Martin Clan: September 2006

Happy Belated 18th Birthday, Josh!

He has come such a long way:

The perfect gentleman...

The little "lady's man"...

An adult?...

What do you think of that?

Day at the park

Thanks to Sara, we were able to enjoy the luxaries at the Phillies game. We were given free hats and 20 Philly dollars to spend on food-EACH! what a life!!! The first is a picture of the line we were in awaiting for the "Schmitter". Second is the girls with the Philly Fanatic, we pushed the little kids out of the way so we could get our picture with him. The last ones are the difference from when we first got there to when we rushed out as the rain was pouring down on us.

What a life!

This is one of the oldest bulls in Mammoth. He is exactly opposite of the other one in the lower pictures. He is extremely mellow and probably "out of the game" as far as the rut goes.

This is the really aggressive bull that charged me. This was the next morning. He looked pretty sleepy just hanging out with his cows.

What a life!

Another weekend in God's country.

I took this picture as this bull elk let out a screaming bugle. Apparently he thought I was a little too close to his cows because he was actually bugling at me right before he charged me. That was awesome! This is the most aggressive bull in the area. This bull has had his antlers cut off the past two years because he has gored people and cars. He is quite impressive and so much fun to watch!

Melanie and I near the base of the Teton Mountains. We almost didn't go to the Teton's because it was supposed to be raining on Wednesday and Thursday. We decided to go anyway and we are glad we did. It was beautiful on Wednesday!

This is near Jenny Lake where we camped for the night. Jenny Lake sits right at the base of the Teton Mountains. The views are spectacular and the wildlife is amazing.

I said the weather was nice on Wednesday. Well, we woke up to snow on Thursday. It was chilly and wet but it sure was beautiful. There were several roads and entrances to Yellowstone that were closed because of the amount of snow. The Lord gave us another wonderful weekend enjoying His creation.

Joe Kennedy Strikes Again

Business at the banks is hurting forcing Mr. Kennedy to turn to Giant parking lot muggings

His victom? Our very own Ralph Cramden. That's right, we're blaming this one on Joe.

Just last Wednesday night Merily Nelson was loading her car up with groceries, purse on arm, when all the sudden she felt a tug. Figuring it was just a friend pulling her leg she turned around to find a man she had never seen before in her life. "He was just a shrimp of a man", Merily said when we asked her what he looked like. My first thoughts went right to Joe. "He had a receding hairline and looked like a little nerd." Well that sealed it for me, it HAD to be Joe...who else fits that description? Merily started to scream which scared the man who than turned and ran. A car pulled up and he hopped in. Merily said a red Cherokee took off after the car right away. A woman, who heard her screams, asked what just happened and Merily informed her a man just tried to grab her purse. The woman told Merily to call the police. After talking to the police Merily was asked to identify the man, unfortuanatly Joe Kennedy was not an option.

Teton and Yellowstone National Parks

My parents, Melanie and I spent three days riding through Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. We had a great time and the Lord blessed us with good weather and great scenery!

The Teton Mountain Range

Traffic Jam in Yellowstone National Park.

Melanie gets a little nervous being this close to the buffalo when we are on the motorcycle.

A nice bull elk in Mammoth scratching his back.

Melanie and I got onto this BIG Grizzly Bear while riding through Yellowstone. We had to walk a couple hundred yards to get to where we could see it and it was still about 200 yards away from us. He was munchin on a buffalo carcass.

Bass Lake 06’

We pulled in the drive by that Minnesota sign and drove past that old rusty gate,
And were back for another week of “Bass Lake” on our families’ traditional date. We noticed right away as our eyes scanned the camp that things had changed just a bit,
With the addition of a new “Rainbow” playground and an inviting new campfire pit.
The rest of the place showed off all its “charm” as it has for so many years,
The “stuff” that the loyal bunch ignores for a week yet drives all the non-comers fears.
Now for those of you who chose to miss camp it was one for the history books,
You missed all the fun and fellowship we had while admiring the “Jerry’s” good looks.
You’ve probably heard we were the cutest bunch there that have ever served up a dinner,
And if “Best Dressed Chefs” was a contest at camp “The Jerry’s” would be your winner!
Domination didn’t end with our stunning good looks and possessing a sharply honed wit,
Just ask all the “losers” who got schooled by the “Jerry’s” each night at the volleyball pit.
I must have done something real bad to “The Jim’s” that got their undies in a bunch,
Cuz the first day at camp they turned ole’ Babe loose to eat our dog “Skeeter” for lunch.
I know they’re just dogs and I’m not quite convinced that they better our quality of life,
But if anything bad ever happened to ours I’d probably have to find a new wife.
It was good to see those who we’d not seen in years like Sara and a big group of Paul’s,
And a boyfriend of “R’s” kept showing his face in windows, family photos and on walls.
One of the “Shirl’s” said she’d come for the week and the bloggers said that’d be nice,
She spent a few hours then took her gang home and blamed it on the bats and the mice.
Each night after dark we’d meet in the chapel and take time to worship the Lord,
We sang our old favorite hymns of the faith and were challenged again by God’s Word.
When chapel was over we’d stroll to the kitchen and enjoy lots of cookies folks brought,
But beware of the Ginger Snaps James likes to bake cuz man them little suckers is HOT!
I’d like to encourage each member of the family to make plans for the upcoming years,
To join in the fun with the whole Martin Clan and get rid of your silly Bass Lake fears.
Well, I can’t say enough about how great it is spending time with this family for a week,
And I want to assure all you readers of my poem I tried not to write tongue in cheek.
So this will be the first of many good posts from Uncle Jeff for you bloggers to see,
Because now all the pressure’s on me to uphold my title as “The Blog’s MVB”.