Don't Waste Your Time on This One!

Well, it was dinner and a movie for us on Halloween instead of handing out candy. We never have kids down here, or not enough to warrant buying candy.......we just eat the leftovers so we opted out of Trick or Treating. (Glad to see when we got home that the house had not been egged like it was last year!)

Dinner was Sweet Tomatoes.....I love the long line of salad bar. They have my favorite salad topping - jicama! Tom said I built quite the masterpiece tonight. I try to get a big enough salad so I am too full for much of the other stuff afterward.

Movie was a dollar movie called "WALL-E". It was so bad that I fell asleep and Brandon was bored. Tells you how little there is out there worth watching.....so, if you think about going to see it......don't waste your time!

Oh, yeah.....we did get John Adams from Netflix and finished it last night. Loved the first few episodes about the Revolutionary War but then it got a little dreary and depressing. Were things really that bad for them?

That is it from the movie critic.....for this week.

Best Time Yet!

Brandon had three goals for the Manatee County CC meet..........1) Beat his best personal time, 2) enough points for a varsity letter and 3) place in the top 25. He reached two of the three......his best time of the season running 20:20 knocking 35 seconds off his best time (20:55). He placed 5th of the 6 on the LRHS team which gave him two points for the meet......and enough for his varsity letter as a freshman!!

The third goal was a little lofty but good effort was made..........he placed 37th of 43. Winning time was 17:18 so he has a little more work to do. Coach Thomas has been really pleased with Brandon's efforts this season and has been sure to let us know. Way to go Brandon!!

Here are a few photos from the meet at G T Bray. Next meet is Wednesday, Nov 5th in Largo FL, north of St. Petersburg and is the district meet.

Warm-up before the race began

Boys Varsity teams from Manatee county lined up at the starting line.......LRHS on the far left. Nathan Whitehead from Bradenton 2nd Ward is wearing a blue uniform two teams to the right of LRHS.....he and Brandon had a chance to hang out before the race and during the awards ceremony afterward.

Start of the race......notice the stop watch!! Timers came over and stood right in front of me
And they're off!! Notice the muscles......no fat on this boy! Brandon has been working out!
Brandon flew past me in a group and I didn't see him until he had gone by.....look for jersey #18.
Mile 2......

Heading toward the finish line and movin' fast!!
Catching their breath and relaxing after the race.

Soggy Course for CC Meet

Brandon is quite the trooper! He ran varsity this weekend at G. T. Bray park on a wet course. It had rained all night and was trying to rain when we arrived. We stopped to get bottled water on the way and I decided to get an umbrella........which was a good idea as it kept me dry from the water dripping from the trees overhead.

GT Bray park is huge and the area where they run the CC meets is really pretty with lots of overhanging trees. (Tom said these trees are like the ones in the Tarzan movies which were filmed nearby.) Brandon ran this course last year with the 8th grade team so he knew what to expect from the course.

Since the family photographer had another assignment from church, I was the designated photographer ........and the settings on the camera were off so the photos came out a little blurry......or was Brandon just running too fast for me to catch him?

His time was 21:19 which was not far from his best time....but it was wet, there were puddles and his shoes were a little heavy with the water. I watched him come around the last curve going to the finish line and see two guys nudge him over. They also had microchips attached to each tennis shoe so the time clock would register their time as they crossed the finish line. Brandon doesn't much care for the chips as one of his slid up during the race and cut into his ankle causing some pain for awhile until it finally went numb.

After the race, Coach Thomas said Brandon has had a great season thus far. He is having him run varsity the rest of the season......which is county meet on Wednesday this week, district meet on Nov. 5th and regional meet if they make it that far.

Brandon won the coaches choice award for the week.......the only boys team member to get it twice this year. Each time Coach had asked Brandon to do something, push a little harder or whatever, he did it. Way to go Brandon!!!!!

Here are a few photos.......I will take more on Wednesday at the same spot and see if I get better results......unless the real photographer goes with me!

From Worst to First......go Rays!!!

Yee Haw!!!!! We are going to the World Series!! (not literally....I only wish we had tickets!)

Everyone in the Tampa area, which includes us, are ecstatic over the Rays winning the ALCS and getting to play in the World Series. You can bet if they win the series, we will be in Tampa for the parade!

They have been so much fun to watch and never cease to amaze us.....best part is they beat Boston! Yippee.....we don't have to listen to their fans all winter long (obnoxious winners for the most part).

So, if you want to talk to us this week.....call anytime, except during game time. We will be watching and cheering our team.

Double Time at McIntosh!!

Most of you have already heard about Brandon's last race but I thought I would post the photos and info for the ones who haven't. It was a beautiful day....and a hot one for running. Brandon could have run varsity but opted for JV wanting to place in the top 10. This unfortunately, didn't happen as this course was harder than last week's and per Coach Thomas, not a good one for trying to PR.

Brandon keeps getting better times than some of the varsity runners and will be running varsity the remainder of the season as Coach wants to run 6 on the team instead of 5. His time this week 22:35. Here are photos of the event:

Pre-race warm-ups and stretching with the JV team.

First you go this way........then you go that way.......

At the starting line......

And across the field they go......instead of "where's Waldo". where's Brandon? I will send you chocolate from Kilwin's if you can find him! (However, I am not even sure I got him in the picture!)Lap # 1......All alone on lap # 2

Heading to the finish line....

As if one race wasn't enough, Brandon and two teammates (plus little sister) ran the course again (as a cool down!!) in the open race. Good job BJ!

Oh, yeah, we didn't go to Dutch Heritage for breakfast......he needed a bath and wanted to sleep!

This Week's Race

Brandon will be racing this week......good thing we got a new schedule! I thought he had the weekend off and could sleep in. No such luck!

This race is close by at McIntosh Middle School. We are glad it is a close drive. Brandon is glad it is close.....to Dutch Heritage Restaurant for Saturday morning breakfast buffet! (He is always looking ahead to the next meal.) I am sure he can eat after the race.....but not sure they will let him in. He will smell a little 'fresh' after his run! :-)

Congrats to Brandon for getting the Split Award for the second time with a time of 39 seconds. The split award winner for the girls team was a freshman also......and she took first in the race for the varsity girls. Go Freshmen!!

Up to Speed with Brandon

With a legacy left by older siblings, Brandon has kept up the tradition of running. Actually, he started 'running' when he was 9 months old.......when his first steps were running instead of walking. And I don't think he has ever slowed down, except to sleep and eat!

The middle schools here started an 'extramural' program which included cross-country and track. Brandon participated in both during 7th and 8th grades giving him a feel for running with a team and what to expect from an actual meet. The team worked with a coach from the middle school and once a week help from the high school coaches. This got Brandon introduced to the LRHS boys CC coach through the girls coach, Mary Quinn.

At sports orientation the week before school started this fall, Brandon met Coach Thomas......who was already excited to have Brandon on the team thanks to Coach Quinn's buildup! They started practice the first day of school and haven't missed since......running in rain, heat and oh.....no cold here, so no snow to report!

First meet was Intrasquad to see where they stood against one another. Since Brandon was playing hooky from school (thanks to Lindsay and Bryan) and missed a week of running, his time was a little high......26:46.

Second meet was the Jamboree at Siesta Beach which was sponsored by a local high school but open to the community. I don't know about you, but my trips to the beach do not include running! His time improved to 24:03.

Third meet was the first actual meet for the high schools, the Venice Invitational (where Cindel and Matt went on their honeymoon). His time improved again to 21:46 and he was first for the LRHS JV team. This netted him a pin (to go on a varsity letter) given by the coaches for the most improved runner for the week. He also got the "split award" for keeeping the most consistent pace during the race that week.



















































This photo was taken after the race.......didn't get a finish photo as Brandon beat us there! The other guy is Nathan Whitehead, a member of our ward in Bradenton and friend to Brandon and Chase. Even though he is wearing a shirt from a different school, we still like him!

Next race was in North Port.....about an hour south of here and where Charley went through 4 years ago. Brandon had set a goal to break 21 minutes......and he reached his goal! His time for this meet was 20:55. He also ran with the varsity team on this race.

Yesterday the race was at Lemon Bay High in Englewood (south of Venice). It was one of the slowest courses the team will run.......due to mud, grass and shell paths with no asphalt or concrete. Now we are really running 'cross-country'!!! Even though his time was 21:06, he beat the time of two LRHS varsity runners and came in 14th for the JV race out of 120 runners. All the runner's times (except one) for his team were slower by a minute or more.....Brandon was only 11 seconds slower so he still improved!

We will be watching for the coaches newsletter update given after practice on Monday.........Brandon needs 8 points to get a varsity letter and had 4 after the North Port race. He will get at least one for running in Englewood and possibly another for his placement for the team. He has a good chance to letter as a freshman!!

Next week the girls are the only ones to run so he has a Saturday off.......no slacking on practice however! Meets for the boys resume on the 18th so look for an update then!!

Bitten by the Blogger Bug

Letter writing has almost become a thing of the past. Email is great, much quicker than letters but takes a while to compose an event filled email. Keeping up with replies, short or not, can be time consuming. Keeping everyone updated with news and events by sending a 'blast' to all on the list is impersonal at best. Sending photos via email can be difficult as there are size limitations for some, browser limitations for others. Newsletters are great but file size is again a problem......and they are usually outdated by the time you finish composing.

So, how to best get it all in? How do we keep keep in touch with so many miles between us all, so many of us to keep up with and kids growing so fast? Technology.......

Ok, I admit it. I am a bit of a slow learner with technology. I have heard about blogs for some time but didn't really know what they were. (I have a folder full of email specifically about blogging.......to read someday when I have time!) Thanks to Melissa and Lindsay, blog usefulness has quickly become apparent.

So, this is a stab at writing again......but with photos and current family events added to the story as we fill you in on...........another day in paradise!