Life can be crazy and unpredictable. It's enough to make one feel like things are completely out of control, and we're just along for the ride. This last week was good, bad, confusing, and everything in between.

Last week, our family received some bad news. My step-grandfather, Bill Hoffman, was killed in a snowmobile accident out in Wyoming. He was just recovering from cancer... finally able to get back out there and enjoy life. It's sad, especially for my step dad and Bill's widow. If you get a chance, say a prayer for them. Bill is the one in the back of the picture. Also pictured are his wife, Judy, and their three children: Carla, Tom, and Tim.

Jesse and his wife have now moved to Las Vegas. Before they left town Jesse, his sister Melanie, and I spent time together this weekend. We hunted for a few geocaches in Minot, had supper together, and in general had a good time. It will certainly be harder for us all to get together now. Pictured here are Melanie and Jesse as we hunt for the "Nubbin Park" geocache.

Just as I returned home from the funeral and the weekend in Minot, I came down with a nasty flu bug. I stayed home for two days to recover. I'm now back at the grind, pushing buttons for eight hours a day (not that I mind).

People keep asking to see all of my pictures from Italy. It took a while, but you can now view all of them, with captions, by visiting the photo album. To get there, click the photograph above.

There are more photos than you can possibly want. If you want to share your favorite with other visitors to the site, you can leave a comment on this page. Enjoy!

I have just returned from a ten day pilgrimage to Italy. I visited Rome, Assisi, Orvieto, and Florence. It was an amazing, powerful experience that could not possibly be expressed here. I may write more about it later, but for now I have a few photos of myself to post.

Before I left for Italy, my mom said she needed to see pictures of me in the places I visit, not just the scenery. Now I don't enjoy looking at myself, so why would I want pictures of my ugly mug? Well, I fulfilled her request and got some pictures of myself in interesting locations.

Here I am, attending a papal audience in Saint Peter's Square:

Here I am, visiting with British geocachers in Rome:

Here I am, atop the dome of St. Peter's basilica:

Here I am, atop Castle San Angelo:

Here I am, modeling Italian leather:

Here I am, at the hermitage above Assisi:

Here I am, in front of the main altar in St. Peter's basilica:

And, finally, here I am in the prison that held saints Peter and Paul before their executions. Notice my somber expression in such a somber place.: