Ashlynn Finishes Her First 8K!

How exciting it was to sit in the Olympic Stadium built for the 1928 games in Amsterdam and watch the runners come in. What a shock it was to see 15-year-old David come in 7th out of 3,525 runners! Of course, Ashlynn came in much later, but her actual time was much better than the time on the clock as shown above because she crossed the start line so late (you should be able to spot her in the orange shirt between the two clocks). The bottom photo shows how crowded the chutes were when she came in.

An 8K in Amsterdam...

 Bright and early one Sunday in October, we journeyed to Amsterdam so Ashlynn could run her first 8K as part of the Amsterdam Marathon. Jimmy didn’t want her to run that distance alone, so he registered to run with her.

While David made sure that he started near the front of the race, Jimmy intentionally held Ashlynn back so that she wouldn’t be stuck walking in a big pack, but could run freely at the start. Ashlynn hadn’t done much training, so I was worried that she might not be able to run that long distance. I needn’t have worried as she kicked butt!

One Dedicated Captain...

Ashlynn was also a team captain. This year her Green Team played in an under 12s category so they were finally not the smallest team. The down side was the playing field was much smaller, which led to a lot of out of bounds throws. Unfortunately, during the first game she fell onto her wrist and had to go to the first aid station to get her arm iced and wrapped. She was supposed to sit out two games, but she just couldn’t resist going back in after just one game. They came in 2nd, losing to an even younger team from their school. Ashlynn was excited to bring home the trophy as the captain. Her team also won the Spirit of the Game, which is quite an honor as it is voted on by the other teams.

The Gray Lionesses...

In early October, it was time to head to another Dutch Junior National Ultimate Frisbee Tournament near Utrecht. David and some of the other older guys were on a school trip, so for the first time, the school entered an all-female team. Lucky for Veronica, the team is made up of her closest friends. Not only did the girls make their own team shirts, but Adelina brought delicious team cupcakes. The weather held out until the last round, which was played in the rain. Veronica was the team captain of the Lionesses and they came in 5th out of 16 teams in the Under 15s category. 

I Love Broadway...

The quality of BSN on Broadway was truly amazing. The atrium was decorated with playbills and posters from musicals performed at the school over the years. The hall was set up cabaret-style with tables rather than the usual rows of seats. And you could even buy wine by the bottle! The variety of performances was also amazing with kids as young as 11 singing. The organizers set up a green screen and asked Jimmy to take photos of both performers and attendees (you can see Ashlynn enjoyed posing with her friends as well).  The main goal of the evening was to prove to the administration that the kids really want do a proper musical this year, but unfortunately the request fell on deaf ears.

Veronica Performs at BSN on Broadway...

Shortly after school started, Veronica auditioned with Lizzy to perform at BSN on Broadway, a show fully organized by the Year 13 (seniors). She sang while Lizzy accompanied her on violin to a song from Wicked. They were accepted for the event, but rather than singing a duet, they joined up with Lily and Kelly to sing a medley of Disney Princess Songs.

No surprise that it brought tears to my eyes to hear Veronica sing a few solo lines. You can check out a video of their performance here. 

Leiden Liberation Parade...

After lunch, Deb and I staked out a prime viewing spot for the parade. The weather was fantastic as it was the warmest October 3rd ever recorded. This year was the 125th anniversary of the parade and the theme was High Leiden, recalling great moments in past parades. Frankly, there were too many great entries to include them all. Only in Holland could you find a six-person band (complete with a tuba player!) on a custom bike.

 There were a few live animals including a group of two-humped camels and this merry band of geese.

There were lots of great costumes including several entries with alien and futuristic themes.