Spring Hill Kids' Marathon

Lydia was pumped and ready to go for her second Spring Hill Kids' Marathon.  Just check out this game face!!

She gathered around with her other friends and classmates and got ready for the race. Honestly, there was a lot of chasing going on before the race.  I kept telling her to save her energy for the mile she was about to run!!

For the kids' marathon, the kids run 25 miles in the days leading up to the race, and then run the final mile in the "kids' marathon." Coach Perry gave them some tips before the race, and then they took off!!

As Lydia ran around the school building, we headed over to the track to meet her at the finish line. She took off around the track.

And then we saw her pass the checkered flags and grab her medal. She was a little winded!!

 

She did a great job and had a great attitude.

And, to top it all off, she made the Heritage Highlights this week.  See her there with her fellow racers?  She's number 181.

I'm so glad she has these opportunities to flex her racing muscles.  =)

Nukem Tournament

The fifth grade classes have been competing in a Nukem tournament.  What is Nukem, you ask?  Well, I haven't actually seen the game played, but apparently it's similar to volleyball, except that you actually catch the ball and throw it over the net.  If someone on the other team doesn't catch the ball, they are out, until the entire team is eliminated.

Sounds fun, right?

Welll, you know what's even more fun?  Having your class be undefeated in the Nukem tournament.  Lydia's been so excited about this all week!!

Well, last Friday was the final day of the Nukem tournament - the winning 5th grade class was playing the teachers!!  And to make it super awesome, one of the parents anonymously made these T-shirts for the winning team.

So Lydia's class got to wear these awesome T-shirts while she and her classmates played against the teachers.

HES 5th Grade 2014 Nukem Champs

She was so excited (and oh-so-confident that they would defeat the teachers as well).  They didn't. But they had a lot of fun trying!

Mustang Glow 5K

Soooo, Saturday night, David and I had a business dinner to go to.  And Bekah was a Rachel's sleepover/rock concert.  And Lydia became an "honorary Nieves" and ran the Mustang Glow 5K with the Nieves family.

I told you this was a busy weekend!!

Dwayne's sisters Rebekah, Naomi, and Rachel, his mom Hazel, his whole family, and his nieces and nephews all signed up for the 5K.

It was held at night, and everyone had glow gear.  I just knew that with Lydia being in Run Club at school, that she would really love this.  She and Cassidy had a blast!!

There were tons of people out their glowing away! 

Shawna said she was so proud of everyone.  Even with some foot and side cramps, everyone made it through the entire race!

Way to go, everyone!!

Grey Ghost Fun Run

Yesterday, Lydia got to participate in the Grey Ghost Fun Run.

The adults had a 5K run, and then the kids had a "fun run" of 1K.  It was chilly, but not nearly as cold as it was last year!

 Lydia was all geared up and ready to run with her friends.  Cassidy, Alyssa, and Lydia started the race together.

 Here are the kiddos ready to go. We told Lydia that we would only sign her up for this race if she would actually run the whole thing.  She said she would, and she kept her word.

 Here she is rounding the corner.

The race is held at Oak Lawn Plantation.  The kids run around the house, then turn the corner down a path that leads to the line of trees next to the road.  In the picture below, you can see the long road leading down on the left.

 Then they circle back around to the driveway (up from the road), to cross the finish line.

Here's Lydia edging closer to the finish line (behind the man in green).  And she kept her word.  She ran the whole time.

 And she was WORN OUT as she approached the finish line.  The cold air did a number on her lungs and she was hurting.  Poor thing.

 Cassidy's finish line pics look much the same.  =)

But here they are after successfully completing their race! Testing out their gold medals.  Ha!

 After the race, the kids enjoyed the kids' fun area with candy, fruit, juice, snacks and games.

 

So proud of Lydia and her race!

Spring Hill Kids' Marathon

On Saturday, Lydia participated in the Spring HIll Kids' Marathon.

The kids run 25 miles on their own during the weeks preceeding the race.  Then on race day, they run the final mile of the "marathon."

Lydia got her T-shirt and number the day before the race. 

Of course we had to get some pics of her in her race shirt.  These are our attempts to get a shot of her "in action."  LOL

At the race, they had a waiting area for the kids, with candy, hula hoops, and sidewalk chalk.

Then each group raced by age.  They warmed up first.

And then they were off!  Just look at that big grin on Lydia's face!!

Here's Lydia coming down the home stretch of the track.

Crossing the finish line.

She was embarrassed that we were yelling at her on the track!  LOL

Here she is with her race medal.

It's much nicer than her last medal.  Lydia was really excited about it.

She's got two more weeks of run club and then she's done for the year.  I'm so glad that she's had this outlet for her energy!!

Bekah's Karate Tournament Videos

Here are the videos of Bekah's karate tournament.  She did a great job and we're so proud of her!!


This was Bekah's first time sparring in a competition.

Rebekah's Karate Tournament

This morning was the Wado-Ryu Southeastern Federation Karate Tournament.

We loaded up and headed to Columbia State Community College to join the other federation members for the competition.

Everyone lined up for the opening ceremonies.  I got a close up of Bekah, as it was a little hard to pick her group out of the crowd.  =)

Bekah competed in the kata competition against other yellow/white belts in her age group.

Here she is with the medal that she won after the competition. 

 

This year, Bekah signed up for the sparring competition as well. 

She was nervous that she was going to be competing against high schoolers, but I assured her it would be within her age group.

Here they are, lined up to spar.  Bekah's the one with the teal sparring gear.

It was finally time to spar and the whole match went so quickly!

And when it was all said and done, Bekah ended up with a 2nd Place trophy!!

It's about half as big as she is!!  We got it engraved while we were there and Bekah's got it in a place of honor on her desk now.  =)

Afterward, we went out celebrate at Logan's for lunch.  Just look at this happy girl.  So proud of her!  She did a great job!!