Greenways: Middle Crabtree Creek Trail

I love the Greenways! Have I mentioned that before? I really like being outside in the fresh air and spending time with the kids; being in the middle of the city and feeling like you're in the middle of nowhere; the way the trails are so well maintained with very little pollution and litter; the sounds -- water rushing in the creeks, all the birds and critters, the bikes whizzing by . . . I love it all! The Greenways are a true gem of our city, and while it would be hard to improve on the Greenways (based on what we've seen so far), I do have a few minor suggestions for improvement. Specifically -- maps and signage. It's driving me crazy that I can't find a good, comprehensive map of the entire Greenway system anywhere. I'm currently using two different maps to identify trails, but they don't quite match up (the mileage is off) and the streets aren't marked on either of them, so it's hard to tell where some of the entrance points are. One of the maps shows places for parking at points along the Greenways, but most of those so far have been just street parking, with the entrances to the Greenways tucked away off city sidewalks. For the trails that are connected, it's hard to tell where one trail begins and another trail ends, because in most places there are not signs. Let me just say that this does not work particularly well with my obsessive/compulsive desire to both track exactly how far we've walked, and then accurately highlight on my map the trails we've walked on!

Today we got on the Middle Crabtree Creek trail near Our Lady of Lourdes, and walked 2.4 miles (I think?!?) south east, crossing under Six Forks Road, Atlantic Ave, and finally reaching Capital Blvd. There we turned around and retraced our steps. Middle Crabtree Creek trail actually connects to the Alleghany Trail (which Nathan and I started on last week) and I thought we would be able to head north west and meet the point where Nathan and I had walked to before turning around. Unfortunately, the trail from where we started only went southeast. (Where can you get on this trail to go north west?!? The maps show it as one connected trail!) Now, instead of having a nicely highlighted line on my map, there's a big gap showing a trail that we need to go back and walk. I hate that. Plus, there's a small trail shooting off Middle Crabtree Creek trail (near where we started) that we did not actually walk on, but in my confusion of trying to figure out exactly where we had been today, I highlighted it by mistake. I hate that too. And I hate that these little details bother me so much! Ugh! Going forward I'm really going to try to ignore my obsessive need to have neat, highlighted lines on my map and an accurate accounting of how far we've walked (I know -- who care?!?) and focus instead on how much fun we're having on the greenways. And boy, did we have fun today!

Nathan: Today we went on Middle Crabtree Creek trail that was in the woods. Now I want to tell you that me and Noah brought our scooters. I brought my electric scooter and Noah brought his regular scooter. I was so fast on my scooter that I was 1/4 mile ahead all the time. Eventually we went up on a big board walk. At first it went way up high. Then it leveled out way over the river. We saw a lot of turtles and Noah spotted a HUGE turtle disguised as a rock. Then I sped down the board walk at 35 mph. It was hard to stop. Then it was time to leave. We had to go under a bridge full of mud. Th-that's all for tonight folks!

Noah: I went on a greenway and there was a stream with turtles. There were a lot of turtles. I went down a hill on my scooter. I saw some fish. The fish were swimming. Where we walked on there was a lot of mud. I slipped and fell down. We saw a soccer ball in the water. It was a lot of fun walking on Middle Crabtree Creek trail.

Greenways: Crabtree Valley Trail

Nathan:

These are two pictures from the Crabtree Valley Greenway Trail. The left picture is of Noah (left) and Mom (right) walking along the trail. The right picture is of a wooded part of the trail off to the side (you would have to be walking pretty slow to see this).

Crabtree Creek runs along the Crabtree Valley Trail. The creek seen through the beautiful trees and river plants (left). The creek beginning to gently flow into the sharp rocks, and under a highway (right).

Noah walking along the trail. At this point the trail goes parallel with the highway, and we were really hot and tired after this because there were no trees to shade us.

A McDonalds playland sign over a hill and on the other side of an old fence (left). A mall sign shows how close we were to Crabtree Valley Mall on this trail (right).

Two City of Raleigh employees park their yellow truck on the middle of the trail part of the way under a bridge, and work together to repair the bridge.

Crabtree Creek is home to many creatures, including fish, newts, turtles, minnows, cicada, and even a man paddling in a canoe.

Noah:

At Crabtree Creek on the Crabtree Valley Greenway trail a Fish Advisory sign tells us that there are carp, catfish, and big mouth bass swimming in the water. We saw a turtle.

A bird on a wire. There was a big bird nest under a bridge where the greenway goes under the road. When we took the picture under the bridge the birds flew out and I was startled.

I took a picture of some leaves that looked like the sunset (left). We saw a fallen log and it looked really pretty (right).

There was a really wide tree. If you tried to hug it you couldn't put your arms all the way around it. There was also a twisty tree. I thought it was really cool and I hadn't seen a tree like that.

I saw a snake in this rock pile when I was walking around it. I was trying to get onto the pipe so I could walk across it. I saw a snake tail slither through the rocks, and I ran away to my mom.

Mom's Note: Picking up where Nathan and I left off last week at the North Hills Trail, the three of us got back on the Greenways today and walked west on the Crabtree Valley Trail. The Crabtree Valley Trail is a paved, mostly shaded, 1.7 mile (3.4 miles round trip) trail that runs along Crabtree Creek and behind Crabtree Valley Mall. It was a really pretty trail, the three of us had a great day. Today I gave each of the boys a camera and had them take their own pictures. Then they got a lesson in what makes a good caption, choose which pictures they wanted to use, and wrote captions for each as a way to share their time on the trail.

Captions lesson -- not so successful. Walking on the trail -- hugely successful. One of the highlights was that we met a man named Larry, who saw us coming up the trail on our way back and stopped and waited for us so we could walk and talk on the trail together. Larry is a retired state employee (surveying) and he walks the Greenway up to McDonalds and back to where he lives near Root Elementary. He walks every day that it's not raining ("If you're not walking you end up sitting in a chair, not being able to get out. And I'm not giving up."), moving larger branches and sticks off the trail as he walks ("so people my age don't trip on them and fall down."). While we walked together he talked about his family and his job ("I loved going to work everyday. Not that there weren't bad days, but I loved working there. I miss it."). He also asked about us, and asked if I stayed home. When I said I had been home since mid-April he told me that it was great I was able to do it, and I agreed.

You know, it's a real gift when someone reaffirms that the choices you made are good ones, even if that someone is a total stranger. I was grateful for that gift. Grateful too, to have been able to spend some time in the presence of such a positive, friendly person, and also that there's a Greenway system that provided the opportunity for us to meet.

Other Summer Fun: Carowinds

You know you're getting older when one of your favorite topics of conversation is the weather. When I talk to my dad (retired in Arizona) I hear about the high temperatures, the lack of rain, monsoon season . . . . the weather is a big topic of conversation. In Arizona they like to sit outside on their patio and watch the weather. Literally. And last summer when we were there for a visit we actually took pictures of it raining, rain being such a rare weather event in the desert. When I talk to my mom (retired in Florida) it's the same conversation, although our weather is more similar. ("Are you getting this heat?" and "Did you get rain yesterday afternoon like we did?").



This past Saturday we went to Carowinds in Charlotte to celebrate Noah's birthday (in lieu of a "friend party") and to have a family weekend getaway. Ask me about how our weekend was and what will I tell you first -- the rides we rode? The water park fun? The boys swimming in the pool at the hotel? A late dinner at Chili's with chili and chocolate shakes? Shopping at Ikea and finding some great deals? Nope, none of those things get top billing. If you ask me about our trip to Carowinds I'm gonna start with the weather, and man, it was HOT! My mother-in-law uses the term "hotter than 40 hells" a lot, which I always think is funny to hear her say, especially since she doesn't like the heat at all, and many times what's "hotter than 40 hells" to her is a pleasant day to me. At 101 degrees, Saturday at Carowinds was significantly "hotter than 40 hells". We hadn't been there 10 minutes and sweat was literally dripping off my face and down my neck and back. It was so hot they were giving away free cups of water all day at every food stand. It was so hot that Kevin's favorite part of the day was standing at the kid playland in the water park and getting a huge bucket of water dumped on his head (and, except for the lazy river, he's not really a water park kind of guy). I honestly don't know if I've ever been more thirsty in my life. Every time we waited in line I desperately sought a spot of shade to stand in, even going so far as to hold a map of the park over the kids heads in one line, so they would have some shade. I hate to say it, but for a lot of the day, it was miserable.



There's a part of me that hates that I'm turning into my parents ("Whew! Let me tell you how hot it was . . . ."), and wishes I was a little more like my boys ("Oh my gosh! That was AWESOME! Can we ride again?!?"). Of course, I used to be more like them. Growing up, when I went to Great American, I would practically run from ride to ride, not skipping a one. Except for a couple of the really big roller coasters and maybe one ride that went in a circle and upside down, I went on every ride. Back then I never could have predicted that I would turn into someone who would leave a ride line in order to get a Gatorade; someone who (literally) wanted to cry because she took a wrong turn on her way out to the car and had to backtrack through the park (putting her 2 minutes further away from a chance to "re-hydrate, refuel, and push through"). Someone who, when asked about her trip to an amusement park, would give a 20-minute diatribe about the weather before even mentioning one ride. Who is this person I have become?!? Don't get me wrong, I still love an amusement park ride as much as the next (41 year old) person. I've just become someone who would, given a choice, prefer to be floating down a lazy river with Kevin, drink in hand, with temperatures less than "hotter than 40 hells". And I'm perfectly OK with that. Let the kids enjoy the rides. I'm content to sit and watch. And talk about the weather.




Nathan: My trip to Carowinds was SO much fun. The first thing we did when we got there was go on the Woodstock Gliders. Then we went on a small roller coaster called the Woodstock Express. I screamed all through it. Next we went on the spinning pirate ships (what a collision those boats had!). Then we went on Lucy's Crabby Cabbie, which is a baby coaster. Then we went over to Joe Cool's Driving School, a little driving track. We listened to the song "Rockin' Robin". Then we walked over to the Ricochet, a roller coaster that jerks you all about. Then we went on a 360 foot tall sky tower. then we went on The Scrambler which swings you around. Then me and Noah went on Snoopy's Gr8 Sk8, a ride that lifts you up really high and then lets you fall. Next we went to the water park. We went to a wave pool but right as the waves started it thundered. Later, when we went to the hotel we had to walk up eight floors. When we left the next day we went to a Swedish furniture store called Ikea, where me and Noah got desks and chairs. I am sitting at my desk while I have written this.

Mom's Note: Nathan and Noah rode on the GR8 SK8 more than 8 times. After the first time they rode Kevin and I heard the ride attendant yell, "Who wants to ride again?" and then a loud cheer arose from the riders. The ride started up and there they were, riding again. After about 3 times of this we heard the attendant say, "We need one more rider" (apparently the ride won't go with single riders). I decided that we needed to move along, so I ran up the ramp and joined the ride. It was great fun, and I was glad to ride, and also glad to gather up the kids and move on! We went back later in the day and they rode it again (and again and again), once being the only two riders on the ride.











Noah: I love going to Carowinds! I went to Carowinds for my 8th birthday. I went with my mom, dad, and my brother. One of my favorite rides was the Woodstock Express. I like going on the Woodstock Expresses. It was really fun. At first it was scary and then it was fun. It was purple and yellow, and it was really big. It went really fast. It took pictures of us on the ride. I looked funny. Woodstock Express was my favorite ride. I had fun.

Mom's Note: This is NOT a picture of the Woodstock Express, which, for whatever reason, we didn't take a picture of (perhaps because it was so hot we didn't feel like expending the energy it would have taken to get the camera out and press the button). This is a picture of Nathan and Noah riding Lucy's Crabby Cabbie, which was Noah's favorite ride the last time we went to Carowinds (when he was 2 1/2). We should have purchased the picture of the four of us when we rode the Woodstock Express for the first time, because it was truly one of the funniest pictures I have ever seen. Both the kids looked absolutely horrified -- eyes wide, mouths frozen open in screams. And then there was Kevin and me, laughing . . .

Other Summer Fun: Camp Adventure (Noah)

Announcer (A): Hello, faithful followers! Thanks for joining us today. We're live outside Crossroads Church in Raleigh where Camp Adventure 2010 has just come to an end. Joining us is rising 3rd grade camper, Noah Jenkins. So Noah, we know that Camp Adventure is a free, half-day Fine Arts and Sports camp sponsored by Crossroads Church. What else can you tell us about Camp Adventure?

Noah Jenkins (NJ): Camp Adventure is where you can go and do stuff at Rachael's church.

A: And what kinds of things did you do?

NJ: Karate, gymnastics, games . . . .

A: Sounds like fun. What was your favorite thing?

NJ: I liked to see Past0r Jim drink the smoothie. You had to raise 800 jars of peanut butter and jelly and then Past0r Jim would drink a smoothie with bugs in it. The peanut butter and jelly was for the Food Bank.

A: Ohhh . . . gross! What would you say was your favorite activity?

NJ: Gymnastics.

A: Why?

NJ: It was fun.

A: Why?

NJ: It had a big bouncy thing.

A: Can you describe it?

NJ: It was a big trampoline-thing and we got to jump on it.

A: Okay . . . um, switching gears -- I understand there was a Bible lesson each day, with a Bible point. Can you tell me the Bible points for each of the four days of camp?

NJ: They were (1) Get it; (2) Get prayer; (3) Get God's love; (4) Get Going.

A: Super! Can you explain the what Get Going means?

NJ: Yeah. It means you already did all that stuff and you can get going.

A: Humm . . . I was thinking it was about taking what you learned and showing God's love to others out in your community. Ok. One final question, Noah. Would you recommend Camp Adventure?

NJ: For what, people? Sure.

A: And why would you recommend Camp Adventure?

NJ: Because it's fun.

A: And there you have it folks, a resounding endorsement for Camp Adventure. With 350 kids and over 100 volunteers, Camp Adventure 2010 was a huge success. Tune in next week when Mom actually makes Noah write his own section of the blog instead of "interviewing" him and writing his answers for him.

With best friend Rachael by his side, Noah gives the photographer a look that says, "Why do I have to do this? I don't want to get my picture taken." (Huge sigh). "Just take the picture!"

Greenways: North Hills Trail

Raleigh has got some of the best parks! How long have I lived here and why haven't I discovered these little gems sooner? It's a little embarrassing that this comes as such a surprise. Especially since just as I'm coming into this "stay-at-home" mom role where I could really take advantage of all that the city parks have to offer, my kids are aging out of being able to "legally" play on playgrounds. Just yesterday we were at Chick-fil-A and the boys wanted to play in the play land while I ordered our lunch. Imagine my shock when I went to call them to come eat and saw the "You must be shorter than this to play" sign. Nathan was a full head taller then was allowed, and Noah just barely made it under (and I think he may have been bending his knees). With their short summer hair cuts they look tough and rough, and I thought about how when they were little I used to hate when older, bigger kids came into play lands designed for smaller children. "Where are their parents?!?" I had thought, judging and condemning. And now, suddenly, I find myself having turned into one of those parents I used to hate. Ouch!

Thankfully, there's still playgrounds to be found in Raleigh that will accommodate my growing boys, and a lot of then are connected to the Greenways. Today it was just me and Nathan on the Greenways (since Noah had Camp Adventure), and we decided to hit the trails early to try to avoid some of the hot weather we've been having. We picked up the trail in North Raleigh where Noah and I left off (at the end of the Ironwood Trail) and walked the North Hills Trail and a little of the beginning of the Aleghaney Trail (until it runs under Lassiter Mill Road), where we turned around and headed back (about 3 miles in all).

While exploring the North Hills Trail we came upon North Hills Park. It was a really nice park with a huge play set (suitable for ages 5-12!), a baseball field, shaded tennis courts, and a lovely restroom facility. Nathan wanted to stop and play, and so who was I to say "no"? Once he got up there he started pressuring me to slide down the curved, tube slides. To be honest, I was not excited about the slide. Ever since an unfortunate incident in a nursing home elevator (while participating in a church service project) I've been a little uncomfortable in small, enclosed spaces. However, not wanting to disappoint my baby, I climbed the ladder and slide down. When I was about (what I estimated to be) half-way down I heard Nathan begin to side down. I used my feet to pull myself down to the bottom of the slide as quickly as I could, worrying that any second he was going to slide down on top of me and we were going to get stuck. After that he wanted me to slide down the other slide, which I (hesitantly) agreed to, so long as he agreed not to begin his slide until after I had exited the slide. Not two seconds after I began my slide I heard him come barreling down, practically right on top of me. Sufficed to say, we left immediately after. There's a reason there's an age limit on those play sets!

Now though, I wish I hadn't been so quick to leave that playground. If I'm being honest, there's probably not a whole lot of days left when Nathan is going to want to play on a playground, much less with his mom. What I really need to be doing is making sure that I'm taking full advantage of the days that are left. And so, irrational fears of being trapped in small spaces aside, we'll continue to search out playgrounds in Raleigh, and I'll continue to go down the slide. Next time though, I'll make Nathan go first.

Nathan: North Hills Trail was, by far, the steepest trail so far. My favorite part was when me and my mom found a play ground. I also walked across a pipe over a rushing river. I felt hot and tired. I wanted to go to sleep.

Greenways: Neuse River Trail

Another great day on the Greenways! We mixed it up a little this time by walking on a weekend, and also having Kevin join us. I was glad to have us all hitting the trail as a family and spending some quality time together, and it worked out great to be able to park one car at the end of the trail and then drive back to the beginning of the trail to start (so we wouldn't have to back track when we reached the end of the trail).


The Neuse River Trail is awesome! It's a 4 mile, unpaved trail that runs along the Neuse River beginning in North Raleigh (off Buffalo Road) and ending at Anderson Point Park (we got off the trail just north of Highway 64). Over the 4-mile stretch the trail changed a lot. At one point the trail becomes a long wooden boardwalk that crosses over a marshy area that leads out into the Neuse River, which was absolutely gorgeous. At other points the trail feels like a dirt road running next to neighborhoods in very urban ares, and then minutes later turns so that you are walking directly next to the river and feel as if you were in the middle of nowhere. We saw a group of people swimming in the river, having biked to a really neat spot that had a lot of shady trees and smooth rocks and a pretty quick current. We also saw a bunch of animals, including rabbits, a blue heron, a ton of baby frogs, various birds, turtles, fish, dragon flies . . . . Nathan even found a crab claw! Blue sky with white fluffy clouds . . . it was a beautiful trail on a beautiful day!


The beginning of the trail is very wooded and shady, which felt great in the 93 degree heat. Sadly, after about 1/4 mile the trail opens up into what is essentially a hilly dirt/gravel road, that for the next 3 3/4 miles pretty much leaves you exposed to the direct heat of the sun. That, coupled with the fact that we started walking at 12:25 pm and we ran out of water around the 2 mile mark, made it a little uncomfortable for the kids. Honestly, I have never seen either of them so sweaty, and that's saying a lot! Even Noah had sweat rings around his neck and under his arms . . . .

Due to the extreme heat and length of the trail, there was a lot of complaining and whining. (I finally had to pull Kevin aside and say, 'ENOUGH ALREADY!"). Kevin kept Noah engaged by racing him to every mile marker to see who could reach the mile markers first. (A little disconcerning when we passed a mile marker that read 1 1/2 miles, and the the next maker read 3/4 mile, but we ignored it and pressed on.) For the last two miles Nathan alternated between crying out the mantra "Blizzard" (a trip the Dairy Queen was promised about 1/2 mile into the hike as a little incentive), and moaning, "I'll never make it!" I practiced deep-breathing and the art of ignoring.

Miraculously, we were able to complete the rocky, 4-mile "trail of tears" in about 80 minutes. Less than 10 minutes later we were sitting in the cool, air conditioned Dairy Queen, drinking down Blizzards and Slushes, and fighting off a mean brain freeze.

Lessons Learned: (1) Bring more water. (2) 3 miles is probably about as far as the kids will go and still be happy. (3) Stick to shady trails. (4) Try not to walk at the hottest time of the day!

NOTE: I really wanted Kevin to blog about his Greenway adventure! He's a very talented writer and story teller, in addition to being a published author. Unfortunately, he also works outside the home, and I didn't feel it right to harangue him about writing. (I have no such issue forcing the kids to put pencil to paper!) Hopefully I can get him back on the trails again! Also, I negotiated a deal with the kids for today's Greenway adventure. They both wanted to walk on the Greenway, and especially have their Dad join us, but neither wanted to blog about it. So for today, instead of a narrative, they have provided adjectives to describe their experience (one for each year of their age). Noah was not allowed to use "fun" as one of his adjectives.

Nathan: Sweaty. Buggy. Froggy. Hot. Long. Rocky. Dry. Barren wasteland. Marshy. Quiet.

Noah: Hot. Cool. Dry. Exciting. Peaceful. Pretty. Tiring.

Greenways: Ironwood Trail

"Do you think bugs are gross? I'm not a big fan, but I don't think they're gross."

This is what I love the most about our Summer Greenway tour so far . . . the opportunity to hear my kids talk about what's on their minds. When we're walking on the Greenways Nathan and Noah talk non-stop. Today, since Nathan's in Beaufort, Noah had me all to himself. And so I got to hear about various story-lines from his favorite book series (Diary of a Wimpy Kid), plot-lines from i Carly, where he wants to go on vacation, favorite memories from vacations we've been on, what he wants for his birthday, things he thinks are funny . . . It's like this stream-of-consciousness where he says whatever pops into his head, and I have to admit, I love it. At home, during the course of our day-to-day activities, I'm not the best listener. Out on the Greenways there is nothing to distract me from what's most important.


I REALLY wanted to go on a Greenway today, especially since we haven't been on one in more than a week. Noah did NOT want to go on a Greenway today. He didn't want to go without Nathan, and he also wanted to stay home in his pajamas all day and play video games. I forced him to go, and then felt really guilty when he started feeling carsick on the drive over, and spit up a little bit (in the bucket we keep in the car for just such occasions). But then he started feeling better (after spitting up), and we were already there anyway, so we pressed on. Gotta keep the Greenway momentum going! We were at the half-way mark on the Ironwood Trail (where it meets Shelly Lake) when Noah asked, "Am I going to have to write about this?"


"Yes."


"Awwwww ! This is the worst summer ever!"

Am I bothered by this? Not in the least! One person's worst can be another person's best! And now, for your reading pleasure, a first-hand account of the worst/best summer ever . . . .







Noah: Today we went on a Greenway and I rode my scooter. We saw a bug. It was red with a black stripe. I thought it was cool. We went under a road in a tunnel. We were walking back and all of a sudden, "ding" a bicycle. It was coming from behind me and it scared me. We walked back and had a race. I felt good.

Other Summer Fun: Sailing Camp & Grandma's House (Nathan)

Sailing Camp & Grandmama's House

Week 1

July 5 - 11, 2010

July 5, 2010 -- My Bag & My First Day of Sailing

Nathan: First I want to talk about my bag. My bag is a bag I made by sewing. It is stripy with a blue ribbon tie sewed on of course. I only sew at my Grandmama's house because she's the only family member that has sewing equipment. I am going to sell all of my bags.








Next my sailing. We did capsize recovery and it was VERY hard. You had to wrap your legs around the center board and push down with your arms and legs. I will have to try a dry roll. A dry roll is when the boat is tipping over and you go over the side that will be in the air. After that you jump onto the center board, trying to tip the boat back over.







July 11, 2010 - The Rest of the Week

Sailing

Sailing is fun when the people in your boat aren't complete IDIOTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I would say more but the content would be an inappropriate use of "colorful" language.

Sewing Update

I have made three bags and I have sold one for $2.00. I am happy because I had my first customer.

Fishing

I went fishing with my Granddaddy and cousin Simon in a pond used for duck hunting. The pond was sort of hidden in the woods. Simon caught the most fish. He caught three pin fish. I caught two, one pin fish and one minnow. And Granddaddy only caught the water grass.

Visiting

On Saturday Shannon (my uncle), Whitney (my aunt), and Eli (my cousin) visited Meredith's (cousin) new baby (name is Garrett). We went and had dinner and apple pie. And we saw Anna Claire (cousin) and we also played billiards.

Mom's Note: Nathan just finished his first week of sailing camp in Beaufort (through the Maritime Museum) and has one more week to go. Monday, his first day, was excellent. Friday was not a great day! But in sailing camp there's always a day or two that aren't great, so we're hoping Monday will be a better day. Noah and I will go down to Beaufort on Thursday this week, and say over Thursday night so we'll get to see him sailing Friday morning. We are really missing Nathan and can't wait to see him and bring him home!

Other Summer Fun: Runner's Camp (Noah)

The Runner's Camp

July 5 - 8, & 11, 2010

Noah: I felt good about running camp. One of the people on my baseball team (Connor) was in my group. Running camp is a place where you learn track and field events. Some of the field events we learned was shot put, high jump, long jump, and hurdles. We also played water games, like duck duck goose and water dodge ball, and I got wet. When we played water dodge ball I hit a bunch of guys. My team won. When we played water duck duck goose it turned into a water fight. My teacher (Coach Todd) got soaked. I had fun.

Hurdles & Long Jump

Playing "Gorilla Man Gun" -- a game similar to "Rock Paper Scissors"

Track & Field Meet

Saturday, July 11, 2010

On the last day I won first place in shot put. I got fifth place in the 100. In the 200 I won fourth place. It felt good!

Putting on his game face, Noah prepares to compete in his first ever track and field meet. Mental toughness pays off as Noah gets focused before throwing the shot put that earned him a blue, first place ribbon.

Noah came in 4th place in the 100 meter dash. After competing in his heat he got some advice and encouragement from Coach Marion.

After waiting until nearly 10:30 pm to compete, Noah fulfilled a dream by running through the ribbon at the finish line for a "nearly-tied for first" finish in the 200 meter dash. Final results found Noah in 4th place, less than 1 second behind the first place finisher. Mom asked, "Was it worth it to wait all that time in order to run through the ribbon at the finish line?" Noah's answer: "YES!"

Mom's Note: Noah had a great week at Runner's Camp, and I would highly recommend it for anyone in the Wake Forest/Raleigh area. It's a Christian-based camp sponsored by North Wake Church, and it was really well done. Everyone was super nice and Noah had a fabulous time. This is the 9th year of Runner's Camp and there were about 250 kids at the camp this past week. They also experienced their hottest day in the history of Runner's Camp on Wednesday of this week! But with water games to keep him cool, Noah hardly noticed the heat!