tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2557068994122026782024-03-12T19:37:53.001-07:00Matt's BlogMatthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17513397748487815974noreply@blogger.comBlogger43125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-255706899412202678.post-13088765160189958802012-01-28T18:04:00.001-08:002012-01-28T18:04:17.846-08:00New BlogPlease see here for new updates: <a href="http://vandykensinmexico.blogspot.com/">http://vandykensinmexico.blogspot.com</a> . Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17513397748487815974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-255706899412202678.post-11825110962066403312010-09-06T05:55:00.001-07:002010-09-06T06:03:40.704-07:00Cottage Pictures 2010<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/TITmElPNa3I/AAAAAAAAAjw/0ZtU7IHnxho/s1600/Cottage_013.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/TITmElPNa3I/AAAAAAAAAjw/0ZtU7IHnxho/s320/Cottage_013.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513784810198100850" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/TITmEI3VjbI/AAAAAAAAAjo/l7GQ4GgJNBc/s1600/Cottage_012.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/TITmEI3VjbI/AAAAAAAAAjo/l7GQ4GgJNBc/s320/Cottage_012.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513784802581777842" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/TITlunShPCI/AAAAAAAAAjQ/d-apTae-hDQ/s1600/Cottage_011.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/TITlunShPCI/AAAAAAAAAjQ/d-apTae-hDQ/s320/Cottage_011.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513784432791731234" border="0" /></a><br />One of the several Ticket to Ride games we played. :)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/TITlV95-giI/AAAAAAAAAjI/VKo2K0asFys/s1600/Cottage_010.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/TITlV95-giI/AAAAAAAAAjI/VKo2K0asFys/s320/Cottage_010.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513784009366077986" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/TITlVi-8jzI/AAAAAAAAAjA/yL6HgLFt5jE/s1600/Cottage_009.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/TITlVi-8jzI/AAAAAAAAAjA/yL6HgLFt5jE/s320/Cottage_009.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513784002139164466" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/TITlVEJKUPI/AAAAAAAAAi4/-w5-G8ASs4k/s1600/Cottage_008.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/TITlVEJKUPI/AAAAAAAAAi4/-w5-G8ASs4k/s320/Cottage_008.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513783993860509938" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/TITlUU0ZNFI/AAAAAAAAAiw/0MTrTyze_C4/s1600/Cottage_007.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/TITlUU0ZNFI/AAAAAAAAAiw/0MTrTyze_C4/s320/Cottage_007.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513783981156938834" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/TITlUOOcfoI/AAAAAAAAAio/jfZKDBTbX7k/s1600/Cottage_006.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/TITlUOOcfoI/AAAAAAAAAio/jfZKDBTbX7k/s320/Cottage_006.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513783979387158146" border="0" /></a><br />Dad telling us how big the fish that got away was.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/TITk_0F1PkI/AAAAAAAAAiA/Ne2E_gct-zk/s1600/Cottage_001.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/TITk_0F1PkI/AAAAAAAAAiA/Ne2E_gct-zk/s320/Cottage_001.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513783628774325826" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/TITlBCug3LI/AAAAAAAAAig/iN_Sj4lPHJA/s1600/Cottage_005.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/TITlBCug3LI/AAAAAAAAAig/iN_Sj4lPHJA/s320/Cottage_005.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513783649882922162" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/TITlA32OxwI/AAAAAAAAAiY/kEFfb6Ec3qs/s1600/Cottage_004.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/TITlA32OxwI/AAAAAAAAAiY/kEFfb6Ec3qs/s320/Cottage_004.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513783646962501378" border="0" /></a><br />A big game of "Tip Curt over". (Also known as wrestling.)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/TITlAQEETaI/AAAAAAAAAiQ/Y3-ISE3rQ40/s1600/Cottage_003.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/TITlAQEETaI/AAAAAAAAAiQ/Y3-ISE3rQ40/s320/Cottage_003.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513783636283116962" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/TITlADrGZFI/AAAAAAAAAiI/Bv6cidUnDf8/s1600/Cottage_002.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/TITlADrGZFI/AAAAAAAAAiI/Bv6cidUnDf8/s320/Cottage_002.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513783632957170770" border="0" /></a>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17513397748487815974noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-255706899412202678.post-40316908464593235262010-02-27T19:09:00.001-08:002010-02-27T19:14:24.640-08:00Dominican Trip (only slightly overdue :) )Just tonight, I wrote an update regarding my recent trip to the Dominican Republic for the Oak Glen church "paper". And so I thought since the work of writing it out was done, I would include it here as well, for your interest.<br /><br />________________________<br /><br />As many of you know, this past January I went to the Dominican Republic for about a week-long trip. The purpose of the trip was to help build a medical clinic in Hato Nuevo, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. (If you have a very good memory, you might remember an article in the Christian Renewal about this very clinic a while back.) The two-story clinic is the project of Ministries In Action (MIA) and Dr. Silvia Martinez, the local representative of the Luke Society. It will replace Dr. Silvia's current clinic in Santo Domingo, which is very crowded and badly in need of more room.<br />Our group was 19 strong, 18 of whom came the Edmonton Orthodox Reformed Church (a URC). When I was in Edmonton this past summer for an internship, they kindly invited me to come along with them on this trip. We were quite the crowd of people all told! The local kids would always shout out upon seeing us, "¡Gringos, gringos!" To which we would reply, being Canadians, "No, ¡canadienses, canadienses!" :) But we were there to work, and work we did. Our main job was to paint, and so we were very thankful to have a professional painter along to direct us.<br />On one of the days, we made a trip to one of the bateys. (The bateys are some of the poorest sections in the Dominican Republic.) There, after a small VBS program, some of the girls who were nurses helped Dr. Silvia in an impromptu clinic while the rest of us were busily occupied playing games with the kids.<br />By night we were invited to come to different churches in the area. I had originally been told that I would be asked to preach once, but as I soon found out, I would have to preach five times in four different churches! I was quite nervous about preaching in Spanish and also was quite worried that any grand ideas they had of a Canadian preacher would soon prove to be reversed. But I found the congregations were very encouraging and appreciative. It was a very different experience, but I am so thankful for their warm welcomes given to our group.<br />Other highlights from the trip included late-night 5-inch spider-killing, as well as forming a mid-night fire brigade. (Ask me if you want to hear the story.)<br />All in all, it was a busy, tiring, yet very encouraging trip. What was most special to me was the bond we shared with the D.R. Christians - the bond of being Christians joined together by the body and blood of Christ.<br />________________________<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/S4nfPcbq5QI/AAAAAAAAAhw/tBUd-2mvDL0/s1600-h/dr_trip_4.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/S4nfPcbq5QI/AAAAAAAAAhw/tBUd-2mvDL0/s320/dr_trip_4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443127081077236994" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/S4nfPGSCLoI/AAAAAAAAAho/TrSkitVDCmg/s1600-h/dr_trip_3.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/S4nfPGSCLoI/AAAAAAAAAho/TrSkitVDCmg/s320/dr_trip_3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443127075131240066" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/S4nfOi6cr4I/AAAAAAAAAhg/KmP96e85mtQ/s1600-h/dr_trip_2.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/S4nfOi6cr4I/AAAAAAAAAhg/KmP96e85mtQ/s320/dr_trip_2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443127065637072770" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/S4nfOWvKRoI/AAAAAAAAAhY/7wLlRFBDf_E/s1600-h/dr_trip_1.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/S4nfOWvKRoI/AAAAAAAAAhY/7wLlRFBDf_E/s320/dr_trip_1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443127062368503426" border="0" /></a>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17513397748487815974noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-255706899412202678.post-55321768343364589372010-01-22T17:09:00.000-08:002010-01-22T17:20:07.324-08:00Winter Wonderland of HoarfrostI recently had the opportunity to preach in Forreston RCA, Illinois. Great was my surprise to see a beautiful hoarfrost! Unfortunately, I missed what would have been the most beautiful picture of all (the town church where we were with the surrounding trees), but here you can some that I took on my drive back to Indiana.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/S1pORi8ha_I/AAAAAAAAAg4/l7ODjxaXRvE/s1600-h/DSCF0001.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/S1pORi8ha_I/AAAAAAAAAg4/l7ODjxaXRvE/s320/DSCF0001.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429738364093950962" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/S1pORx7X1ZI/AAAAAAAAAhA/b3NnZrYd2XU/s1600-h/DSCF0002.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/S1pORx7X1ZI/AAAAAAAAAhA/b3NnZrYd2XU/s320/DSCF0002.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429738368115660178" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/S1pOSl5yc5I/AAAAAAAAAhQ/RjVq4eVRb20/s1600-h/DSCF0011.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/S1pOSl5yc5I/AAAAAAAAAhQ/RjVq4eVRb20/s320/DSCF0011.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429738382067659666" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/S1pOSccuxOI/AAAAAAAAAhI/AdGTrkAiqP8/s1600-h/DSCF0010.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/S1pOSccuxOI/AAAAAAAAAhI/AdGTrkAiqP8/s320/DSCF0010.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429738379529864418" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Job 37:9-14 - Out of the south cometh the whirlwind: and cold out of the north. By the breath of God frost is given: and the breadth of the waters is straitened. Also by watering he wearieth the thick cloud: he scattereth his bright cloud: and it is turned round about by his counsels: that they may do whatsoever he commandeth them upon the face of the world in the earth. He causeth it to come, whether for correction, or for his land, or for mercy. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Hearken unto this, O Job: stand still, and consider the wondrous works of God.</span>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17513397748487815974noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-255706899412202678.post-62416765539911859972009-11-27T12:25:00.000-08:002009-11-27T12:34:57.995-08:00On a different note... SolzhenitsynOne of the professors at school referred us students to an address given at Harvard a while back (1978). Solzhenitsyn was a Russian who lived during the Communist times, lived at a labour camp for years, and was finally exiled because of his views. I believe that he became a Christian. He died just last year. <br /><br />Here's a very <a href="http://www.thinkchristian.net/index.php/2008/08/25/remembering-a-modern-day-prophet-alexander-solzhenitsyn/">short</a> version of his speech and here's the whole <a href="http://www.columbia.edu/cu/augustine/arch/solzhenitsyn/harvard1978.html">shebang</a>. It's a fascinating critique of Western society, written from a Christian perspective and also from one who grew up as a Russian communist.<br /><br />Thanks for the link, Brian! (In case you're reading this.)Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17513397748487815974noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-255706899412202678.post-49620704165439652752009-09-24T17:17:00.000-07:002009-09-24T17:22:25.457-07:00Quick fish post...I have to make this quick, as I really should be studying, but... the Swets took us out for some fishing on Labor Day weekend near Dan's work. We caught a lot of sunfish and I caught this nice catfish. It was maybe around 7 pounds or so?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SrwMwQ97ZLI/AAAAAAAAAgs/qTt4gs4UfcQ/s1600-h/Chicago_001.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SrwMwQ97ZLI/AAAAAAAAAgs/qTt4gs4UfcQ/s320/Chicago_001.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385193277756236978" border="0" /></a>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17513397748487815974noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-255706899412202678.post-81883601371198208282009-08-27T06:50:00.001-07:002009-08-31T13:54:38.677-07:00Samuel de Champlain Fish RollWe just got back from Samuel de Champlain Provincial Park this past Tuesday. We had a great time. Curt, Jen, Phillip, and Ruth came up for one of the weekends, and we really enjoyed our time together. There is some great snorkeling and rapids-on-an-air-mattress at the park.<br /><br />And of course for any camping trip, there is the small question of fishing. It was incredible! Never have we caught so many large fish in such a short time. You will have to ask for the stories that go along with these fish some other time.<br /><br />We started out fishing quite a bit on the Mattawa River just below the rapids. There we caught a number of smaller small-mouth bass. But the highlight there is a <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">14.5 lb catfish</span> - 31 inches long, 18 inches in girth that I caught. No picture unfortunately, but that's the official family record for catfish to my knowledge (aside from Dad's unofficial cat in Jordan Harbour, and aside from any picture-less fish that Jer remembers catching. :) Just kidding, of course.)<br /><br />After Curt, Jen, Phillip, and Ruth left, Dad, Mom, and I discovered another place, outside of the park. The location is classified... we might let you in on it for a price. :)<br /><br />First of all, I caught a <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">3.8 lb large-mouth bass</span> there.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SpaSSOlNOGI/AAAAAAAAAgM/z_gnOyNxBlY/s1600-h/sam_de_cham_fish_2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374644047162718306" style="WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SpaSSOlNOGI/AAAAAAAAAgM/z_gnOyNxBlY/s320/sam_de_cham_fish_2.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Then soon after that I caught a <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">4.4 lb walleye</span>! This fish actually broke the line right next to the shore, whereupon Dad jumped in and caught it with his bare hands. So the credit goes just as much to Dad as to myself. Here you can see the two fish. We let the bass go, and made a fish-fry out of the walleye (cut into pieces and fry in egg and bread crumbs).<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SpaSSuAAiAI/AAAAAAAAAgU/6IZRgj3J_9I/s1600-h/sam_de_cham_fish_3.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374644055596632066" style="WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SpaSSuAAiAI/AAAAAAAAAgU/6IZRgj3J_9I/s320/sam_de_cham_fish_3.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Then on the following day, Dad caught a <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">1 lb largemouth</span>, and then I caught a <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">5 lb largemouth</span>! This was my biggest largemouth ever, though Jonathan still holds the (unofficial?) record for his Florida bass.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SpaSS6R0H-I/AAAAAAAAAgc/nWOrATPZ8rc/s1600-h/sam_de_cham_fish_4.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374644058892541922" style="WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SpaSS6R0H-I/AAAAAAAAAgc/nWOrATPZ8rc/s320/sam_de_cham_fish_4.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Actually, this bass has a bit of a story as well. We decided to keep it, and left it tied up on the shore. But we came to get it just before we were going to go, and a turtle had been chewing on it! :( All in all, we probably lost a pound of meat to the turtle (though the 5 lbs measurement was taken in the pre-turtle era.) We ate this one as well (deep fried with batter). Here is a picture so you can see the turtle effect a little better. (The other side was worse.)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SpaSTOVImoI/AAAAAAAAAgk/6XIKEsIjRaE/s1600-h/sam_de_cham_fish_5.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374644064275176066" style="WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SpaSTOVImoI/AAAAAAAAAgk/6XIKEsIjRaE/s320/sam_de_cham_fish_5.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />And finally on the next day, Dad wrestled a fish out of the one location that we had been trying for a while. It was a <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">4.2 lb largemouth</span>. (Dad's biggest?) We let this fish go, as (needless to say) we had just had two very big fish dinners.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SpaP2-zWFfI/AAAAAAAAAgE/SEJ6PgCimaU/s1600-h/sam_de_cham_fish_1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374641380047328754" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 224px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SpaP2-zWFfI/AAAAAAAAAgE/SEJ6PgCimaU/s320/sam_de_cham_fish_1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I've never seen fishing like that before. Incredible, eh? Too bad Curt and Jen and Ruth and Phillip couldn't have stayed a bit longer!Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17513397748487815974noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-255706899412202678.post-49237797535314064162009-08-11T20:15:00.000-07:002009-08-11T20:32:50.071-07:00The FlatlandsPictures from the "Land of the Living Sky" (Saskatchewan license plate motto).<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SoI0OdEELtI/AAAAAAAAAes/4JfDmYEOj1M/s1600-h/trip_back_3.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 192px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SoI0OdEELtI/AAAAAAAAAes/4JfDmYEOj1M/s320/trip_back_3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368911128703545042" border="0" /></a><br /><br />This picture reminded me of the marshes in LOTR. Dad would probably be horrified that I'm comparing real experience to movies, but ah well. :)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SoI0NkKTFrI/AAAAAAAAAec/T1LW8rfGFSs/s1600-h/trip_back_1.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 222px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SoI0NkKTFrI/AAAAAAAAAec/T1LW8rfGFSs/s320/trip_back_1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368911113428866738" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />This was what a good number of my pictures look like before editing. :)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SoI0kecPH-I/AAAAAAAAAfU/SjMfR19Lp_M/s1600-h/trip_back_8.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SoI0kecPH-I/AAAAAAAAAfU/SjMfR19Lp_M/s320/trip_back_8.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368911507030482914" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The ubiquitous grain elevator, once again.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SoI0Nx9juFI/AAAAAAAAAek/bOl1tuL02nk/s1600-h/trip_back_2.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 230px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SoI0Nx9juFI/AAAAAAAAAek/bOl1tuL02nk/s320/trip_back_2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368911117133527122" border="0" /></a><br /><br />One of the river valleys. (Athabasca?)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SoI0j1YtTJI/AAAAAAAAAfM/LZgX6Mk2rns/s1600-h/trip_back_7.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 221px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SoI0j1YtTJI/AAAAAAAAAfM/LZgX6Mk2rns/s320/trip_back_7.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368911496009829522" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The Trans-Canada pipeline? No, just some hay bales. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SoI0PCRUfVI/AAAAAAAAAe8/PwmUSKEdI80/s1600-h/trip_back_5.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 188px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SoI0PCRUfVI/AAAAAAAAAe8/PwmUSKEdI80/s320/trip_back_5.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368911138691251538" border="0" /></a><br /><br />They do everything big in these provinces! This train was actually probably five times as long as what you see.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SoI0jswps3I/AAAAAAAAAfE/qk9dS-SwOiY/s1600-h/trip_back_6.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 197px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SoI0jswps3I/AAAAAAAAAfE/qk9dS-SwOiY/s320/trip_back_6.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368911493694337906" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Borden Bridge.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SoI0OjJ1YrI/AAAAAAAAAe0/r_npevMCJqU/s1600-h/trip_back_4.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 198px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SoI0OjJ1YrI/AAAAAAAAAe0/r_npevMCJqU/s320/trip_back_4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368911130338353842" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Some Manitoba farmland. The horizon is at least 10 kilometers away! (I measured.)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SoI0k87gYcI/AAAAAAAAAfc/jh6hhkFbQjw/s1600-h/trip_back_9.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 238px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SoI0k87gYcI/AAAAAAAAAfc/jh6hhkFbQjw/s320/trip_back_9.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368911515214700994" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Right now I'm at a Day's Inn in Portage La Prairie. Tomorrow night I'll be into Ontario. I'm thinking of sleeping in my car overnight, so you may not hear from me.Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17513397748487815974noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-255706899412202678.post-14596046268145438732009-08-10T19:40:00.000-07:002009-08-10T19:44:00.910-07:00My place #2What happens when things are forgotten in the fridge that never should have been in the fridge in the first place.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SoDaXt1vZvI/AAAAAAAAAeU/SMGNjg4uWZA/s1600-h/alberta_aug_10_1.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SoDaXt1vZvI/AAAAAAAAAeU/SMGNjg4uWZA/s320/alberta_aug_10_1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368530856802477810" border="0" /></a><br />I never knew an onion could do that. Actually, I saw it starting to sprout and so I left it in the fridge. <br /><br />Tomorrow morning I'm leaving for Ontario. I was going to leave tonight, but it didn't work out (too much to do). So I'm not going to stop by Calgary and am instead driving straight from here (no change in plans for Thursday, don't worry).Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17513397748487815974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-255706899412202678.post-50136710306471636022009-08-07T20:00:00.000-07:002009-08-07T20:12:19.138-07:00My placeAh... the peaceful quiet of a bachelor's suite. No worries at all. Here's a picture of my mug (I cleaned half of it) to show you the true state of things. :)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SnzrsTgfBII/AAAAAAAAAeI/OkgCtBBK2ng/s1600-h/alberta_aug_4.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SnzrsTgfBII/AAAAAAAAAeI/OkgCtBBK2ng/s320/alberta_aug_4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367424002302084226" border="0" /></a><br />Don't worry... it's not quite as bad as that. Two reasons - first of all, my mug is usually elsewhere when I do the dishes. And secondly, if you look carefully, I made the shadow line up with the tea/coffee stain on the mug. :)<br /><br />Here's some other assorted pictures of Edmonton. This one below is my appartment (part of a four-plex) from the outside. The tree there is a half dead birch. All the birches in the area seem to have the same sort of malady.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/Snzrrb8-ChI/AAAAAAAAAdw/PyidEs052Ic/s1600-h/alberta_aug_1.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/Snzrrb8-ChI/AAAAAAAAAdw/PyidEs052Ic/s320/alberta_aug_1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367423987389172242" border="0" /></a><br /><br />A local jack-rabbit I saw in the park.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SnzrrkoZwHI/AAAAAAAAAd4/Sa6quwoodHw/s1600-h/alberta_aug_2.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SnzrrkoZwHI/AAAAAAAAAd4/Sa6quwoodHw/s320/alberta_aug_2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367423989718827122" border="0" /></a><br /><br />And a nearby retirement complex.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/Snzrry--wlI/AAAAAAAAAeA/EEEFxjbW_QY/s1600-h/alberta_aug_3.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/Snzrry--wlI/AAAAAAAAAeA/EEEFxjbW_QY/s320/alberta_aug_3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367423993571623506" border="0" /></a>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17513397748487815974noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-255706899412202678.post-6923197422973709482009-08-02T21:53:00.000-07:002009-08-02T22:07:15.213-07:00Record Walleye? (For the family, at least...)Last week, one of the guys from the congregation - Jean-David Jutras - invited me to go on a fishing trip with him in Northern Alberta. We went to Calling Lake, a northern lake right beside of Grandpa's favorite fishing lake - Fawcett Lake.<br /><br />I had never caught any walleye before, so Jean-David was going to show me how to catch some. And catch some we did! Here is the picture of my second walleye there. We weighed it, and it was right at 5 lbs. Unfortunately, we never got to eat it, as it bent the stringer during the day and got away. Here are two pictures of it.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SnZv-xplurI/AAAAAAAAAdg/11r-n99P9aA/s1600-h/edmonton_3.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SnZv-xplurI/AAAAAAAAAdg/11r-n99P9aA/s320/edmonton_3.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365599130328873650" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SnZv_LKchNI/AAAAAAAAAdo/a2bJ1SjYeBA/s1600-h/edmonton_5.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SnZv_LKchNI/AAAAAAAAAdo/a2bJ1SjYeBA/s320/edmonton_5.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365599137177568466" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Jeremy? Curt? Is this the record for walleye? We should really have a page somewhere discussing who caught what for the family records. :)<br /><br />Thanks for the great trip, Jean-David!Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17513397748487815974noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-255706899412202678.post-42258145643980481882009-07-18T19:12:00.001-07:002009-07-18T19:14:56.357-07:00FoodMy latest, greatest effort at cooking... harvest casserole.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SmKBQ1i_xTI/AAAAAAAAAco/XQDfmlbwaNU/s1600-h/alberta_food_1.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SmKBQ1i_xTI/AAAAAAAAAco/XQDfmlbwaNU/s320/alberta_food_1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359988632776066354" border="0" /></a><br /><br />If you come over soon enough, I'll even let you have some! :) Though you better hurry, 'cause it's .....Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17513397748487815974noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-255706899412202678.post-90256405368325987802009-07-13T19:12:00.000-07:002009-07-13T19:18:57.750-07:00Edmonton FishingToday I went fishing with Mr. Klaas VanderVeen and Rev. Pols. The fishing wasn't quite as good as the last time... but we did still make out pretty well, as you can see. These were all the fish we three kept (I didn't catch all of these.... don't worry.) Rev. Pols caught the most as well as the biggest one, which was probably about 3 pounds.<br /><br />I did do pretty well though, even getting some fish on some of my biggest lures. I tried the Baramundi Mauler, Curt & Jer, but didn't get anything on that one unfortunately. :)<br /><br />We also saw on the trip two bald eagle's, some loons, and a big white pelican.<br /><br />Afterwards, we went over to the VanderVeen's and had a nice dinner there together (Mr. and Mrs. VanderVeen, Rev. & Mrs. Pols, and Kevin VanderVeen, a grand-son).<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/Slvqn1IiRoI/AAAAAAAAAbc/ZMfOYXxQU1A/s1600-h/edmonton.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/Slvqn1IiRoI/AAAAAAAAAbc/ZMfOYXxQU1A/s320/edmonton.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358134151686014594" border="0" /></a><br /><br />This picture is of the bright yellow canola fields on the way home. Beautiful!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/Slvqobr__uI/AAAAAAAAAbk/97RwnbaNTRI/s1600-h/edmonton_2.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/Slvqobr__uI/AAAAAAAAAbk/97RwnbaNTRI/s320/edmonton_2.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358134162035310306" border="0" /></a>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17513397748487815974noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-255706899412202678.post-91961222110086166902009-07-06T22:37:00.000-07:002009-07-06T23:43:25.716-07:00Long Overdue Pictures #2 - The Sky... of Wisconsin, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, AlbertaAbout three weeks ago, I drove out to Edmonton to start an internship there with the <a href="http://www.orcurc.org/">Edmonton ORC</a> church (a URC). I haven't taken any pictures out here yet, unfortunately, but I did take a lot of pictures on the road trip. 3500 km, in toto! I took three days to do it, which allowed for a fairly easy driving schedule (13, 9, 8 hours I believe). It was a very enjoyable trip. I listened to some music, a good number of sermons, as well as the complete audiobook of Dostoyevesky's "The Karamazov Brothers".<br /><br />The main thing that impressed me on the trip was the sky. The sky is so big out here! Everything is so flat (especially in Saskatchewan) that you can see for miles and miles. That means that you can see much more of the sky than in Ontario. On my second day, I was chasing a storm for quite some time. I went right through a violent part of it, as you can see. The downpours are quite torrential (though localized).<br /><br />The Trip.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SlLlSegaGOI/AAAAAAAAAaM/gt4nxmb2wyk/s1600-h/edmonton_trip.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 175px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SlLlSegaGOI/AAAAAAAAAaM/gt4nxmb2wyk/s320/edmonton_trip.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355595012486338786" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Approaching a down-pour.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SlLlS_ft8pI/AAAAAAAAAaU/9E9esTnC_3Y/s1600-h/alberta_trip_1.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 182px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SlLlS_ft8pI/AAAAAAAAAaU/9E9esTnC_3Y/s320/alberta_trip_1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355595021341815442" border="0" /></a><br /><br />In the middle of the down-pour.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SlLlSxSx8II/AAAAAAAAAac/uLQGJ47GMGw/s1600-h/alberta_trip_2.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SlLlSxSx8II/AAAAAAAAAac/uLQGJ47GMGw/s320/alberta_trip_2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355595017529454722" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Saskatchewan. No trees for as far as you can see.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SlLlxsb3irI/AAAAAAAAAbU/CiE_uqsUMTA/s1600-h/alberta_trip_9.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 228px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SlLlxsb3irI/AAAAAAAAAbU/CiE_uqsUMTA/s320/alberta_trip_9.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355595548801338034" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SlLlxV-hgmI/AAAAAAAAAbM/lelbJQ0wDOo/s1600-h/alberta_trip_8.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 232px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SlLlxV-hgmI/AAAAAAAAAbM/lelbJQ0wDOo/s320/alberta_trip_8.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355595542772679266" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SlLlwe-1h9I/AAAAAAAAAa0/dg8VdWdX30I/s1600-h/alberta_trip_5.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SlLlwe-1h9I/AAAAAAAAAa0/dg8VdWdX30I/s320/alberta_trip_5.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355595528010041298" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SlLlToJgdAI/AAAAAAAAAas/qnvzAMSwrQg/s1600-h/alberta_trip_4.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SlLlToJgdAI/AAAAAAAAAas/qnvzAMSwrQg/s320/alberta_trip_4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355595032254510082" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SlLlTcoaggI/AAAAAAAAAak/CCWXQZNl9_c/s1600-h/alberta_trip_3.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 230px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SlLlTcoaggI/AAAAAAAAAak/CCWXQZNl9_c/s320/alberta_trip_3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355595029162918402" border="0" /></a><br /><br />After a storm, #1. No set of pictures on a trip through the Prairies (aka 'Grain Basket') would be complete with a picture of the ubiquitous grain elevator).<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SlLlxDtLDcI/AAAAAAAAAbE/cGZwgItj1HI/s1600-h/alberta_trip_7.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 203px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SlLlxDtLDcI/AAAAAAAAAbE/cGZwgItj1HI/s320/alberta_trip_7.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355595537868066242" border="0" /></a><br /><br />After a storm, #2. I think this is my favourite picture.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SlLlwsd1TcI/AAAAAAAAAa8/rGy7IQOciKE/s1600-h/alberta_trip_6.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 231px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SlLlwsd1TcI/AAAAAAAAAa8/rGy7IQOciKE/s320/alberta_trip_6.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355595531629710786" border="0" /></a><br /><br />____________________________________________<br /><br />He has made the earth by His power;<br /> He has established the world by His wisdom,<br /> And stretched out the heaven by His understanding.<br /><br />When He utters His voice--<br /> There is a multitude of waters in the heavens:<br /> He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth;<br /> He makes lightnings for the rain;<br /> He brings the wind out of His treasuries."<br /><br />(Jeremiah 51:15-16).Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17513397748487815974noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-255706899412202678.post-23497250120968558402009-07-06T22:25:00.000-07:002009-07-06T22:36:50.666-07:00Long Overdue Pictures #1 - Where I Stay in ChicagoA certain dear cousin of mine has lately been after me to update this blog. So, I have overcome my tardiness and procastinatory nature (for the present, at least), and have chosen some pictures to post. These pictures are of the Swets' house, where I stayed in Chicago. It's quite a pretty house, as you can see. The Swets have put a lot of work into it. The yard is quite large as well, and extends a long ways backwards. Very nice for studying, though I'm afraid I haven't availed myself of the backyard too often. :( I'll have to rectify that next year. <br /><br />It has been very nice to stay here. The Swets are very kind & sociable, love to play games :), and always include us students (Aaron V. and myself) in the life of the household.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SlLdEp2sWAI/AAAAAAAAAaE/OnQLO87-174/s1600-h/swets_3.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SlLdEp2sWAI/AAAAAAAAAaE/OnQLO87-174/s320/swets_3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355585978921408514" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SlLdEappW2I/AAAAAAAAAZ8/ZdYBctYtPD4/s1600-h/swets_2.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SlLdEappW2I/AAAAAAAAAZ8/ZdYBctYtPD4/s320/swets_2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355585974840154978" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SlLdEFDRdLI/AAAAAAAAAZ0/ssW_EhMNuO0/s1600-h/swets_1.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SlLdEFDRdLI/AAAAAAAAAZ0/ssW_EhMNuO0/s320/swets_1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355585969042060466" border="0" /></a>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17513397748487815974noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-255706899412202678.post-40014149654855557802009-03-17T18:37:00.000-07:002009-03-17T18:59:31.981-07:00Pictures of Visit and Gary's Bachelor PartyThese pictures are long overdue. The first shows a visit from Pastor Bouwers and Mr. Sinke. They came all the way from Jordan Station to visit me at MARS! That was very nice of them and of consistory.... a real blessing!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/ScBQuWupv7I/AAAAAAAAAZs/ZvhIaY9wT3Y/s1600-h/Pastor_bouwers_Mr_Sinke_me_1_tn.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/ScBQuWupv7I/AAAAAAAAAZs/ZvhIaY9wT3Y/s320/Pastor_bouwers_Mr_Sinke_me_1_tn.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314336317602643890" border="0" /></a><br /><br />And this was from a while back. It's of Gary Z's Bachelor party.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/ScBQtsrjjaI/AAAAAAAAAZk/Wo-bVcY4XCI/s1600-h/P1132505_tn.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/ScBQtsrjjaI/AAAAAAAAAZk/Wo-bVcY4XCI/s320/P1132505_tn.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314336306315365794" border="0" /></a>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17513397748487815974noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-255706899412202678.post-53107823808034573022009-03-17T18:23:00.001-07:002009-03-17T18:24:43.435-07:00Joshua ProjectI came across this site the other day... it shows a map of the world where you can see the unreached people groups of the world.<br /><a href="http://www.joshuaproject.net/"><br />http://www.joshuaproject.net/</a>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17513397748487815974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-255706899412202678.post-1167373248283530602009-01-04T14:02:00.000-08:002009-01-04T14:15:16.627-08:00Pond Hockey (or rather... Pond Shovelling)<p><p>Over the Christmas break, I visited Uncle Curt & Aunt Jane's house. I went there right before that one big storm (when we got over 1 foot of snow). We decided to play some pond hockey, but by the time we got the whole pond shovelled, we were just about too tired to play! And we could only play for about 20 minutes before we had to re-shovel. All in all, we probably did about 2-3 hours of shovelling for about 40 minutes of hockey. :)</p><p>Here's a picture Derek took. As you can see it was quite blizzardly!</p><p></p><p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SWE0uK3hbyI/AAAAAAAAAZA/2lqCHMWWXbM/s1600-h/pond_hockey.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SWE0uK3hbyI/AAAAAAAAAZA/2lqCHMWWXbM/s320/pond_hockey.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287565405305532194" /></a></p>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17513397748487815974noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-255706899412202678.post-9900034671750473652008-12-20T14:44:00.000-08:002008-12-20T14:59:47.122-08:00Done!!!<p>With thanks to the Lord for His goodness and sustaining grace, I have finished my first semester at MARS!<br /><br />After the final exam week, Erik & Gina (from New Zealand) invited all us first-years and Pastor Vander Hart over for a pot-luck dinner. Here are some pictures, so that you can see a little bit of my class-mates. The pictures are compliments of Pastor Vander Hart.<br /></p><p>Yevgeni (my room-mate), and Pastor Vander Hart.</p><p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SU12aqkZFGI/AAAAAAAAAY4/2sQzyWNVKjs/s1600-h/Yevgeni+%26+Rev.+MVH+at+Stolte's_tn.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SU12aqkZFGI/AAAAAAAAAY4/2sQzyWNVKjs/s320/Yevgeni+%26+Rev.+MVH+at+Stolte's_tn.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282008138451063906" /></a><br /></p><p>Steve and Russ in the background.</p><p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SU12aU_iEUI/AAAAAAAAAYw/rQirp46e_HQ/s1600-h/Steve+W.+at+Stolte's_tn.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SU12aU_iEUI/AAAAAAAAAYw/rQirp46e_HQ/s320/Steve+W.+at+Stolte's_tn.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282008132659319106" /></a></p><p>Russ and Evan (a friend from Beecher URC).<br /></p><p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SU12aZWcWFI/AAAAAAAAAYo/EIVrGN9IamE/s1600-h/Russ+%26+Evan+relaxing_tn.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SU12aZWcWFI/AAAAAAAAAYo/EIVrGN9IamE/s320/Russ+%26+Evan+relaxing_tn.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282008133829154898" /></a></p><p>Richard B. (from Hamilton) and myself, as well as one of Erik & Gina's girls in the background. (I can never keep all their names straight unfortunately.)<br /></p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SU12aNvrydI/AAAAAAAAAYg/SBLTcnUelck/s1600-h/Richard+%26+Matt+relaxing_tn.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SU12aNvrydI/AAAAAAAAAYg/SBLTcnUelck/s320/Richard+%26+Matt+relaxing_tn.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282008130713799122" /></a>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17513397748487815974noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-255706899412202678.post-69110585946236582582008-12-20T14:07:00.000-08:002008-12-20T14:43:38.455-08:00Why one deer in the bush is worth two in the hand...<p>This story is actually a couple of weeks old, but it's been a little bit busy as of late (papers, exams, etc.), so that's why it took a while for this post. </p><p>Anyways, to proceed with the story...</p><p>Yevgeni (room-mate from Afganistan-Russia) and myself were happily studying away one Monday night, when Dan (the son of the Swets with whom I'm staying) came in with a story to tell. He had been trying to get a deer for weeks. This time, he had a good opportunity to take down a good-sized buck. But while getting a bead on it, another buck (unbeknownst to himself) walked behind the 1st deer. So he<em> </em>'killed two bucks with one shot', not always a good thing, as we found out. (Two deer = double the work and double the meat.)</p><p>Dan had shot the deer a ways away from the road, so he recruited Yevgeni, myself, and Mrs. Swets to help drag the deer to the truck. It was a good hike, probably a bit over a kilometer. Part of it was through a chopped cornfield, which was quite difficult. (I kept tripping and falling backwards onto the cornstalks. :( ).</p><p>Here's a picture of Dan with his two deer.</p><p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SU1tNjCZE-I/AAAAAAAAAYY/blIzOBx6g2s/s1600-h/DSCF0001_tn.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SU1tNjCZE-I/AAAAAAAAAYY/blIzOBx6g2s/s320/DSCF0001_tn.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5281998017486459874" /></a></p><p>The next day, I helped Dan skin the first deer, and then skinned the second one myself later on in the week. Dan did most of the cutting up, which was a lot of work. Mr. and Mrs. Swets patiently worked in the kitchen, grinding up most of the meat and combining it with pork. So we have a LOT of deer meat now! And Mrs. Swets wasn't even sure if she wanted all the meat from one deer! :) But the following week, we had Gary Z. and Aaron V. over, and Mrs. Swets made some chili with the deer meat. It was really good!</p>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17513397748487815974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-255706899412202678.post-57640093443434290102008-11-03T19:08:00.001-08:002008-11-10T19:40:10.558-08:00More Seminary Life...<div><div><div>This past Wednesday night, Corey, Simon, and Gary (fellow seminary students - middlers) came over for a hot tub party with Eugene and myself hosting. (Yes, the Swets do have a hot tub, and a nice one at that!) We had a lot of fun, with cigars provided by Corey. It was a good time of fellowship, with conversational topics ranging from theology to Uzbekistan to student life.</div></div></div>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17513397748487815974noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-255706899412202678.post-19547078445017577332008-10-31T12:23:00.001-07:002008-10-31T13:31:02.822-07:00Study Break<div>It's reading break right now (hence the two new posts), and I've been studying all day. The following was my first study break. I got the idea while playing with (nephew!) Joel out west actually.</div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SQtbr3XaBVI/AAAAAAAAATA/0UtfQY5t_rc/s1600-h/DSCF0017.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SQtbr3XaBVI/AAAAAAAAATA/0UtfQY5t_rc/s320/DSCF0017.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263401398667183442" /></a><div><br /></div><div>The base is made of 6 sets of 3, then 5, 4, 4, 3, 3, 2, 2, 1. I used up every piece of a double 12 Domino set to make this.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SQtbrTLHXjI/AAAAAAAAAS4/Kg6xKiS4AQw/s1600-h/DSCF0014.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SQtbrTLHXjI/AAAAAAAAAS4/Kg6xKiS4AQw/s320/DSCF0014.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263401388951952946" /></a><br /></div><div>I was surprised at how stable it was. It took a solid bump to the table before it finally fell over!</div><div><br /></div><div>... definitely time to get back to the books. :)</div>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17513397748487815974noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-255706899412202678.post-39438908611399459752008-10-31T05:43:00.000-07:002008-10-31T06:11:12.740-07:00Flood Relief<div>As you probably know, we had a good sized flood in September after the hurricane. Actually, it was a double whammy. Indiana got dumped on by two different storms, back-to-back. I think we had something like 8 or 9 inches of rain on each of two consecutive days. The seminary was turned into an evacuation center, with people staying there for two nights. I helped out by staying up on the second night along with Aaron V. and Yevgeni K.</div><div><br /></div><div>So here's (finally) some pictures of the flood. None of these are my pictures... I kept forgetting my camera and wishing I had taken it along. </div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SQsA0LzbLzI/AAAAAAAAASI/lNDM1pXxlkQ/s1600-h/flood_1.png"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SQsA0LzbLzI/AAAAAAAAASI/lNDM1pXxlkQ/s320/flood_1.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263301486034235186" style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SQsA1fc1E5I/AAAAAAAAASY/v8xI1nP6J2s/s1600-h/flood_3.png"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SQsA1fc1E5I/AAAAAAAAASY/v8xI1nP6J2s/s320/flood_3.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263301508488041362" style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SQsA061dwYI/AAAAAAAAASQ/wJ8NSSospOI/s1600-h/flood_2.png"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SQsA061dwYI/AAAAAAAAASQ/wJ8NSSospOI/s320/flood_2.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263301498659258754" style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 239px; " /></a><div><br /></div><div>This past Saturday, I took a break from my studies and helped out one of the relief teams from Oak Glen URC. We spent the whole morning on this house. There was a lot of stuff in the basement that was ruined, as you can see. The man from the house called it the "Wailing Wall". Apparently, this was a quite a common sight all along the flooded streets!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SQsA2IMV-jI/AAAAAAAAASo/Ua7zw6tB3Ew/s1600-h/IMG00054.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 256px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SQsA2IMV-jI/AAAAAAAAASo/Ua7zw6tB3Ew/s320/IMG00054.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263301519424748082" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SQsA1nSkxeI/AAAAAAAAASg/j09X-FMTQOU/s1600-h/IMG00055.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 256px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SQsA1nSkxeI/AAAAAAAAASg/j09X-FMTQOU/s320/IMG00055.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263301510592513506" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SQsBMp3uS_I/AAAAAAAAASw/011Sy52lhsU/s1600-h/IMG00061.jpg"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SQsBMp3uS_I/AAAAAAAAASw/011Sy52lhsU/s320/IMG00061.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263301906422189042" style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 256px; " /></a></div>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17513397748487815974noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-255706899412202678.post-20856842441736051392008-09-24T16:59:00.000-07:002008-09-25T18:04:14.715-07:00Steve & Nicole's WeddingThis past weekend I went to Washington State for Steve & Nicole's (Enter) wedding. The wedding was very nice and went with only one major hitch (sorry, very bad pun :) ). Holly (niece) was one of the SEVEN flower-girls, as you can see in the pictures.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SNrajBoBH_I/AAAAAAAAARM/mSdXFe_6RdA/s1600-h/09-20-2008+Steve+%26+Nic%27s+birthday+(16)_tn.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249748610920292338" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SNrajBoBH_I/AAAAAAAAARM/mSdXFe_6RdA/s320/09-20-2008+Steve+%26+Nic%27s+birthday+(16)_tn.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The groomsmen.<br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SNrbLhs8LCI/AAAAAAAAARs/_G_nBzaU2Fg/s1600-h/09-20-2008+Steve+%26+Nic%27s+birthday+(49)_tn.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249749306725641250" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SNrbLhs8LCI/AAAAAAAAARs/_G_nBzaU2Fg/s320/09-20-2008+Steve+%26+Nic%27s+birthday+(49)_tn.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The bride's maids (and matrons).<br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SNraj6qNNPI/AAAAAAAAARk/579ffPRr0cc/s1600-h/09-20-2008+Steve+%26+Nic%27s+birthday+(47)_tn.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249748626230293746" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SNraj6qNNPI/AAAAAAAAARk/579ffPRr0cc/s320/09-20-2008+Steve+%26+Nic%27s+birthday+(47)_tn.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Holly looking quite cute outside. The weather was unfortunately typical Washington weather (grey and rainy), but that did mean that the colors stood out quite well, as you can see.<br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SNrajqhQOUI/AAAAAAAAARU/rYhrUWX_JAI/s1600-h/09-20-2008+Steve+%26+Nic%27s+birthday+(24)_tn.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249748621897775426" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SNrajqhQOUI/AAAAAAAAARU/rYhrUWX_JAI/s320/09-20-2008+Steve+%26+Nic%27s+birthday+(24)_tn.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SNraj7pBwmI/AAAAAAAAARc/sMrQcMWPmUs/s1600-h/09-20-2008+Steve+%26+Nic%27s+birthday+(26)_tn.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249748626493784674" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SNraj7pBwmI/AAAAAAAAARc/sMrQcMWPmUs/s320/09-20-2008+Steve+%26+Nic%27s+birthday+(26)_tn.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />And of course, another high point was seeing once again Steve, Laurie, the kids (Emily, Marie, Joel, Holly), and for the first time the NEW BABY Jenna!<br /> <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SNrbL3-ixXI/AAAAAAAAAR8/6h_V0LIVsWc/s1600-h/S4204679_tn.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249749312705054066" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SNrbL3-ixXI/AAAAAAAAAR8/6h_V0LIVsWc/s320/S4204679_tn.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SNrbLoWDFJI/AAAAAAAAAR0/ZSiLToEW35w/s1600-h/Image00001_tn.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249749308508673170" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SNrbLoWDFJI/AAAAAAAAAR0/ZSiLToEW35w/s320/Image00001_tn.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SNrajEeyQ5I/AAAAAAAAARE/DU66CTiD7Q4/s1600-h/09-19-2008+Matt+here_tn.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249748611686876050" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SNrajEeyQ5I/AAAAAAAAARE/DU66CTiD7Q4/s320/09-19-2008+Matt+here_tn.jpg" border="0" /></a>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17513397748487815974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-255706899412202678.post-73813450516293357062008-08-30T20:19:00.000-07:002008-08-30T20:37:25.385-07:00Camping Trip To Thousand IslandsTwo weeks ago, the three kids of our family (Jer, me, and Ruth) went on a camping trip to the Thousand Islands on the St. Lawrence. (Well, one of the islands anyways.) We had a very relaxing enjoyable time, filled with snorkelling in our wetsuits (we sure put those to good use), some fishing, and enjoying ourselves. I've been meaning to post about this for a while, but here are some pictures. I did take an underwater camera, but we haven't filled it up yet, so I don't have any pictures of those unfortunately.<br /><br />It's a beautiful park, good fishing, great snorkelling, fairly quiet. (There are a lot of boats that go by during the day however.)<br /><br />Yes, we did do other things besides fish.<br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SLoP7bd9mFI/AAAAAAAAAQk/sUC-XuUycbk/s1600-h/DSCF0004_tn.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240518630059120722" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SLoP7bd9mFI/AAAAAAAAAQk/sUC-XuUycbk/s320/DSCF0004_tn.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Jer and I caught this one trolling. I forget the size... something like 3.5 lbs? (For the record, I caught this one, even though Jeremy's holding it. :) )<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SLoP7mZvQNI/AAAAAAAAAQ0/b0RM87WJaq8/s1600-h/DSCF0014_tn.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240518632994193618" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SLoP7mZvQNI/AAAAAAAAAQ0/b0RM87WJaq8/s320/DSCF0014_tn.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Go west, young man... where did that quote come from, anyways?<br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SLoP7U94IMI/AAAAAAAAAQs/dv5p6YmLBos/s1600-h/DSCF0007_tn.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240518628313931970" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SLoP7U94IMI/AAAAAAAAAQs/dv5p6YmLBos/s320/DSCF0007_tn.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />This fungus was HUGE, probably about 1.5 feet across.<br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SLoP7q3aqPI/AAAAAAAAAQ8/-UBo89wR3sg/s1600-h/DSCF0020_tn.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240518634192414962" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SLoP7q3aqPI/AAAAAAAAAQ8/-UBo89wR3sg/s320/DSCF0020_tn.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Ruth took this beautiful sunset picture.<br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SLoP7X9UHDI/AAAAAAAAAQc/qxgXh9c9eeI/s1600-h/DSCF0002_tn.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240518629116877874" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0y6RbIx2Lts/SLoP7X9UHDI/AAAAAAAAAQc/qxgXh9c9eeI/s320/DSCF0002_tn.jpg" border="0" /></a>Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17513397748487815974noreply@blogger.com3