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We just took a whirlwind trip to and from Washington D.C. this past weekend to be there for a great friend’s wedding. Mark Lyon and Elaine Avilla were joined together on Saturday by our old friend’s Wayne and Jo Ann Lyon (the newest Wesleyan GS!). The wedding was great fun, and while we were there, we got to trek around the DC area and see some of the landmarks and sites of our nation’s capital. It was the first time I’d been there to be able to look around, and Brandi’s second (she went on an 8th grade class trip.)

Check out the video below the pictures, it’s one of the reasons our nation is still the greatest!

Bran and Ruthi hanging out together at The Mall.

This was the split second I got Ruthi to stay on my shoulders before freaking out and wanting to get down and terrorize pigeons and squirrels.

Bran and Ruthi kicking it at the reception.

This was cool, when we were at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History on Sunday we got to go see a 3D Imax called Sea Monsters. It was awesome once you got past all of the evolutionary garbage. Ruthi lasted through one scene, then tore her glasses off and buried her head in my shoulder. Made me feel like a tough daddy though.

Sexy faces!

Guard at Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from Eric Ebbinghaus on Vimeo.

I’ll try to get some more pictures and videos up as we get further into the week. But now I’ve got some more classwork to catch up on, then I leave for Bartlesville on Thursday morning at 1 AM (or would that still be Wednesday night?), then back to WO-Town on Thursday night late for family catch-up time!

I’ve been frustrated for a while with the extra parts and hassle that come with a Mini DV camcorder. While you can’t compete with the quality, I’ve been doing mostly viral stuff and uploading vids on Vimeo and Facebook for youth stuff. Most of the editing is for the main church services and for that we have our Sony HD camcorder (which is off the charts by the way).

So, I decided to take a leap and sell my Canon Elura 100 on ebay and go with a completely digital system. I was looking at two options: The Sanyo Xacti VPC-CG6 (and CG9), and the Flip Video Mino. The Sanyo operates solely on an SD card formatand records in MP4 file type, and the Flip has a 2GB internal hard drive and records in AVI format (which is not ideal for our Mac setup here).

After selling my camera with buy it now, I came across an amazing deal on the Sanyo Xacti CG6 on Ebay and was able to get it for 1/2 of what I sold the other one for! Ignore that price on Amazon, I didn’t pay near that for the one I found on ebay brand new. What a deal! Anyway, below if the first video I shot with it and Ruthi and I are modeling it too!

Xacti CG6 Test from Eric Ebbinghaus on Vimeo.

Just thought I’d throw a quick video update at you to tune everyone in on what the past month has held and how we’re doing!

Update 7/17/08 from Eric Ebbinghaus on Vimeo.

Well, after two weeks on the road doing camps, I’m finally home safe. Praise the Lord we didn’t encounter any car trouble and the kids behaved beautifully. The first camp in the East Michigan District was the youth track of their family camp. It really was a great time and I had tons of fun meeting and getting to know lots of new wonderful people. One of my favorite things to do is travel and see how God is working in different places through different people. It gives me a great perspective on how truly small I am and if I play any part at all it’s because of His grace and glory!

It’s exhausting though, especially being away from family. Before tonight, I had only seen Ruthi once in the past two weeks. That was WAY too long. I can’t tell you how happy I was to get her back in my arms and squeeze her for the longest time. She truly is a wonderful addition to Brandi and my steadily growing family. It seemed like she’d grown 6 inches from the last time I’d seen her, and of course, I get back to find her speaking in sentences. “That’s papaw’s hat,” and “me and graymaw were playin’”!

We did manage on our way back today to swing by Lambert’s Cafe in Springfield, MO. If you’re not familiar with Lambert’s, you can check out their website by clicking on their name, but they claim to be the original home of the “Throwed Roll”. When we first got there, we found out the wait was gonna be around an hour, which I was none too pleased with, but the girls persisted, and much to my dismay we waited it out, then waited out our food, and 2 1/2 hours later were on the road. I really didn’t stopping that long, and I expressed my distaste, but got over it after a while. I couldn’t stop thinking about how I could be an hour further down the road to seeing Ruthi again, or 2 hours closer to her!

I managed to accomplish quite a feat while I was there too, along with stuffing my face with loads of rolls and fried okra. I completely consumed 2, 1/2 lb Lambert’s burgers! They have an all-you-can-eat policy, where if you finish what they put in front of you, they’ll bring out more at no additional cost. Surprisingly, I was still a little hungry after the first, then the brought the second out and I choked it down too. Here’s a pic of me enjoying #2!

Seth Piper emerges headlong into the world of trashy haircuts. Complete with electric sheers, a comb, and a beard trimmer, Kyle Kempf, and the witness boys completed the impossible.

This was recorded on my phone, so bare with the grainy attitude.

Seth Piper Gets a Mullet from Eric Ebbinghaus on Vimeo.

I spent ALL of last week in Vassar, Michigan speaking at the youth track for the East Michigan family camp. It was a great time, thanks to Jeremy Little for the invite. No pics yet, but I think I have some vids to upload as soon as I can get them off my phone. Bran and Ruthi were supposed to come along but unfortunately on Saturday night, Ruthi came down with Fifths. Which was a major bummer and kept them from joining me on the trip. Talk about missing them! I was a wreck for most of the week behind closed doors. The camp was great though and I met some fantastic new people. I really felt like the Lord used me in a great way as I spoke.

This week, we are at our own Tri-State District Youth Camp for this week. Brandi got here today, which is awesome and a great relief to me. She had to wait to come down because she had a dry socket worked on that has been ailing her since her wisdom teeth were removed almost 2 weeks ago. Could have been dangerous, so we figured it was best for her to stay behind and get checked out as a precaution. Ruthi is staying with Mamaw and Papaw and I’m sure is having a great time, but I miss her terribly. By the time we get back I think I will have seen her for just 1 day in the last two weeks. NOT ENOUGH FOR THIS GIRL’S DADDY! We’re tight. So probably when I get back we’ll go get some sliders together or something. Good times.

Sorry for the ocean of ink with no pics. Will get some up when we get back Friday.