Archive for the ‘Family – Emma’ Category

April 27, 2013 – Prom

I’m a little late with prom photos, but here is prom circa 2013.

 

 

 

 

April 15, 2013 – Emma State Champion – Check!

Emma said one of her goals in high school was to be on a state championship team.  Today, her team won the Iowa Envirothon championship.  The photo and story below are from a press release from the school.  Emma’s contribution was to envision a rotational grazing plan for 186 acres of pasture.

Marshalltown High School is once again the state Envirothon champion.

MHS Team 1, comprised of juniors Abby Snyder, Adam Willman and Ilene Finn and seniors Joe Metzger and Emma Runquist placed first at the state contest Monday, April 15, at Springbrook State Park in Guthrie Center. The team placed first in Wildife and Oral Presentation categories, placing overall ahead of Des Moines FFA by 3.75 points.

The title earns them a trip to the North American championship this summer in Bozeman, Montana.

Sixteen teams competed at the state competition, and about 60 teams competed at statewide regional competitions. The contest consisted of four outdoor stations covering forestry, wildlife, soils, and aquatics as well as a 15-minute oral presentation on this year’s current issue of range-land management.

 

March 1, 2013 – Visiting Gustavus Adolphus and Luther College

It’s been a busy couple of weekends wrapping up Emma’s college selection activities. Last weekend is was off to Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, and this week at Gustavus Adolphus college in St. Peter Minnesota. It is hard not to compare the events since they were so close together in time.

Emma will not make her decision (and it is her decision), until she gets the final aid offers from the schools still on her list – Iowa State, Luther, Gustavus, and St. Olaf. Since she has a strong interest in science and music, it seemed like Lutheran schools on hills fit the bill!

For full disclosure, I have many reasons for liking her decision whatever it may be.
Iowa State – Both Linda and I are alums, Linda with her Ph.D. and me with my M.A.

St. Olaf – Of all the schools we visited, I’m most impressed with the visit experience and facilities.

Luther – All of our kids (Martin this year) have spent numerous weeks at the summer music camp there and the trout streams are a bonus!

Gustavus – Important folks from my younger days, including Marianne K, whose house I lived in during college, and Annette Boman, outstanding friend, scientist, and mother who was taken from us much too early were Gusties, decades apart.

The visit to Luther exceeded my expectations.  Emma was invited there for “Scholar Days” to interview for the school’s “Imagine Fellowship.”  The day did a great job of “showing” us the school rather than “telling” us about it.  The day of the usual sessions was interspersed with heartwarming musical performances by the students.  Emma was able to visit the cadaver lab and attend a session on the physiology of running, while I went to a more traditional session on study abroad and a presentation in the planetarium by a physics instructor.  Students and faculty were front and center throughout the day, and perhaps the most brilliant stroke was our discovery that at the assigned seats for lunch, all the prospective students at our table were all high school XC runners AND thinking about pre-health professions.  Wow, everybody here is just like me!

At Gustavus, Emma was interviewing for the highest academic scholarship.  It was a more traditional visit day, with more “telling” than “showing” with perhaps the lowlight of the visit a talk by the college President, Jack Ohle.  Part of his remarks included telling us about the Gustavus “brand” along with the focus groups and process that went into creating the “brand.”  Suddenly, I felt like I had been reduced to a pawn in an advertising contest.  Like that of a carbonated beverage or political campaign, the message was finely crafted to be what I wanted to hear, at least until the current brand doesn’t work and it is “re-branded.”  Be that as it may, the school is also full of dedicated staff and faculty along with engaging students (in my eyes much more important to care and nurture those important elements, rather than “branding.”). One of the highlights for Emma was when I dragged her to a table with a couple of staff members from a session I had attended and we had an engaging conversation about current social justice issues.

Now Emma waits by the mailbox for the rest of her information to make her decision.  She’s eager to know what next year brings to her!

 

 

February 2, 2013 – Emma at Cyclone Honor Band

Emma invited to Cyclone honor Band at Stephens Auditorium in Ames. Check!

Up front to right of podium.

February 1, 2013 – Baked Alaska!

It’s cold and hard to do much outside, so what better  than throw some ice cream in the oven at 425 degrees.

Martin and Emma made a Baked Alaska recently.  This the finished product, seconds before slicing it open.

First step is to make a cake, throw it in the freezer, then top it with ice cream.

Then as quickly as you can, cover it with a thick coating of meringue.

Finally, throw it into the oven to cook the meringue. Voila!  The ice cream in the middle remains frozen and the dish that sounds impossible comes out of the oven!

December 1, 2012 – Emma’s Days at Drake Honor Band

Emma spent all day Friday and Saturday rehearsing for an honor band at Drake University.

The music was spectacular (Emma is in first row 2nd from left).  There were nice selections and top-notch players from across the state.

After the show, it was off to a Vietnamese restaurant to top off the evening.

October 23, 2012 – Emma’s XC Season Wraps Up

Even thought she battled through a number of injuries, Emma’s X-C season ended tonight.  She was happy to letter and be elected a captain of the team.

I know this shot is from track, but it’s a teaser of what some of her graduation pictures will be – this one is in the track stands with the roundhouse in the distance.  I love this photo as it captures Emma’s track season of disappointment and determination.

October 20, 2012 – Emma at World Food Prize

After attending the Iowa World Food Prize symposium at Iowa State for students in Iowa, Emma was selected to be part of the Global Youth Institute as part of the World Food Prize activities.  Emma had a great few days where she was able to rub elbows with many global leaders working on food issues.  Her roommate was from Tanzania, she had lunch with the Mexican Undersecretary of Agriculture, and listened to many discussions and approaches to solving world hunger.

At the culmination of the youth portion of the conference, the students are broken up into groups of about 10, present their research papers to each other and an expert panel. In Emma’s case the panel included the grand-daughter of Normal Borlaug, currently serving at Texas A & M, and Dr. Surinder Vasal, 2000 World Food Prize Laureate.  After presenting their papers and answering question from the panel an other students, the students are tasked to find themes that run through the papers and come up with a three-minute presentation to the assembled students, their teachers, former Laureates and other international scientists and researchers.  They also select a spokesperson to speak on behalf of the group.  Not surprising to me, Emma’s gentle leadership led her to the podium to speak.

Emma with another student from her school that also was selected to speak for her group (not surprising as she is a veteran of two national speech competitions!)

Finally Emma greatly appreciated the words of this year’s laureate, Daniel Hillel, pioneer of micro drip irrigation (who refused monetary reward for his systems, designs, or techniques).  Emma called him a “Lovable Grandpa.”  Here are just a few comments from his address:

“My joy at receiving this award is tempered by the realization that the work it recognizes is far from complete. Despite all obstacles, there are already hopeful signs of progress. We must build upon and enhance these beginning in the interest of insuring long term harmony of the community of life in our one and only planet.”

“The Midwest is the breadbasket for the United States, for North America and it is in many ways the breadbasket of the world. It’s helping to feed the world and yet there is room for improvement. We must be concerned over our resources, the proper use of resources, the sustainable use of resources, the cooperative use of resources. We share the atmosphere, we share the oceans, we share water resources. We share the future of the world.”

For over 40 years, Dr. Hillel has sounded the alarm that climate change could reduce the amount of rainfall in already dry environments – warning of possible food shortages while developing innovations that help to feed a growing population.

October 7th, 2012 – Chickens to the Freezer

Today we were grateful most of our chickens made it safely to maturity (unlike the 10 turkeys this year who all perished by deformed leg problems, storm, or dog).

Martin hauls the chickens to the killing cones, where I deftly make a cut on the side of the neck where they bleed out.

Next, it’s a few dips in about 150 degree water. The chickens are ready to scald when wing feathers pull out easily.

The chickens before the plucker spins.

About 30 seconds later, most of the feathers are gone.

Then the chickens go to a different pair of hands for cleaning and later cutting up into meal-sized portions.  I wouldn’t say it’s a particularly fun day, but it is rewarding have control of the chickens from chick to freezer  - knowing how they’ve lived and been processed.

September 1, 2012 – Emma’s Healthy!

Emma’s healthy for once!  Between stubborn ankle problems and fighting a concussion, her previous track and cross-country seasons have been incomplete.

This year she’s on the starting line, happy to be running varsity.

This week-end’s meet was at Central College in Pella, a good excuse to stop at the bakery for some Dutch letters!

August 23, 2012 – Barnfam Photos

With Claire home only a few days between her summer at Wolf Ridge on the Superior coast and starting school, we thought we should try to get a few family photos.

First, the big picture.

The family.

The offspring.

August 21, 2012 – First Day of School

In the family tradition of first day of school with dog pictures, here’s version 2012.

Martin and Daisy.

Emma and Maizie.

Group shot.

August 19, 2012 – Last Day at the Aquatic Center

Today was the last day of the season at the aquatic center as school starts this week.

I thought I better get a shot of Emma at one of her posts, before the summer ends.  Here she’s at top of the high tube slide.

Just a few minutes after this shot, the pool was closed due to the impending thunderstorm.

August 10, 2012 – Emma’s Running Pals

Emma hosted her Cross-Country team to a sleepover.

Here’s part of the team, some couldn’t make it and others arrived after dark.

One of the beauties of living in the country is the outrageous bonfires that happen fairly regularly.

It was a good week for Emma – last Saturday was particularly eventful – she finished 2nd at a 5k run and later in the afternoon made her first rescue at the pool – an 8-yr old boy went off the slide into the deep end of the pool and couldn’t swim.  Emma fished him out to earn her keep for the summer!