David doesn’t do “quiet” very well. He loves to start tickle wars (which he NEVER wins), or to otherwise keep things lively. He decided to try to take Sarah down. I don’t think it worked out too well for him. See for yourself.
Category Archives: Video
Reindeer Run 2012
Daniel & David both signed up to run the 5K in the inaugural Reindeer Run put on by Rogers High School. It was a great day for running, with cool temperatures but no rain. We saw many people we knew, including some teachers from Karshner. As is typical before a race, the boys kind of got “in the zone” even though Mom and Dad wanted to talk with them. Then the race started and they took off. As expected, they stayed near the front. Daniel was the sixth overall finisher and David was the 11th. In the 14-and-under age group, they finished… let me try to remember… Oh yeah! FIRST and SECOND!!!
Click the picture above to see more photos. Watch the video that includes a bit of pre-race preparation and the start and finishes.
Daniel Reciting a Poem
Daniel needed to memorize a poem for school. Here he is reciting it. He did a great job!
Santa Parade
Daniel leading the group
This year the boys got to walk in the Puyallup Santa Parade. All the members of the safety patrol (crossing guards) were involved. Daniel got to help carry the school’s banner. The parade was a lot of fun (Grand Marshall Danny Bonaduce for you fans of The Partridge Family). Randy & Sary-Jo enjoyed a latte as the parade went by. Click the photo above to see a few more. Enjoy the brief video of the Karshner group.
Soccer Gathering
Today was the second annual Wolverines vs. Parents soccer match. As with other “new traditions” it improves each year. This year, it included a cookout and pot luck. Also, Janel and Ryan were in town so Ryan represented the parents. Randy served as referee again and we’re pretty sure everybody enjoyed themselves. We got a break in the weather. For the record, the kids won 3-2. David scored a goal off a pass from Daniel as time was expiring.
Click the picture for more. The video below is very brief, but it’s all we took.
Thankful
We have so much for which to be thankful. In fact, I won’t even try to list things here because the list would be incredibly long – yet still incomplete. God has been so good to us and we appreciate His close watch over us. Thanksgiving comes but once a year, but our gratitude is felt every moment of every day.
Janel and Ryan flew up from San Francisco on Wednesday evening. Wednesday night was pie-baking (& cranberry sauce) night. Janel and David baked the pies this year with Randy playing a consulting and training role. Janel is now officially better at pie shells than Randy. We had two pumpkin, one pecan and one coconut cream pie, all of which were amazing!
Thanksgiving day was quiet for most of the morning. Janel helped Randy with the turkey and the stuffing (again – amazing), while Ryan helped out by setting up Randy’s new printer (the old one died while printing Christmas letters). Daniel and David were in and out – alternating between playing and helping get the house ready for company. For dinner, Randy’s parents and Joany, Lauren and Alyssa were here. The 11 of us made a dent in the 25-pound turkey, but were unable to devour the whole thing. After dinner, Julie, Cindy, Jackie (friend), MacKenzie, Mason and Borja (exchange student) arrived for more fun and frivolity. Sarah Skyped in to the room for a while. We turned off the football games and turned on the Wii, had card games running, and a little general mayhem. It was fantastic! A bit later Chris and Carrie came over for a little while. We were blessed by everyone who showed up – thank you to all.
The video below is a brief compilation of games and horseplay – Daniel and Borja get a bit competitive playing Fifa soccer on the Wii (Borja’s player earns a red card) – card games and general visiting. Also, Sarah joined via Skype. Click the picture above to see more.
Veterans Day
I thought we’d take a moment to recognize our veterans. It’s impossible to fully state our appreciation – we are so grateful to God for this amazing country. Occasionally you come across a song and/or video that does a much better job of expressing your feelings than you are able to do on your own. For us, this video fits that bill. Please listen to it and truly thank a vet.
Unique Opportunity
Every once in a while, a person gets to meet someone very special. Daniel and David had that opportunity earlier this month. Lopez Lomong (click here to read his Wikipedia page) is a two-time Olympian for the United States. He was born in Sudan and, as a young boy, captured by soldiers. He and two teen-age boys from his village escaped and ran for three days into Kenya, where he lived in a refugee camp for 10 years. At age 16, he was sponsored into a U.S. family and later became a US citizen. (This is ultra-condensed – you should read his story).
Lomong was in Tacoma and met with the cross country team at Bellarmine. We are fortunate to have connections and our boys were included. As stated earlier, this was a truly memorable meeting for our boys. We just have a few pictures and a bit of video.
Haunted Hustle
The City of Puyallup puts on a 5K (and a 10K) run called the Haunted Hustle. We registered both Daniel & David, but Daniel could not run because he wasn’t feeling well. So… David went out and won the under 14 age group with a time of 20:21! He came back looking like he could have run a lot farther – maybe he should try the 10K next year. As a result of winning his category, he can participate next year without paying the entrance fee. Overall, he finished fifth. What a runner!
Cross Country
Like last year, Daniel and David were able to compete in a cross country racing series conducted at Bellarmine High School in Tacoma. On three consecutive Sundays, they raced against boys in private schools (the series is put on by CYO and includes all private schools in the area). David ran against kids in third- through fifth grades; the course was a little over a mile. Daniel competed with boys in grades six through eight on a course a bit over a mile and a half. In the third race, David considered running with the older kids on the longer course, but he was suffering with a head cold and decided to stick with the shorter course.
David came away with three first-place finishes and plenty of good experiences. Other strong runners congratulated him and he thoroughly enjoyed it. Daniel also enjoyed it, but the competition was much tougher at that level. He had some truly exciting races. In the first race, he finished third and gained some good experience about racing on a tight course. For the second race, he came out with a plan to stay in second for most of the race and then take over first at some point after half-way through. This strategy worked well and he finished first against a very tough competitor. The third race was also exciting, with Daniel using the same strategy. This time, however, the other top runner had a bit more in the tank. Although Daniel did take the lead, he was not able to hold it. He finished in second. After the race, he congratulated the other runner and they got to know each other and show mutual respect. It was a great experience to be part of this competition.
Click the picture above to see more pictures from all three races (all in amazing weather).
The first video is a compilation from David’s races.
The next is from Daniel’s races. It’s a bit long because the entire third race is shown. It’s so exciting that we just couldn’t cut anything out.