Finally!

Well, as promised last night, I'm getting a new post up. I'm really going to have to remember to put up stuff more regularly.

A couple of other format changes--I'll soon start doing more pictures, and I will possibly be putting up music, as well. One could argue that I couldn't do more pictures, since I haven't done any, but oh well. Also, on the music--I don't think anyone needs to worry about it. The content is just fine. Many of you have heard it, and I'm sure that either all or almost all have read the words.

OK--Wednesday was about an average day. It was far enough ago that I don't remember much about it. The only significant thing that was going to happen was prayer meeting in the evening, but that was unfortunately canceled due to sickness.

Thursday was different. Dad had a committee meeting out at Geneva College, where Nathaniel is. Geneva is about a 4 1/2 hour drive from here. It's located in western PA, right around where almost all of Mom's family lives, and where she grew up. Anyway, we all went out there to see Nathaniel and my grandpa and grandma.

Grandpa was doing all right. He still lives at home, but my grandma is in a nursing home about 25 minutes from their house. She isn't the best anymore, since she's always quite tired. When we got there, Grandpa was there, but Grandma was asleep. While we were talking, she woke up, but wasn't very alert until she got a cup of coffee. Then, she was almost back to what I remember her being like when I was much younger. She was (generally) alert and a bit talkative; she even cracked a couple of jokes! It was wonderful. Then, right before we left to go back to Geneva (we'd already been there, and needed to go back so Dad could get to the committee meeting), Grandpa invited us to stay at their house overnight. Mom and Dad were planning to come back home that evening, but were happy to have an alternative.

When we got back to Geneva, Dad got to his meeting while Mom and Nathaniel and I enjoyed supper (his meeting was 5:30-8:30 PM) with Nathaniel's roommate from last year, Tony. We ate at a local pizza parlor, Pizza Joe's. As usual, the pizza was great!

After the meeting was over, and we had said our goodbyes to Nathaniel, we left. However, this was about 9:00 PM, and, due to the geographic location of this area, we were receiving plenty of Lake Erie snow. Unfortunately, PENDOT (Pennsylvania Department of Transportation) seemed to be waiting for the snow to stop before plowing/salting much. As a result, the roads were so bad that soon after we'd gotten going, Mom and Dad decided to go up to my grandparents' house and stay there overnight.

We left around 7:30 the next morning, getting breakfast at a combination gas/convenience store. The trip back was uneventful, and we spent most of the afternoon in getting ready for the Klondike Derby on Saturday.

Saturday. Klondike. Fun! I was up right after 6 in the morning, and we left for a neighboring town (where our troop is based out of) to collect others and most of the equipment. We arrived at the Klondike's location soon after 8, and started getting ready.

Now, a good summary of the Klondike would be this: we compete against other patrols (groups of scouts from other local troops) in different activities, all of which involve an assortment of scout skills, problem solving, and a good bit of stuff thrown in to make it all harder. We end the day with a sled race. We have a sled we put all of the equipment in, and we have to tow it around to all the different stations. The race involved (I'm guessing) around 15-16 other patrols; we finished around the middle. This race can be very interesting since everyone wants to win, so it can be kind of cutthroat at times. However, everything was fun. If possible, I'll put up pictures later. Here's one, taken right after the race. Some of you should recognize people. Just so you know, I have no clue why I look two-dimensional! Also, since this is my first time putting up pictures, I'm not sure why it won't maximize in a new window. I'll be experimenting with that...

After that, we came home and crashed. Everything was fun, but it was tiring. The last thing I knew was that the clock said 11:32, and then it said 3:40-something, then 7:36, then finally 10: something-or-the-other. I managed to make up on sleep! Today was very nice at church. We had a visiting family, and almost all of the regulars made it, so attendance was quite good. The sermons were excellent, and the singing was great! We had a little bit different schedule today. As many of you know, we normally have church at 1 and 6:30 PM, with Sabbath school right after the 1 PM service. Well, we did that today, except that the evening worship was right after Sabbath school, at 3:30. After that, we had a fellowship dinner. The food was excellent and the fellowship was "excellenter." We didn't leave until past 6:30! Since then, I've been typing this post, eating oyster crackers, and listening to psalm singing. Hopefully all of you have had a blessed Sabbath!