Kidologist.com: Karl Bastian’s Personal Site and Blog
Archive for KarlTube
June 20, 2008 at 2:01 am · Filed under Adventures, Family, KarlTube, Luke, Photography
For our 15th anniversary we are spending a week in Lundington, Michigan. There are lots of pictures still to go through, but I wanted to blog our highlight today, on our actual anniversary. What a fun day! (click on any picture to view larger, then browse back to pick up where you left off!)
Luke was just eager to get going on our 1.8 mile hike to the Big Sable Point Lighthouse which is only accessible by hiking in.
If you squint you can see a little black and white dot in the upper left hand corner of this picture… that was our destination. Would Luke make it, that was the question!
Fortunately, some friends of our who live in Ludington, who we visited with on Tuesday evening, “just happened” to give us a kid-backpack. (God is indeed sovereign, and He likes to prove it over and over!) So when Luke got tired or decided he wanted to walk in directions other than forward, we had a way to make progress without losing too much time.
But we were in no rush, so we stopped often to rest and enjoy the beautiful scenery - a strange combination of sand, water and evergreens. (I’m sparing you all my nature photography!)
Luke definitely takes after his father in having this strong irresistible urge to wander off the well marked path! Keeping him on the trail was a constant struggle! Little explorer that he is! Oh, the fun we will have in the years ahead wandering around like Lewis and Clark!
Just had to post this one - is that one beautiful boy, or what? (note the shirt!)
Once we hid from mom off the side of the road when she wasn’t looking, but she soon found us!
“Does this road ever end?” Luke asks. “We’re not sure,” we answer!
But FINALLY we arrive and enjoy our sack lunch on a bench under the shade of some trees looking out over Lake Michigan. The lighthouse behind us and the roar of crashing waves around us. Luke seemed thrilled to have arrived at our destination and is eager to explore!
Soon he is off to see where all these wooden paths lead to. Treasure? Cookies?
He finds a steel wall with steps leading up to… to what? What could BE on the other side?
It’s water! As far as the eye can see. (Luke absolutely loves water!)
Luke ponders how there could be so much water in one place. (I don’t even try to explain that this is only a lake and that oceans are even bigger.)
He decides he likes this place very much, but he doesn’t like the big steel wall!
So he finds his way around it to the BEACH! And points so I know where he wants to go!
Soon he has found a UBPT. (Universal Boys Play Thing) Also known as “a stick.”
And what do boys DO with sticks, you ask?
Why, THROW THEM, of course! (this was only one of his many victims who were cast into the sea*!)
But then it was time to do what we came here to do - CLIMB TO THE TOP OF THE LIGHTHOUSE! Luke made the height requirement by less than an inch so he got to go on an adventure to new heights, literally!
Every twenty steps or so there was a window with a ledge big enough for him to sit on, and he absolutely loved sitting there and taking in the view. There are quite a few of these pictures, though the lighting was tricky for pictures to get both the view inside the fairly dark tower and the outside. I was able to get it by opening up the aperture pretty wide to get the outside in focus and not lose the inside. Until I figured that out, either you got nothing inside (like below) or the outside was washed out and all white. (TMI for most of you I know, but my photo-friends will appreciate it!)
This shot shows when we spotted mom from around 50 steps up in the lighthouse!
Not even half way up yet, and already the view is getting spectacular. (Yes, that’s mom in the pink!)
We waved and waved and suddenly Mom actually SAW US in the little window and took this picture!
We went rather slowly, but I was so proud of Luke. He did the entire thing all by himself! Here he is passing the 100th step. (and this is the only time I wasn’t immediately behind him)
Yes, that’s me and Luke 130 feet up in the air at the top of the Big Sable Point Lighthouse!
The view was wonderful and the sky was perfectly clear. It was pretty windy but it felt great.
The lighthouse was pretty busy with a steady stream of visitors and yet, when we got up there, we had the whole thing to ourselves for about ten minutes. It really was a gift from the Lord. Luke had absolutely no fear at all. The funny thing was, the only thing that scared him was some orange streamers they had hanging from the two hatches you had to come through on the stairs. They were blowing in the wind and really freaked him out. I had to hold him as we passed the orange streamers. Silly, but sweet too.
Can you spot us up there at the top of the lighthouse? Good thing mom was too scared to come up, she was able to take some fun pictures from the bottom. 
Here’s a zoomed in version of Luke at the top of a historic Michigan Lighthouse!
VIDEO: Watch Luke at the top of the Lighthouse
All good things must come to an end. In this case, all good things have another hour long walk before they come to an end!
Not that all of us had to walk the whole way, at least one of us got the royal treatment for most of the trip back. But as I said on the walk, even as my legs and back were aching, if he rests his head on mine, I could walk a thousand miles.
It was a wonderful way to spend our 15th anniversary. Several people have seemed surprised when they found out we took Luke on our anniversary trip - but when you waited as long as we did for a little child to love, he is the highlight of our celebration and the joy of our times together. (and he does take naps)
The Big Sable Point Lighthouse can be seen for 19 miles out into the Lake. I’m so glad that on this 19th of June we celebrate that we know the Big Savior who made a Point of being the Light we can build our House on! When the storms of life hit, we don’t rely on some rusty old retainer wall to hold off the erosion of time that pounds against our lives relentlessly - we can rely on the grace and mercies of God which are new every morning! Praise God!
*for those who e-mail me my typos, the use of the word “sea” here was figurative, not literal. OK?
June 16, 2008 at 7:09 am · Filed under Family, KarlTube, Luke, Parenting
This video is just my Father’s Day present to myself. Yes, I’m a complete sap and am totally in love with my little boy. My wife often laughs at me and says, “You are so whipped” when she sees just the way I look at him or interact with him. The picture below is his first time sitting in a tree! (Granted, only for a few seconds - just long enough for the picture! But last Sunday at church he saw several kids in a tree and I stopped to talk to the kids about the tree and how they got up, etc. but it still surprised me when Luke said to me today, “Sit in tree!”
The video is all pictures of me and my little buckaroo to two of my favorite “Daddy Songs,” perhaps you’ll enjoy them too: Watching You, by Rodney Atkins and Little Buckaroo by Go Fish.
April 23, 2008 at 1:32 pm · Filed under KarlTube, just cool
There is just something about Cheez-It’s…
How DO they do it?
February 25, 2008 at 4:08 pm · Filed under KarlTube, Star Wars
A friend sent me a link to this video on YouTube - so I snagged it* for your enjoyment here!
Luke loved sitting here listening to it! I can’t wait until he starts to understand and enjoy Star Wars. (no, he’s not seen it yet!)
*I snag YouTube videos so that I still have them after they disappear, get moved, or are removed from YouTube.
December 25, 2007 at 8:46 pm · Filed under Humor, KarlTube
Over the years we’ve known a lot of home school families… and may be one ourselves one day soon. (Not making that decision until the time comes. We see many of the advantages and disadvantages - so it will come down to what is best for Luke when that time comes.)
Anyway, I came across this video, and just had to post it here. Before any home schooler is offended, please know it was made by a home school dad and is just for fun! It does a good job of pointing out many of the stereotypes of home school families.
It is from www.timhawkins.net and there are some other funny videos there as well! ENJOY!
December 21, 2007 at 12:21 am · Filed under Christmas, Humor, KarlTube, Mac
Thot you’d enjoy this, that is, if you love Macs!
December 18, 2007 at 11:20 pm · Filed under Christmas, Family, KarlTube, Luke
I either get teased for blogging too much about Luke, or bugged for not blogging pictures of him enough… so by popular demand, here are some pictures of Luke who is LOVIN’ the Christmas season!
Setting up the Christmas Tree was a blast! He must have walked around it over a hundred times while dad was doing all the lights and ornaments!
But then the train was the best part, it goes around and around and around. The best part is it is “voice activated” - I say “GO TRAIN GO” and it goes, and “STOP TRAIN STOP” and it magically stops! And now Luke can say “Go” and “Stop” to control the train too. (and no, I’m not giving away my secret to how it is voice controlled!)
Next, Luke discovered that there are presents under the tree, and he brought this one to me to open! He is doing pretty good waiting, though I did see him ripping a corner of one of Mom’s presents!
Luke has also discovered CHRISTMAS COOKIES! Yum! Yum!
He also enjoyed his evening out with Dad (giving Mom a Lukeless evening) where he discovered how yummy a Wendy’s Frosty is!
He has also discovered that he has to wear a LOT more clothes this time of year…
But it’s worth it if he gets to go play outside with Daddy!
One time they went to the mall where Dad let him run around a little since he is so good at obeying whenever his Daddy says to come back. (as seen in this video!)
But Luke’s very favorite thing is just being on Daddy’s shoulders dancing to his favorite Christmas album, Alvin and the Chipmonks Christmas Album!
Christmas is so full of so many wonderful things for the hands, eyes and ears… that I feel January will be soooo boring by comparison!
Nothing brings back the Wonder of Christmas like a young child…. Luke makes our Christmas so cheerful and fun. I want every day this month to be slow and full so I can soak in his enjoyment along the way.
I hope you are having a very merry Christmas season too!Â
December 3, 2007 at 10:43 pm · Filed under Christmas, Family, Holidays, Humor, KarlTube, Luke
We dressed Luke up like an elf and took him outside to enjoy his first snow! AND WOW, DID HE TAKE TO IT! Watch this video, and be amazed!! I’m so glad I had grabbed the video camera! WHAT TALENT!
Click on comments for the secret to how I made this! BUT WATCH THE VIDEO FIRST!Â
November 28, 2007 at 10:01 pm · Filed under Adventures, Family, Holidays, KarlTube, Luke
It was a real treat to get to spend this Thanksgiving in Williamsburg, VA. I know that was last week - but after posting about leaving, arriving, meeting up with friends, and more friends, and about an awesome kids pastor, matching sweaters, and even trash cans I took a break from my computer from Wednesday through Sunday and it was wonderful to be off line for several days in a row. Now that I am caught up on the hundreds of e-mails I got behind on… I thought I’d finally post about Thanksgiving.
It was like traveling back in time! Except for all the people wearing weird clothes… referring to myself and the other tourists. I actually thought it would be an interesting idea to have an area where you had to be in period costume to get in, that would be fun. (But then the digital camera would still be a give away!)
I tied Luke to a horse post as I explained to him what it was. Seconds later, a carriage came by and the driver called out that Luke was tied where he was going to be shortly!
Luke watching the horse and carriage.
Mom and Luke in front of one of the fruit wreaths, one of Sara’s favorite things in Williamsburg.
We tried on the hats but decided a picture was less expensive than spending over $40 for two hats. I’ll wait until he is older and can enjoy the dressing up. (I can’t wait actually, it was fun seeing the little boys in hats with guns and swords strapped to their belts.)
Luke’s cousins joined us for Thanksgiving Day, but I had to sentence them to the stocks for being too sweet.
I tried to put Luke in the baby stocks, but he wasn’t too thrilled about the idea!
I enjoyed seeing the recreated buildings and imagining what life must have been like for those who forged this New World for us. But not everything was re-created.
This church has been here for a very long time… here is the sign:
I bet your church hasn’t had continual services since 1715! (wow) I’d like to get a perfect attendance button for that!
The next time we come here, I want to come with an outfit like this. There were a lot of people just walking around in period costumes. It really brought the town to life.
It made it easy to imagine you were there when our country was being born.
Even George Washington showed up and gave a stirring speech. He seemed uneffected by all the strange looking people who had traveled through time to hear him.
There was even a colonial marching band that went down the street:
I would HIGHLY recommend this as a vacation spot, especially for families with kids ages 1st - 4th grade. We will probably wait 3-4 years and then definitely be back so that we can do more with Luke.
Just me having fun with my camera.
May those at BevReviews.com be jealous!
I got to drink HISTORIC TAP WATER at lunch!
The PERFECT THANKSGIVING DINNER! (as with all images, click for a larger image!) Yes, that is turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing and corn… and pizza, pretzels, mac & cheese and a rice krispie treat laced with chocolate. Best Thanksgiving Dinner ever!
We ate at the Great Wolf Lodge buffet - Sara enjoyed having no cooking and I enjoyed no clean up! And we may stay here next time, check out the indoor water park:
and this is only ONE view… it is massive!
The only bummer of the trip was saying goodbye to our nephew and niece (and their parents) who we don’t get to see often enough.
The Happy Thankful Family!
I hope you had a HAPPY THANKSGIVING too!
November 17, 2007 at 10:34 pm · Filed under Adventures, Family, KarlTube, Luke
At the Kidology To Go conference yesterday, as usual, I had people bummed I didn’t bring Luke to the event and then asking to see pictures and videos of him. I realized that I have not made a “Luke Video” since Easter 2006, and when I showed that one on screen during a break, I had to say, “Well, that’s when he was a baby… he’s almost two now.” I’ve posted lots of short videos of him on my blog, but it was time for an update!
Since I’m alone this evening and missing my little boy (and Sara too!) I took a walk through iPhoto selecting some of my favorite pictures of Luke - and was amazed at how much he has grown up, just since he turned one, and one and a half….
So here is a video update of Luke from after his birthday to this month… all pictures in order of age, so you can see him growing up… all too fast.
Mommy and Lukie: I MISS YOU!
I’ll see you soon!
UPDATE: Here is a picture of Luke a few days later… watching the video of himself, he loves to watch it!
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