Bonelli Park Triple Crown

I'm going to try and write a post for every one of Nathan's races this season, for documentation's sake!  Before the race started, Nathan was called up to the box to receive a $25 gift certificate he won in a drawing.  He's a lucky little guy!

I gave Sean the camera, so I didn't get any shots of Nathan starting or finishing, but Sean got some great shots of him on the course.  I think we need to invest in another camera.

Nathan's in second place in this pic.

Still in the 2nd place position.  1st place rider is in 3rd.

Still in 2nd place position right behind this rider.  The 1st place finisher is right behind Nathan in the red.

The breakaway.  I heard talk that this little guy was named last year's "Best Young Rider" and apparently his sister is ranked 17th in the nation.  So, we're thrilled that he only beat Nate Dog by 10 seconds. 

2nd place finish for our boy!  Not bad at all!  We are so proud!

It's on to the Fontana City National Pro XCT, March 27th!

Love, Lisa

US Cup Sagebrush Safari

Our Hickey clan traveled down to San Diego for the first race of Nathan's mountain biking season.

Turns out, it wasn't just the first mountain biking race of Nathan's season, but it was the first mountain biking race of Sean's season too! So of course, Tristan and I were there to cheer Daddy and Nathan on!

We had a really great day just being part of a great event and meeting lots of good people. Finally, it was time for Nate and Dad to make their way to their spots in the line up.

Nathan lined up at the end of the lineup with all the little people in his category;

I guess after awhile he kind of gets sick of me taking his picture.

Daddy lined up somewhere in the middle, with all the bacon eating, couch potato, weekend warriors in his category.

Finally, the race was ready to start. The pros start it off and then it goes down the line, through three different category's of men and woman and all the different age groups. All the way to the little kids categories.  Everyone did 18 miles, however the kids did 2 laps (originally it was supposed to be 3 laps). I'm not really sure how many miles the kids course was, but they did have to cross three streams with about 2 feet of water, with each lap. Momma was a little nervous before the race started.

Daddy's up.

Then it was Nate Dog's turn.

He took the lead pretty early.....and never looked back. I'm a proud Momma!

Tristan and I hiked out onto the course to try and get shots of Nathan crossing one of the streams.

We never did make it.....but we got these great shots:

This girl in the 14 and under category is the only person that beat Nathan, and she did so by only 1 second.

He left everyone else in the dust.

It was so great to be out on the course cheering Nathan on. Tristan and I realized that we needed to hustle back to the finish line before Nathan's last lap, so we RAN all the way back to the finish line. We got some great exercise, but we were disappointed to find that Nathan only had to do 2 laps and not 3, so this is the only picture I have of Nathan on the other side of the finish line after his race.

Then came the award ceremony. Nathan looks so good up on that podium in the first place position. He really has a heart for this sport and seems to be a natural at it. We are very, very proud of him!

It was kind of a long wait after that for Daddy to roll in, but boy was it fun to see him cross that finish line.



Guys and girls were coming off of that course muddy and bloody.  When Daddy came in, the boys and I were there to give him high fives.  He didn't come back bloody, but he did come back muddy with a big 'ole smile on his face and he raved about what a fun time he had for days afterwards.

 

Happy trails to you and yours!

Love, Lisa

Soccer, Mountain Biking, Painting and A Whole Lot'a Pablove

We’ve been a very busy family this Fall. School started back in late August and the Hickey’s hit the ground running with soccer, mountain biking, painting our house, and a whole lot of Pablove!

Tristan’s soccer team is currently in 2nd place and set to start playoffs in just a couple of weeks. He had an amazing year. Tristan is full of heart and speed and can outlast and outrun any opponent. He’s a great defender. Most of all, we are happy that Tristan had fun. The boys on his team this year were all wonderful kids and they all seemed to have the same silly personality. Is it the age? They goofed around a lot together this year and sometimes the parents sitting at practice would get frustrated because it looked like they were having more fun goofing around, than actually working at practicing soccer. Looking back at it, I realize that’s all that really mattered. They were having fun and he made some great friends.





Our Nate Doggie Dog decided not to play soccer this year. Instead he was introduced to the world of biking. Nathan entered his first mountain bike race in early September. He was a little ill prepared that time. I think he and Sean just went to watch the race and then, at the last minute, decided to put Nathan in the race. Anyway, he had a great time and wanted to continue. Sean promised him a new mountain bike if he completed the first race and we both promised him that we would make sure that from there on out, we would help him be more prepared for the races. He entered his second mountain bike race in mid October and this time he was a force to be reckoned with. He came in first place, 28 minutes ahead of the second place rider. We were proud. He rocked! It was so fun and rewarding to see him up on the podium with his trophy. Could we be the parents of the next Lance Armstrong? He’s definitely got the heart for it!





In between all the soccer practices and mountain biking workouts that Sean and Nathan put in, Sean was busy painting our backhouse and shed (he’s starting our house now). The back house and shed have not been painted as long as I have lived on this property, which is about 25 years. Sean put in a lot of tender loving care repairing and cleaning up both of these structures and they look wonderful in their new colors. I’m so happy to see them looking so nice and excited to see our house in the same warm colors. I’m just as excited to wash my windows that I have been saying for the last couple of 5 years that “I’m not washing them until the house gets painted”. Let’s just say, you can barely see out of them. LOL! FYI – Sean is the greatest painter in the world! If you need a new paint job on your house or business…..call us up. He’s taking side jobs!




Last but not least, our family participated in the Pablove Across America Homecoming this past weekend. The Pablove Foundation was founded in honor of Pablo Castelaz, the little boy I wrote about earlier this year, whose fight with cancer ended on June 27, 2009.
http://triselina.blogspot.com/2009/06/camping-at-el-capitan-santa-barbara-and.html
In early October, Pablo's father, Jeff Castelaz embarked on a cross country ride to help bring awareness to childhood cancer. He rode home this weekend and we all welcomed and cheered on this inspiring and loving effort. Sean and Nathan joined the Pablove Across America Ride at Pasadena Velo and rode with them as they stopped at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, where Pablo spent many days during his fight with this disease. Joined by a few of Pablo’s doctors, Jeff told all of us a little bit about CHLA and the efforts they lead in the fight against childhood cancer. Afterwards, they rode on to Forest Lawn Cemetery, Hollywood Hills for a salute to Pablo and again on to Shane’s Inspiration at Griffith Park, where Jeff concluded his ride and addressed all the supporters and riders. Tristan and I were out in front of Children’s Hospital cheering the riders on as they came through and then went over to Shane’s Inspiration at Griffith Park for the conclusion of the ride. It was an amazing day for us as a family, but also to be part of such an inspiring effort.












I concluded my Pablove weekend on Monday, by attending a Welcome Home Reception at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles with all my past co-workers, as well as Jeff and some of the Pablove Across America team, including his coach Rick Babington. I was moved by Jeff’s words, as he talked about Pablo and Pablo’s individual fight with cancer, and as he promised to keep the fight going through the efforts of the Pablove Foundation, regarding raising money for continued research and childlife specialists, who do so much to make the hospital a happier place for children, as they fight this disease. This is a very important fight. I encourage you to learn more about the Pablove Foundation http://www.pablove.org/ and read about Pablo through the loving blog the Castelaz family started. http://getwellpablo.blogspot.com/

A huge honor for the Pablove Foundation! ABC World News named Jeff Castelaz Person of the Week on last night's broadcast! The boys and I were thrilled to be featured. Tristan and I, with other supporters as we cheered the Pablove Across America team on in front of CHLA and Nathan riding with the team. Click here to watch the broadcast. http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=9192870

Wishing you all a very Happy Thanksgiving Holiday!

Love, Lisa