What We've Been Up To

We've been busy the past few days!


Below is a link to a video we're sending as an illustration for our Olympic contest entry. Be sure to watch the whole thing. After the olympics, it's got some great "claymation" movies that Rebecca made the past two days. We've been having lots of fun with stop-action photography, and I think the ones Rebecca did are really sweet! Be sure and turn the volume up - there is sound!

You Tube Video

More Jumping Pictures

This time with the whole family! We grabbed these frames from the HD video camera.

Jump into Summer!

My kids have recently discovered they love jumping in the lake! We found a dock that's been for sale for a long time right in the cove where Terry likes to ski. It's a great place for the kids to hang out while Terry skis (getting them out of the boat reduces the wake), and they finally got brave enough to try jumping in. I love these pictures! The older guy is Mike Baker, a Moody Aviation grad that we befriended years ago and who recently came to town for a visit. Rebecca jumped, too, but not with the camera!

Summer Plans

We decided not to take a trip this summer. Check out my very first blog entry to see where we went last year. Our kids were totally overwhelmed with that trip, and they begged for a summer closer to home. I guess it is sort of hard to want to leave when we have a lake and a pool down the street! Anyway, this decision was made long before gas prices started inflating like crazy, and now it seems to make even more sense.

Even though we aren't taking a family vacation, here's what we're looking forward to:

• hosting a marriage retreat this weekend
• visits from James and Allison and from the Kevin and Krista Rideout (and a last minute visit from Mike Baker who is actually arriving tonight)
• Nathan's birthday party next weekend
• 4th of July with neighborhood fireworks
• "Cousin camp" - one week with our kids in Knoxville and one week with the kids here in Johnson City - eight kids ages 7-15 - we are planning lots of activities and even T-shirts!
• Caleb going to Doe River Gorge Camp
• Rebecca going to Worldview Academy at Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, NC
• the rest of us visiting two good friends in North Carolina while she's there
• camping at South Holston Lake
• Rebecca and I competing in a sprint triathlon in Chattanooga on August 10th with my friend, Laura O'Bryan (we all started a nine-week training program this week)

One optional thing is that Noah is trying out for a part in the Beauty and the Beast (the part of "Chip") next weekend. If he gets the part, it will mean lots of trips to Abingdon (a 45 min. drive) and a pretty big life-change from August until the play is over right before Thanksgiving. There are eleven weeks of performances. We are just praying that he won't get the part if our family isn't up for it.

Anyway, if you're not interested in all that, check us out on the new "Living in HD website" (link below). There are videos of us and everything now! Don't you think we're the coolest family on there? And really, all of you guys should sign up where it says "Join Now." They are giving more stuff away!

http://www.panasonic.com/livinginhd/community.htm