Cheezy

Alyssa wasn't too excited about having to go to Adam's Court of Honor earlier today, but it was soon ALL better when she found the Cheese Balls...LOL!!

Court Of Honor

Adam's scout troop has a Court of Honor twice a year. Today's was a combination picnic/Court of Honor. This ceremony acknowledges all the merit badges the scout has earned and also any special events they have attended over the past six months or so. As you earn badges, you also move up in rank. Today Adam was awarded the Star rank. This is the third highest rank. Second highest is Life and of course, the highest rank a scout can attain is Eagle. Two of Adam's friends were awarded Life rank today, but due to an unfortunate accident that Adam had two years ago (some of you may recall a little altercation he had with his dirt bike...LOL!), he hasn't been able to keep up with his buddies, Jason and Robin. Because he missed camp that year, he doesn't have as many merit badges as they do. He needs to complete 3 additional merit badges between now and the next Court of Honor (to be held sometime in Jan/Feb 2007) and then will also advance to Life. After that, it'll be time to work on his Eagle rank and project.

Troop 55 with their leaders
Adam receiving congratulations on achieving Star rank
Adam receiving merit badges and congratulations
Troop Leader, Dennis, acknowledging Adam's accomplishments
Adam sharing what his role as Historian entails

Last Ones, I Promise!!

Self-explanatory!
Being goofy!

And There's More!

Mom and Alyssa
Mom and kids
Me and Mom

More LBI pics

All these sunset pictures were taken from the same place within about 15-20 minutes of each other!!

Long Beach Island 2006

I said last year that I wouldn't stay in a place that wasn't air conditioned...and I apparently didn't mean it, cuz we stayed in the same place this year as last year. Yes, there was a token air conditioner there, but it was basically ineffective, especially Monday and Tuesday. Fortunately, the heat wave broke Tuesday night and the rest of the week was cooler. Tempers were flaring a bit with the high temperatures...but things improved as the week wore on.

Enjoy the pics!

Tropical Storm Beryl kept the beaches closed on Thursday

Adam having a few hair issues...LOL!!

Alyssa eating a fried pickle at The Frosted Mug

I'm not sure what he was thinking here!!

Alyssa catching some rays while reading and listening to her MP3 player

Awesome!

Just to give you a better idea of what is going on in San Antonio this morning, I found this article on a web site. As the article explains, the numbers got to be so big they had to divide it into two different weeks. This article is from the last day of the first week, but I would expect today's closing ceremonies to be very similar. The main difference is that there were a mere 15,000 at the first week; Alyssa is there with 24,999 others!! I have heard other youth from our church say this was a life-changing experience; I can only hope that Alyssa has that same feeling!

Please take a minute and read the article...

San Antonio Update

Well, I talked to Alyssa last night. She seems to be having a great time. I talked to her the night before and she didn't seem to be in such a good mood, but I believe she was just tired. They have been hearing all these neat Christian music groups, they did a service project yesterday afternoon, and have been meeting new people. She has seen three people there that she knows from dance (Rachel L. and Megan B.) and school (Jeremy G.), which I think is amazing, since there are 25,000 kids there!! She's made friends with Starbuck's and had supper at Hooter's (seems odd for a church group, huh...LOL!!) on Thursday night. The gathering is over on Sunday and the plans are to see the Alamo, eat at the Hard Rock Cafe and hopefully, ride the Riverwalk on a barge. It'll be over before she knows it! She says it is hot, but bearable. And the rumors that flip flops melt on the sidewalk down there just don't seem to be true....she said everyone has them on...LOL!! Their hotel is connected to a mall and also the Riverwalk, which is really neat. Tonite should be cool, as they celebrate a Fiesta. More later once she gets home!

And They're Off!

Arriving at Philadelphia Airport


Left to right, front row: Pastor Barry, Pastor Elizabeth, Krissy, Kim, Alyssa, Rachel
Left to right, back row: Chris S., Chris M., Alyce, Kristin, Emily, Casey, Melissa,Erin

San Antonio, Here We Come!

After hearing about this national youth gathering for the last three years, it's finally here! Twelve of our teens and both Pastors will be traveling to San Antonio, Texas on Wednesday to attend Cruzando. They return on Monday the 17th. Here you see some of them from earlier in the day washing cars to help raise money for the trip. I'm sure they would all appreciate your prayers as they travel to Texas.

From left to right: Kristin, Alyce, Chris, Alyssa and Rachel

More mutants!

Hershey Park Happy....

Today Alyssa and I accompanied 6 teens and several parents from the Teen Choir to Hershey Park. This is an annual event. It was a beautiful day. Although I really wasn't too excited about going, the weather was certainly in our favor. Even when we were sitting in the hot sun, there was a nice breeze. Alyssa called me after getting off one of the water rides saying she wanted her towel because she was cold!!

Our excursion always begins with a ride through the animated Chocolate Factory. The ride ends with a free sample of chocolate. In the past, it has always been a small chocolate bar. This year we got a miniature bag of the new mini candy coated kisses. (And no matter what they say...it does melt in the heat...just ask Nancy...her keys, and both Rachel and Nick's phones were covered with melted chocolate!!)

After eating an early lunch, half the group went off on their own and the rest of us were left to our own devices! Linda, Nancy and I (the three adults) chose to hit almost every show imaginable, while Alyssa, Rachel and Nick went on rides. It was pretty crowded, so in about 4 hours, I think they only got on about 5 rides.

After hitting the last show after dinner, we all went on their newest ride which is a ride that you sit in cars and shoot targets with laser guns. As you go through the ride, you can accrue points, hoping to beat the car in front of you. Just as we were getting off the ride, we learned that Nancy and Linda had their guns pointing the wrong way, so they didn't get any points and were probably pointing a laser directly into their eyes...LOL!!

The day ended back in the same place we started, Chocolate World, but not to go on the ride, but to buy the candy!! I got t-shirts for both Alyssa and Adam (although he doesn't know that yet, cuz he's still at BCC), and candy for all of us. Kurt got his usual peanut butter cups, Adam got an asst. of miniatures, Alyssa got Reese's Pieces in a cute tin and I got an extra dark chocolate bar with macadamia nuts and cranberries. My bar, of course, was chosen because it is a rich source of flavanol anti-oxidants....

Ummm Good!

I have used the following dressing recipe for potato or macaroni salad for many years. I found it in a recipe book that I bought from a friend who was selling them through their church's fundraiser. I have had many compliments over the years. You can put whatever you want in the salad. For potato salad, I like to use hard boiled eggs, diced onions, bacon and potatoes. For macaroni salad, I use relish, hard boiled eggs, diced onions and sometimes a 6 oz. can of tuna in water. I usually double the dressing recipe.



1 cup miracle whip (you can use mayo if you prefer; i usually use light miracle whip)
1/4 cup oil
4 tablespoons vinegar
4 tablespoons sugar

Whisk or beat together and then add to the potato or macaroni salad ingredients. I like to make it several hours ahead of time, so the dressing has time to soak into the potatoes or noodles.

This time I decided to use small red potatoes and cut them unpeeled into quarters.

Enjoy!

He's Gone Again!!

We took Adam to Bear Creek Camp this afternoon for the week. We'll pick him up on Saturday morning.

This is Adam's bed for the week:

Here's his 'house' for the duration. To the right is his counselor, Wayne, and Kurt is on the left.

Any of you who have been to Bear Creek know the significance of this picture. The three mile road to get to the camp is a red dirt lane. Mix some rain in and you have this:

More Flood Pics

These pictures are looking north of Rt. 22 coming back into PA from NJ

Flood of '06

These pictures were taken going from Easton towards Phillipsburg as we were driving on Rt. 22

Anyone Know This Character!?!?