Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving was great! I had a few friends over and we spent the day laughing, cooking,and just having fun. Diane’s son Drew was in town, so it was extra special.Drew, Michelle, Jonah, Diane, Bryce, and Kyle (pictured above from left to right)made the day great (you can see some pictures of the day by clickinghere).

Bryce cooked some rolls from his mom’s recipe’. Yummy!! He cooked themfrom scratch, so we had flour and a rolling pin and the works. I’ll try to getthe recipe’ and post it here soon.

We spent part of the morning lugging my new air hockey table upstairs. It was a lotbigger than I thought, but it was fun! Everyone pitched in and worked to put it together.At one point Jonah pre-started and we had to back track and redo some things. It’snever a good idea to pre-start anything involving assembly. [Pre-starting is puttingstuff together before looking at the directions].

Michelle showed up with two big bowls of potatoes; creamy, and cheesy. I liked thecheesy potatoes the best. Michelle also got extra points for making gravy from scratchat the very last minute. It was goooood.

Diane and Drew brought a truckload of desserts. Diane made two awesome pumpkin cheesecakes(which I’d never had), and also brought a HUGE cake. The cake could feed 50people. It was gigantic.

Kyle made some warm apple cider, also yummy.

After stuffing our faces we walked down to the park and played with Tumi. Everyonejumped on the swings and started playing on the playground. It was funny.

We came back to the house and had a full fledged air hockey tournament. Everyone didpretty well except Michelle and me. We made a horrible team! We’ll never makeit to the air hockey Olympics.

After the air hockey madness we headed downstairs for a vicious game of spoons. Jonahwon all of the rounds. He is a sly and tricky spoon player. Luckily no spoons or fingerswere broken during the game.

After a game of Cranium, Jonah provided us with a very memorable moment. Earlier inthe day I hurt my arm while moving the air hockey table upstairs. I got about a 3or 4 inch gash on my arm. It looked much worse than it actually was. But Jonah “willdo almost anything for a dollar”. And so we paid him a dollar to lick my bloodygash. It’s a moment I don’t think any of us will ever forget. (Drew hasit on video).

After the gash licking we all noticed it was getting late. So the gang all packedup and went home. It’s a day I’ll remember for a long time.

Posted by admin Posted in: News No Comments » November 2003

What an adventure!

  

Well, I made it back from the Canyon alive.  What an adventure!  The Canyonadventure began Saturday morning at the south rim.  I hiked with 7 others, allgreat people.  All are inspiring to me.  They were: Greg & Melissa Clark, Denise& Brandon Bohling, Chad Binder, John Harrington, and Nicole Anderson. We also had a crew of non-hikers: Diane, Holly (John’s wife), and Greg’skids and parents.

We headed down the Kaibab trail around 8:30.  The first 5 miles went very quickly. The scenery was gorgeous and we took plenty of breaks for pictures.  After the5 mile mark we were well into the canyon.  We hit the Tonto trail and began headingeast toward the Bright Angel trail.  The Tonto was a nice easy 5 mile trail. We saw creeks that fed the Colorado and huge green trees.  I tried my best toget some pictures but they just don’t capture the amazing scenery.

It was a blast hiking and chatting with this group of people.  Everyone has somethinginteresting to talk about.  Nicole and Chad are both training to run the marathon. Chad just used this hike as a warm up (he’s in really great shape). If you want to get to know someone I suggest hiking the Grand Canyon.

After a few hours we hit the Bright Angel trail.  We hiked a few minutes andthen took a good long rest at Indian Gardens.  Indian Gardens is 4.5 miles fromthe end of the trail.  It’s ALL uphill from Indian Gardens.  As webegan to hike out of the Canyon my right knee began to hurt.  At the 3 milesto go mark things started to get really bad.  By this time we’d split intothree groups; Chad and Brandon in the lead, everyone else, and me lagging behind. I would catch up to the middle group and then rest while they continued on. After two or three times it was apparent that I could not keep up.

To try to make things easier I emptied one of my water bottles and Greg took my cameragear.  By this time Diane was in radio range and I could tell her what was happening. Luckily we had all planned ahead and almost everyone had a radio so we could keepin contact.  At the 2 miles to go mark my right knee got so bad that I couldn’tput any weight on it.  I was alone at this point and Greg had carried my cameragear up to the middle group.  Denise took my gear and carried it the restof the way out of the Canyon.

Then John hiked BACK down to where I was and got my backpack.  He hiked the restof the way out of the Canyon with both his pack and my pack.  All thatI carried was my water bottle.  Greg and Melissa hiked down and Melissa tapedmy knee to try to ease the pain.  Then Greg, Melissa, and I continued upward. Diane was at the top of the trail getting constant updates and coordinating everything. She was giving updates to Greg’s family so they would understand why they werelate getting out of the Canyon; she was also giving me encouraging words as I hobbledup the trail.

At the steepest sections of the trail I had to use Greg as a crutch to get over thesteps.  And after 3 hours of climbing we finally made it to the top.  Brandonand Chad were both at the top to greet us.  Brandon had to help me walk to thelodge where all my gear was.  My knee just wouldn’t work.

The entire hike was about 15 miles and took about 9 hours for me to complete. A couple hours after the hike we all got together at a steak house just outside thepark.  We sat around, tired and weary, and talked about what a great hike we’dhad.  I will definitely do it again!  It was an awesome experience and thepain was worth it.

I plan on posting pictures from the hike tonight. [update: I posted somepics.  Click here tosee them]

Don’t miss Brandon’sblog entry about the hike either!

Posted by admin Posted in: Hiking No Comments » November 2003

The Canyon Awaits

Tomorrow I’ll be heading up to the Grand Canyon.  I’m going with Diane, Gregand Melissa, Brandon and Denise, John and Holly, and Nicole.  Tomorrow Dianeand I will take our time, enjoy the ride, and arrive at the South Rim of the Canyonin plenty of time to get in a small warm-up hike and see the sunset.  And thenwe’ll get some rest for the big day.Saturday morning I’ll be meeting up with the rest of the crew and we’ll begin ourhike into the canyon.  15 miles!  I have to admit that after readingthis disclaimer I was more than a little nervous.  The ascent is 4420 verticalfeet, that’s over four trips up the empire state building to the observation deck. This is not going to be a stroll in the park.  It’s going to be difficult, it’sgoing to be wonderful.I plan on taking my camera as a luxury item.  I’ll also be packing about 4.5liters of water, first aid kit, a radio, rain gear, crampons, cold weather layers(jacket, and shell), trekking poles, energy bars, and fruit.  That’s about 20+pounds of equipment. 14 pounds of water!  I’ll use every bit.I guess the question on your mind is “why would you do that?”.  In 1922  SirHillary failed his summit attempt on everest. After returning he traveledmany parts of Britain to advertise and campaign for his 1924 attempt. Many peopleasked him about the use of climbing Mount Everest? His answer was: “The first questionwhich you will ask and which I must try to answer is this, ‘What is the use of climbingMount Everest ?’ and my answer must at once be, ‘It is no use’. There is not the slightestprospect of any gain whatsoever. Oh, we may learn a little about the behavior of thehuman body at high altitudes, and possibly medical men may turn our observation tosome account for the purposes of aviation. But otherwise nothing will come of it.We shall not bring back a single bit of gold or silver, not a gem, nor any coal oriron. We shall not find a single foot of earth that can be planted with crops to raisefood. It’s no use. So, if you cannot understand that there is something in man whichresponds to the challenge of this mountain and goes out to meet it, that the struggleis the struggle of life itself upward and forever upward, then you won’t see why wego. What we get from this adventure is just sheer joy. And joy is, after all, theend of life. We do not live to eat and make money. We eat and make money to be ableto enjoy life. That is what life means and what life is for.”I think Hillary was onto something when he said that “joy is, after all, the end oflife.”  He was close, but he missed it by a bit.  I like what JohnPiper wrote, “The chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying him forever.” I’d rather set my affections toward the Creator who is eternal than toward an emotionthat is fleeting.  Look at what the Apostle Paul wrote, “May the God of hopefill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow withhope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”Joy, peace, hope, power.  I’ll take that.So what does all this have to do with hiking down the Grand Canyon?  I can’tspeak for the others in the group, but for me the hike is a metaphor for life itself. It’s a journey with friends, it’s difficult, it’s beautiful, it’s something that youcan’t do alone, and so much more.  I look forward to the exhaustion at the endof the day, when I’ll be able to sit down at the edge of the canyon and watch thesun go down and rejoice with all creation.When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mountof Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voicesfor all the miracles they had seen: “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”"Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”"I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”I’d rather Him hear it from me.

Posted by admin Posted in: God, Hiking No Comments » November 2003

Give A Simple Gift This Year

Well it’s November already. We’ve officially started the “Holiday Season”. Here’san idea I’d like to share with everyone: have a simple thanksgiving so you can givean extravagant gift. By having a simple thanksgiving you will gain time and money.There are so many ways you can use those two things to make a big difference. Hereare some ideas:

• Sponsor a child through Compassion International.
• Volunteer atyour local food shelter (this is a great family activity).
• Invite some college students to your house on Thanksgiving.
• Buy a meal for a stranger in need.
• Buy groceries for a single mother.
• Pay for auto repairs for a family in need.
• Volunteer at a nursing home.
• Become a tutor.
• Pay the heating bill for an elderly person.
• Smile at people

Did you know that Americans spend nearly 50 times as much money on fast food as theydo on helping children in poverty? Yep, it’s true. Asurvey taken by the Barna Research Group was released on Sep 16th, 2003 that showsjust how selfish Americans can be. Let’s change that trend.  Greasy fries aren’tgood for you anyway.

What do you think?  Do you have any ideas you could add to my list?  Ifso, send them to me at: ideas@markwallace.net

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[Update 11-6-03]

I got an e-mail from Diane about “My Sister’s Place”, a temporary residential abusecenter for women and children who are in need of care for their physical and mentalhealth.   It’s located in Chandler, AZ.  They are in need of afew things.  Here are the details:

In Great Need Of:

• termometer Guards
• bath towels
• bus passes
• diapers size 3-6
• pregnancy tests
• hair accessories
• nightgowns for women and kids
• full size bed sheets
• baby wipes
• pillow cases
• car seats
• baby formula
• tampons
• baby juice
• medicine droppers
• pillows
• mattress pads full & twin sizes
• childrens’ humidifiers

Always needed (but note, storage space is limited, so they prefer smaller quantitiesdonated more often. NO sample sizes!!) cleaning supplies, lysol. bleach, pine-sol,dish soap, garbage can liners, toilet paper, paper towels, laundry detergent, dryersheets, teething rings, baby lotion, baby bottle brushes, caseline, socks, underwear,bras, hair brushes, kid’s toys (barbie, trucks, board games, children’s books in Spanish,coloring books)

Also needed: postage stamps, bus passes, journals, pre-paid calling cards,gift certificatesto Target, WalMart, Kmart, Payless or grocery stores)

You may call the shelter prior to bringing donations at 480.821.1024. clothing andother small household items can be brought to the Chandler Christian Community Centerlocated at 345 S California just off Arizona Ave and Frye. The phone there is 480.963.1423.Clients of My Sister’s Place can pick up items there at no cost.

Posted by admin Posted in: Charity No Comments » November 2003