David PR's -- TWICE

What a great week this kid had ... he pr'd at the meet on Wednesday with a time of 18:29 and then he did it again today at the Portage meet with a time of 18:13.  The Portage Invitational is a HUGE race with kids from all over the state.  I'd venture a guess it's almost as big as the state meet.  Very well run event and plenty of opportunities to see the runners throughout the course!

Near the beginning of the race.
Kinda surprised I was able to pick him out!

Teammate John nipping at David's heels!

The finish line is in sight!!

This week was also homecoming!

The band did the usual parade and even got to do a halftime show this year.  I did videotape the halftime show and will try to get it edited and posted online soon, but quite frankly I'm whipped.  It's been a long day, so this girl is headed in to veg in front of the tv and call it a night!

~Kati

Runner of the Week!!

Coach Kauffman chooses a team member (sometimes 2) to be recognized as "Runner of the Week".  David was co-runner-of-the-week this week, along with teammate Kimmy Buskirk (bottom left).  Coach as also been doing a "by the numbers" thing this year, and David was featured as one of the "by the numbers" posts this week (right).

New Content, New Name

You'll notice some changes to the blog .... 

I actually have had two blogs for a couple of years.  I had the DCG News/JAG's Journal which of course was the spin-off of the boys' newsletter I did when they were younger, but I also had another blog called Kati's Book Blog ... I know, not very original.  I kept track of reading challenges there as well as posted some of my crafting creations.  I decided to make things easier for myself and merge the two blogs.

Merging the two blogs made me feel like it wasn't just about the boys anymore and so I decided it was time for a new name.  I'm not the most creative person in the world, but I was trying to come up with something catchy, yet relevant to our family, so I've come up with "Red House Ramblings".  I hope everyone will enjoy reading about what's going on with us here in the red house!

Some tips ... if you enjoy reading the blog, but don't care about certain things I post, you can always filter the posts by using the "Labels" links on the right hand side.  I will try to use the following labels on each post to make it easier for those who only want to read certain posts:  Crafting Creations, Reading Challenges, Boys/Family, Reviews (book reviews).

Still working on making sure the email subscription thing works, so if you're out there reading and you've subscribed but it doesn't seem to be sending you the email, please let me know (katrinagormley ATgmail.com)

~Kati

2015 Historical Fiction Christmas Reading Challenge (from CreativeMadness Mama) #ChristianHistorical

How the Christmas Reading Challenge Works:

• This is a design it yourself challenge. I want you to choose your own reading goals. This is a low pressure challenge meant to be fun.
• The books should be Christmas or winter holiday themed. They must be historical, the historical/contemporary mix books will count.
• When you have reviewed a book, you are encouraged to come back to the group and add the link to your review in the comments.
• This challenge begins November 1, 2015 and ends January 7, 2016 so you can keep on reading through the holidays.
• You may sign up anytime during the challenge.
• You may include books of any format including traditional books, ebooks, or audiobooks.
• Books may be YA, adult, nonfiction, mystery, romance, etc.
• You may reread books.
• Books may count towards other reading challenges.
• Use the hashtag #ChristianHistorical

My books:

• Christmas Bells (Chiaverini) -- November 12
• Christmas Roses (Cabot) -- November 14
• A Wreath of Snow (Higgs) --

Test

Test post

WIP Wednesday - 9/30/15

I've been working on this cross stitch for a while now.  Slow but steady progress.  It's a Thomas Kinkade scene.  It's probably one of the biggest cross stitch patterns I've ever tackled.  I would love to think I'd be able to finish it by Christmas, but I'm pretty sure that won't happen, especially since I ordered some things today to try to make for teacher gifts.

August and September ... Another school year has begun!!

First Day of School

I'd really like to get back at this ... I know there are a lot of things I post on Facebook, but I don't post everything there, and there are some people who aren't on Facebook.  I was looking back through the old posts a week or so ago and I remembered how fun it was to share different things the boys were doing with everyone ... I need to MAKE time!  So, here's September ... well, end of August and September.  The boys started school on August 31 -- 7th grade and 10th grade.  All three (David, Jonathan and Dad) are now in the same building!  

Both boys are running Cross Country this fall.  This is David's second year as a varsity cross country runner.  So far his season is going very well.  He PR'd (personal record) at the race on 9/23 with an 18:25.  He did very well again at the race on 9/25, with an 18:52.  

Fowler Invitational held at Uncle John's Cider Mill in St. Johns
David is along the right in about the middle.

 The 7th and 8th grade students are only a "club" so they only run about 4 races.  Jonathan ran his first race last Wednesday (9/23) and did very well.  He was the third person in for our team.  He ran his 2 mile race in 15:04 -- that's roughly an 8 minute mile.  Not bad for a 7th grader ... not bad at all!!  Sorry, I don't have any pictures of Jonathan running yet.  I can't make the Wednesday night meets because of work.

David at the Fowler Invitational

If you're interested in "following" how the boys are doing in each race, you can visit www.athletic.net.  You can type their name in the search box at the top and it will show you all their race results, even from past years! (You can find results from any runners in the state ...)

Other than getting back into the swing of the school year schedule and going to cross country meets and football games (to watch the band of course) we haven't been doing a whole lot.  Closed the pool 2 weekends ago :-(  Went camping last weekend :-) and of course the normal work/school, etc.

We hope everyone is enjoying the cooler weather that has finally arrived.  I'm not really ready for cold and snow, but I do like that the humidity has backed off.

Signing off for now ... more in the near future!

~Kati