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“Boulder Drop” with Outdoor Adventures

Sun, 23 May 2010 19:36:17 -0700

If you had asked me a few months ago if I would ever do white water river guiding again I would have said probably not. But luckily, God can do immeasurably beyond what we can ask or imagine!

A few weeks ago I went to an open pool session to learn how to roll a kayak so I could start white water kayking. While I was there I met Justin who is part of the family that owns and runs Outdoor Adventures. During our brief encounter he mentioned that they are always looking for part time guides and invited me to come check out their operations in Index Washington.

When I first checked them out - I was THOROUGHLY impressed with the place they had set up along the North Fork river which feeds into the Skykomish river. It’s anabsolutely beautiful historic building overlooking the river.

I found out that they run all sorts of programs from white water rafting and kayaking, to sea kayaking, horse back riding, family adventure trips, and so much more. Moreover, the founding family are Christians with a heart to impact at risk teenage kids and have set up many of their programs with that emphasis.

Just a week after meeting Justin - I was up at their River House to jump on the river in a ‘guide boat’ full of their guides that had just completed guide training. I was excited to be back on the river staring down the fury of the raging rapids! And there are some RAGING rapids on the Skykomish.

My second weekend up I was able to guide “Boulder Drop” which is their primary rapid - a class 5 rapid.

This past weekend Kami was able to come up with me to serve along side of some of the wonderful women who help run the business operations at the River House. She had actually met Jessica (who is one of the family members of the folks that own Outdoor Adventure) this ski season up at Stevens Pass. They had completely hit it off. So she was glad to ‘run into’ Jessica again as we’re all now connected through Outdoor adventures and serving alongside one another.

Though I’m not 100% sure what lies ahead - Kami and I are super excited to be serving alongside the crew up at Outdoor Adventures and are looking forward to seeing what adventures God has in store for us there!

The season isn’t over yet...

Sat, 8 May 2010 16:50:02 -0700

The season isn’t over yet - you just have to work harder for your turns. So - Kyle, Micah and I headed up to Stevens today to hike and ski/board a bit. We built a nice little kicker and had a fun little session on it.

It was a BEAUTIFUL day up on the mountains. I moved up here for days like this! They are unbeatable!!!

Always something to learn and do up here...

Fri, 7 May 2010 16:45:26 -0700

With aspirations of picking up yet another hobby - white water kayaking - I ventured out to an ‘open pool’ session tonight to try to learn a few basics. I’ve been in a kayak before - back when I was a camp kid at Kanakuk and again during my days at JH Ranch. But my some total of time is around a mere couple of hours and I’ve only tried doing an eskimo roll a few times at best.

Much to my surprise - I nailed my first two attempts at the eskimo roll tonight! I then spent an hour and a half trying to get smoother and quicker with the roll. It was a blast getting to play around in the kayak.

During the open pool session I met a fellow who’s part of the family that owns and runs this whitewater outfit. I found out that they have an entire faith based outdoor adventure program that they run. They do trips for youth groups, families, at risk teens and a lot more.

More exciting was that they are always looking to add to their roster of ‘part time’ river guides. Before the night was over I had been extended an invitation to come up to do a few laps down the river with them in hopes that I could be added to their roster of river guides.
 Stay tuned - I might be a river guide again soon!

Rock on!

Thu, 29 Apr 2010 16:41:39 -0700

Working in marketing/advertising can be a riot! Today - we had a ‘team meeting’ and were all encouraged to come dressed in 80’s themed outfits. As you can see - I went for the 80’s Big Hair Band theme and Rocked Out!

Though you can’t see it in this pic - I had an XBox game guitar to complete the outfit.

Thanks goes to Kami for teaching me how to ‘tease’ out my hair.

Wedding celebration!

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 20:30:13 -0700

Tonight we celebrated a wonderful occasion: the marriage of Justin and Allie! They are a young couple in our community group and we were so excited to get to get to be a part of their wedding celebration.

Justin and Allie show a tremendous love for - and dependence upon Christ Jesus. They are full of life and passion. We’ve watched them face tough challenges with wisdom, patience, and maturity. I have no doubt that God has some amazing things in store for them down the road! It’s clear He’s preparing vessels for His honor!

Justin & Allie - we’re proud of you!

Dallas came to Seattle

Mon, 8 Mar 2010 19:28:08 -0800

Over the past two weeks Kami and I have been so excited to have a few Dallas friends up to Seattle. First was Andrew who was with us about 2 weeks as he headed up to Alaska to drive trucks for the summer. Second was Dan who came up for a long weekend to ski at the various ski ranges with us.

It was such a blessing having them both in town. It was great to catch up and hear/see all that God’s been doing in their lives. It’s clear to see He’s been molding both of them - ever faithfully - into the men He’s designed them to be.

Beyond catching up - it was GREAT FUN getting to build new memories with each of them. From skiing - to hanging out in Pikes Place Market - and any number of other little adventures. We’ve had a blast enjoying life together.

Thanks for coming to visit guys!

How about you? When are YOU coming up to visit?