Happy New Year!

Thursday night was a ton of fun, getting to see David and Kira was great and just picking up like no time had past was wonderful. We played a lot of Wii and man playing some of those games is a workout. Both mine and Nick's arms were sore a bit from boxing and Rayman's cow toss game and present delivery, the last two especially are a workout.

Friday we spent most of the day at David and Kira's before we came home and went to a Christmas party for my mom's dragon boat club. I got to play a fair amount of ping-pong and a couple rounds of pool while there.

Saturday was a blast. Uncle Paul and Sheryl came up for the day. First we all(Dad, Mom, Erin, Nick, Paul, Sheryl and I) went to my grandpa's to shoot clay pigeons and what was left over from the last shooting fest. I did really well shoot most of my pigeons this time. It was funny watching everyone who had not shot a 12gauge before shoot, especially my mom, who would take a step or two back after the recoil. After shooting the shotguns we moved on to the pistols, a .357 and a .22. We shot up the laptop, can of plums and generic spam, because they hadn't got shot up enough last time. When it was my turn at the .357 I got out a can of root beer I had been saving for my turn, shook it up real well and then shot it. Got a nice explosion out of it, not quite as nice as the 30-30, but close. After we had used up all the pistol ammo my dad got out the 12guage and put five rounds in and unloaded them on the can of spam and the laptop. That really wiped out the laptop and spam, it was so funny. Then everyone went upto the house, except my dad, Nick, grandpa and I, because they were all cold. Then we got the .22 rifle out and spent the rest of the .22 ammo on what was left of the two computers from last time. When that was done Nick and I split five rounds of 12gauge on the two to finish them off. It was soooooo fun and I got lots of pictures to post once I get back to school. For dinner Uncle Paul took all of us and my Grandparents out for dinner to a really good Chinese restaurant for dinner. Then we went home and visited for a bit while cleaning the guns.

Today has been pretty uneventful. Nick and I did some grocery shopping for mom and some other small errands, while her and Erin got the house ready for the New Year's Eve party we are hosting. We did do our final Christmas tradition today and that is to burn the Christmas tree. It went up in fifteen to twenty foot flames in about thirty seconds and was really hot, but lots of fun to watch.

Hope the coming new year is filled with wonder, surprises and adventures. Have a good day and give thanks to God for allowing us the pleasure of anpther year in his wonderful and amazing creation. God is good. ~Semper Fi

Yar there she blows

Tuesday was so much fun, even though it did rain so we couldn't shoot clay pigeons. Shoot the 30-30 was by far the most fun. I shot a unopened soda can and it completely exploded blowing the top off and making a nice four blade fan thing. I got lots of pictures of us shooting and before and after shots of the targets. The weather permitting we will go clay pigeon shooting on Saturday. We also watched Madea's Family Reunion and everyone liked it.

Wednesday was pretty uneventful. Nick and I went to my grandpa's and cut, split and loaded the Ranger with wood, so that was nice to get out and split and run a chainsaw again. Then ran some errands in town and got some more ammo for Saturday and went to lunch at Taco Bell, mmm good. Later, we watched Lady in the Water. It was pretty intense at times and overall a good movie.

Today Nick and I are going to my friend David's house for the night, haven't seen him and his wife in about a year. Going to have a gaming party, finally going to get to play the Wii. Its going to be fun. I think that is all for now. God bless. ~Semper Fi

Another Xmas Break Update

Wednesday
Sara B and I finished moving what was left of the wood, which took about thirty minutes. We had a good conversion the whole time. When we were done we got cleaned up and I took Sara B and Bethany out to lunch at Taco Bell, since I was craving it and they didn't have any other places they wanted to go. It was a nice lunch, food was good, company was good and the talking was good. One of the sauce packets had "Will you marry me?" on it for those random sayings and I told Sara B be that would have been great to use for how she got proposed to. She was playing a mischievous joke on her friends from ACU. After lunch we played Sequence and talked some more and then I showed them some pictures till Rebecca got home. She had gotten me my Christmas present, a nice light blue checker button up shirt and a gray t-shirt. Then we got ready to go out to dinner for Rebecca's birthday. I wore my new shirt and all the girls liked it, especially Sara B. We went to Western Sizziler(?), a buffet kind of place. The food was good and so was the fellowship. When we got back to the house we watched RV, its a pretty funny movie with a good moral. During the movie Bethany was trying to find out how soon she would be able to get home, since Denver had just gotten nailed with a blizzard that dropped two feet of snow and shut the airport down. She was supposed to go home on Thursday. She finally got a ticket to go home on Sunday. After Bethany wanted to watch another movie, since she missed most of RV, so we did. We watched Akileela and the Bee, doubt that's spelled right, it was a good movie and it was nice just watching it with Sara B and Bethany. Then we went to bed after a good day.

Thursday
In the morning Mandy made crapes for breakfast before she had to leave for the airport. Rebecca, Bethany and Sara B were taking Mandy to the airport and then going shopping. While they were gone Veasna and I took a old couch and mattress set to the thrift store. After that I started to clean up the weight room. I got a lot of it cleaned up and vacuumed. When Sara B and Bethany got back we watched several of Sara B's family home videos. We got some good laughs out them and it was neat to see Sara B's biological mom, she died of cancer when Sara B was quite young. Seeing them all young was pretty funny/neat to see how much or little they have changed. Then we had dinner with a family they watch the little girl once in a while and have helped out in the past. After they had gone Ray, Bethany, Sara B and I played dominoes for awhile. After that we went up to the barn to play ping-pong, but decided we needed to move the table to the weight room so we could have enough space to play and not have to chase/find the balls when we missed. It was a bit of a challenge getting the table from the barn to the driveway so we could roll it, because it was dark out and I had to walk backwards carrying one end while Sara B and Bethany had the other end. After we got it moved and setup in the weight room we played for a quite a bit and then Bethany went to talk to her parents so Sara B and I continued to play. We had a good time playing and laughing and talking. We ended up playing ping-pong for about two hours. It was a good last day till I get back from break.

Friday
Early in the morning, four am early, Sara B and Bethany took me to the airport. We said our good byes and then I headed into the airport. The only exciting thing, besides getting home, to happen during my trip home was in Cincinnati. While there the fire alarm went off and a funny message played over the loudspeaker till someone got on and said to ignore it as it was just a test and I found Sara B a nice present.

Saturday
In the morning I went with my mom and sister to my mom's rowing group. We rowed in a dragon boat. It was a lot of fun rowing around in Oak Harbor bay and trying to stay in time with a lead. I did pretty good for my first time and will probably do it again next Saturday. Later I went with my dad and brother into town to pick up some ammo for the .357 and .22. After the store we went to my Grandpa's to get some wood. It was nice getting to split some wood once again. I could tell I hadn't used those specific muscles in awhile. Later that night we went over to the Beaches and played Joker and talked and ate for quite awhile.

Sunday
Went to church in the morning and then to the store and Dairy Queen for lunch. Got home and watched the Seahawks throw another game away they should have won. For dinner the Grandparents came over. We had our Christmas dinner with duck, mashed potatoes, corn caserole, roles and salad, mmmmm was it tasty. After dinner we played boggle for a bit and then watched Nacho Libre, a very funny movie.

Monday
Had french toast for breakfast along with sausage and fruit. After breakfast we opened our presents. I got a new book by John Eldridge and two button up shirts. We will be doing some more shopping later. After present time was over the whole family, even mom, went paint balling in the yard for about three hours. I was the only on not to get shot the whole time. Man it was so much fun, I had forgotten how fun it was. Then we did some yard cleanup and moved and fixed part of our electric fence. When that was done my dad, brother and I went rat hunting in the horse barn, I was looking forward to it, but there was only one small rat to be found and he set the trap off and got out side before I could shoot him with .22 pistol. Its been a good Christmas. Tomorrow we are going to my grandparents and shoot clay pigeons and a bunch of other junk. We are taking our shotguns, .375, .22 and the 30-30 lever action, which I haven't gotten to shoot yet :( Oh man is it going to be fun. I will have some good pictures to post of our paintball outfits and the shooting carnage.

That is all for now. God bless. ~Semper Fi

Moving lumber

Today Sara B and I moved a bunch of wood that is being replaced on one of the outside gazebo things. I cut the wood into about four foot chunks while Sara B moved them to the burn pile, which took about forty five minutes. Next we started moving the new wood down from up by the barn which is treated wood and a bit damp from the weather, so it was quite a bit heavier then the dried and slightly rotten cedar wood. We moved wood for about forty five minutes and by then our forearms were dieing, so we stopped. We had some good chatting time while we moved the wood, I enjoyed it immensely, and it was just an very enjoyable time. That is all. Goodnight. ~Semper Fi

Break post

Break is going really well at the moment. Sara B and Bethany got in Friday night and something surprising happened, Allan stopped by the house for a bit. It was good to see him and get to chat with him before he left for break since I haven't seen him in months. Saturday was graduation and it was pretty short. We had a party for all the grads at the house. Courtni's, Sarah's, Ryan's and Veasna's families all came into town. Courtni's sisters, Sarah's family and Ryan's dad all stayed at the house, so it was a little crazy. I don't remember what day it was, probably Thursday, but I hung out with Ryan and his mom for a good part of the day and she took us out to lunch at Sonic and then Ryan gave us a tour of the chiropractor's office he interned at this past semester. Anyway back to Saturday. Veasna and her mom cooked most of the food, which was outstanding of course. We had about forty five people, most of them where family to the five graduates we had from our house this semester. Dana, Nate and Ryan all left at some point on Saturday. The apartment was a little depressing to go in to after Ryan and Nate had moved all there stuff out, but it is all cleaned up now and is the cleanest it has been since I moved in. Sunday I went to church with Sara B and Bethany. I wore my new button up shirt, which looks like a cowboy's shirt and Sara B really liked it. Caleb and Lindsay came to lunch and it was nice to get to see and visit with them. For dinner the Montgomery's church was having a soup fellowship, so I went with them to that. After that we all, the Montgomerys, Cole, Bethany and I, went to go look at the lights on campus and at Berry Hill Park. The lights at Harding where really neat. Monday was a good day. I spent most of the afternoon cleaning up the apartment, while Sara B and Bethany where out with Rebecca, so it is nice and clean now. Monday night was really nice. After dinner Sara B and I made almond bars, mostly Sara B as I was supervising. Sara B put the whole stick of butter into the mixer while it was going so a whole bunch of flour flew out and she freak out a little bit, it gave Bethany and I a good laugh. Earlier that day Sara B dumped half a dozen eggs on the floor and was having trouble getting pizza in her mouth and then she got a piece of carrot in her nose, so Bethany and I had a good time giving Sara B hard time. After the flour mishap everything went fine in till I put the bars in the oven before putting the glaze on them and realized my mistake when we got done making the glaze and was thinking this is going to cook to long, then I was like duh, put he glaze on first. Anyway they still came out great. Then Sara B and Bethany got cinnamon roll dough started in the bread machine. After that Sara B, Bethany and I watched Madea's Family Reunion. We all sat on one couch with Sara B in the middle, it was really nice. After that Sara B and Bethany finished the cinnamon rolls and while they were cooking we watched the home videos from Florida and our camping trip to Heber Springs, it was pretty funny. It was just a really good night. God is good. ~Semper Fi

Done with the semester

Today I am officially done with this semester, yay. Sunday night we had our software showcase for softdev. The showcase is a chance for the public to come and see what we have been working on all semester and the winner of the AI tournament is announced along with the overall winning team. My team won the AI tournament, but didn't win over all, so I was a little bummed. The team that won deserved it though. I really would like this week to get over a bit faster though, because that means Sara B will be home :) I have been work on a walking stick for Ray since he likes them and it should be pretty neat once I get it done. I also should finally have Erin's book case finished now that I have plenty of time to work on it. I the war with my false self has been intensify lately so please keep me in your prayers. ~Semper Fi

Checking in

Quite a bit has happened school wise since my last post. Wednesday after break our Softdev projects were due. It was existing to have the teacher install then play a game. The team I was apart of installed first since we were the only ones ready at the time. We did have a successful install and the teacher played a successful network game as well. Not much else happened the rest of the week that I can remember. I did talk to Sara B that Monday during half time of the Seattle game. It was a little strange because everything was back to normal here at he house, so it seemed as if break didn't even happen, Sara B felt the same. This week on Wednesday I had my computer science comprehensive exam at 7am, ugh. It wasn't very hard and I only had trouble with a few questions, but the test is only 5% of the grade in the class so its not the big of a deal. I think it is more for the teachers anyway. Then later the same day I had a calculus test, which I think went well. Last Sunday Seattle played the Broncos and won! It was a really good game. I also talked to Sara B for a bit on Monday and will probably talk to her tonight. I think that is all the interesting stuff the has happened since my last post. ~Semper Fi

Good times indeed

The second half of my break was fantastic/wonderful. Tuesday night Sara B got in and I talked to Luke for quite a bit. We(Courtni, Dana, Erin, Nate, Sara B) played phase ten and chatted and laughed that night. Wednesday afternoon I was over at the Holtz's helping Jeff get concrete poured. Three trucks worth of cement took several hours to do, but was a lot of fun. After dinner that night, Ray asked if we all wanted to go to Dairy Queen for ice cream, of course we said yes. We all piled into the van and headed to Dairy Queen. When we got there it was closed, so we decided to try Frozen D's, a local ice cream shop, it was open, so we all got out and had ice cream. It was wonderful, like one big family. I don't remember if we watched a movie that night or our not. Thursday we had breakfast in the morning then prepared for Thanksgiving dinner that afternoon at four. We watched a movie while waiting for food to cook. Dinner was a lot of fun with lots of laughing and a great time. Later Sara B, her Dad and I watched the Broncos play, they lost, so it wasn't a very good game. Friday was the best day by far. Sara B, her dad and I went shooting in the morning and then Sara B and I went riding for about two hours. We went riding in the wood first, so we had a fun time dodging branches and trees and riding up hill at the same time all while riding bareback. Adventure indeed. Then we just rode along the road for quite awhile, chatting a little but mostly just enjoying the sun and beautiful weather and scenery. We talked a lot on the way back. When we got back we watched the Arkansas vs LSU game with her dad, it also was not a very good because Arkansas lost. After the game we watched AFV and it had to be one of the best episodes ever. We were dieing of laughter, I had forgoting how much I enjoying hearing Sara B' laugh. We had a quick dinner before Nate, Sara B, her dad and I went to go watch the Harding Academy football game, it was a quarterfinal game and they are undefeated this season. It was a good game and HA dominated the other team. Over all a really good day. Today Ray, Sara B's dad, and I made breakfast for everyone, I made pancakes of course, Ray cooked eggs and got the table all setup and I cut up some fruit. It was really nice and the girls really liked it. Sara B left a little while ago, so I am a little sad and but will get to see her again in three weeks. All ready looking forward to it. Hopefully the weeks will go by fast. ~Semper Fi

Life is good

Since my last post things have improved and I am on Thanksgiving break till Monday. I have been doing a lot of programming, getting the sound system for our softdev project ready and fixing a couple of things in the network code. Both are nearly complete and the user interface is looking good. It is all finally coming together and I think we have a really good chance at beating the other two teams. Sara B gets in tonight for her break, so she will be here till Saturday and I am really looking forward to seeing and spending time with her. That is all for now. ~Semper Fi

Under Siege

Well the week started great then I came under siege from the Evil One big time on Friday. It started of with me not sleeping but a few good hours that night and I had to get up for class in the morning. When I got to school Friday morning I found out class was canceled, which ticked me off. Then I was just in a really grumpy mood the rest of the day and it kept getting worse till I finally just went to bed because I was in such a bad mood. So this afternoon I got somethings and went out in to the woods and found a nice little spot out there to build a small fire and I spent the next several hours in communion with God. Just talking to him and reading. I feel a whole lot better now. Pray for me as I am on the front lines and it seems I will be here for a while. Pray strength and fearlessness, my the Lord protect me and be my strength. ~Semper Fi

Really good week so far

On Monday we had our second AI tournament for softdev and we totally dominated the other two teams. We barely lost one game to team one and won all the rest, a happy day for the team. I have been working on sound programming now since networking is pretty much finished. My console version of the game can make sounds now, its pretty neat. The Seahawks also won on Monday night, so that was a nice bonus. Sunday I didn't do to much, other than homework and programming. Saturday night was a ton of fun. Ryan's sister's club had a retreat here at the house and they played capture the flag at about 11pm and invited Ryan and I to play with them. We both had a ton of fun playing with them and my team won :) hehe. I also did a lot of programming in the morning as well. Friday was nice here at the house since I was the only one there and it was all nice and quiet, a very rare thing. Sara B had her first collage basketball game. I really wish I could have been there to see her play. I miss getting to watch her play, especially since I went to all but one or two of her games last year. Tonight I went on a walk with Erin and had really good talk with her. I got a test in calc this Friday but so far it looks like it should be pretty easy, so pray that I do well on it. Anyway that is all for now. ~Semper Fi

Mmmm riding is good

Yesterday I went riding for awhile. The weather was just beautiful, blue skies, light breeze and about 70 degrees, doesn't get much better than that. Oh man it was wonderful. I went by myself again since nobody was here, which was nice to get out and just relax in nature. It was really nice after the past week being all rainy and cruddy. Plus on Wednesday I had a calculus test that turned out to be not even close to anything the teacher had giving us to practice and what the majority of our homework had been. So pretty much the whole class failed and we are retaking it this Wednesday. I will find out what is happening for sure today. Our softdev team is meeting today for some testing and network integration stuff, so hopefully we will get a lot done. Any that is all for now. ~Semper Fi

Riding for the win!

I ended up not going riding on Saturday because by back was still stiff from moving bricks, so I ended up just relaxing. Erin's MFT group came over for dinner and we ended up playing wiffle ball after dinner, which was fun for once. Sunday I went riding by myself to get some space and get away from the house. The weather was wonderful, blue cloudless skies, just a bit of nip in the wind and I could feel the suns warmth though my clothes, perfect riding weather. I rode for about two and half, three hours, long enough for my butt to start getting tired from riding so long. I rode in the woods, which was an adventure on a sixteen hand high horse. Plus Fancy was being a little tooty as well to increase the sense of adventure of dodging branches and trees. I did feel like I was on a plow because of Fancy's huge head, she would just lower it and plow through the bushes. Good times indeed. Then I went riding on the gravel roads for quite awhile. On my way back an old guy saw Fancy and asked some questions about her, so I talked to him for a bit. It was so nice to get out and ride alone, to enjoy nature and the peace and quiet of it, beautiful it was. ~Semper Fi

Meh

Not much in the way of happenings since my last post. Just going to class, programming and working. Softdev is going well for my part, but our team leader isn't much of a leader I have come to find out. Anyway I don't feel much like ranting or anything so I am not going to. I talked to Sara today while she was on her way to visit her grandparents for the weekend and will talk to her again on Sunday. I really need to go riding and get some space,i f the weather is good I will on Saturday. I really need to call Luke this weekend and talk to him, since I am feeling lonely again and just missing talking to him or anyone else I connect to. I am looking forward Christmas break since I will be going home. I haven't been home since last March? I think. It will be good to be home and just get to relax and chop wood, mmmm chopping wood, fireplace, home. This is quite the random post. My thoughts are all over the place and our Internet is being gay so I can't play online and relax. Oh well off to bed and reading. Semper Fi

Felt like writing

I have decided that it is much harder on me to see a close friend for a few days and then they go back to where they came from then to not see them at all. Seeing them though is very much worth the addition pain then to not see them at all. Another thing I have noticed recently is I am becoming much more in touch with my emotions/more emotional(?) as I have matured, continually seeking to be the man God needs me to be. It is a good thing because it is forcing me to become more transparent, ie people see my emotions and know exactly how I am feeling. These are all good things and are part of my journey to become a true man of God.

Last weekend was really nice with Sara B being here. She wasn't here long enough but I still really enjoyed it. She got in Friday night and we got to talk for quite a bit before we need to get to bed, since she had be in Little Rock for Race for a Cure at 7am. She was gone most of the day and we didn't get to hang out much but I did get to she the most awesome movie in the world: Killer Clowns From Space. dun dun. It was hilarious I can't believe I had never seen it before. Sunday Sara B had to leave right after church got out so we said goodbye in the morning, it was bitter sweet. I wish we would have gotten to hang out more but the time we did was great.

Not much else has been going on. I have been tired and pretty anti social today but I did get to work outside. Cleaning up the trees in the front yard so I don't have to be so careful about getting knocked out while I mow the yard. Softdev is going pretty well, I still have a lot of fixing and redesign to do, so that will keep me plenty busy. Anyway that is all. Keep me in your prayers. ~Semper Fi

Start of week :( End of week :)

My week started with me wanting to shoot my self in the face. Sunday I programmed for nearly ten hours, rewriting most of the game engine and then integrating networking to it. I was up till 2am coding and still didn't have all the bugs fixed but our game was talking to itself. Monday more programming and our AI tournament was that day at 8am. We didn't make it to the tournament. I was realty pissed off that day on top of that me and another team member but in another four hours into it and we finally got it to play. Man was a cranky and pissed. I got cooled down by Tuesday and the week started to improve. Wednesday night I filled in for Ray leading his group for Bible study and that went really well. Then our team had to do a sales pitch to the teacher about our game, it went well. Today, Thursday was nice even though it felt like it should be Friday. Sarah and I went riding, which didn't start off to well. I was riding Fancy, a huge mule, and this 3 year old stud comes charging at her from behind and spooks her, I didn't know he was coming in time to brace myself, so I am half off her and decided to bale because there was pretty much no way I was going to recover my seat being bareback and all. I got a nice bruise on my knee, another on my right thigh from my pocket knife and some scratches on my forearms, I am fine mom :) Anyway after that it was a nice ride. Tomorrow Sara B will be home! I am so excited to see her. As you can see this week went from crap to really good.

Other happenings. Last Saturday a group of us went and visited Caleb and Lindsay in their new apartment and we had a ton of fun. Plus it was nice to get out of the house for several hours and hang out with old friends. My opinion of my team has changed a lot and hopefully my leader has learned a lesson this week. I don't think any of them have a firm idea of how much planning and time it actual take to make a game, even a simple one like checkers. If it doesn't get designed right from the start its going to give you problems the whole rest of the time. Our engine is in a sorry state, being all hacked together from Sunday and Monday and needs to be redone completely in my opinion. Anyway other then that life is great. If you haven't used my photo link in awhile I have changed to a new place with free unlimited storage and have moved all my pictures over to it now. I suggest you check the new place out, I like it a lot better. Good night, Semper Fi

Busy Busy

I have been busy with programming and calculus this past week. Friday at our team meeting for softdev we watched our AI's play each other and it was very exciting. I am also nearly finished with the network programming so that will be a load off once that is done. I really needed this weekend to just relax and wind down from this week and get prepared for next week. Our first AI tournament is coming up, which I am looking forward to. It will be neat to see how our AI compares to the other teams. The other members of my team really know what the are doing which is really good since I don't have to worry about the quality of the parts they do and we get along really well. It's been a good team to work with. I really miss seeing someone I connect really well with everyday and I guess I have really felt it this week. I have just been in a grumpy mood lately. Oh well. Another thing that is really pissing me of is this stupid sign up list for kp duty. I don't see why we need some freaking gay list. We didn't need one at all last year, nor this summer, why in the hell do we need one now!?! Well that is all. ~Semper Fi

God is good and speaks through his word

This morning when I woke up I came to a realization that I must put these verses into practice: Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. James 5:16 and If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 I have been fighting with masturbation for a very long time and finally realized that I can not defeat this demon on my own. I am asking all that read this to keep me in your prayers. Help me to carry this burden. Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2 This morning in church my bible fell open to this passage: Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 How fitting. God is good and speaks through his word. Just gotta be listening. ~Semper Fi

Update Yar!

Last Friday I went to Little Rock for dinner and a movie with Erin, Sarah, V and Heather. It was nice to get out of the house and have a really good time just hanging out with friends. I have been really busy programming the network component of my softdev team's project which is Reverse Checkers. We have about two months to make the game from scratch. We finally get to put all of our computer programming skills to practice and an other useful skills to use. I had my first test in calculus today and I feel pretty good about it, so we'll see when I get it back. I have also gotten my tent back out, because it as been wonderful sleeping outside weather. It is finally starting to cool off down here, which makes me excited. Tomorrow Sarah and I, don't know if anyone else is coming, are going to the Jackson's to ride and look through their tack. Other then being tired and I have been feeling a lot better and being less irritated by the girls. Anyway keep me in your prayers. ~Semper Fi

Yeah I know

I know it has been awhile since my last post, but I have been busy with school and adjusting to my new routine. I have been busy working on my softdev project and doing calculus this semester. Working around the yard and getting to know some new people better. I really do miss Luke, Bethany and SaraB. They brought something special to my life. I miss seeing them everyday and just chatting with them about nothing. I have been talking to Luke more and I have heard from Sara B a few times, so that has been nice. I haven't talked to Bethany in a few weeks, so I am going to call her tomorrow and if I can't get a hold of her then I'll send her an email. I don't know if it is just because I am really tired or what, but most of the girls were just irritating me earlier tonight and I just wanted to leave or go some where else. I really need to take time tomorrow and be with just God and myself. I know I need to do that tomorrow. I also gotta get most of the network programming done for softdev this weekend, which really shouldn't be that hard. Not to much else going on here. I just miss having someone I connect really well with around. I had that with Luke and was really starting to with SaraB. Dan and I are going to be in small group together. We get along really well and it will be nice to have another good guy friend around. I also need to get in touch with my gaming buddies and have them over more this semester. Man this sure is turning in to quite the rambling post. Stopping time I think. Keep me in your prayers. ~Semper Fi

Riding and Shooting

Yesterday Sara B and I went riding for about two hours out at the Jackson's. We had a ton of fun and she had a good riding experience finally. I did some bareback galloping, which is amazing and Sara got the mule to speed trot, which was plenty fast for Sara. Then Sara's dad came up after we were done riding and he brought the skeet shooting stuff with him. Sara and I shot her really nice 20 gauge over-under. After we had used up the 20 gauge rounds we used her dad's semi-auto 12 gauge and man that thing kicked twice as hard. Sara did quite well and I did way better then I thought I was going to do because I hadn't shot clay pigeons in five plus years.

Today we had a going away party for Sara because she is leaving tomorrow morning for ACU. I have helped her pack some stuff up and will be seeing her off in the morning. It has been a real honor and privilege getting to know her and spending time with her this summer. I am really going to miss her.

I got pictures from Florida and from shooting plus some others that I will be uploading to my photo site soon. Pray for a safe journey for Sara and her parents as the travel to ACU tomorrow. ~Semper Fi

Back from Florida

We all made it back from Florida safe and sound. It was a really relaxing week of just hanging out on the beach, building sand castles, floating in the ocean, seeing dolphins up close and kayaking. Mmmmm good times indeed. The highlight of my week was the first day we got the kayak. Sara B and I went out for about an hour and we saw dolphins and would have hit one if it hadn't moved. Then we rode breaking waves and big swells for the rest of the time we were out there. It was so much fun. I would have to say my second favorite thing of the week was on Thursday we played games and did a small variety show and learned the electric slide, that was a lot of fun learning a dance, it's something I think I will do once I have a real job and can afford dance lessons. We took tons of pictures and even some videos that I will be getting all together and making a DVD to watch.
During the week I was having a hard time deciding whether to tell a girl I like, who is about to leave for collage, what I think about her. I prayed about it and I had a desire to read through Proverbs and as I sat outside reading one afternoon the answer was right there plain as day in Proverbs 27:5 - Better is open rebuke then hidden love. Now I just need to tell her. Anyway that is all for now. Semper Fi

Off to Florida

Well I am off to Florida for a wedding and then will be spending a week down there with a lot of my friends. Pray for safe traveling and a good time. Semper Fi

It's my birthday today

I have been quite busy and have had a lot of fun since my last post. Here I go at a recap. A week after we went riding, see previous post, Sarah and I went riding for about two and half hours at the same place, the Jackson's, and man it was so wonderful and relaxing, just riding around bareback having a blast.

My parents came down for my sisters graduation from July 27th to August 1st. They finally got to met the majority of people we are always talking about. They had a really good time and got along really well with everyone, plus everyone really enjoyed meeting them. They fit in really well with everyone down here and it just felt liked they belonged. We pretty much just relaxed at the house and went swimming everyday while they were here. We did take them to Georgetown for catfish, so they could get a real good Arkansas experience.

Today I went riding with Sarah and the kids she babysits for about an hour, because it was so hot outside. We had fun and it was of course relaxing. I have been cleaning up the yard here at the house and finally got around to building a compost bin for all compost stuff we have. I can't really think of anything else that has happened since my last post. I have heard from Bethany and she is doing good minus the frustration of finding an apartment and getting her internship taken care of. I need to call Luke cause it's been awhile since I called him. I almost forgot about Florida. About fourteen of us are going to Florida for a whole week, because Caleb and Lindsay's wedding is this weekend. The Montgomery's rented a condo for a week so we will be down there for this weekend to the next. I am really look forward to it, plus I will get to see Bethany. Well I think this is a pretty good recap of what I have been up to. Keep me in your prayers, as well as Luke and Bethany. Prayer for wisdom, strength and guidance. God bless. Semper Fi

I'm still alive

Still alive I am. I just have been busy and not in the mood to post anything. Camping was a ton of fun. Sara B and I went fishing that Friday with on old fisherman, Mr Upoff, who knew all the good spots. It only took about two and half hours for all three of us to limit out at fifteen fish. Then on Saturday we had a boat for eight hours and did mostly tubing with a little water skiing all day. I got so sore from the tubing that I could hardly work Monday morning, but it was worth it.

Last Thursday I got to go riding with Sarah and Sara B. We ending up having quite the adventure. On our way back to the barn Sara B's horse started being a butthead and giving her a lot of trouble, since she's not a experienced rider it was a bit too much for her. She got off and was riding double with me on the big mule I was riding. When Sarah's horse took off as she was getting back on after helping Sara B get on my mule, so she fell off and hurt her knee. Once we got back to they barn we watched Sarah work with Pedro, the horse that ran off with her, earning his trust and doing join-up type stuff, it was really neat. I just wished it would have been lighter outside so Sara B and Amy could have seen the horse's body language change as it began to trust and accept Sarah. It was an adventure.

That's about all the exciting stuff that has happened since my last post. Other then working and relaxing I haven't done much. I have been brushing up on my programming skills, so I will be ready for next semester and my capstone programming course. Luke and Bethany are doing well for the most part. I don't wanna going in to details because they are both long stories and more than I care to write at the moment. Just keep them in your prayers. ~Semper Fi

Camp Camp Camping

I and a bunch of other people will be going camping this weekend and won't be back till Sunday or Monday. We are camping near a lake and will be getting a boat on Saturday. This is going to be a great weekend. We had a big get together here at the house for the fourth and then went to see Harding's fireworks show. It was alright. Allan and I have been work on a in ground watering system for some trees here at the house, because it was way to much work to water them by hand. We almost have it done and working great. Yesterday I was teaching Cole how to hold and swing a baseball bat and he even hit the ball a couple of times. That is all. ~Semper Fi

Done With Summer School

Today I finished summer school, so I am done till the fall. wahoo. Everything has been going well here. Last weekend I played tennis for the first time and that was rather embarrassing on my part, but overall a fun experience. I talked to Bethany last night. She is doing well minus the huge amount of reading and writing she has to do. This weekend the Mariners are playing the Rockies, so that is kind of exciting to see who will win. Other than that not much else is happening around here. Continue prayers of strength and wisdom for myself and pray that all the grad work wont become overwhelming for Bethany. ~Semper Fi

Paper done.

I got my research paper done for class and turned in today. Only have four days left till I am done with summer school. wahoo.

I got a call from Luke today. He got a job at a small accounting firm and starts on the 10th of July. He and Emily also got approved for their apartment, so they will be moving in soon.

The last couple of days we have played softball here at the house, which has been a ton of fun. I will probably call Bethany tomorrow night. Other than that not a whole lot has happened since my last post. ~Semper Fi

9 Days left

I got nine days left of summer school, then I'll be done with school for the rest of the summer. wahoo. My research paper rough draft is due this week.

Things regarding the person involved in the previous post seem to improved a bit, but I am not real sure and it may just be a surface/temporary change.

I talked to Bethany today and she is doing well. It was her first day of grad school today and she has a ton plus some to read for her classes.

Other than that life is good. Good day. ~Semper Fi

Yikes

The title says it all. How do help someone who is so hostel to you and anyone else even when your taking him get to work, picking him up and having no acts of hostility towards him, its been nothing but kindness and he still is spewing hostility. He tried to provoke me into fighting over nothing, I don't know what to do, so I beg you all to pray for wisdom, guidance and strength in dealing with this situation.

Where has honor gone?

Can any one tell me where peoples honor has gone? What happened to it? Why do so few people care about it or have any? Honor and integrity are so very important to me. Well enough ranting.

On a really good note I talked to Bethany today, she is doing well and will be starting school next Monday and two days ago I talked to Luke. He and Emily are doing well, but still job searching in Minneapolis. I'm tired so that's all. ~Semper Fi

Here fishy fishy

Friday went fishing in the pond and man are the fishing getting big. We even have a water moccasin living in the pond now which I have been assigned to kill, so that will be an adventure. Saturday went fishing in the Little Red with Dan and the stinking fishing were so irritating. We were using corn for bait because trout really like it, but we would toss some in the water and it would be gone in seconds, we put our hooks in the water with a piece of corn on it and the fish would come up like it was going to strike then turn at the last second, arg it was so irritating, but lots of fun at the same time. School starts tomorrow, I am kind of looking forward to it but not really, oh well the sooner it starts the sooner it will be done with.I heard some more about my Grandpa, they had him outside doing some weeding and being active, good news indeed. Please keep him and the rest of my family in your prayers and pray for me to stay strong and diligent in my walk with Christ over the summer. Oh yeah I got those pictures of Cole and I from Bethany and got them posted on my photo site under Montgomery. ~Semper Fi

Yarrr

Monday, I got to talk to Luke for a bit on the phone, him and Emily are doing well and he may have a job soon. There was also a big bbq here at the house for Memorial Day. Tuesday I went fishing with Dan again but there were no fishing to be seen, not a single bite the whole time, it was kind of a bummer. I talk to Bethany on the phone for while and it was really nice just to chat an catch up. Even though it has only been a week and a half since I have seen her it feels more like a month. Wednesday I worked out side and got a lot of stuff done and then went with Caleb and Allen to help build a staircase at HUT and drink Chai, mmm tasty. Over all it as been a really good week, especially getting to talk to Luke and Bethany. ~Semper Fi

Good Stuff

Today I went to church and the service was really good. After the main lesson and communion, several people shared what God has been doing in their lives or asked for prayers and it really felt like a family and the way the church is supposed to be. This afternoon I helped clean up a fallen cherry tree for about two and half hours, it was a big tree and hard on the chain saw too. When I got from that I went swimming and after awhile Cole came and went swimming too, so that was fun. I also went swimming with Cole and Sara yesterday for a bit too. I got the apartment all cleaned up today, it felt good to get it all nice and clean. Now am relaxing and enjoying good ole StarWars A New Hope while I type this. Anyway keep my family in your prayers and continue praying for wisdom, fearlessness and strength for me. ~Semper Fi

Fishing

Yesterday Dan and I went fishing on the Little Red River for a few hours. I hooked seven fish and landed six and Dan hooked two and landed one. It was a lot fun and the fish were feisty and difficult to hook. There are more photos on my photo site under fishing.

Today I got the stone path completely done and Jim just has finish up the stones on the stairs and it will be all done. Then I will put up some pictures. Next I will be starting on a stone path that goes along the side of the apartment and around the corner a short distance to where some of the guys park their cars, so the will keep me busy for a while. Well that's it for now. Semper Fi

Update

Luke and Emily's wedding was really nice. It was exciting to see them finally get married and to hang out with Luke again. I was a little nervous about the wedding because it was the first time I had ever been in a wedding and on top of that I was the best man. Luke's "greatest" fear during the wedding was loosing the rings in a vent, I didn't do that but I did drop one right before I handed them over, that got a little laugh out of the spectators and I got some laughs out of it latter, but it was all good. I put up the pictures I took on my photo site. Bethany left Sunday afternoon and will be home in Colorado tonight. I was really glad to get an extra week to spend with her before she left so I had time to prepare for her leaving. Lord willing I will be seeing her in August at Caleb and Lindsay's wedding and then for Thanksgiving at her home. I really do miss seeing her and Luke everyday and I am still not fully adjusted to everyone else that lives here now. Well that's the update. Semper Fi

Off to Luke's Wedding

Today Erin and I are leaving for Luke's wedding in Memphis and I am really looking forward to seeing him again. Yesterday I got he main part of the rock pathway finished up and will be starting on a short section between the stairs and driveway soon and will put up some pics of the finished pathway when I get it done. I have been sleeping outside in my sweet tent since Monday night since it has be wonderful outside. I also took some neat pictures of a toad I found in the sand pile while filling the wheelbarrow up. On Tuesday Bethany, Cole and I went on a walk and it was another glimpse into a possible feature and it was a lot of fun talking Cole for a walk. Bethany took some picture of Cole and I when I had him up on my shoulders and I will post those as soon as I get them from her. I am still adjusting to having all these new people living here and once Bethany leaves it will really just be Sara B and I left from the original group for the summer. That does leave me in the senior guy position and an example to the younger guys here. Oh yeah my Grandpa is doing better and is home now. Continue to keep my family in your prayers. Semper Fi

Friends Leaving

Yesterday was graduation and a lot of my close friends graduated, so many of them have headed home. Luke, Alycia and Bethany are the ones I am going to miss the most. Luke left today for Memphis and it is just starting to sink in that I won't be seeing him everyday any more and that really makes me sad, he is a brother and my right hand, someone I can call in a time of need. I will get to see him this coming weekend for his wedding, as I am the best man, so I am really looking forward to it. After that though it will be quite awhile before I get to see him. He will be missed much. Alycia left yesterday but will be back for summer classes in a week or two, so it will be nice to be able to hang out with her before she heads to Texas. Bethany will be leaving this coming Sunday so I will have another week to hang out with her before she heads home. I will being seeing her and quite a few other friends in August for Caleb and Lindsay's wedding, so I am looking forward to that as well. It's been a tough couple of weeks with all the church crap going on and my grandpa having a stoke and to top it all off with close friends leaving, ugh. I will be spending time in prayer tonight as all the emotions from the past week are coming up. Please keep me in your prayers and especially the rest of my family. Semper Fi

Happy Happy

I got some really good news today about my grandpa. He was moved out of ICU today and they had a speech therapist in today to help him learn to talk again and is teaching him how to communicate with pictures and my Grandma said his personality was back is really exciting. Oh man I am so excited about his recovery. I still ask for prayers for him and the rest of the family.

Today I worked outside for about three and a half hours and had nice lunch in the gazeboo with Bethany. Also Bethany's family got in tonight so I got to meet them and had dinner with them. Oh yeah I also helped my sister move some more stuff out of her dorm aswell. It's been a busy and productive day. Semper Fi

Yar

Today I found out my grandpa had a mild stroke last night and is currently in the hospital while the doctors try to get his heart rate and blood pressure under control, other then that there is little else the doctors can do right now, he is in God's hands now, God's will be done.

Sunday we did an amazing race for Amber's birthday that Bethany and Sara B put together and it was a lot of fun looking for the clues and then having to figure out where to go for next from the clue. Monday, Bethany and I went walking before riding in the van to Sara B's softball game in Nashville, AR. It was a long drive of about three hours but it was the state tournament. They ended up losing in the semi-finals, so that was a bummer. Today I had my first final out of three and it went pretty well. I also raked rocks out of the volleyball area for almost two hours, it really reminded me of our yard back home before the grass grew. Bethany and I also went walking again today and I just finished a studying session for my database final tomorrow at 1:30 its my hardest final and I will be glad to done with that class.

That's it for now. Please keep my family and especially my grandpa in your prayers. Semper Fe

Nice day it was

Today was quite nice indeed. Went to school and walked Sarah to class after chapel while chatting, then I went and worked on my stupid database project that is almost done, finally bleh. Went to class and then had a meeting with a db team to work on it some more and then finally came home and got to work outside for a bit. I got the horse shoes set up and worked on the stone walkway some more. Later Bethany and I went on a nice walk and we talked about a lot of stuff, it was just a nice time. Vesnea made some dinner so I ate with her and Courtni before vegging out before going to bed, so here I am writing about my day and now I am done. Good night. ~Semper Fi

Weekend Fun

Saturday it literally rained and stormed all day long except for a pause around 7 and that's when Dan and I went out on the pond in the canoe while it was really windy and paddled around for a bit which was quite difficult with wind blowing. I also played a lot of cards and some other games and watched some tv.

Sunday went to church and then around 3 Bethany and I plus Cole with Sara B meeting us there, went to see Harding's last game baseball of the season. It turned out to be a good game with Harding winning in the bottom of the last inning. That's pretty much what I did this weekend. ~Semper Fi

Dads for the win

Today while I was putting the tools away after putting two poles in for a volleyball net it occurred to me how much I have learned from my dad and since Cole has been around lately, reminded me how important a father is in a kids life, since he doesn't get to spend much time with his father. Anyway today I have used my cement making skills and how to support the poles and make sure the stay level from my dad and I started working on the rock pathway again which I also learned how to do from watching him. There is so many useful skills that I have learned from him and also the lessons I have been taught from his on actions in integrity and honor, on how important it is to keep them even if it cost your job or some other less important thing. I have learned much from him and am very thankful for him.

Everything is going really well at the moment. The school year is almost over which is good, but also saddening at the same time because some of my closest friends will be graduating and moving away but I will be sure to keep in touch with them on a weekly basis. My spiritual life was in a valley for a bit because my priorities were not correct and when I realized that I fixed them and now everything is back to were it should be.

I would ask that all who read this keep my family and grandparents in your prayers because they are in the midst of a war with Satan going on at church back home. Also pray for the rest of the body there so their eyes will be opened to what is going on there and put a stop to Satan.

May God's will be done always. Semper Fi

Happy Birthday Bethany

Today was Bethany's birthday so we had a really nice dinner party for her with a bunch of friends. I got her some potted white tulips and made a little story/card for her and she really liked them. She also got some other funny gifts and some neat ones like a bread maker. The dinner was really good, Amber made the meatballs Bethany always has for her birthday and there were some really good green beans and ravioli. We had a lot of good conversation during and after dinner and it was just really enjoyable.

Last night we had an amazing thunder and lightning storm, I so wanted to get up and watch it but it started after 12:30am and I was really tired. I get another three day weekend since I don't have to get up tomorrow and only have my 11am class to go to. I really need the extra sleep I almost fell asleep in math class today ugh.

Stupid Mariners lost tonight by walking the wining run in, what a way to lose. bah

Anyway it was a really good day aside from being tired, but it's time for bed. God Bless. ~Semper Fi

Amazing weekend for the win!

This was probably the best weekend I have had this year. Friday started it off, I got to have breakfast with Bethany and Sara, because Luke skipped his 8am class and we skipped chapel, so I didn't have to go to school till 11am and then only for an hour. Came back and watched a moving with both of them and then went and cleaned my bathroom and fixed a thing on Bethany's car before we went to see a baseball game. It turned out the game was not at home and Sara need to find some more sources for her paper so we hung out in the what I guess is the social work and related fields resource room looking for books and I even found one that was useful. A lot of the books had funny/strange titles and what not. Then we took care of some other errands that needed to be done on campus. After that Harding Academy had a baseball game so we went and watched that for an hour or so before we headed home. Later that day several of Bethany's friends came over and had a fishing party, man was that a lot of fun. I caught the first catfish and had a dorky picture taken which I will post as soon as I get them from Bethany, we did that till it was dark and even some in the dark. I had forgot how much I like fishing.

Saturday got up and went to breakfast as usual and then after breakfast went fishing again. Bethany, Sara and I were out fishing for 4-5 hours and man did we get some sun. I have an awesome farmers tan now, it looks like I dipped my arms in read paint. After fishing I helped Ray planet some trees before getting ready to go to Spring Sing with Branson, Bethany and Sara, it was pretty good and had some funny parts but I still don't like it all that much. Sometime after that Amber and Jess came over and I went on a walk with them and Branson and we actually saw a live armadillo, it was pretty cool.

Sunday I got up at 6:30am to go to a sunrise service with Sarah, Mandy and my sister Erin, it was alright. Came back to the house ate breakfast and took a short half nap till it was time to go to church for the second time. It was a really good service and the sermon was interesting for the parts I was awake for, crummy previous nights sleep for the lose. After church we had a really nice lunch and chatted with friends and then I went to the den to watch some tv and ended up taking a much needed nap, it was nice. After that Branson, Ryan and I moved some rocks for the pathway I have been working on and then went to a picnic with a bunch of friends. We played with a frisbee for a while and then ate. After eating and chatting and laughing, we got a soft baseball out and played catch for quite awhile and some of them went played with a volleyball, so we got out the gloves and played with a real baseball and that was nice. We headed home and Branson and I got out in the canoe and chased a goose around on the pond till it finally flew off, that was fun. Then we and Amber, Bethany and Sara sat out in the gazebo for all most 2hrs talking and just chilling, that was really nice.

I really enjoyed hanging out with Bethany and Sara this weekend and all the fun stuff we did with friends just made this an amazing weekend. Thank you God for allowing us to enjoy your wonderful creation. ~Semper Fi

Finished with seminar

Well I did my seminar today and it went pretty well. Boy am I glad that is done and over with, no more 7:05 am seminars on Friday. woohoo! I feel much better and am just really happy to be done with that class. Life is good. ~Semper Fi

Today was sweet

Got up and went to Sarah's church, with Sarah and Courtni, since Luke was gone and I really liked it all the people were really friendly and saw some other people I knew there also. After church we went out for mexican food with a group of collage kids that were at church and had quite a few laughs. When I got back to the house Cole wanted to play with his army men, so he went and got them and we played outside with them for away, made some stick forts for them and then Cole would stomp on them. After that we started throwing rocks into the pond, I was skipping some and Cole liked that. Then we got some large rocks and threw them in making some big splashes. Later tonight we got a sweet thunder and lightning show and while Sara B and Bethany were sitting out in the screened in patio, Cole came up with his super soaker so I put just a enough water in it to make it mist and pumped it up and told Cole to go shoot one of them and he got Sara right in the face, made me bust up and got a good laugh from Bethany too. Sara B was more surprised then anything. Mischief for the win! After that I watched a movie with Branson, Courtni and Veasna before calling it a night. I also did work on my presentation and got about 60% done. All in all it was a great day. ~Semper Fi

Nice day it was

Today I spent the whole day watching softball in Batesville because Sara B. had tournament. It was a beautiful day for it, the sun was blazing, a little to much, there was a nice breeze once in a while and it was with friends. I played catch with Zac quite a bit and talked with Bethany and Ryan. Man it doesn't get much better then watching softball, it could if it was baseball, on a beautiful day with friends.

In other news the cure for information overload has been found, check it out.

Continue prayers of wisdom, fearlessness and strength for me. God Bless. ~Semper Fi

20oz steak for the win!

Yesterday, I had a testing database and I did quite well on it. There were only a few questions that I wasn't sure about so hopefully I will get a good grade on it. The best part about yesterday though was I got to go out to Outback for Jonathan's birthday and his parents were paying for it all, so of course I couldn't pass up an opportunity like that and got my self the 20 oz Porterhouse, mmm tasty. Yesterday was a great day, I was in such a great mood even before the streak, hoorah. I have may presentation coming up next Thursday so I will be working on that quite a bit, so pray that it goes well and continue praying for wisdom, strength and fearlessness. ~Semper Fi

I had a productive day

Today I had a really productive day for a Sunday. I got the oil changed in Bethany's car, got Courtni's computer virus free and updated and watched the movie Stealth, it was quite good. I also got my pictures from spring break uploaded so go check them out. Bible class was good this morning and worship was nice too, even though I was almost asleep though most of the sermon so I don't remember any of it. Last week I got my stupid research paper done for one of my capstone courses and all I have left for that class now is to give my seminar, which hopefully I will get done this week. It sure has been nice being back and hanging out with my friends down here again. Oh yeah I also have some movies from when the family played Dance Dance Revolution to upload, once I get them up I will put the link here. Continue praying for strength wisdom and fearlessness for me. God Bless. ~Semper Fi

Heading Back to School

Well I am on my way back to school. This break was much to short. :( Anyway yesterday my friend David and his wife Kira came down for dinner and games and they brought Dance Dance Revolution and Guitar Hero with them. We got the whole family to try DDR at least once, even my Grandma gave it a shot. I took pictures and some video, but again I can't post the pics or video till I get back to school. So they may be posted today, but most likely tomorrow. Only three of us played Guitar Hero, David, Nick and myself. It was a lot of fun and I was much better at Guitar Hero then DDR. Anyway pray for a safe and speedy return. ~Semper Fi

Shooting stuff for the win!

Yesterday, my Dad, brother and I finally got to shoot up some stuff we ment to over Christmas break. Before we started shooting, we took the old microwave and put a bunch of foil and bottle rockets in it and started it. It didn't take long for the arcs to light some of the fuses and boom we had explosions in the microwave :) After a few more of those the microwave quit working, so we got and old tv and plugged it in and started shooting it. We put about 30 rounds in to before it quit making noise :) Then we got a styrofoam head and put two blood packets on its forehead and started shooting it up, got a nice blood running done the face effect. Finally we got out a old ceramic owl bank and shot that up, it only survived three rounds before it was totally annihilated. Then we shoot up the microwave to finish it off completely. I have lots of pictures but I can't upload them till I get back to school so I will let you know when I get them up.

After dinner the whole family plus Alycia and my Grandparents played Loaded Questions for almost three hours! Because the game took that long, it was still lots of fun and we all died laughing at some put, I pretty was laugh the whole time and was one of the best times I have had playing that game. Some of the answers that came of my grandpa cracked me up it was great. I almost killed my grandma with laughter when she read one of my answers. The question was: What is a hidden talent you have the most people don't know about? I put throw a ball with my foot and for some reason she that was hilarious and then we all started laughing because she was laughing so hard. Man was that a fun night. That's it for this post. ~Semper Fi

Spring Break

Yesterday, Alycia, Erin and I made it to Washington safe and sound. We spent the afternoon in Seattle and went to Pike Place Market and visited the Space Needle and took a few pictures. Which will be showing up on my photo site once I have a broadband connection again. Today we went hiking upto Goose Rock, then down to the bridge and finally to the beach. I took some pictures along the way and they will posted aswell. Man am I going to be stiff and sore tomorrow, I haven't gone hiking like that in awhile, but it felt good and was a beautiful day. ~Semper Fi

The tomorrow post

Last Friday, Sara had game number two in a tournament to see who would win regionals. The game was tense for a while because they were playing a team they totally dominated in all previous meetings, but they were losing for part of the game, it didn't help that the refs were favoring the other highly, 8-1 in fouls until the very end when it didn't matter anymore. They won in the end even though they were playing against a team, the refs and at the start themselves. After the game we came home and I met Bethany's sister Rachel and her two friends Chelsea and Christy. We chatted a bit while we waited to go out to dinner because those that went to the game hadn't eaten yet. We went out to a Chinese buffet place and I eat three plates of food since I was really hungry, mmm tasty. After that went back and Caleb, Lindsay and Alycia were over because Alycia was taking Caleb and Lindsay, who was leaving her truck at the house, to the train station in Little Rock around 10:30. We didn't do much else that night, but around 11:30 I get a call from Caleb saying the directions he got were no good and he needed some help. I was looking it up on Google Local, when he told me they were stopping at McDonalds to get directions, since they were really close. The directions they got there worked and they made it to the train station. Then I went to bed.

Saturday, had breakfast as usual and then we all kinda just bummed around the house till about seven when it was time for Sara's final game of the tournament against their rivals, who they have lost to in their three previous games. It was an intense game and one of the best of the season. The teams were only a few points apart the entire game, but Sara's team won in the end and were regional champs. After the game we headed home and played some games and then went to bed.

Sunday went to church and had a huge lunch with a bunch of friends at home. Then I bummed around the house until later that night when we played Loaded Questions and I wrote about that below, but another funny one that came up was, what is your worst physical feature? The answers were all related to hands or feet, but Rachel's was the funniest with corpse feet. After that we actually played hide'n'go seek in the house that was a lot of fun and I was the last one found the two rounds we played, leet hiding skillz for the win! ~Semper Fi

Quick update more to come later

Just a quick post to let you know I am still alive and kicking. I have a lot to write about for this weekend, but you will have to wait till tomorrow for that post. I learned about two more neat things I have in common with a certain somebody :) The first one is we both have to sleep in a colder room and the second one I learned while playing Loaded Questions with Amber, Bethany, Christy, Chelsea, Rachel and Branson. Off topic real quick Rachel is Bethany's sister and Christy and Chelsea are two of Rachel's friends, who came down for the weekend, they will be in my post tomorrow. So back on topic now. A question came up asking: What is it you don't like to share? I put down toothpaste tube, because I can't stand it when people leave the lid off or squeeze the tube from the middle it just really urks me. Anyway after they all got read both her and Branson said they can't stand that either and we got a good laugh out of it. Anyway I thought I would share that. Time for bed. ~Semper Fi

Happy Valentines

Man did today, Monday, start off crazy. On our way to school we, Luke and I, saw our roommate, Nate, get rearended by some lady, he was fine, and then after we get around the corner we see flashing lights down by the next stop light, so we decided to go around by Searcy High School. We are waiting for the cop, who is directing traffic for the school, to give us the green light and right after he does we almost get creamed by some HS girl on her cell not paying attention. We are almost to school and another lady starts to pull out in front of us and so we almost creamed her. It was not a good day for woman drivers :P

Today in my chapel seat was a stuffed valentine gorilla with kisses all over him, it was nice surprise. That's him on the right.

Then later today I got to go to a free concert for Shawn McDonald in Conway, with Alycia, Amber, Bethany, Erin, Jess, Laura and Sara, it was a lot of fun and I like his songs, plus he is a fellow pacific northwestern. I also made some funny valentine cards for friends and still need to make two more tomorrow morning before I go to school hopefully. Well its late and I need to get to bed soon. Good day it has been. ~Semper Fi

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It has been awhile since the last post but then again that's been the norm. Saturday I had a bunch of gamer buddies over to watch Doom and we all had a good time watching it and making funny comments during it. Doom was a lot better then I thought it was going to be. The first person section was the best by far. Bethany was also having people over to play games and then there was a surprise party for Alycia. I had some good conversation and then before I went to bed I played a round of Oh Well, its a simple version of Spades, with Amber, Bethany, Nate, Sara and Tracy it was fun.

Sunday I went to morning church and then came back and had a nice lunch and then watched/slept through Miracle. I didn't do much else today and was just lazy this weekend. Anyway a group of us(5 girls and me :) ) went to downtown tonight and as I was sitting there thinking during the devo, it really hit me how much singing focuses my thoughts on God and how easy it is to fully worship Him while singing versus just sitting and listen to someone talk. Cause while I'm singing I am not thinking about anything else to the words to the song and what they mean, its just refreshing to be able to focus that much. I'll probably write some more tomorrow, but its late and I gotta get up in the morning. Continue prayers for wisdom, strength and fearlessness for me. ~Semper Fi

Guys Night Out

Tonight, Friday, we had a guys night out. Allan, Caleb, Kevin, Kyle, Jonathan, Luke and I went down to Little Rock to get measured for our tuxes, just Allan, Caleb, Kevin and I were the ones getting measured. After getting measured we went out to Chili's for dinner and had a lot of funny conversations about all sorts of things, it was most enjoyable. Then we headed for the bowling alley, but about half way there Caleb called informing me Jonathan had about six minutes of gas left, so we pulled off at the next exit which of course had no gas stations, so turned around and headed back towards the previous exit. Some how in the process Jonathan didn't see us take the first exit and kept going. A few minutes later Caleb called asking where we are and I told him we took the first exit and some how the missed it. So we decided to go on to the bowling alley and give them directions after they had gotten gas. Well after about 15mins of waiting they finally showed up, so we gave them a bad time. Well at the bowling alley we found out it was an hour to an hour and half wait for a game, so we said forget that and went to see a movie. When we were almost there Jonathan made another wrong turn thanks to bad directions from Kyle, so we made fun of them some more. Once at the theater we decided to see Good Night and Good Luck, it was a good movie and I would have enjoyed it more if I wasn't so tired. We had a lot of fun and it was nice to hang out with just guys for once. Well I'm really tired and need some sleep. As always please keep me in your prayers. ~Semper Fi

Big Update

Not much happened during the week, except for skipping chapel on Tuesday to work outside with Abraham before going to school and Thursday, I found out the results of what I did previous Thursday and they were good. Other then that I don't think anything else happened of note.

Friday, Sara had an away game so the usual people went(Ray, Rebecca, Bethany & I) plus Zak. It was a good game which they won. Then we went out to dinner before coming home since we hadn't eating dinner yet. When we got back Bethany, Sara and I finally finished this 2000 piece puzzle we had been working on over the last couple of weeks and just as we were putting in the last couple of pieces we came up short and had little nooooo and booing, but luckily after looking around for a bit I got down to look under the table legs and say the last piece reflect light so it stuck really well against the patterned carpet. After it was placed and the puzzle finished there was much rejoicing and a few pictures taken.

Saturday, there was no breakfast because Rebecca was having a ballet troupe over for lunch, so a bunch of girls were cooking and getting everything ready for them. Then they came over and ate and chatted for a bit before heading out to the school to setup. Several of us guys went to help them setup, because they needed some muscle to do some heavy lifting. I got a good work out from moving some of that stuff. The light bases, sandbags to hold them down and their rolls of floor mat were pretty hefty. The heaviest thing I was enlisted to move was their light controller box or power supply thing, whatever it was, it was heavy. I enlisted Allan to come help get it up the stairs and he must have been surprised and made some comment about me working out, but I told him, you would be surprised how much strength you build cutting wood and doing other heavy grunt work. Before moving that big box, Lydia, who is from Washington insta connection, was telling me about the rivalry that they have going for the Super Bowl and on our way over to the box she point out two Steelers fans, so I booed them and that got a laugh out of them hehe.Well after getting all setup we guys headed back home for some relaxing before the ballet.

The ballet was really neat and I enjoyed it. It was the story of Ruth put into a 1900s setting. They had some neat costumes and dance routines, quite enjoyable. After that was over we started tearing everything down and packing up. By then it was 11pm and we still had to go over to the high schools caf and eat some dinner, man was I hungry by then. Just after praying for dinner, Sarah and Mandy went to move some stuff to Veasna's truck and they found a cd stuck to the front of her truck and it was from a guy in her apartment complex, so we started giving her a bad time about it. At some point we started making a song/rap about the situation and Mandy said something like, "I'll make you back bend" and I followed a few secs later with "I'll bust a cap in your rear end", which killed the entire table and made my stomach hurt from all the laughing, lol it still makes me laugh. After helping clean up, we headed home to bed.

Sunday, other than doing homework and going to church, nothing else happened of any note that I can remember.

Monday night I spent about an hour watching/playing with Cole, having a good time and it was a little taste of being a dad and it was nice and is something I am looking forward to. After push him on his trike, at hi-speed of course, I was pooped out, but it was all good.

Oh yeah here are some pics of all the wood I chopped last semester, the platform, the wood is on, is 8x8x4ft to give you a reference.
And here is a picture of my current project of putting down a stone walk way. I will post an updated picture next time.

Well how was that for an update. Before I forget if you read this leave a comment even if its just hello, I would appreciate it much. And as always continue prayers of wisdom, strength and fearlessness for me. May God bless you as much as He has me. ~Semper Fi

SEATTLE IS GOING TO THE SUPERBOWL!

Man was it a great game, Seattle totally dominated Carolina. I can't wait for Superbowl Sunday now. I was hoping it would be Denver on the other side but they played so badly today and Pittsburgh was nasty on the defense and opening offense. The Superbowl should be a really good game. Well that's all I wanted to write about tonight. Continue your prayers of strength, wisdom and now fearlessness for me. ~Semper Fi

Checking In

I haven't been up to much lately other than school, so here is what I have been up to. I have learned how to play this new game called Settlers of Catan and it is lots of fun. Everyone should try it at least once. I have had a blast watching the playoffs and can't wait till they are on today.

Friday Sara had a big conference game against their rival, which happens to be the number one team atm too, and a whole bunch of us went out to watch them play. We got out our shirts that spelled here name and everyone else had Wildcat shirts or red and white on, a few even got out some face paint. Of course Emily and Luke got into a fight with the paint, that was entertaining. The game was quite lame, the Lady Wildcats just plain sucked, it was the worse I have seen them play. The game wasn't even close, as opposed to the last time they played were they only lost by one or two points right at the end. This game they started losing after the first quarter and went down hill fast afterwards.

Yesterday I and a few others spent the whole day watching movies and doing homework. We watched How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Braveheart, Tortilla Soup(lame movie), Patriot and Fat Albert to end the night. Believe it or not at least one person had not seen some of these, including Braveheart.

Thursday Luke didn't have his ten o'clock class so we slept in, which was really nice and I did something I have been needing to do, but I don't know the results yet but hopefully I will soon, until then my lips are sealed. Continue you prayers of strength and wisdom for me. ~Semper Fi

I want a personal transportation device please.

Man after traveling for freaking forever, thanks to late planes and delays because of maintenance I want my transportation device. Our plane in Seattle got in late from Hawaii so we left Seattle late causing us, my sister and I, to miss our connection in Detroit. It took almost an hour to get that fixed up because several other people missed the same connection, but we did get 20 bucks in vouchers for food and what not plus we got bumped to first class for our flight to Houston. Then we had to wait for our plain in Houston because they were doing maintenance on it so we got delayed another 30 minutes. It ended up taking us starting from 11pm Pacific time on Saturday night to 3:30pm Central time before we reached Little Rock, ugh what a long day.

Anyway we made it back safe and sound. Of course there where a couple of people at Montgomery's so I already have ran in to Abraham, Branson and Jess. Bethany will be in tomorrow and I am looking forward to see her again. Oh yeah, I also saw Dana and Amy when they came by to pick out a movie or two from the Montgomery Library. As well as the Montgomery's and Lindsay and Cole.

Well I think that should do quite well for a post tonight. Continue prayers of strength and wisdom for me. May God watch over you. ~Semper Fi

Geek for the win!

Tuesday I spent the whole day with David and his wife Kira. They took my out to lunch at Boss Tweed(I think that's what it was called) where I got clam chowder in a sourdough bowl and was it tasty. After that we ran some errands and then we headed to their apartment to take care of some stuff and put together the two lamps they got. After that we stopped by the UPS store and picked up a package and we headed back to Oak Harbor, we had been in Bellingham all day where they will be living once they get their stuff delivered. It was real nice to spend the day with them and catch up on what has happened since the last time we talked in person.

Wednesday I didn't to anything remarkable except play Guild Wars and Resident Evil 4.

Today(Thursday) I woke up at 5am for no good reason, I even tried to get back to sleep for an hour could not so I got up and had to stretch a whole lot to try and get my back and legs to loosen up, because they were so tight. So I played Guild Wars for a couple of hours until I got hungry just before eight. I ate breakfast and took a shower and then waited for my mom and sister to get back from dropping my brother off at school. We then went shopping but I got really tired on the drive over so I just slept in he car for about two hours will my mom and sister were in the stores. After that we went to the mall to meet up with the Beaches, Marcus' family, and had lunch at a Japanese place. Then we went and saw Cheaper by the Dozen 2, it was pretty good. Then we came home and I put my brothers new computer together because the case finally showed up today and got it all running and working on the first try, Geek power! After that we had dinner with Grandparents at Applebees, pretty good food, but I didn't have much of an appetite because I haven't been feeling to well all day.

Tomorrow the new digital camera and back up drive my grandpa order for himself will be showing up so I will be showing him how to work all that loot, which will be fun since he is a smart guy. Well I think that is it so continue praying for me. God bless. ~Semper Fi

This break update brought to you by noodles

New Years party on Sunday was a lot of fun. Mostly played Guild Wars with Marcus, but also played a new card/board game called Joker, its like Sorry but a lot more fun and requires some thinking. When I played we did guys vs girls. Guys won the first game then the girls won the second game and we didn't play a tie breaker game :(

My friend David is in town and I will be getting to see him sometime tomorrow, looking forward to it I am. Well that's it for tonight because I am really tired and need to get my sleep debt caught up. Good night, sleep well. ~Semper Fi

Happy New Year Noobs

Zombie Day went well we watched Land of the Dead, which was disappointing. Then we play a lot of Resident Evil 4 and a lot of Guild Wars, which isn't a zombie game but it does have zombies in it so it counts. I forget how much fun Marcus and I have and I can't wait till he can come down to Harding so my other friends can meet him. We my kill them all with uber geek talk if where not careful though :) Geek for the win!

The party on Friday went really well. First we sung songs for about two hours, which was really neat as it reminded me of Wednesday night Bible study. After singing most of the people played some games. I went a grab a chair next to the food and then my dad and grandpa joined me so we chatted for about and hour or so, then my dad got up and so I had a really good talk with my grandpa, which I really enjoyed. My brother, grandpa and I got my sister a new digital camera for Christmas and it got delivered on Friday so we got to give it to her and she really likes it.

Today I didn't really do anything but watch Denver stomp the Chargers and play Resident Evil 4.

Tomorrow I have the party at Marcus' to go to which we will be starting the new year right with mass gaming. RAWR!

May God bless this year and continue your prayers for strength and wisdom. ~Semper Fi