Holiday Start-Up

We don't usually like to start thinking about Christmas until Thanksgiving has passed, but because of our schedules, our options were either to start decorating in late November, or in mid December. And because the kids are into it, we opted for the earlier start.

Some housekeeping items:

Gas has even gotten lower than this!

I had some breakfast time with the kids at Giant Eagle on my day off. We played I SPY from the upper level of the grocery story. Lots to see!

The Old Trail School autumn program was a week ago, and Lincoln participated in the K-2 show. They broke up into small groups and performed Carnival Of The Animals, and it was really cute.

I've been logging some miles lately. The FitBit has done its job of keeping me on task and focused on fitness, and it's pushed me off my previous beaten path into some pretty beautiful areas of the national park less than 10 minutes from the house. (The photos are all from my iPhone.)

In conclusion, I'd like to point out just how interesting it is this year that all of a sudden, we're not, according to Big Media, to view the Pilgrims as evil white men who came to America to commit genocide and spread disease, but rather to take a lesson from both them and the native Americans as the first example of accepting refugees on these shores. There is a certain segment of America that never misses an opportunity to politicize what ought to be an innocuous national holiday, even if today's narrative contradicts their narrative of the past. Clearly I've given a glimpse into my own views on this matter here, but I'll leave it simply with this:

There are so many blessings that we enjoy that I cannot list them all here. Suffice it to say, though, that on this day (and every day), Jenn and I are thankful for each other, our family, the ability to work in areas that bring us enjoyment, and the ability to enjoy fun times as a result of the blessings of our work. We're thankful for a good church home, as well as for friendships, new and old. We wish you a happy Thanksgiving.

(Now bring on Christmas!)

Mid-November Catch-Up

Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve experienced…

Henry’s Symbol Breakfast at Old Trail School. A big part of the development program among the 4-5 year olds is the use of their symbol. Because the kids aren’t yet reading, they each choose a symbol to represent them, and they use the symbol in many ways during the school day. Henry’s symbol is a set of binoculars, and we made a special sweatshirt for him.

Recently Lydia informed us that she doesn’t get as much play time on the playground on Fridays because she’s “busy solving everybody’s problems.”

We finished the Summit Metro Parks Fall Hiking Spree, discovered a number of really neat hiking trails in the area, and we each earned our hiking sticks. And one of my new favorite follows on Facebook is Summit Metro Parks with their sharing of many good professional and amateur nature photographers.

Henry’s fifth Birthday came, and we now officially have a pair of five-year-olds in the house.

We didn’t have a Halloween Party last year ‘cause we were at Disney, but we returned to the tradition this year, and we had a blast doing it. Jenn’s Minion cake was my personal favorite part of the party.

We watched as Haley played her last home match at Bowling Green. It was fun to see her play here and there over the past four years. It'll be something The Nuggets remember for a long time.

Last home match for a great @bgsuwsoccer captain, @haleyparkinson. #soccer A photo posted by @rggates on Oct 25, 2015 at 10:16am PDT

And between interacting with Old Trail or Buckeyes fans during games, I've been having fun with Instagram & Twitter. Here are some fun ones...

A photo posted by @rggates on Oct 8, 2015 at 5:41pm PDT A photo posted by @rggates on Sep 23, 2015 at 5:25am PDT This may be the last nice day of the season for #running. #cvnp #fitbit #mizuno #indiansummer #autumn A photo posted by @rggates on Nov 5, 2015 at 10:52am PST

5 Years Old

We're into the Summit County Metroparks Fall Hiking Spree! Working toward our hiking sticks.

And this pretty girl had a birthday. 5 YEARS OLD!!!

All Fired Up

Catch-up time with photos. We've had some good times lately, from hiking w/ Gretel, to our first Wednesday morning off with the kids in school, to a clinic trip to All Fired Up.
Jenn has been keeping busy with veterinary work on Monday mornings, home work on Tuesday mornings, either home work on Wednesday mornings when I work or hiking/running with me on my off mornings, Womens' Bible Study at church on Thursday mornings, and volunteering in the Old Trail School Library on Friday morning. Free time? There's no free time here.

And in the evenings, we've been planning our family vacations for the next 12 or so years as we work to get the kids to all 50 states. It's a challenge that we're taking on excitedly, and it's looking like Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, and Glacier National Parks along with the Northwest Passage through Idaho are on the agenda for 2016. These kids will be well rounded and educated about our nation if Jenn and I are successful.

Finger Lakes Region

Here's some more from our Anniversary Weekend getaway to Mountain Horse Farm B&B and the Finger Lakes Region in New York.

On our way, we stopped at Letchworth State Park and hiked between the waterfalls, and it's easy to see why Letchworth is such a popular place.

While I was looking forward to night photography and practicing with other techniques, this is what Jenn was excited about in the mornings:

Usually, Jenn and I hike lots of miles on our marriage-builder get-aways, but this was a bit different. With an abundance of wineries around in addition hot weather, we took things a bit slower and visited 5 wineries:

• Ravines Wine Cellars
• McGregor
• Atwater Estate
• Dr. Frank
• Hunt Country

Each of them had their unique twists. We really liked the reds at Atwood, and McGregor had a cool setup for tasting, and Hunt Country was very cozy and friendly with very good varieties, including a sherry we enjoyed.

As the year nears an end, Jenn and I were reminiscing about all the cool and different places we've been this year: Zion, New River Gorge, Hilton Head Island, Hocking Hills, Finger Lakes... American is a pretty cool place.