ACA Cross-Country Meet

Our defending state champion cross-country team hosted a 19-school meet this afternoon... the video shows the finish to the girls 5K, with our Whitney Thornburg crossing the line (in 4th place individually) at 19:58 to lead our squad to first place overall!

The latest from "down under":
Hey Daddy...

The experience is still good... but my computer just gave it's last breath. I emailed all my hi tech friends to see what I can do, and one of them didn't even recognize the model. Haha, i guess computers age faster than dogs, and I might as well be working with floppys. :(

I'm on my bosses computer now, which means I'm not completely disconnected, but I did have my first wave of homesickness/ cry about the computer. I mean, I really got my daily encouragement from emails and sigh, yes, even facebook.

So I'm saving up for a netbook. That's sad because I wanted to start saving for a macbook, but the more i look at netbooks, besides the fact that it's painfully sad not to have photoshop and illustrator- my design programs... it really is what i need. It's a stripped down computer that's mainly for internet. So yeah, they run around 500-600$ (!! which is great!!) and so I should have the money by the end of next week. Sorry if I'm not a regular emailer until then. :(

I love you very very much. Looking forward to being back up and running in a couple weeks!
love you
Kara

The Hampton Park Game

As you can tell from this video... we had a bit of a wind storm this afternoon; didn't slow our boys one bit... they had an excellent game in besting Hampton Park 7-1.
P.S. Cheerleaders are somewhat of a novelty on the sideline of a soccer game... just had to include them.

Sunday, September 27th

Kara just posted a few pictures she took of her brother during our 3-2 victory over Westchester Academy (September 11). Both Tim and his good friend Jared had "shaddows" (men marking them everywhere they went as in the photo) in that game and they still both managed to score!They play Hampton Park tomorrow 5:00 @ACA. Free admission... come on out!

Saturday, September 26th

Tim and I went on a "college visit" to UNC-Asheville... he's interested in their Mechatronics program and a spot on their soccer team. Mechatronics is the combination of Mechanical, Electrical, Computer & Systems Design Engineering to create useful products. Here's one of the robots they showed us; it is designed to be able to move in any direction without having to turn/aim its wheels... quite impressive.More from Kara!:

Daaadddd-
Oh man, I love it so far. Today I helped out in the garden a little and then biked 10.3 miles! I got a little lost on the way back from the beach. I think I might even get in shape... that feeling of biking and sweating and then all of a sudden everything opening up to the aquamarine Indian Ocean as far as the eye can see ;).

I also am *considering* training for this swimming race from the shore to an island off of the coast. I LOVE swimming out in the ocean, but get pretty scared when it gets deep... i think it would be fun to have a bunch of people close by because I wouldn't be as scared to be out swimming... plus there are boats and everything with little rest stops. Some people do it in teams so that could be cool, I just don't know if ill make friends by the entry date (my birthday!)
http://www.rottnestchannelswim.com.au/content/event

I'd have to complete a qualifying swim of 10k... I'm still a pretty strong swimmer, and there is a pool here and I'd have 5 months to train... what do you think?

Welp, love you a lot.
miss you
kara

Spartanburg Day

We needed a game like today... a seven goal shutout where everyone got plenty of playing time... good for team morale. Spartanburg Day was the only team we had not played in our conference, where we are now in first place with a record of 6-1 (12-2 overall). Next game: Monday 5:00 @ACA v Hampton Park.



I've been missing this little gal down in Florida... she's not 12 time zones away and in the southern hemisphere (like the other girl in my life), but sometimes it feels that way!

Thursday, September 24th

This was the scene in the "man cave" @11:03... no school tomorrow for these four, so Tim called for a senior soccer player sleep-over... they're just getting going...Kara sent a precious letter sharing some of her first experiences with her host family... in her words:

Hey Dad!

It's been crazy... I dont even know what day it is! Okay, that's a lie, it's 8:55am on Friday. So weird!

I love it so far. I get along great with Crea (3), the oldest. She's adorable, and woke me up this morning by jumping on the bed. Which I didn't mind, surprisingly ;). She picked out my clothes but told me to wear my pants... when I put on my jeans, she said, "NO! Those are trousers, silly!!" Pants are shorts, I guess.

So it is essentially babysitting in a different language. Crea wanted her hair done 'in bubbles' yesterday. 'Eggy bread' is french toast... I'm learning slowly. :)

Yesterday Molly (1) made a mess and I asked Crea where the paper towels were. "Toilet rope?" she asked. uh... I guess that's what they call toilet paper...

I'm having a ball- Today I'm opening a bank account, which will be modest to say the least ;).
Well, I love and miss you!!!
Kara

Wednesday, September 23rd

Kara called this morning to report that she had arrived safely in Perth... landed in a sand storm in Sydney (said the passengers erupted in grateful applause once they were on the runway)... only the first of many adventures, I am sure!

Something new at ACA this year: Montreat College is offering a couple of classes on our campus... what a blessing for our students to have the opportunity to earn college credit while still in high school. These eight are taking "Public Speech and Rhetorical Analysis."

Rabun Gap Game Two

We played like a team that hadn't practiced in a week, losing 2-0 to a team we beat 3-1 on the road; granted, Rabun Gap is a very good team, but we definitely came out flat, and that cannot happen if we are going to make a run at the state championship.

On a lighter note, I just got pictures back that were taken on the Upper School Rafting Trip (September 12th)... pictured is the crew of our craft (yes, that's Grace on the far right) after two hours on the Nantahala River...

Monday, September 21st

The guys hadn't touched a soccer ball since last Tuesday's game... that and the wet field made for a pretty sloppy practice, but hopefully we'll be ready by tomorrow afternoon to take on the only team in our conference within a game of us at this point in the season
(Rabun Gap 4:30 @ACA)

Kara just texted us saying "I'm on the plane!" and that she'll call when she lands in LA... she won't be in Perth until Wednesday (Western Australian time)

Sunday, September 20th

Today is the 81st anniversary of my dad's "arrival" as the first son of Gustaf "Gus" and Hermina "Min" Kynast... he was the first of his branch of the family to be "born in the USA", and to go to college (he earned degrees in Civil Engineering from NYU and Harvard); he and my mom raised five kids (of whom I am the oldest), delighted in spending time with us, our spouses and their 12 grandkids (he is shown holding #11 Nicholas, son of my little brother Mike). Dad left us one year before Lana... miss you, Dad!
Kara flies out tomorrow afternoon (Atlanta-Los Angeles-Sydney-Perth) and arrives Wednesday morning... talk about a long trip!

Saturday, September 19th

We got to watch the long-awaited Gator showdown with Tennessee from our hotel room in Atlanta... not much of a game, but the home team did win as expected. Kara leaves for Australia on Monday, so we're spending the weekend with her... return flight is scheduled for May 18, 2010 (11 days before Tim's high school graduation)!

Upper School Retreat - Day 3

My crew had two assignments this morning, both involving clean-up... this one at the Black Mountain Fire/Police Department...the other at our base camp.

Upper School Retreat - The Zip Lines

A popular choice on this retreat... lots of fun!

Upper School Retreat - Day 2

My team's morning assignment was to New City, an inner-city Christian school started and run by ACA parents!The afternoon saw us painting, shoveling dirt, folding t-shirts and learning all little about the printing business at Mountain Graphics...Here are my 11 after a full-day of service to our community... ready for a little R&R!

Upper School Retreat - The Giant Slide

This is Sydney Ledford riding the last leg of the "giant slide"...

Upper School Retreat - The Blob

There's plenty to do during our "down time"... for those unfamiliar with this particular attraction, it's called "the blob"... the act of sending someone flying (as in the video) is called "blobbing"...

Upper School Retreat - Day 1

Sophomores loading up for the short drive to Camp Rockmont, our base of operations for this year's service retreat... students have chosen to target our "Jerusalem and Judea"...Projects are assigned by chapel small groups... mine is a dozen strong. Front row (L2R) Natalie, Mattie, Claire, Caroline, Sydney; back row: GK, Kate, Adam, Cody, Jordan, Jesse, Zeb (hiding)Assignments varied, here Matt, Daniel & Allison did a little yard work at the Presbyterian Home for Children.Feeding 210 people is nothing new for the Camp Rockmont staff...My group got to spend some time sharing and praying with Zeb's grandmother, Frances Shelton.


The ladies managed to put together this pyramid at the end of our workday...

The Carolina Day Game - 2nd Post

Tim has scored most of his goals this season with his head and had a beauty to tie the game at one ten minutes into the second half... don't have video of that goal, but I do have footage of this nice shot and save a couple of minutes later...

The Carolina Day Game

I did it... finally caught video of Tim scoring a goal! It was his 10th of the year, and capped the scoring on our second 3-1 come-from-behind victory of this season. The win puts us at 11-1 overall (5-0 and in the driver's seat in conference). We're taking the whole high school on a three-day-retreat beginning tomorrow, so we don't play again until next Tuesday's home game against Rabun Gap...

The Asheville High Game

The Asheville High captain holding his chin slotted home the game winner with 4 minutes to play breaking the scoreless tie and knocking us from the ranks of the undefeated... hopefully, we gained some knowledge that will help us tomorrow afternoon against our conference rival Carolina Day; we are both still unbeaten (vs 2A teams) in the CAA (Game time 4:30 @ACA)Today's starting line-up: (L2R) Joe, Sammy, Thomas, Andrew, Jared, Tim, Harrison, Jonathan, Steven, Daniel, Garrett (Philip was home sick and the defense played exceptionally well without its captain)

Saturday-Sunday, September 12-13

Such a blessing to have Grace with us this weekend... God continues to knit our hearts together as we seek His wisdom for the decisions we have before us this year.

Friday, September 11th

The guys have pushed their record to 10-0 with a 3-2 victory over previously-undefeated Westchester... finishing off the brutal 8 day stretch are games against Asheville High (Mon 7:00 @AHS) & conference rival Carolina Day (Tues 4:30 @ACA)

Thursday, September 10th

The boys took care of business against Shannon Forest 5-2, and are ready to put their 9-0 record on the line tomorrow afternoon against cross-state rival Westchester Academy, also currently undefeated... should be a great game (5:30 Friday @ACA)!

Wednesday, September 9th

It has been 17 months to the day since Lana left... missing her will always be with me; spending time with our kids the way I have the past five days will forever remind and make me thankful for her investment in our lives. Here's a picture of the rest of her family taken on her brother Mitch's wedding day May 30th of this year: (L2R) niece Katie, her favorite (and only) sibling, sister-in-law Heather, mom & step-dad Laurie...

The Asheville School Game

Wish I had video of Tim's second goal in this afternoon's 4-1 victory... it was a beaut... a rocket off his forehead to the top left corner of the net; Cristiano Ronaldo would've been proud of that one! I'm thankful he was even able to play today; his right hamstring has been really tight, rendering it hard to sprint or strike the ball hard with his right foot... I told him before the game that he should look for opportunities to score with his head (both his goals were headers and he clanged another off the crossbar... who says teenagers don't listen to their parents?). So, basically, he played his best game of the season... could it have been the fact that his sister was there to watch?
I took this picture at our preseason scrimmage with Reynolds when he was at 100%

Labor Day

No school today, but we did have practice... the team has five games in the next eight days... a brutal stretch that will have much to say about where we get ranked in the playoffs... Tim is still nursing that pulled hammy, and may not play tomorrow @Asheville School.

Sunday, September 6th

Just a nice, relaxing Sunday looking forward to the additional day of rest afforded us by the observance of "Labor Day"... Kara was probably the most industrious of the three of us (shown here going through her "stuff", in preparation for her adventure in Australia). Tim is nursing a pulled hamstring; I got to do a little reading and had a nice long phone conversation with my friend in Jacksonville... it has been four weeks since I have seen her; definitely too long!

Gator Game Day

Having to put in a few hours "at the office" (ACA's Parent Partners Academy), I couldn't resist showing a little pride in my alma mater (as they got ready to begin their defense of their national football championship this evening)... the game ended up being a 62-3 blowout of Charleston Southern; the first real game is against Tennessee in two weeks!

Kara's home through next Friday... trying to spend a little time together before she heads "down under"!

The Rabun Gap Game

This is a team that we had never beaten before this game... and we never trailed in this one! Thomas George opened the scoring by slamming home a gorgeous feed from Sammy Feinberg ten minutes into the game; we went up 2-0 in the second half on a Jared Robinson breakaway off a brilliant through ball from Andrew Johnson; after the home team cut our lead in half on a penalty kick with 20 minutes remaining, Sammy Feinberg scored unassisted to ice the game. The Lions are now 7-0 and ranked #2 in the state in our division!

Thursday, September 3rd

One of the really fun parts of my day is getting to have lunch with all our new students. Here with a pair of 7th graders (Will and Josh) and catching action of last night's game against Polk County, and one of their classmates (Taylor) serving for the point...

All-School Chapel

Four or five times a year we have an "All-School Chapel"... 563 students aged 4-18 gathered together for worship, fellowship and prayer; also one of the few opportunities the older students get to spend quality time with their younger counterparts...

First Conference Game

No one remembers the last time we beat Christ School... with 15 minutes left in the game (and trailing 1-0) it looked as if we might have to wait a bit longer to see our boys do so... ten minutes and three goals later we were cruising to an exciting 3-1 victory on the road. Here's a picture of today's starting line-up, that admittedly came out "a little flat" this afternoon. Standing L2R: Steven, TK, Joe, Harrison, Jonathan, Sammy, Jared. Squatting L2R: Thomas, Philip, Andrew and Alan.
Next up is three-time defending conference champion Rabun Gap
Friday 5:00 at their place...

Monday, August 31st

Still trying to catch video of Tim scoring a goal... thought I had one here, but at 6'3" he wasn't quite tall enough for this cross at last Saturday's game... Tomorrow we take on a tough conference opponent in Christ School; when we played at their place last year we were down a goal early; Tim scored to knot the score in the second half... should be a good one (free admission 4:30 @CS)!