A'll Be Back! Now.

After a little hiatus from blogging... I am back. Needless to say it was a pretty busy summer/fall, so my blogging time had been dramatically reduced. It is nice to be back and I will be filling you all in on the King's random moments and adventures. See you all soon.

Happy 4th of July!

ROLL 'EM!

Along with Little League Noah and Brock are learning how to log roll this summer. The Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show here in town is now teaching youngsters the skill of rolling their friends off the log, pretty cool. Brock is a Timber-tot, 5 yr. olds, and Noah a Lumber Jack Junior, 7 yr. olds.



NOAH


BROCK

Pics for Grandma...Super Simon.

Ok, this is my favorite picture from Memorial Day. First of all, the cool hat Dominiuqe has on just rocks doesn't it?! Then you have mean ol' mom explaining to little innocent Simon why we finally, and I mean finally, caught a clue and hooked him up. We had many "where's Simon?" moments which left everyone in a panic during the week. As we were tearing our tents down the last day one of the kids came up with the idea to use the dog lead. Genius. Absolutely genius. Poor Simon never knew what hit him.


Here he is enjoying the grass, something he rarely gets to do. At first he didn't like it, then loved it.


As in the previous post all the kids learned something on this campout. For Simon it was coming to grips with some mean old bugs. You can see his forehead was a yummy dinner for a family of white socks.


The one element the kids look forward to each camping trip at Settler's Cove is "The Mountain". As you can tell The Mountain got the better of them this go around.

End of the Road ... on Memorial Day!

We had a wonderful past week camping out at Settler's Cove at the end of the road North of town. We camped from Wednesday to Monday. It is our family tradition to campout, rain or shine, every Memorial Day.

I read an article a few years back by Dave Barry, about "the end of the street". As a kid his mom would always tell him to go play at the "end of the steet", which was a big open field with woods all around it. He said he spent more hours playing in that field and exploring the woods than anything else growing up. He went on to explain the importance of having an "end of the street" for kids growing up. Without it, the tv becomes the "end of the street" which is so unforturnate and unhealthy is so many different ways. Even though we get wet sometimes, here in Ktown, the end of the road is providing that imaginative exporatory curiosity filled place that our kids learn so much from; both good lessons and tough lessons.

This past weekend out kids learned some good life lessons through their exploration.





Charlie learned the fine art of packing wood for the fire, something every kid must be subjected to often, isn't she cute!





And Brock figured out how hard rocks can really be... with a new chipped tooth.




Noah learned that when it rains tree branches get really slippery. He slipped of this tree branch, landed on his back on the next tree branch, which flipped him flat on his stomach in the sand. So much for learning slowly. The girl in the white shirt is sitting on the second branch which is about 8 ft. off the ground.

The Bear Hunt!

I went on a bear hunting trip yesterday with my good friend Drew. He decided to take me out to see if I could get my first bear. It was an absolutely beautiful day, sunny, slight breeze, and lots of wildlife - deer, eagles, seals, geese, rockfish, and bears! We came upon one bear that looked pretty big (Drew guessed maybe 350 lbs.) hunted him for awhile, but he eluded us without any excitement. Then as we boated into another little alcove we spotted two more black bears up on this big open grassy medow. The one on the left was pretty small (maybe 100 lbs.) the one on the right looked much better (maybe 225 lbs.) It was a great set up because we were down wind, quite a distance away, the shoreline was set up where once we got out of our boat we could walk right up on the bear without him seeing us or smelling us. We set up right behind a log where we were about 60 yards away. As the bear was eating his dinner, yummy green grass, he turned broadside in my scope so I took my first shot at a bear ever, and hit him right behind the shoulder. He took off for the woods but didn't make if far before dropping in a little creek 20 yards away from the trees.

Pretty exciting to say the least. After everything was said and done the official stats are as follows: 250 lbs. bore, 6 ft. 2 inches long (tall), 57 yard shot, and Cade's first bear. Here are some of the cool pictures.







Thanks Drew for taking out a rookie! It was an awesome experience.

Monet, Renoir, or Van Gogh?

Our two oldest finished their big art projects last week. Their art teacher, Glen, framed their pictures so they could hang them up. Boy are they proud of them... and so are we.

Our Big (littlest) Guy!

Mr. Serious

Just checkin' out the situation.

Laughing it Up!

Mother's Day fun...

Had a pretty fun mother's day yesterday. The kids got up early to give Dom her gifts and flowers, then off to church. Church was quite inspiring; we had four different women all different ages in different stages of life share about their own spiritual journeys. Wow! Pretty amazing stuff.

Then after church we went to Ward Lake for a picnic, with lots of other families and friends. It was such a nice day that the boys decided to go kayaking together. They are getting pretty brave, especially when together. It always amazes me how they can push eachother to do things that they would never do alone.

Then we came home to catch the Survivor Finale.

THANKS MOM!

Mom (Grandma),

Thanks for all of your love, encouragement, and prayers over all these years. You have been there to cheer me on, guide me down the right path, and shaped every bit of who I am. Words cannot express how much I love you and how thankful I am that God gave me you as my mom. Happy Mother's Day! Can't wait to see you this summer.

Cade

For all ye who enter...

As Dom and I were walking upstairs the other day we came across this "Warning Sign" written by Noah, on behalf of Charlie. It took us a while to decipher it, but we did. We are taking this as a good sign, that Charlie's big bro is looking out for her.

Easter Fun

Here come the Munch...Kings

Went over to a friends house tonight for dinner. I felt a little bad that our gaggle kids ransacked their living room, and gallon of ice cream. The idea of having the Kings coming over is always better than the real thing. 6+ mouths to feed is quite the order. Hopefully they were not too overwhelmed. We spent some time watching home movies...I always love doing that. It was great food, new friends, and lots of satisfied customers.

The Monday Drive

It's been one of those days. The knots in my stomach forced me to go for a drive today, ended up at Settlers Cove. It must have been a (-) tide because it was further out then I have ever seen it. Because of my mood I threw caution to the wind and walked all the way out to the edge of the water. Standing there with muddy sneakers I wondered if a tsunami was headed my way, hopefully that thought is not symbolic of my approaching week. I remember seeing on CNN a guy walking out toward the water...not knowing the tsunami was about to overtake him, what a horrible image that was. As I was standing in the soft mud it came to me that when the tide goes out... I mean way out... past the first row of rock... the ones we are always afraid of when swimming... past those rocks... when the tide goes way out we finally get to see what the ocean floor really looks like. The ocean floor where I was at was super soft. The sea floor was incredibly soft. It was quite an experience walking on such the soft floor. Because I'm wierd my mind wandered to what the analogy would be concerning this, I'm stricken with this kind of thinking often.

When the tide goes WAY out in my life, when things don't seem to be adding up in my favor, when the (-)'s strip away all the facades and masks and glimmer of the surface, I hope my core is as soft as my experience of the ocean floor today. If my soul could be that soft then I believe He would be pleased. I guess I realized the issues that drove me to the cove today, eventhough I wished they would vanish can still be used to keep me soft before my God. That is if I choose to take that drive. I believe God wants me to take those drives more often then I do. I think the more I do the fewer knots there will be.

The Tower to Bodie

As Bodie flounders in the background, the three king's enjoy their castle... until little brother comes around the corner.

Reflective Nerf Balls

Got back from a trip up north on Monday. It was a good trip, I went with two other pastors and two of their friends. Made a two day stop in Juneau, then on to Anchorage, Eagle River, Wasilla, and Trapper Creek (close to Talkeetna). It was really strange to be back in Anchorage after all this time. The last time I was there was when I was in the fifth grade. It's funny the things you remember from your elementary days... street names, building signs, and the overall feel. It still felt the same. It even smelled the same as I remember. I was a hoping to go back to where I use to live, to see if things were the same there too, but not being a dependant any longer I knew i could not get on base. Everything seemed so much smaller then what i remember too; I am sure that is because I am so much bigger now, maybe a little too big.

I was gone for five days on this trip. It was good to be away, i was able to do a lot of thinking and reading. After three days i began to miss the comforts of home, especially the bathroom. Sharing a bathroom with four other guys can be interesting. I tried something different each night. I decided to take a few minutes before bed to write down the things I learned, or the things that stood out to me during the day. It is amazing what a little reflection will bring up. I learned that if I don't intentionally think about what i can take away from each day, I don't learn anything. Only with quiet reflection does my learning process kick in. I now wonder how much I miss each day when i don't reflect... tons...too much. I am going to try to practice the discipline of reflection a bit more each day.

Our days are so full of rich texture and meaning, we just need to take time to see it.

So, what's my take away from today? I enjoy when other people's faith is stronger than my own. This is something i witnessed tonight. It is refreshing when others begin to carry the ball ahead of me... and beside me. Thinking I need to be strong all the time just wears me out and makes for a miserable day. I also learned why nerf balls are the best! Great simple fun without any broken lamps.

Grandma and Charlie

3 Going on 13

While we were playing south our little Charlie girl had her third birthday. It's hard to believe our little pip-squeek is so old. I never would have thought that three was old, but it is now. She had her Grandma make her a chocolate to celebrate.

More of Vegas

This is what they call the Fremont Experience. In old Vegas they have a digital video screen that is four blocks long and a full street wide. Every hour they play really cool videos to watch and listen. It's quite an experience. Dom in taking in the hang gliders flying past.


The first time in my life I have seen real live flamingoes. Pretty cool, did you know that their knees are backwards? Yet they still walk forwards. You can't see them in the pictures, but their there.

Fun In Vegas

Are we listening?

At the national prayer breakfast two weeks ago, Bono has some very intersting things to say to our national leaders. Check it out.

http://www.data.org/archives/000774.php

Dancing Water at the Belligio

Well, we did it. Dom and I took a five day vacation down to Las Vegas last week. We celebrated our 10th anniversary by leaving all four kids with Grandma. She survived with flying colors, as did we. It was a wonderful time enjoying all the free shows Vegas had to offer, and experiencing the decadence of Las Vegas. Here are some of our pictures from the trip.

Fluffy vs. Wet

The three older kids decided to turn the fourth one into a snowman. We has a pretty good snowfall a few days ago. Made for a fun, but chilly afternoon on the deck. Simon got his revenge though, a hard-packed snowball from Daddy for each of them.

Have You Seen Him?

Noah's Story:
Jake Riley, was a super firefighter, until that fateful day. He was battling a fierce raging fire when all of a sudden a massive flame struck him from behind. He dove under the stairwell to escape the huge flames. There he wiped the sweat off his forehead and prayed like never before. Suddenly the stairwell collapsed. Jake launched himself through the only window he could find and then ... grabbed a rope hanging from the rooftop and swung to the building next to the raging fire. Then disappeared. Where did he go? Nobody knows.

"Hey Dad, what's that shiny thingy there?"

Chillin' in Alaska

Here is the most recent picture of THE CREW!

1, almost 3, 5, and 7.

The Birthday Season

Wow, does time fly or what? I blink and it's been weeks since an update, my apologies to all who are desperately wondering "waz up" with the Kings. Well, two days ago Dominique had her 35th birthday. So tonight a bunch of her girl friends took her out for Kareoke (sp?). I am waiting home with 8 little munchkins, kids of the girl friends, to get home and hit the sack. I'm not sure about them, but I'm ready to crash. Also, today was Simon's 1 year birthday. It's hard to believe our little guy is now officially in the record books. His party was simple, a small cake with his siblings opening up all his presents for him. It's a win, win in my book. Anyway, one more birthday to go, Charlie's, and our birthday season will be over. Our birthday season? November 21 - February 7 (5 of 6 are in that time frame). Go Seahawks!

Lock and Load

New Years went off with a bang around these parts. It was a quick shot in the dark that the boys absolutely loved; those roman candles bring out the kid in all of us. We were locked-n-loaded... then lit our fuses all at the same time; we had to because our local police station is just a stones throw from our back deck, ssshhhhh, don't tell 'em it was us. Happy New Year!

Kickin' up his heels

He is almost there! Our littlest is nearly foot loose and fancy free. I am getting him some dancing shoes for his birthday so he better be walking by then. Three weeks to go.

Hair plugs...priority #1

Wow, I am finally back from the whirlwind of the Holidays. Not sure how it happens but time seems to be blasting by at wharp speed. My kids are growing up way to fast, ministry is a blur at times, and my hair is thinning like never before. My hair stylest/dresser/architect/manager told me yesterday that "it won't be long". Just great, what is that suppose to mean? It seems that my hair can't even keep up with the pace of life these days either.

Well, happy new year everyone. Be sure to go out and make some new goals. Goals are good, really. Dom and I had our annual New Years dinner out to reveiw 2005 and set new goals for 2006. Amazingly we calculated that we were able to achieve 66% of the goals we laid out this time last year. We are feeling pretty proud of ourselves. Hopefully in 2006 we can be as successful. Having a priority list has really helped.