is fun to see but makes for more complicated driving on Erik's nightly route. So say a prayer for him! To a Wisconsin Girl, it feels kind of like October. Windy, chilly, damp. . . it actually snowed in Bakersfield today for about 90-seconds. I think I counted nine plops of wet snowish clumps on the windshield and hood. Crazy! :-D
On Friday I got to spend the afternoon with our friend Laura at the 32nd annual Central Valley Sportsmen Boat, RV & Outdoor Living Show. Laura was helping with a fly fishing booth, and I got to try my hand at casting with a practice rod. We also watched part of a hunting dog demo--it is SO cool to see what a well-trained working dog can do! Picked up some hiking info too, and am looking forward to using it!!
Today we took a little time to get outside and loaded the pooches in the car for a trip to Hart Park. The stormy sky made for some pretty, vibrant colors, albeit a slightly wet walk. ;-)
There were all kinds of birds on the river and in the lake--mallards, coot and other ducks, and all sorts of different kinds of geese. This was one of the stranger specimens:
So Pippin has only been swimming once in his life since we got him; he was NOT a fan. In fact he had to be encouraged rather strenuously to swim at all. But all the noisy birds on the water fascinated him. He jumped in before we knew it! He also paddled out as fast as he could when the water was over his head. Ha!
Thomas thought swimming looked like a good idea too . . . but getting out was a little harder than anticipated.
This is the time of year we get precipitation and so is the GREENEST time of the year--just beautiful.
An egret:
And finally, lest you forget we're in California . . . look at this perfect little palmetto growing at the edge of the river with the palm trees in the background! There was a little bird flitting around it that I wished I could capture, but he was too cagey.
It was so good to get outside!! I hope you're enjoying yourselves in whatever weather you're in at the moment! :-)
oxox
cmr
On Friday I got to spend the afternoon with our friend Laura at the 32nd annual Central Valley Sportsmen Boat, RV & Outdoor Living Show. Laura was helping with a fly fishing booth, and I got to try my hand at casting with a practice rod. We also watched part of a hunting dog demo--it is SO cool to see what a well-trained working dog can do! Picked up some hiking info too, and am looking forward to using it!!
Today we took a little time to get outside and loaded the pooches in the car for a trip to Hart Park. The stormy sky made for some pretty, vibrant colors, albeit a slightly wet walk. ;-)
There were all kinds of birds on the river and in the lake--mallards, coot and other ducks, and all sorts of different kinds of geese. This was one of the stranger specimens:
So Pippin has only been swimming once in his life since we got him; he was NOT a fan. In fact he had to be encouraged rather strenuously to swim at all. But all the noisy birds on the water fascinated him. He jumped in before we knew it! He also paddled out as fast as he could when the water was over his head. Ha!
Thomas thought swimming looked like a good idea too . . . but getting out was a little harder than anticipated.
This is the time of year we get precipitation and so is the GREENEST time of the year--just beautiful.
An egret:
And finally, lest you forget we're in California . . . look at this perfect little palmetto growing at the edge of the river with the palm trees in the background! There was a little bird flitting around it that I wished I could capture, but he was too cagey.
It was so good to get outside!! I hope you're enjoying yourselves in whatever weather you're in at the moment! :-)oxox
cmr
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Makin' Another Big Move?
It looks like it! Our hope/goal is to be in Wisconsin (Door County?) next August/September. Finances and employment are the current prayer requests :-)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
