Memorial Day Weekend

Here is a picture from Memorial Day weekend 2005. Last year we had a lot of fun and with all of our friends, especially with Steven. This year we kept Steven in our thoughts throughout the day, yet still had fun in the sun because that is what he would have wanted. Our families decorated the Solomon's boat as a memorial to Steven for the blessing of the fleet.

On Friday I went to the Missouri State Conclave of DeMolay in Jefferson City. We took 11 members from our chapter, five adult advisors, as well as both our sweetheart and associate sweetheart; 18 people in all. We had a great time as you can see from the photo gallery located here. On Sunday evening Troy Chapter received its charter which recognizes us officially. We will be adding the names of all of the founding members and get the document framed to be hung in Troy Lodge, our sponsoring body.

Our weekend included opening, the initiation ceremony, and the DeMolay degree all on Friday night. On Saturday we competed in volleyball (making it to the second round), and also did free-throws, and three-pointers. Next we went bowling for two games apiece. At 5pm on Saturday we competed in the tug-of-war contest and made it to the second round. On Saturday evening we attended the Sweetheart talent competition which was very entertaining. Our Sweetheart Destiny gave a great performance. Later Saturday night we competed in a trivia contest.

On Sunday morning, we got up early to go the track and field events at 7am. All of our members competed in at least one event. Kevin won first place in the juniors long jump with 14 feet and 8 inches! After the track and field event we competed in flag football. Due to a scheduling conflict we ended up doing flag football on half of a basketball court. It is hard to call what we did 'football' since it looked, rather, more like some strange kind of hybrid between basketball and football. Nevertheless, we competed and played two games with the second one going into overtime. Though the chapter didn't win, it was still an excellent competition.

On Sunday afternoon chapter members competed in individual ritual competition. Our newest member Oliver came in first place for his obligation and Sean came in second for the ceremony of lights. Kyle received a trophy for his obligation as well. In the evening we attended the banquet and awards ceremony. Afterwards we attended the sweetheart coronation and dance. Monday morning the chapter attended the trophy presentation and collected their hardware.

I drove back from conclave late Sunday night so that I could be prepared for our annual Memorial day BBQ. We had lots of friends and family over and had a great time. I took today off of work so I could rest and recuperate. Later today I plan to go fishing on the boat and just generally relax.

Now that this weekend is behind us we have a fun and exciting one coming up. On Friday night my friend Dave McNeil will be playing in his band Max Thrust on the Lake at Windjammer Point. This is a pre-party for the poker run on Saturady. The poker run begins at 1pm on the lake and participants take their boats from house to house, getting an additional card at each location. The host at each stop has a challenge or activity for the players. At the last stop the best poker hand wins. This is all for a fundraiser that will benefit someone in our community. On Saturday night, for anyone who has survived the poker run, there will be a live 'Jimmy Buffet style' band on the lake. It all sounds like a lot of fun and a great way to launch the summer party season!

Here is an interesting anecdote that speaks to the Lake Saint Louis lifestyle. Our friend and neighbor Rob Hippe auctioned off a 'day in his life' for a charity fundraiser at his church. A 'day in Rob's life' starts with all kinds of water activities including skiing, wakeboading, and tubing. Once everyone is worn out and needs a break they can relax on the pontoon boat and jump in for a swim. Later in the day they have a huge BBQ and, of course, beer is in plenty the whole day long. Finally, in the evening, guests can play billiards and sit in the hot-tub (not at the same time). This 'typical' Lake Saint Louis Saturday, I have been told, sold for $1,500. Who needs a vacation when you live in a resort!

Switching topics, I would like to note that this morning I received $18 worth of contributions to 'A Million Pixels US', which is a fundraising website to support area youth groups. This came in the form of two $9 donations from Roman and Xander.

Roman and Xander are two college interns I had working with me last summer. Apparently they recently set up their own blogger website dedicated to recording their adventures. You can find their website here.

I can't say thanks enough for their generous donation. It is greatly appreciated and I encourage all of my friends, especially those who have a PayPal account, to make at least a small $4 donation to this worthy cause. Simply click on this link, find a free spot on the image you like, and click through to PayPal.

Finally, here are some photographs from recent activities.