Workshop in Colorado Springs

I had a wonderful time in Colorado Springs last weekend. Several of us from Los Alamos made the treck to hear Andrew Kern and learn more about his writing curriculum, the Lost Tools of Writing. If you are interested in more about the worshop, please link on the right to my Finfamclassical page, where I will post my notes. Those of us who rode up together had a wonderful, sweet time of fellowship and sharing. Leslie McCrea hosted us and spoiled us rotten! And Leslie Schwager hosted a Saturday evening soiree afterwards at her home. It was a wonderful time to meet many of my Class-ed (online classical education loop) friends, and, indeed, it was fun to meet Andrew in person after meeting him on Class-ed several years ago. Above is the group that spent Saturday evening toegther discussing ideas and books and faith. From left to right: (sitting) Kris Hollis, Los Alamos; Andrew Kern, NC; (standing) Kelley Baer, Los Alamos; Leslie Schwager, Kathleen Boyd, Debbie Barker, Wilma Lefler CO; Jacqueline Weaver, me, Catherine Daly, Los Alamos; Leslie McCrae, CO.

Notre Dame

The Calvin Knights trounced the competition in the Gold Race at the Notre Dame Invitational on Friday, Septemeber 29. They won with 31 points, and if you had taken their top two finishers (Tim and Harrison) out of it, they would *still* have won! Tim was second over all, and they had all 5 scorers in the top 9! You can see the full results here: http://tinyurl.com/fcofd

This Friday it's off to the Michigan Intercollegiates to run a 4K race. Tim is under the weather this week, so we would appreciate your prayers for a swift recovery!

A Voice Less Vivid

With fear and trembling, I mention that you can hear one cut from Ben's band, A Voice Less Vivid, from their EP CD by the same title (I think). You can also hear a live recording of their parody of "emo" music here:
http://www.purevolume.com/avoicelessvivid

Disclaimer: while some of their music is very nice, you must listen at your own risk. However, if you are familiar with the term "emo" music, their parody of it, "Double-edged Words (A Meal of Sorrow in Three Courses: or How I Learned to Love New Pain, Old Tears and Sour Milk)" is actually very funny! But you have to listen carefully- some of the funniest lines are in the quiet, side comments...

Tim's First MIAA Win of the Year

Tim had another great race Saturday, September 23, at the first of two yearly conference meets. He won the race, with the Men's team sweeping the top 5 places. Way to go Knights! You can read an interesting piece in the Grand Rapids Press here:
http://tinyurl.com/hc7gr

Time with Agur

We enjoyed a special treat when our dear friend, Agur Adams came to visit. He is freshly back from his second tour in Iraq, and is now in California preparing for his third deployment as a 1st Lt. in the Marine Corps First Reconnaisance Battalion. He is a wonderful young man, and we are so grateful for his friendship and service! Above, he is standing betweem Marilyn and Dave on a hike we took to the Valle Caldera, on a misty, cool day in the Jemez Mountains.

Celebrating Marilyn

September brought Marilyn's 80th birthday, and five of her children to New Mexico to celebrate! Pictured above, from left to right: (standing): Paul's wife June, daughter Michelle, Dave's wife Chris, Kathleen's daughter Erika, daughter Kathleen, (sitting:) son Paul, son Terry, Marilyn, son Dave, Kathleen's husband Kirk. We enjoyed visiting, hiking, and shopping in Santa Fe.

Calvin Cross Country: Off and Running!

The Inaugural Calvin Invitational, and the first race of Tim's senior cross-country season, was run last Saturday on the Calvin campus in Grand Rapids. The guys and gals did wonderfully, with both teams winning their events. Tim won the men's race in a time of 24:58, and really enjoyed the run, as can be seen by the smile above as he crossed the finish line. He also got to set the course record, since it was the first running of the event on this course. You can see more about the race, including recaps, results and photos, here:
http://tinyurl.com/nen3o
And you can see an article about the team from the Grand Rapids Press here:
http://tinyurl.com/ls8uw