We were all set to go camping in Big Bear until I got a voice mail. It said that effective September 1st until the end of fire season we could not have a campfire. We can use the stove but not the campfire. What the … I just called to find out when fire season ends and it is conditional. The forestry service ends fire season based on a complicated formula of humidity..blah blah blah.

Now I think we will crash San Clemente and see if we can get some love from the camp ranger service to get us a spot. At least we can have a campfire there and go surfing.  It might be a win win.

I am ready for the weekend. My to-do list is getting shorter and that means I can relax and not be worried about getting stuff done. I don’t work well when my to-do list is overwhelming. I get all stressed because I am results oriented and leaving stuff on the list drives me nuts.

Did you pickup on the fact that Thursday is now Friday. I get  a 3 day weekend every week. I might not be getting paid (furloughed for now) but I do get the time off. Looking forward to it.

I haven’t been camping in so long. We just booked a site in Big Bear (Serrano). I am talking about tent camping not sleeping in an RV. Of course we will have air mattresses but no power. No TV! Just nature as nature intended. Except of course we will have a bathroom to use.

We were trying for a beach site they are just booked solid. Maybe next year I will figure it out. You need to book 7 months in advance and only on the first day of the month. That is just to much to deal with. Seriously who is thinking about camping at the beach on Dec. 1st, Jan 1st or Feb 1st.

My life has finally slowed down enough for me to login and write something. I can’t believe it has been so long. I’m sure nobody will ever read this except for my wife.

We are in a new house in a great neighborhood. Jen and I sit in the backyard at sunset most days and thank God for being part of our lives.

We are going to join Relational Development (RD) at Sandals Church this year. We are looking forward to the pain. At least I am looking forward to my wife getting her butt kicked like I got mine last time I went through RD.

Lots of birthdays going on. I just had mine. Burgundy, Jaime, and Gavin’s are coming up as well as a bon voyage party for Chuck. We will miss you but look forward to partying with you before you go.

I have always understood that a dog is a member of the family. I learned that first hand from my mom who arguably treated the dog better than she treated me.

Oreo Merritt

Lately I have noticied our dog needing more attention than I could give him. So we got him a little brother named Oreo.

We have had Oreo for a couple of days now and they are getting along just like I had hoped. However today when I came home for lunch I realized that you shouldn’t feed a dog in a crate and expect him to hold it. Whoops.

He is just smaller than Mocha was when we got him. I am not used to that.

Happy birthday to my wonderful wife. We celebrated at the happiest place on earth (Starbucks on the corner of elm and lemon) just kidding. We went to Disneyland. The park was empty which made it that much nicer of a day. We had dinner at Rain Forrest and sailed home with no traffic. 

If you are ever at Disneyland on your birthday stop by city hall and get your birthday button. Every cast member wished her a happy birthday. It was pretty cool having people scream from across the room, “happy birthday” in which Jen whispered a shy thank you as everyone stared at her.

This saturday will be the family celebration at an undisclosed location (she hasn’t decided yet).

Last year was such a roller coaster that this year has been great. Jen and I are in a great marrried couples small group, I am teaching new believers and we are both healthy. God has showed himself in our lives this year when we needed him most.

With everything going on in the country we are fortunate with our jobs. Everyday I thank God for what we have.  Yesterday I picked up a van full of homeless people from Fairmont park and brought them to my work where we have a thanksgiving feast for the communtity. It was a reminder of how good we have it and how bad things are going to get. 

Thanks God
Rod and Jen

Welcome to our new blog home. I am hoping that the new surroundings and ease of WordPress will inspire me to write more.