.: GO ASHTON GO!

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

GO ASHTON GO!

A few weeks ago Ashton took 2nd place in the boys Year 3 Cross Country Race. He ran a fantastic race!

This put him into the cluster team for Pinehill School which consisted of the 3 fastest boys and girls from each year (grade).

For the past month the cluster team have been running during school time every day, training to compete against several other schools in the bays area. Ashton has taken this very seriously and has been fully committed to the training, taking in every word and bit of advice from coach Mr Van Buesekom.

Ashton even started running around the block a few times after school to work on his endurance. In the weekends he did a few runs with Uncle Travis around the neighborhood. One night the two of them ran 6.5 kms (approx 4 miles), and half of that run was up some very steep hills.
Hayden and Noah joined in for some of the running and I would pick them up in the car when they'd had enough.

On Fridays Mr Van Beesekom would have the cluster team do a run called the 'gut buster.' in the schools neighborhood. And a gut buster it was! Three steep hills, one after the other. Ashton begged us one weekend to put on his sports uniform and drive to the neighborhood to practice it.

TODAY was race day.
At 9.30 this morning several schools arrived at Pinehill by bus, ready for action! Ashton was very 'powered' up for his run and couldn't think about anything else all morning. He was quite nervous and said a prayer in the car on the way to school. He had very high hopes of coming 1st and asked me if I would give him $100 for winning! He insisted on going to bed early last night and fell asleep focusing on the route of the race.

Here are the Year 3 and 4 boys doing some warms ups and getting some last minute coaching before their run. Pinehill school are wearing bright red shirts and black shorts;

Below the boys get ready for take off. Unfortunately (for some unknown reason) the coaches made Year 3 and 4 boys run the race together instead of separately. There were way too many of them at the start line and no one had enough space to take off. Poor Ashton was squashed right in the middle and as he took off another kid cut right in front of him which caused Ashton to fall over!! But nevertheless, Ashton was up on his feet as quick as he could, and ran a fantastic race.

1st lap of the race, Ashton in the middle;

All the kids were given a choice to run in bare feet or wear running shoes. At least 75 percent of them had bare feet. Most kiwi kids prefer their feet over shoes any day and Ashton is certainly one of them;

Parents watching and cheering;

The runners make their way up the hill;

Lap 2;

Go Ashton, Go!

Lap 3, approaching the finish line;

Ashton ended up taking 7th place out of the Year 3 boys, which unfortunately did not qualify him for the next competition. But at the end of the race he seemed relieved it was all over, and he was still very proud of himself for 7th place. He knew instantly that falling over at the start of the race put him at a slight disadvantage, but he was totally cool with it and had a great attitude.

We are so proud of his amazing effort and dedication to his running.

1 comment:

Jen said...: I have got to move to New Zealand! You know, that is actually a place Heathcliffe said he would retire to. But South Island. :) Love that your country is so much more laid back (bare feet!), less litigation minded, less helicopter parenting, etc. Love it!; September 21, 2012 at 7:59 AM

Funny Comments

Ashton walking into the supermarket quietly whispers to himself: "Please can I have macaroni and cheese, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."

Ashton: "I want to live with Jesus." Mummy: "Why?" Ashton: "Because he be nice to me and he gives me bread and water!"

Mummy, examining Ashton's legs, and thinking: My goodness, what hairy legs. Ashton, unimpressed with Mummy's examination, pulls away: "Don't touch them. I'm growing Daddy legs!"

Hayden gets upset at Ashton: "Right Ashton, that's it! I'm telling Jesus on you!"

Ashton with a cold: "I'm snotty as a piggy."

Hayden: "The sun is burning my eyeballs."

Hayden: "Mummy, how come your penis is missing?"

Hayden: "I get the bigger piece of cake because my skeleton is bigger."

Hayden (3yrs old) sees me get dressed in the morning and stares at my breasts with a confused look..."What thooooose be for???"

Hayden: "I don't want to finish my pizza, it's got blood all over it."

Hayden: "Ashton hit me in the heart."

Hayden learns the planets at Preschool: Mercury, Earth, Mars, Jupiter and Penus!

Hayden (shopping with me and whining): "My brain hurts forever because you haven't buyed me anything."

QUOTES

Like the changing leaves of fall...My little boy is now a man.
--Author Unknown

Boys are God's way of telling you that your house is too neat!
--Author Unknown

There never has been, nor will there ever be, anything quite so special as the love between a mother and a son.
--Author Unknown

Boys are found everywhere - on top of, underneath, inside of, climbing on, swinging from, running around or jumping to. Mothers love them, little girls hate them, older sisters and brothers tolerate them, adults ignore them and Heaven protects them. A boy is Truth with dirt on its face, Beauty with a cut on its finger, Wisdom with bubble gum in its hair and the Hope of the future with a frog in its pocket.
--Alan Marshall Beck

Something For A Giggle....

I Owe My Mother ....

My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE. "If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning."

My mother taught me RELIGION. "You better pray that will come out of the carpet."

My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL. "If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!"

My mother taught me LOGIC. " Because I said so, that's why."

My mother taught me MORE LOGIC. "If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the store with me."

My mother taught me FORESIGHT. "Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident."

My mother taught me IRONY. "Keep crying, and I'll give you something to cry about."

My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS. "Shut your mouth and eat your supper."

My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM. "Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!"

My mother taught me about STAMINA. "You'll sit there until all that spinach is gone."

My mother taught me about WEATHER. "This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it."

My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY. "If I told you once, I've told you a million times. Don't exaggerate!"

My mother taught me the CIRCLE OF LIFE. "I brought you into this world, and I can take you out."

My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION. "Stop acting like your father!"

My mother taught me about ENVY. "There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do."

My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION. "Just wait until we get home."

My mother taught me about RECEIVING. "You are going to get it when you get home!"

My mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE. "If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to get stuck that way."

My mother taught me ESP. "Put your sweater on; don't you think I know when you are cold?"

My mother taught me HUMOR. "When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me."

My mother taught me HOW TO BECOME AN ADULT. "If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up."

My mother taught me GENETICS. "You're just like your father."

My mother taught me about my ROOTS. "Shut that door behind you. Do you think you were born in a barn?"

My mother taught me WISDOM. "When you get to be my age, you'll understand."

My mother taught me about JUSTICE. "One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you!