Godzilla Bug

Last night, we found a giant bug that looked like it came from one of the Godzilla movies. I have never seen anything like it. It was 4-1/2" long and had big pinchers on it. It took all of 3 minutes on the internet to ID it. It was a male Dobsonfly. The live for 2-3 years in the larval stage as a carnivorous worm in water, and then they hatch into the adult stage like this and have a few days to mate & lay eggs before they die.

4th of July, 2008

Our nieghbors across the street took off to Vegas for the weekend, so we could not resist using their front yard as a setting for a group photo.

This year, the 4th fell on a Friday. Thursday nite, the entire neighborhod was lit up, and Friday nite was no different. The weather has been absolutely perfect for the holiday weekend.

Between all the neighbors, we probably shot 300 artilery shells with 4 people lighting stuff non-stop from 8:30 to 11:00.

We had a couple misfires, but no major mishaps. The deck has a new scorch mark on it.

Fireworks pictures: f/22, 30 sec, ISO 200. Most came out OK, but could probably shoot @ f/8 to expose the houses better.

Camp Cornhusker Webelos I

CP & I spent the last 4 days at Webelos I Camp at Camp Cornhusker south of Humbolt, NE. We both had a blast. Before we went, I was apprehensive: I need to be at work, I have to drive the minivan, I have to carpool with the lady from down the street, can I survive 4 days alone with CP?, it's going to be hot, I'm going to get chiggers & ticks, etc.

Today we returned, and I am glad to say that all of my fears were ridiculous and were not worth the time I spent worrying about them. The camp has been in existence since the dawn of time and is used to catering to scouts and their dads. We swam, shot bb guns (CP shot a 50/50) & arrows (2/5 arrows hit the paper), learned about trees, rocks, conservation, knots, 1st aid, row boats, and most of all - about each other.

Next week, I am scheduled to take GP to "Fun with Son," a 1-night intro to scouts campout at Camp Cornhusker. I am psyched. It's like Camp Lazlo, but even better.