Camp Tahkodah

Ian is away for two weeks at Camp Tahkodah. He has been going there since he was 8 and feels like it is his "home-away-from-home". The only difference is that he has always attended Session 4, but due to scheduling, we could not do that this summer. He is now with an entirely new group of kids and he is a little apprehensive about fitting in. Of course, I think he will adjust fine and have a huge number of new friends. But I'm the Daddy and my job is to worry (which I'm pretty good at). In just the first few minutes we were there, he spotted a kid that was sitting apart from the others and asked this kid to be his "buddy" during the free swim time. We miss him a lot more when he is away then he misses us. The good news about this week is that it is supposed to be much cooler. Meanwhile, Keri and I get some time together.

Whoops, almost forgot about Charlie (the robin). We let him out of his cage each morning and he flies around the backyard until we get home. Then he comes back for some special attention and juicy worms. He seems to be a lot more independent each day, and assume he will not come back some evening. We hope the added time will make it possible to fit into the world of wild birds, but I guess we will never know. Right now, he comes if Keri or Ian call him. He just ignores me (a skill taught him by Keri and Ian).

Space Camp Graduate

I can now brag about my son, the Space Camp graduate! I went to the graduation ceremony this morning at the Clinton Center and listened to the teachers brag about the students. It made all the parents proud. However, the highlight came afterwards when one of the directors of the Center sought me out and asked to speak to me for a minute. She said that teachers were not supposed to have favorites, but if she could, Ian would certainly be the one. She also said that "he is intelligent, inquisitive, and polite." She predicted that "he will accomplish anything he sets his mind to, and I don't worry about the future with children like Ian coming along." She asked that he consider applying for the Clinton Canter scholarship to the NASA Center Space Camp. Needless to say, I was very pleased (and proud). People keep telling me this, but the purpose of a Daddy is to worry.

I picked up some of the HIZ-PATH returnees last night. They were tired but seemed to be very happy that they had gone to Zambia. I am looking forward to hearing more about their adventures.

Busy Summer

I'm afraid I may have gone overboard when planning Ian's summer. He has just finished a week at Boy Scout Camp, VBS began last night, Space Camp (day camp) at the Clinton Presidential Center runs all this week, and he is off for two weeks to Camp Tahkodah this coming Sunday. On the side, he and his Mom are raising a robin they found in the yard. I'll post photos of the Space Camp and robin later. It is much harder to mount photos from my home PC than from my MAC.

A Camping We Will Go.....

As Assistant Scoutmaster of Troop 96, I accompanied 9 Scouts to our Summer Boy Scout Camp this past week. It was around 104 degrees most of the week and extremely humid. Of course, there was no air conditioning in the tents and the food was not what I would have selected from any menu. However, the experience was GREAT! The Scouts participated in Archery, Environmental Science, Nature, First Aid, Camping, Wilderness Survival, Lifesaving, Woodcarving, etc., etc. It really is a good learning experience. In between all the classes, they learn to work as a team and work on maturing a little. As aggravated as I often get at Ian, he always does well in this type of environment.

The group was supposed to come up with a skit to enter the competition for the final campfire presentation. No one wanted to enter and Ian got them all excited about entering. They ended up entering two skits and the one Ian was in was selected for the final campfire. The whole troop was excited.

One of the things I learned this week is that I am no longer 20 and I can't keep up with a group of kids. Of course, I see that every time I look in the mirror, but it was a rude awakening to require medical attention after a swimming test of two laps of an Olympic sized pool. I did the swim OK but when I tried to climb out of the pool, I went down. At first, they though it was my heart, but quickly decided it was a combination of being out of shape, heat, insulin issues, and dehydration. HOW EMBARRASSING!!!!!!

We all survived and returned to Searcy yesterday for Alice Anne Murray's wedding. It was a great wedding with lots of laughter, seeing old friends, memories, and well wishes. It's the type of wedding everyone should have.

Storms in Arkansas

Yesterday was a rough day for many in Arkansas (and other places I'm sure). My mother called and reported that the straight-line winds had downed 5 or 6 large trees around her house. Fortunately, none hit the house or surrounding structures. One of the trees was around 200 years old and was a huge oak. The others were smaller. I expected Mom to be totally depressed and want me to come up immediately, but she said that she was lucky and had worried so much during the storm that she was going to bed to take a nap. Ian and I had spent Thursday helping her mow, etc.

Tomorrow, Ian and I head off for a week of Boy Scout camp. I AM WAY TOO OLD FOR THIS! Woops, that just slipped out.

The Answer to Prayer!

I met with Ricky Medlock, my retina specialist this morning for a final determination of his ability to restore/improve vision to my right eye and strengthen my left eye. After two hours of tests, the end result is that he feels that an additional surgical procedure on my right eye should help all aspects of my vision. The procedure is like a cataract surgery (described as fairly simple with approximately one week of recovery time). The end result should restore vision to my right eye and the improved vision should aid/strengthen my left eye. He was very optimistic. I had expected the worst possible news since the vision in my right eye was detierating. I walked away feeling better then I have in a year! I feel guilty about my lack of faith!!

Safe Return

We have returned to Searcy after the drive from Destin to Little Rock to Searcy yesterday. It was a long drive, complicated by my continuing visual problems. We made it safely and I am happy to be home.

Friday ended up being a beautiful day with nice weather all day. It was a pleasant day at the beach although the red flag was still flying. Ian had a wonderful time with his grandmother and family and I was so glad we went.

We have had several storms during our week here. The one last night knocked out many of the computers in town including the CVS Pharmacy and many of the gas stations. However, it looks like it may clear up for some beach time today. I certainly hope so. I'm sure the flags will be red but at least we can play on the beach and swim in the pool.

Ian and Jeff went fishing again yesterday. This was the Little Nemo trip and Jeff wanted to go to assist Ian. Ian caught a lot of bait fish, helped reel in a King Mackerel, checked crab traps and got to drive the boat. He had a great time.

Last night we all went to Capt. Dave's On the Gulf for our annual dinner out. We had a great table and once again great food. This photo is from the deck. Afterwards we headed to Bass Pro for the usual outing. It was a good evening.

Today is our last day at the beach so we will make the most of it.

Mid-week at the Beach

Ian went deep sea fishing Tuesday along with Jeff and Uncle Dave. It was a 6 hour trip but he did great. They were very successful and we had snapper for supper that night. They had such a good time that Jeff went back again on Wednesday.

Since Tallahassee is so close to Destin (relatively speaking), Ian and I drove to spend the day with my brother Steve and his family. They were all back in Florida for the first time in a while. Dani has graduated and is seeking employment and Jake has transferred from Arizona State to a college here in Florida. We got to spend time with all of them except Jake. Ian had such a good time and I really enjoyed visiting with them all.

It is storming here today so our plans are unknown.

Visitors

Sophie, Carla and Jason Fuller are here in Destin and called last night to see if we could all get together and today was the best day. Sophie and Ian had a time playing. They created an aquarium in a large tub and stocked it with fish, crabs, sea fleas, etc. They ended up with quite a collection during the three hours they were on the beach. For lunch, we headed to Dewey Destin's and they loved it as much as we do. They went back to their condo to walk the dog and we are meeting later for Night at the Museum 2.

Ian was able to get his triplane flying. His kites have made quite a hit here this year and he has loved showing them off. His Uncle Steve and Aunt Nola gave him this one for a birthday present one year.

Dewey Destin's was great, although there were not many people there. It is still early and everyone is hoping that business picks up next week. The Fuller's really liked it and were glad we took them there. It is always good to find a place where the locals eat.

We went back to the beach right after supper. Ian really enjoyed having Sophie to play with. He is really good with all the adults, but when I saw how much fun he was having with someone his own age, I wanted to make it last for him. Perhaps they can get together some other time this week. We celebrated Ian and Micheal's birthday tonight. It seemed strange to celebrate without Keri, but we have always celebrated at the beach. We have always ordered a big birthday cake, but this year we got a cupcake variety. It was fun. Next year we will celebrate in Africa.