Family Photos and Luis Palau

Our last big day with the family came on Saturday when Viv came down to Lincoln to have lunch with us at P.O. Pears and watch Ratatouille. The movie was pretty good, though it didn't quite live up to all the gushing reviews I'd read ahead of time. My mom fell asleep within the first few minutes and said later, "I was confused. I couldn't see what that spaceship had to do with anything." We also drove down to the Sunken Gardens to get some family pictures taken, initiating Viv into a long-standing Johnson Family tradition of standing outside in the blazing heat while Dad crouches behind his camera and scoots us around with his hand for half an hour.

On Sunday, I went with Viv and Eric to the Heartland Festival with Luis Palau. I haven't been to a large Christian gathering like this in a while, and it was a great time to get together with other believers in a spirit of fellowship that involved a couple hours of music and extreme stunt bikes. We had a good time, despite the scorching mid-July Nebraska heat, though next time I'll be bringing a vinyl cooler stuffed with water bottles and frozen popsicles. There was plenty of singing, dancing, a great message, and an occasional tickle fight between me and Viv. It was a great time of fellowship, something I hadn't enjoyed for a long time.