Ashlynn’s First Track Meet...

One Saturday in May, Ashlynn and I spent much of the day at a track meet in Leiden. She joined Voorschoten 97 Athletics in September and this was the first time that she’d competed on their behalf in their lovely green and yellow striped uniform.

The Dutch are very strict about how far they will allow each age group to run at track meets. As Ashlynn was still just 13, she was limited to the 1,000-meter individual and the 80-meter relay.

Ashlynn is not a sprinter and was easily overtaken in the 1,000-meter. She really enjoyed running in the relay.

It was pouring much of the day. We took a break between events to head to V&D for soup. Luckily it had stopped raining for the cycle ride home. I finally remembered to take a photo of Ashlynn and her new omafiets (grandma bike).

Fast Kids, Fast Teacher...

Turns out there was a fourth winner from their school as the kids’ Ultimate Frisbee coach Jamie Lowe placed in the 10-miler. Ironically, it was Jamie that first introduced all three kids to running while they were in elementary school.

In addition to their bouquets, they also received a houseplant at this race in the bulb fields.

Three Kids on the Podium...

It has been exciting to see Ashlynn on the podium after each of the three Zorg en Zekerheid Race Circuits that she has competed.

This year she came in 2nd girl 15 or under, which includes a € 75 cash prize. As you can see, she towers over the 1st place girl, who’s actually standing on a higher step.

It was great seeing Andrew back on the podium, coming in 1st for boys 15 and under.

David skipped the circuit last year, but was back this year in 1st place for men 16 to 19. Fantastic way to end his final circuit as next year he’ll be busy studying engineering at Cambridge.

Final Circuit Race...

Jimmy and I cycled to Noordwijkerhout to watch Ashlynn run in the final circuit race of the season. This is a slightly longer route at 5.3K. With a time of 19:51 (only her 3rd race below 20 minutes), she actually ran her fastest with an average of 6:02 minutes per mile. She improved over last year’s time by over two minutes. Look what the incentive of a cash prize can do!

2014 Flower Parade...

There were lovely blue skies during the parade. The theme of Energy led to many weird floats. These are a few of the more normal floats.

I did a lousy job capturing this float as it was rather funny: a whale eating a taxi.

I also did a lousy job capturing this float, which was my favorite: a cow riding a motorcycle.

Love the Kiddie Flower Parade...

This year Jimmy and I cycled to Voorhout to watch the Flower Parade. We always choose this particular city to view the parade because of its wonderful Kiddie Flower Parade. The theme this year was Energy, which explains the Energizer Bunnies, I mean Duracell Bunnies, making an appearance.

Check out the solar panels on this wagon.

Not sure how energetic this puppy was, but he was cute.

A greenhouse is definitely appropriate for this parade.

Not sure how this snowman fit into the theme, but he was adorable.

Ready for the Ball...

The Junior Ball was coming up shortly and we’d asked to see Rachel’s dress. Ironically, Veronica had purchased a navy blue dress to put away for her Year 13 Ball that won’t be until next June.

How nice to see our lovely young ladies together for some final photos before we left for the airport to return home.

They also posed with the little ones, who aren’t so little anymore.