Ligonier National Conference 2017

The Ligonier National Conference this year was in celebration of the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation.  The messages mostly dealt with the idea that the God who brought the Reformation is the same God who is still at work today.  All messages can be watched on-line for free at the Ligonier website.  One of my favorite parts of this conference was the international flavor with speakers not just from Scotland and England, but also from Brazil, Italy, and Indonesia.  I did miss Russ and the kids, but enjoyed being with Dad and Mom, Aunt Lila, and the rest of our wonderful housemates.  

Another favorite part of the conference is singing the great hymns with 4000+ people.

Our group from Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Idaho, and California!

When the guys had a little down time they resurrected their Calvinists vs Arminians pool game.   Pretty sure the Calvinists won, but not sure who was who.  Just heard lots of laughter from this room.

Much to the envy of my children we also made a quick afternoon trip (between raindrops) to the beach.  Not exactly sure what this was washed up on the beach, but thinking it may have been a Portuguese Man-of-War

I just had to take a picture of this cardinal who came to visit us at the beach.  We don't have cardinals in Idaho, and I miss seeing their brilliant red and hearing their distinctive whistle.

Of course, no Florida visit is complete without an alligator sighting.

The warmth and humidity, plus a little wind made for an interesting hair day!

Caleb's Spring Break 2017

Nicolas and Anna are on spring break right now, so we are taking this week off from homeschool as well.  Yesterday we had a great day driving to Twin Falls to see the Shoshone Falls and then taking our time on the way back to stop at few other hidden Idaho gems.  I will post pictures of that trip on another blog.  

For this post, I want to share pictures of Caleb's spring break which was the first part of March.  He began his break in Johnson City, TN for the NAIA National track meet, running in the 4x400.  They did not make it out of prelims, but he had a great time just enjoying the overall ambiance of being at a high quality track meet.  (Of course he did.  He is a product of his parents, after all:)  From there he flew to Grand Rapids, MI to meet the Dordt orchestra and band for spring tour.  I was in Orlando, FL for the Ligonier Conference most of the time he was on the road and enjoyed immensely all the pictures he sent me along the way.  I only know generally where all the pictures were taken, but thought I would put them in a post so someday we can enjoy seeing them again in a blog book.

Niagara Falls

One of the concert venues (not sure where)

Dutch homes in New Jersey (Sussex area?)

  Sunrise mountain and a portion of the Appalachian trail from the back deck of the house Caleb stayed.

Rockefeller Center

Times Square

North Pool at Ground Zero

Lady Liberty

Central Park

They didn't have a chance as a group to take in Washington D.C. even though they were only about 30 minutes from the nation's capital.  After their concert that evening (about 9:30), however, their host dad offered to take them into the city to see the sights on the National Mall at night.

 A church over a century old where they gave a concert in/near Cincinnati, OH

Cincinnati, OH

He said they stopped at Fair Oaks to use the bathroom.   What?!?  No grilled cheese?  No chocolate milk?  Kind of a waste of a bathroom stop if you want my opinion...