It's time to wrap up the Sabbatical Blog entries. When we last touched base, we had returned from London. We had 2 full days at home until we left early on the first Saturday morning of July for our trip to Camp Arcadia in Michigan. It is our annual Sabbath retreat as a family. It was a great week of rest, family, friends, and learning. Pastor Travis Scholl and Pastor Matt Popovits were the teaching deans for the week. They helped us see God in unusual places, and learn what a "Sustainable" life looks like. I was privileged to be able to lead music for the week at camp. Some of my favorite activities were looking for Petosky Stones, playing tennis with my son Zack, riding mountain bikes with my boys, spending time in the craft shop my girls, quiet time with Beth, and long bike rides with Chip May (camp director). Beth's parents, sister, and brother-in-law were able to join us in Arcadia this year. That was a treat.
After a fun-filled week in Michigan, we headed home for about 5 days and packed up for our next adventure. My two boys went with the Youth Group of Cornerstone Lutheran Church (the new name of Carmel Lutheran Church) and went to the National Youth Gathering in New Orleans a few days earlier. We decided to drive south to Louisiana to spend a few nights with my mom in Mansura LA. It was a relaxing drive down over 2 days, and we had a nice time with my mother and step-father. Beth and I went to New Orleans to pick up the boys at the closing ceremony at the Superdome in NOLA. It was fun to be able to experience the gathering for a few hours as we went to the closing worship. Then the 4 of us drove back to my mother's house.
The next morning we took off for Panama City Beach Florida. We stayed at a beautiful resort and enjoyed a short evening at the pool. The next day we drove across and down Florida to St. Petersburg. I registered for a triathlon and we went out to a great authentic Italian restaurant. The next morning I awoke early to go and participate in the Top Gun Triathlon on the Island of Fort Desoto. It was a beautiful location for a triathlon, and even with a 7am start, it was hot and humid during the race.
After the race I picked up our family and we headed toward Orlando for our trip to DisneyWorld. We checked into the Art of Animation resort, then headed out to dinner at the Spirit of Aloha theater at the Polynesian resort. Beth had gone to this show as a kid and it was very memorable. We wanted to offer our children the same opportunity. We stayed at DisneyWorld for 4 nights, and spent 3 days park-hopping around the property. Disney Studios was a favorite of everyone, especially the Star Tours ride. It was a great trip to Disney, the first for all of us together. After our 4 nights in Orlando, we headed toward home, but first stopped at Beth's parent's house for 2 nights in Tennessee. We enjoyed time with family and boating on the lake. It was finally time to head home, for the end of the Sabbatical...
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