Lifest!!!

Hope everyone likes the changes to our Blog.

For our vacation, we went to a Christian concert in Oshkosh, WI. It was one of those 5-day concerts and in true Pavek style we went for one day.

The day before we had come home after spending a week in MN with Abuela and going to Leah's wedding. It was my third trip from Minnesota so we were all a little tired and decided to sleep in later than originally planned (we were going to leave at about 7 AM). However, after everyone deciding that they wanted to eat and us going through our normal chaotic decision making process that resulted in 3/4 of the family eating at the local Kwik Trip and the rest eating at Subways, we left at 10 AM. Still, it was going to be a long day so there was no sense in getting toooooo upset.

A few hours later we made it up there and we were all excited to get going. Mary suggested that Phillip take out his Razor scooter and ride it around. I thought that it would be best if he kept it in the van until we got a chance to see around. He took the scooter.

The first thing that we saw there was actually the Kids Zone play area. It was a pretty neat setup, however, there was one ladder and slide that kids were racing up and down. The workers at the bottom were timing them to see who went the fastest. I thought to myself that this was a recipe for disaster. Just as I thought that, one young Einstein thought that it would be faster to skip the slide portion and just jump off. I thought to myself, "that's going to hurt" as he screamed in agony and was carried away. My kids, on the other hand, had a good time.


Nick at the Kids Zone

After that we went to a panel with the band BarlowGirl and Rebecca Saint James. It was called a Purity Panel and discussed maintaining a teenager's virginity and modesty. I really liked what they had to say, even if I didn't agree with it all.

After that we went to the Worship Together booth to listen to some live music. Afterwards we went to the Grandstand to listen to the first concert. A woman was nice enough to point us to an open area in the second row!!!! The first concert was Todd Agnew. I really love his voice, although the crowd wasn't as into him as they would later get for the follow-on acts.

BarlowGirl came next. This was my favorite show of the night. They had a lot to say and they sounded fantastic. After the show we got in line and got their autographs.






Afterwards, Rebecca Saint James performed. Mary really loved what she had to say and her show was also really great. Her brother, who was one of the background singers, reminded me of what Phjllip might be like when he gets older. Of course, we got her autograph afterwards as well.




The last show that we saw was Michael W. Smith, although I didn't see much of that because I was in line for Rebecca St. James. TobyMac played after Michael W. Smith, but by that time it was already 11:30 PM and we were all feeling pretty tired. I wished I could have stayed and saw the show, but was glad that I left when I did, because Mary and I were pretty slap happy on the ride home.

All in all it was an experience that left a huge impact on us. It was so incredible to be surrounded by people that were there to worship Christ and hopefully we'll all be there for next year's concert.

Sorry France!!!!!

Today was the World Cup Finals with '98 World Cup Champ, France playing against Italy. Italian player De Rossi was responsible for the vicious elbow to US Player Brian McBride. Consequently, FIFA suspended De Rossi for 4 World Cup matches! The best part, however, was when a French player "accidently" elbowed De Rossi in the head, taking him out of most of the game.

Later on in the game, star French Player, Zidane got into an argument with an Italian player that resulted in the Masters of the Universe style headbutt that you see. It resulted in Zidane receiving a Red Card and getting ejected from the game. When the game went into overtime and later into a penalty shootout, Zidane's absence resulted in France LOSING the match! Viva la France!!!!!!!

Abuela and Leah's Wedding

[Listening to: Indescribable - Chris Tomlin - Arriving [Enhanced] (03:57)]

Mary's grandmother, Aunt Carmen and Uncle Sam visited this week from Texas. They came up for Leah's wedding and to see everyone. The last time that Mary's Grandma (referred to from here on as Abuela) came was several years ago. The last time that I was able to see her was when Mary and I were dating, about 14 years ago!!!! Back then I didn't leave the best impression with her and wanted to change that. We arrived at the Wedding Reception hall about a hour before they arrived. My in-laws were there decorating. I thought that everyone's hair would be on fire, but for the most part things were fairly calm and collected. The table decorations looked really nice, and as a guy that's about all the comments I should make about decorations.

The wedding was conducted in a beautiful nearby church and was a really nice ceremony. They handed out balloons that were suppose to be held until the bride and groom stepped out of the church then all were suppose to be released simultaneously. The reception meal was easily one of the best I've ever had. It wasn't anything fancy, just stuffing, turkey etc, but it was very well made. I think I must have put on at least 5 lbs from that meal.

The visit from Abuela turned out really well and my kids really liked their family members from Texas. We told them that we would visit them once we were stationed in Kansas (it would cut about 8-9 hours off of our drive). The biggest benefit from the visit was that the kids FINALLY have an interest in learning spanish. Maybe we'll just move them to Texas or Mexico for a few years so they learn!

Below are several pictures of the wedding. For the record, my digital camera sucks!!!!! I couldn't get many good photos. I had to use the video camera to take some photos. The video camera works well as a video camera, not a photo camera. We'll have more in the near future once I can get my hands on a few people's memory cards.



Anna and Felipe


Outside the Church


Newlyweds

Blog Editor Test

[Listening to: Does Anyone Hear Her - Casting Crowns - Lifesong (04:30)]

I downloaded Blog Editor that is suppose to make it easier for me to type my entries. Mainly I got it, along with a Windows Media Player plug-in, to add the "Listening To" line. We'll see if this one works.

On top of that, it was a great weekend. My sister-in-law got married and Mary's grandmother and aunt came up from Texas. The last time I saw her Grandma was about 14 years ago! Things went well and I'll talk about it more later. I'm hungry and am going to find something to eat. TTFN.