Life at the Leingangs': July 2009

Thursday, July 30, 2009

On The Waterfront

Yesterday we went up to Seattle for a family meeting and decided to spend a bit of time at the waterfront first. Not only is it a fun place to visit, but it was about 20 degrees cooler there. That was a great bonus on a day when Seattle broke an all-time heat record with a daytime high of 102!

checking out the map

this fountain looked so inviting on a hot day

but we decided to just take a picture instead

and throw some pennies in it

We also wandered through some of the great shops and bought some Christmas presents!

I loved this shop and could have spent TONS of money there!

the boys liked this warning at Ye Old Curiosity Shoppe

they also had Jake the Alligator Man’s cousin Larry there

Just before we left we watched the show the Coast Guard fireboats were putting on from the pier. We were also able to see the Navy ships coming in for SeaFair this weekend.

Seattle waterfront 13

there were helicopters, too

It was a very nice day and it was wonderful to finally see family and give them their Christmas gifts. It was Christmas in July. But better late than never, right? :o)

Playin’ In The Creek

When we got back from Creation to pick up Betsy from Grandpa and Grandma, we headed down to their property on the creek to cool off. With all the hot weather we’d had, the water was pretty low. But there was still enough to be refreshing and float down a little ways on the air mattress… barely. So the boys spent some time clearing out the channel so they could get a little further.

getting the air mattress ready

that one might be a bit too big for skipping…

it’s almost ready

heading up creek

William’s heading on down

clearing the channel

The big attraction though was watching the “tubers” heading down the Clackamas River. In the short time we were there we must have seen hundreds of people taking the trip downriver in just about every “craft” imaginable: from inner tubes to rubber rafts to logs. It was actually quite entertaining!

We can’t wait to head down some weekend and go camping down there in our trailer!!! Fun, Fun, Fun!!!

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Creation 2009

Here are some of the Memorable Moments from our trip to Creation NW…

*discovering that the camping gates opened at midnight at 8:30pm on Tuesday while reading a status update on Facebook (I’m pretty sure that was a God thing)

*arriving at Creation at 1:30am and waiting in line next to a youth group from Kelso that friends of the boys were in (it’s a small world)

*finally having camp set up and getting to bed at 4:30am

we’re the x in the left side of the green circle

*waking up at 6am because it was too hot in the tent to sleep anymore

*THE HEAT!!! It was 108 on Wednesday!

playing Ladderball with Casey while we waited for the gates to open

our camp

our row #203 (we’re about halfway down on the right)

going on a walk before it gets too hot and camp gets too full

not so great for keeping the sun out but great for when the wind picks up

the water station by the main gate (you’re there quite a bit)

us by the ice truck at the store

I totally want this tent set-up! Not only would it be like sleeping in a treehouse, but it would keep you safe from lions. LOL

the “campground” before it filled up

trying to stay cool at Camp Leingang

our neighbor Cheryl had GREAT shade

* having our neighbor share her extra reflective silver tarp with us so we could have better shade. Thanks Cheryl!!!

our new and improved shady camp

Andy sleeping in the shade

* our brand new tent poles breaking on the first day

* trying to fry an egg in the sun

it didn’t work but I’m sure we could have done it on the hood of the van :o)

*being with my boys when the walked up the hill and saw the main stage for the first time

heading to the main stage

see the “dove” in the river?

the view behind the stage is truly a breathtaking “tribute to our Creator”

hill “seats”

waiting for Hawk Nelson

taking video

*seeing TONS of great bands and listening to great speakers, too! We heard Hawk Nelson, Bob Lenz, Skillet, 116 Clique, Pillar, Greg Laurie, Kutless, Casting Crowns, Brian Doerksen, Will Graham, Needtobreathe, Barlow Girl, Reggie Dabbs, Red, Chris Tomlin, Above the Golden State, Group 1 Crew, Sanctus Real, Israel Houghton, Ron Luce, David Crowder Band, Reliant K. (and we didn’t see them all!)

Hawk Nelson is our friend!

getting ready for the morning session

Clique 116

Pillar

Needtobreathe

having fun with Reggie Dabbs

Kutless

Red got moved to the evening show and they ROCKED!!!

Above the Golden State

*getting up at 4am with Andy and having to have the medical staff come and treat him for dehydration with 2 IV bags of saline

*hearing ourselves “slosh” while we walked because of the water we drank (we didn’t want any more trips to the hospital)

*seeing friends

*having our faces rocked off by Skillet while in the pit. Zack was close enough to feel the heat from all the pyrotechnics

not only the best show of the festival but one of the best shows we’ve ever seen! (second only to the Newsboys “Step Up to the Microphone” tour)

*buying all kinds of cool shirts (some of our other favorites included: “Stand up for what you believe in even if it means standing alone”, “Would it bother us more if they used guns?”, “I lost my mom in the mosh pit”, “Straight Pride”, “Mean people need to be loved”, “One woman:Many guitars”)