Growing up, my dad wasn't around much, but I was still blessed to have a godly man in my life. Scott was just a volunteer youth leader at Wayside Chapel, but spent more time with me and the guys in my group than many full time staff members would have. We spent every weekend at his house the summer between my Sophomore and Junior year and that probably kept me out of a lot of trouble. He was also a major reason for me becoming a youth pastor and going to seminary.

This summer we had a 10 year reunion of sorts. We camped at Green Lakes which is nestled right in between the South Sister and Broken Top. On Google maps, the South Sister is on the lower left and Broken Top is the lower right.

This is a panoramic shot taken while climbing Broken Top (on the right in this picture)

Here are the guys who made it from left to right: Derek, Nathan, Scott, me, Eli, and Chad.

Derek also brought his wife and Scott brought a cool guy from California:

Scott, thanks for the great times and for being a godly male influence in my life.

This year's Douglas County Fair did not disappoint. We missed Alice Cooper, but we did catch an impressive performance by America's all-time favorite 80's star - Kenny Loggins. Fess up. You know you love him, and you are jealous of the people at johnandamber.com. . . So, here's the play-by-play: Kenny opened in a high falsetto voice with 10-15 songs that we didn't know, but his encore included "Danger Zone" and "Footloose"! As you can see from the video, Amber and Gretchen would give Kevin Bacon a run for his money in raw dance floor talent.  I have a little trouble with the words to Footloose.

The walk up to the falls

Bennie gives us an overview of the indigenous trees.

Laura and Richard's little Ava

Look at me!