I guess the new Transformers movie is so terrible a Transformer decided to commit suicide.

This last weekend was the Basketball Mardi Gras in Spokane - otherwise known as Hoopfest. They claim to be the biggest 3 on 3 tourney in the country and about half of the congregation at our church participated.

If anyone wants to be on my team next year holla.

This weekend we’re going to attempt our first camping trip with the two boys. Should be fun/interesting/sleep deprived. Can’t wait. Pictures and stories of mayhem to follow.

Having lived in a pretty hippy, earthy community in Nor Cal I remember hearing about protests against Genetically Modified Foods but I’ve never known what the big deal is until Jess and I watched a freaky (and poorly narrated) documentary. If you eat food, I highly recommend that you watch it…

Some highlights:
Big evil companies now have the ability to patent genes. Once patented, farmers have to actually pay to grow food. Other genes like the one for breast cancer have been patented which have created barriers for researching cures and treatments.

Part of the genetic modifications include inserting things like ecoli bacteria and antibiotics into your food. Yummy. Now I can enjoy my cereal and be cured of hepatitis.

Another modification is a patented gene called the suicide gene which causes crops to die after producing, forcing farmers to buy new seeds for the next year. Our government is a co-owner of this patent.

There is no regulation, no testing, and no labeling of GMO foods in the USA. Congratulations! You and I are the test. I can’t wait to see what happens.

P.S. Dozens of countries (like all of Europe) at the very least, label genetically modified food, if not ban it altogether. But we’re smarter than them.

We just got back from a week in my home town/area and had a great time seeing family and some friends. This could potentially be the last time my whole fam is in the same place at the same time for quite a while so we tried our best to take advantage of the time, which unfortunately meant that we weren’t able to get together with as many friends as we’d like.

The whole trip was basically a week long family party that consisted of eating a ton of great food, playing music, golfing, bowling, and hitting a few of our favorite spots in Humboldt. Having left the area over a year and a half ago there are really only 3 things I miss.

1. Family and Friends
2. The Ocean
3. The Redwoods.

These things will always keep me coming back to visit over the years, although being a 12 hour drive away (or an expensive plane ticket) will probably keep those trips from being very frequent.

Jess will be putting up some pictures of this trip on our family blog for those interested.

The last couple of months have been crazy, primarily because of the new member of our family. Having two boys is incredible but it’s caused me to shift where I spend my time. Now that Summer is here things are switching up a bit and although I won’t be any less busy overall, it’ll be more in spurts so I hope to start keeping this blog more up to date with thoughts and such. I’ve been in a bit of a writers block the last year or so and hope to use some short thoughts here to jump start my brain a bit.

What’s on my mind:
My recent visit to Humboldt
Turning 30
Going to China in August
Iran/North Korea
Faith, Ministry, Calling, Vision

Posts to follow shortly.

Ahhhhhhhh