Binge and purge

So, you see, I wrote a billion pages of blog material when I returned home from Turkey, and I guess I got just a bit burned out. It's not that life hasn't happened since June 12, it's just that I've been too busy to write about it. So here are a few highlights of the rest of my summer:

1. Our family went to Colorado for a wonderful vacation.

We spent almost 2 weeks in Estes Park, CO. This is one of our favorite places. We love the mountain air, the beautiful scenery, the zillions of outdoor activities and the slow pace of life. Our kids really love putting their feet in the water and the chipmunks. We hiked a lot and camped on 4th of July (Elspeth's first time to camp). We discovered a great new restaurant in Boulder called BD's Mongolian Barbeque. I took tons of pictures (I'll put some on the blog soon). Much fun was had by all.

2. We enjoyed many evenings playing in the backyard.

Back in April/May, many of us spent many hours transforming our back yard from swamp into super cool fun zone. It involved Bobcats, sledgehammers, shovels, mud, railroad ties, mulch and sod. Needless to say, our family and friends have had a blast chillin' on the new grass and the kiddos have had a blast playing on the new playset. The finished product:



3. I went on a sweet backpacking trip with a couple of good friends.

Justin, Stuart and I went to Colorado for the Mantrip. As Justin puts it, "we hiked over 2 mountains and around another." It was a sweet time backpacking in the Indian Peaks Wilderness area in Colorado. We sang at the top of our lungs in the car all the way there and all the way home. We hiked until our bodies gave up. We ate amazing backpacking food. We ate even more amazing food when we got off the trail (BD's again). We saw amazing sights. We sat out on a rock in the middle of Mirror Lake until late in the night smoking Cuban cigars, watching shooting stars and talking about life. We made huge campfires (some of which may have been prohibited). I took bunches of pictures (again, I promise I'll post some here).

4. I've spent lots of time on photography.

In addition to the 3 aforementioned trips where I took tons of pictures, I have spent lots of time taking pictures around Northwest Arkansas. Spencer, Jason and I got up super early a couple of weeks ago and drove out to Roark Bluff on the Buffalo National River to take some first light pictures. I sold one of my guitars (and some more stuff) on eBay so that I could buy a sweet new wide-angle lens (Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L USM). I've spent lots of time post-processing my pictures in Photoshop. It has been tremendously enjoyable. Here's a shot from the Buffalo:



5. And we've basically been trying to catch our breath in between all of these things.

It seems like our summer was quite hectic because we traveled and did so much. So we rarely had much time at home to just "be". For instance, because of my schedule, every time I was in town, I led worship at The Grove. Practically all summer I never had a chance to just sit and be a participant in a service. It was an amazing summer, but I am looking forward to slowing down a bit this fall.

So with that, I vow to get back in the rhythm of blogging...