A Good Sport

 My kids participated in their school's annual "Roadrunner Ralley" yesterday and Kesslyn and I were there to cheer them on as they ran their little hearts out!
(We also learned that life is a LOT easier when you have family and friends cheering you on from the sidelines! They can motivate you to keep on going, to never give up, and never ever quit even when life gets HARD!!!:) (Paige Butler beside Kambriella cheering her on!!!)

Each year they do this to raise money for their school, and each year the kids try their hardest to do their best to try and get the most laps in their class...

Kambriella ran 14 laps this year which was just 1 lap away from her class record!!! Way to go Kambriella!!! (Here she is with her AWESOME teacher Mrs. Stokes who is also in  our stake.;) 

(And it was crazy hair day too!;)

 Gavin ran 22 laps and got the record for his grade winning the famous "Golden T~Shirt!"

He ran his little heart out too, along with a couple of his good friends that were neck and neck most of the time. But Gavin ended up lapping them and finishing first. He is such a good sport and cares so much about other people's feelings that I listened to Gavin telling Kambriella that morning about "his secret to winning" and that you can't just sprint and then walk, but you have to pace yourself and just gradually get faster as the end gets closer. :)

 Gavin has won a Golden T~Shirt every year that he has ran so it looks like he might be like his mama in the running department. ;)

Kesslyn had fun helping me cheer on the kids, listening to the music they had playing loudly, and even seeing friends there! :) Here she is with Greta, one of her great friends from our neighborhood. :)

(Greta's mom is April who teaches Kesslyn's little 2 year old playschool class;)

 Although the roadrunner ralley is FUN, it also taught us a lesson today about other people's feelings...

Gavin's friend Jaxon was having a hard time with the defeat of not getting the most laps (although he was close at 21!) And he was a little emotional at the end. I told Gavin, "Maybe we should do something nice for Jaxon so that he knows you care about him and that you want to be a good sport..."

Gavin called Jaxon up on the phone and asked him if he had eaten dinner yet and Jaxon said he hadn't. So, we drove right over and I took these 2 boys to Arby's for dinner where they each got a sandwich and a shake to celebrate both of their accomplishments because they BOTH worked so hard!

They laughed and talked and even complimented each other on their efforts earlier in the day.

Jaxon thanked us about a dozen times for taking him to dinner and I KNEW that it made a difference in how he felt about his efforts. 

I told Gavin that he is a good friend for building Jaxon up AND for sharing the pointers with is little sister to try and help her to do her best out there too...AND Gavin doesn't really care a whole lot about the "Golden T~Shirt" so once again, he said it's for Kambriella. :)
Sweet Gavin. :)

I hope and pray that these little life lessons are continually teaching, building, and growing the character and strength of my children and their testimonies because we need all the positive and good we can get in this life!

Way to go Gavin and Kambriella! You are both winners to me! :)

XOXOXOXOX