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Devin came out for a visit! It sure was nice seeing him again. As usual, he's a busy man - a lot of people to see, and many things to do. But it was very nice of him to make this special visit. Bethelites don't get much vacation time, so he may not be out here for quite some time. It was kind of him to make room for us during this trip.

We didn't get much in the way of pictures, but the one we managed is available for viewing on the events page under my miscelaneous stuff. Hope to see you soon.

In January, 2010 I received a letter asking if I would be available to go to the School for Elders between February and May, 2010. I confirm that I'm available. A few weeks later I'm sent another letter inviting me to come to this school in April, 2010 – I gladly accept.

So, in April, I was able to attend the School for Elders at the Educational Center in Patterson, New York. What a great privilege! The course itself was amazing – so much to learn in such a short time. Being at Patterson was also amazing. It was such a relief to be out of the World for a week. This is a place that I could be at for a while. It isn't being uninformed about the World, but it is a sanctuary from being inundated with things that just don't matter in life. I even realized how unimportant global news can be.

After spending an extraordinary week at the Educational Center, I went and visited Quatchi at The Farm for the weekend. Being with him for a few days was such an enjoyable time, I almost forgot what it was like. There was a time when I could just visit him at his house and we'd chill. There were a couple trips that we took that were similar – this visit brought it all back. Devin is a great friend (hey, he's kind enough to put up with me all these years) and brother. He's certainly a spiritual man, and I respect and look up to him for his choices in life. I look forward to visiting him again, and seeing how he continues to serve Jehovah.

I was able to visit with his Congregation in Shokan, and they are a good group of Brothers and Sisters. It was encouraging and entertaining to be with them, even for just one meeting.

Here are a few pictures from my trip to Patterson/Wallkill.

Since my trip to New York, Devin has come to visit us. We only got a couple pictures during lunch, but it was certainly a delight to be with him again. Now that he's back at Bethel, and with a 1-year assignment, it'll be a while before I see him again. Take care buddy.

So, my buddy came for a visit, and as usual, there are no pictures of us two. But, the few times we were able to spend together was nice. We had lunch on Monday, service Thursday morning and enjoyed a gathering Friday night. Suddenly, Sunday was here and it was time to say goodbye. It went by quickly Quatchi, take care. I'll see you in April. My budddy is gone . . . he's now at Bethel. He left Thursday morning and after some plane problems and flight delays, he arrived at his new home in Wallkill around 12 midnight. I'm gonna miss him. But after talking with him on the telephone, I can tell he's really "home". That's the place for him, and no matter what comes, he needs to be there right now. Jehovah willing, I hope he's there for a while. Take care Quatchi. It's been much time and a lot of dreaming for my best friend, but he finally got the telephone call — Devin is going to Bethel! It was a real joy to get the call from him after he was notified. I've never heard him so happy, excited and anxious all at the same time. My little buddy is going to be a Bethelite.

This is bittersweet for me, I lose my best friend and am left with just memories and pictures, which you can see on our websites. Yet, at the end of the day, this is great news! I will be happy for him and will do my very best to support him. Proverbs 18:24 explains it so well when it says, "there exists a friend sticking closer than a brother." That is something we will always have. Even when this system causes family to be distant, Jehovah provides his faithful ones mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters - more than they may have ever had. Devin has been a good brother to me. I know I speak for all of his friends and family, when I say he will be missed.

The surprise finally happened! The TAG was supposed to open weeks before, but hey, opening a new restaurant isn't easy. The TAG named after Troy Guard, the owner and Chef, opened May 18th, 2009. Our cousin / son / brother inlaw is the intrepid bartender and was integral with the opening of this establishment. So, as family, we came to surprise Thomas for his endevour with his buddy Troy. Thomas was thoroughly surprised and we aren't going to publish some of the words he used to express his amazement. :) It was a short weekend, but we managed to visit TAG on Friday and Saturday - the soft opening.

The food, drinks, and atmosphere are great. If you are in the Denver area, it's a must visit. Of course I might be a little biased. But trying almost all of the appetizers, enjoying the rabbit and lamb entrees and having the best mojitos ever, I highly recommend it. The few photographs we took are here. Enjoy. I finally took a trip back to North Carolina. Austin wasn't able to come with this time, but in a few years he might be able to join us again. Steve came with and we had a blast! It already started the evening we were at San Diego airport waiting for our flight (margaritas, a missing cell phone, and a musician from Quebec - woah). It was great seeing old friends and making new acquaintences. Jesse and Lisa were wonderful hosts and we had a fantastic time with them! Being able to share their company out in the ministry, at the meeting and for fun stuff, made the trip just whirl by . . . too quickly for my taste. We hope to go back soon.

With all of the varied people we met, it's nice to see that Steve still has his charm with the opposite sex. He couldn't keep that cute girl away from him. She talked about him on the road, dreamnt about him at night, sat next to him at dinner and couldn't help but be next to him when watching a movie. It's amazing to see Steve in action. He does next to nothing . . . I mean nothing but a charming smirk, and they're attracted to him like white on rice; it IS remarkable! I hope when I grow up, I'll have such a charming ability. I hope too when this girl starts second grade she'll realize the error of her way and forget about Steve.

It was a pleasure being with the Limon / Vizcarra family and seeing their new addition. Kids sure can be fun, but they also seem like a lot of work. It was nice to see Sabrina doing so well after her hospital stay. Mothers deserve a lot of recognition for carrying a person inside of them for so long. I know us guys would've engineered a way to change the whole process if we had to carry a child inside of us for 9 months. But moms just labor through the process, often more than once. Oh yeah, women aren't perfect, but let's see what we would be like if we had a 9 pound kid shoving their foot on our colon or poking our bladder because they're bored. The word "cranky" comes to mind.

Jesse and Lisa were kind enough to drive us to the coast. It's very interesting to live your entire life with the sun setting over the water on the left coast and then to see the opposite on the East Coast (very strange). While on the coast we enjoyed walking the beach, had some great Thai food (poor Jesse), and visited a cool vintage shop. The jacket you see Steve wearing in our pictures is vintage 70's and purchased from this store. He received many different comments as to who he looked like wearing that coat. :-)

Word on the street: Jesse has parallel parking skills that surpass the ordinary. Astonishingly, they're sporatically followed by coprolalia remarks and multiple physical tics to which Lisa sternly replies, "JESSE!". :-)

Through all of the fun we had on this trip I regrettably failed to take any worthwhile pictures. I've posted an album, but it constains very few pictures and it's just us three guys exploring Jesse's new 1 acre of forest. (Yes there were ticks, but us brave men soldiered through.)
The meager album. After a lull of over 25 years, I finally made it back to Las Vegas for a vacation. I had a great time with Devin. Having him along is like having a brother along; the younger brother that I've never had. It is a lot of fun to take him places and see him light-up with excitement at all the fun things we do. Vegas was no different, and we did a lot. I didn't bring my camera, so I have no pictures to show, but Devin did. You can see the pictures from our trip on his website at his Vegas album. I hope Devin and I get to do something like this again.

The trip started with a quick drive out to Vegas, including a brief stop at In N Out in Barstow. Devin's car can pick up some pretty decent speed. We arrived at the Venetian early in the evening. This is a beautiful hotel. The room was awesome, with two flat-panel televisions, and a huge bathroom. We visited almost every worthwhile hotel in the area, along with Gameworks, the M&M Store and the Ethel M Factory. We made our way around to the Mandalay Bay and visited the Shark Aquarium.

The highlight of our trip was seeing the Blue Man Group. We had front-row seats, generously given to us by Devin's parents. The show was truly amazing, but nothing could beat seeing Devin's excitement when they included him in one of their skits. It was fun to see how much he enjoyed that occasion - he had the excitement of a kid.

After all of the fun we had, it was time to leave. Unfortunately, it happened to be one of the worst weather days in Vegas' history. It snowed, causing us to get stuck in traffic for 10 hours. Eventually, we made our way back to the Venetian for one more night. The best part of being stuck in traffic for so long was having Devin with me. He stayed so calm and unconcerned about the snow that it helped me relax. Also, having Devin's car was one of the best tools we could've had with on our trip. Being an All-Wheel drive Subaru, it helped us get around while other vehicles were stuck. Finally, the next day we made it home.

This was a fun and memorable trip, but who knows when I'll do it again. Thanks for the good time Devin. September and October have been such a joy for me. As a matter of fact, there have been and will be many wonderful events in my life. September saw me enjoy the District Convention and a trip to Hawaii with my family. Pictures from Hawaii will come soon. Sorry for delay. Then, in October I enjoyed a trip to Seattle, Washington and Vancouver, British Columbia with my two best friends. Devin and Gary are a blast to be with and the laughs we encountered I'll be able to enjoy forever! Since we all took pictures on the trip, it seemed logical to consolidate them onto one website. So, Devin's website was chosen. Please visit them at www.devinedwards.com. Of course the pictures don't give every detail of our trip and some pictures have a lengthy story behind them that only we know. Sorry, there are no explanations at this time. :) I hope you enjoy the pictures.

I've used a picture of Devin sleeping for this trip because sleep seemed to become a conundrum on our trip. None of us have the same sleep cycle, and so it became a daily point of humor. (I think it is all Gary's fault.) Also, with all the different places we stayed, the last night is when Devin finally had the use of a comfortable bed (as pictured here). He's a good sport. He's also the youngest so he had very little choice. Finally, after much time I made it back to Hawaii. Even more miraculous is that I finally posted the pictures; 4 months after the trip. I apologize for the delay, but they are here in our Hawaii 2008 album. We really enjoyed the trip. The weather was gorgeous, but the water was a bit cool. The warm tropical sun, delicious food and refreshing tropical drinks were a nice change of pace. It only lasted 8 days, but it was worth it. It was a nice way to celebrate mama and papa's anniversary. They enjoyed the trip too. Who knows if we'll ever get to go again as a family. So, these moments are important to cherish.

For those interested in visiting Waikiki, here are a few tips: If you can, stay at the Outrigger Waikiki On The Beach. Unbeknownst to most people there are really only four hotels directly on Waikiki Beach, the rest are across the street or further away. Being directly on the beach makes a world of difference when enjoying the outdoors. Also, Chuck's Steak House at the Ourtigger Waikiki is a great place for Happy Hour. Their appetizer menu is great, the drinks are fantastic, and the prices are reasonable. The bartender, Bob, is a great guy too. He's been there almost as long as we've been going (I think 15 years for him) and certainly takes his job seriously, while still having fun. There are many small details that can help on your trip, but they're too many to post here, so ask if you want the help.

I managed to make my first trip to Utah and participate in my first Unassigned Territory. It was a great deal of fun. The Kearns congregation graciously looked after us and took care of us during our stay. Their support in the ministry was very encouraging and certainly appreciated. Larry and Norma McKee were extremely kind in offering us accommodations during our visit - and very nice accommodations they were.

The need for more support in the ministry is great throughout the area. It will be nice to visit again and help where needed.

Making the visit with Dave, Tanisha and Devin was very encouraging. They were fun to be around and made excellent service partners. The four of us managed to place 42 books, 100+ brochures, a couple dozen magazines and many tracts in 3 ½ days. Those that assisted us from the Kearns Congregation were equally as successful.

The album of pictures for this trip includes our time out in the ministry along with some minor site seeing. We visited the Timpanogos Caves and the Bingham Canyon Mine run by the Kenecott Utah Copper Corporation.

Finally, I have been able to sort through the few pictures we took at Joe and Ashley's wedding so that I can post them on the world wide web as the Joe and Ashley - January 2008 album. They are a mix of pictures, some funny and others hopefully sentimental. We didn't take very many as we hope the hired photographers took the most and the best. I hope you enjoy them. We certainly enjoyed the wedding.

Although, seeing someone like Joe and Ashley get married might remind me of my age, it is much better to see the joy they are experiencing as a couple. With the right amount of work from each of them, in their marriage, they will be able to enjoy the other's companionship forever. We wish them the best. We had a great time visiting North Carolina. Seeing old friends, making new friends, and enjoying the beautiful countryside made for a nice break . . . if only it could have been longer. Some of the pictures from this trip have been uploaded to the North Carolina - November 2007 album. I hope to obtain the rest of the pictures from Austin soon. We didn't take a lot of pictures, but we still had fun. Although, there were a few times where one of us was bored.

Unexpectedly, our rental car turned out to be a real blast. Our default car was a Chevy Impala - yawn. I asked for an included navigation system (everything looks the same in NC with all of those trees), which inadvertently bumped us up to an Impala SS. It's safe to say there is now considerably less rubber on those tires and more of it stuck to the highways and byways of the North Carolina road system. Jesse thought his refurbished 350Z would leave us in the dust . . . ha! Never, I declare. NEVER! Oh, and it didn't help that it was outfitted with New York plates - we had to play the part the best we could. My navigator thought I was too easy on the car, especially since we didn't attempt any doughnuts, not even when the streets were wet. Next time young padawan, next time. There is probably an APB out for that car now in the tri-city area . . . poor soul that rents it next. Austin was great with the Hertz Never Get Lost GPS unit. Although, Hertz did mis-direct us once going to Selma, taking us on the bypass road instead of into the city. But that was the fault of Hertz, not Austin.

As a note, if you ever rent a car with seat heaters and Austin is with, be careful, they mysteriously come on all the time. Also, make sure your ventilation system is operational, or at least that the windows open swiftly for everyone's safety. In retrospect, teenagers aren't the only polluters.

The Carolina Ale House chain has great food, and the place on Highway 1 off Walnut has plenty of televisions and games. Also, they have great Root Beer Floats. Finally! I have added ten pictures to the Kirk Creek album from my last film. These are pictures of Joe, Austin and Devin surfing at Kirk Creek. The pictures are a bit grainy, but they were about 1/4 mile away and I was using a combination telephoto lens and duplexer lens to get close enough to the action. If you can't figure out who is in the picture, read the comments I've included at the lower right of each image.

As a note, the waves weren't terribly big the first day, but the second day was more impressive. Alas, we don't have any pictures of Austin or Joe surfing the second day we visited Sand Dollar Beach because we were all in the water. The only pictures from the second day are from Joe before he went in the water.

The new pictures are in the middle of the album, so you'll need to look through pictures you may have already viewed. But, if you're like me, you'll enjoy viewing the pictures more than once. The week started with lots of wind, dirt and smoke - literally! We are being hit by the usual offshore winds this time of year, but this week they are incredibly bad. I can't recall the last time we have seen so much dust and dirt in the air. The few pictures I have taken before sunrise may not show the best detail, but essentially what looks like hazy fog is dirt.

A few miles north of us in Irvine, the Santiago Canyon fire is creating even more of a hazard with a lot of smoke and ash being whipped up into the air. It is such a shame that many of these devastating fires are started by arsonists. Even though it is only Monday, I'm looking forward to the end of the week when our weather should change for the better. Until then, we'll hold on the best that we can and try to breath in the least amount of schmutz.

It's hard to complain about our weather when compared to the rest of the country. Yet, when we're hit with these horrible offshore winds accompanied with destructive fires, the grass does seem greener on the other side. Snow . . . yeah, that would be nice right about now. If we could roll back to when we were enjoying the temperate maritime climate of Kirk Creek, that would be fantastic. Alas, we'll have to wait for the current High Pressure system to move East and away from the Western United States. More pictures from our recent trip up the California Coast. Devin shows off his photo talents with great shots of Kirk Creek sunsets and a few excellent pictures of Sand Dollar Beach. Some of his pictures are . . . well, I would say incriminating at the least.

I would also uphold my previous demand for apologies to Austin and me, especially after reviewing some of Devin's pictures. By the way, how did we miss getting a picture of Devin in his morning hour of grumpiness, gloom, and complaints? Next trip! More pictures from our recent trip up the California Coast are available for viewing - thanks Joe, you have a great eye for photography. These include some excellent pictures from our campground at Kirk Creek and Sand Dollar Beach. Next, I need to collect photographs from Devin and develop the second film I used (so antiquated, I know).

If you ever have the chance to visit Central California, make sure to visit Sand Dollar Beach. The views are spectacular! Now, we can't recommend going in the water because of the shark rating along the coast, but the beauty of this cove and beach are undeniable.

The evening before we left for this trip, the topic of 'who is more straight-laced' was raised by someone (she knows who she is) close to us. Some of us figured the order was incorrect, putting poor Austin in distant 4th and me a close third. Austin and I feel this trip proves that the order is indeed incorrect, and amends should be made immediately by all accusing parties. : ) More pictures from our recent trip up the California Coast are available for viewing. These include pictures from our campground at Kirk Creek and more mischievous pictures of Austin. Hopefully the next batch will include some pictures from Sand Dollar Beach. Pictures from our recent trip up the California Coast are available for viewing. I hope you enjoy them as much as we enjoyed the trip.