Do grasshoppers...??

Iowa/Omaha Vacation Pictures

Hangin' with the Hockney's at the Henry Dorly Zoo in Omaha, NE

paddle boat ride on Lake Okoboji

leading worship at Okoboji

Lins & Calvin outside the chapel at camp

I grabbed a student who played drums to keep the groove while I led a camp favorite "Hey Everybody". He even did a drum solo!

I'm sure what I was saying was deep and insightful...hmmmm.

Some random Taco John's in northwest Iowa

Can you spot the gorillas in this picture?

Bridges Bay Water Park - Spirit Lake, IA

Okoboji Bible Camp

I wanted to share a bit about my experience this summer as the speaker for the senior high week at Okoboji Lutheran Bible Camp. It was a great opportunity as it was a bit of a new thing for me. Typically I'm asked to come in a lead worship, or play music but my friend Rachel asked if I'd come a speak to 60 or so Senior High students July 23-27th. I was all for it. I ended up bringing the whole family and we turned it into a family vacation. Yes, our first family vacation as the 5 of us was to Iowa. Hey, you gotta start somewhere! Actually, I love Iowa. Lots of great people there. AND, the camp was on Lake Okoboji which is a beautiful lake. One of five lakes in the world that is purely spring fed (or something like that). All I know is that it was very clear water, and very cold. Which felt great in 100 degree weather!

The week was great. Speaking went well as I shared with the students much of my experience as a follower of Christ, along with some stories about my family, my youth group in Lawrence, and other random things. Our boys loved camp. There's so much to do - and the people there are great. There was even a group from my hometown of Overland Park, KS who were students at my alma mater (are there two t's in that word? i dunno) high school, Blue Valley. I spoke after dinner every night which meant that during the day, we spent time as a family playing around camp, going to the beach, and even got to go to a new indoor waterpark. It was sweet! The boys went on a water slide for the first time!

We had a blast. The week ended with a swing home through Omaha as we got to visit our friends Rob & Julie Hockney and their new baby girl, Morgan. We went to the Omaha Zoo, then came back home that night. It was a great week of vacation and ministry. I thank God for that opportunity to combine the two. Enjoy the pics!

Charlotte's Sweet Noises