Alright! I'm 18!! I can get a drivers license, I can vote, and am officially a man!

I'm really excited about this new era in my life! These past couple days have been awesome leading up to my birthday. Let me tell you about them!


I suppose it started on Friday the 18th. I was planning on going out for dinner with Mark Krupa, along with Hudson and Seth (visiting from Arkansas). He picked us three up at 6:30 and we started driving. We drove for an hour, not knowing at all where we were headed. Finally we arrived in a little town called Bilovec, which was the deadest town you'll ever see on a Friday night! No action whatsoever =)

So we found a sketchy "food window", grabbed some dinner, and then Mark told us what he had planned. In the back of his car were lawn chairs, a foldable table, blankets and snacks. He had found out that there was an outdoor movie theater in Bilovec, and we were going to it! While waiting for the place to open, Mark pulled out some Kofola and shot glasses, and we had a little toast.


But Mark wasn't done yet. Out of his backpack he pulled the grossest Czech food ever - tlačenka. (jibblie, jibllie, jibblie) It's basically pressed meat, but it's mostly fat and is very slimy. Take a look for yourself!


And so, we all took a bite out of the tlačenka and it was horrible. Hudson couldn't swallow it, and Seth was close to throwing up! We were very glad we had the Kofola to wash it down with afterwards.

The movie that was playing was The Superhero Movie, which is a parody of Spider-Man and other superheros. We laughed sooo hard!


By now it was 10:30. On the drive back to Frydlant Mark suggested we make a quick trip over to a place called Stramberk, which happens to be one of my favorite towns. Situated on a hill, Stramberk is the epitome of awesome.


All in all, it was an amazing evening. I was so glad we could do something totally random that I could remember my 18th birthday by. Thanks so much Mark for making this birthday such a special one!


And this was not the end of the festivities...there is much more to come! =)

Well, the rest of the family is back! Now the summer can really start.

It's weird, but without our family being complete I can't be very creative! It's hard for me to draw or paint figures when people aren't around. I have to have the sense that life is going on around me; mom's making dinner, dad's out in the garden, Claire's watching a movie, Caleb's practicing his bass...life inspires me!

I guess that's also why it's easier for me to write a paper in a crowded coffee shop than alone in my room. Life inspires me.

And so, with life back at home, I finally sat down and started painting a few orc figues. I'm about half-finished now, but I'm not in any rush...

Here's the orcs' leader (Gothmog) that I painted before we left for the States. The rest of the orcs will have armor similar to him but be on foot. I'm pretty proud of how this guy turned out!

To celebrate our amazing English Camp and to thank the Czech team, our church payed for us to go out for dinner together! So we all dressed up, ate food and relaxed. It was an awesome time without any responsibilities just being able to chat, laugh and be with great people!





Afterward some of us went bowling! I must admit it wasn't my best game...


It's so weird being back home and not having a million things to get done. On one hand it feels nice, but on the other I don't feel I've accomplished anything at the end of the day =) Ah well, I'm sure I'll find some projects sooner or later.

Mom, dad and Claire fly home tomorrow! I'm really excited for at least some structure to return to my life!

I have to get pictures from Caleb, and once I do I'll write more about English Camp! One thing I can say now is that God worked there in supernatural ways. Even though we expected some great things to happen, He just keeps on blowing us away! =)