Field Day
Hope everyone had a great weekend. Mine was packed full of some great things.
My grandparents stopped in for a visit on their way back to Toledo, Ohio from Florida. They got the opportunity to hang out all weekend and then go to Cross Point with us on Sunday. They had to hurry home so my 80+ year old grandpa could get back to play for his softball team. I love having active grandparents. He’s a retired pastor (he just did a two week mission trip to Africa earlier this year) and always leaves me with some great wisdom.
We also had friends in town from both Atlanta and Indianapolis over the weekend. Had a blast hanging out with Justin and Trisha Davis and continue to be amazed at the growth in their lives and marriage. If you haven’t read their blog yet, it’s a must!
On Friday we had the first ever Whittaker/Wilson field day. I’m so proud of both Carlos and Heather and everything God’s doing in their life these days. Carlos is a kick-tail worship leader down at Buckhead Church and Heather is one all around amazing mom (except for field day).
So here’s today’s deep theological question: What was your favorite field day activity as a kid?
I’ll randomly pick a winner for a great newly released book entitled “Nine Ways God Always Speaks” by Jennifer Schuchmann who just happens to be one of my favorite people. You’re going to love this new book. Now back to our regular scheduled program…
Wilson/Whittaker Field Day from Pete Wilson on Vimeo.
Definitely the gymnastics events we had – tumbling, etc. I was a really small, uncoordinated kid, but flexible
I LOVED lawn darts when I was a kid, but now they are considered dangerous weapons. I had the NLDC in my yard evey afternoon. What is the NLDC you ask? It is the National Lawn Dart Championships – I would play against myself because my brother and friends did not like it. Guess I was a nerdy kid.
I also loved to use an old wooden putter my dad had and I would smack a platic golf ball around the yard, that was until I lost grip one day and dented the siding pretty bad.
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Looks like some laid back fun!
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Tug of war at the end was always fun, but my favorite activities were anything that just involved running and no other real skill (since that’s what I could do).
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I have no athletic ability what-so-ever, but I loved doing the three-legged-race!
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Obstacle course races.
Sack race.
Btw, Pete, I found some of Heather’s old field day ribbons from Park Avenue Christian School not long ago. Now, that should take you back a few years.
On another subject, great message Sunday. I had to listen to the replay since I had a car torn into a million pieces under the carport. But, it’s back together now. lol
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I liked badminton…..btw….I’m from Findlay Oh originally…your grandparents and I were practically neighbors….sorta
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@ladybird, I think the 3 legged race was a favorite for all non-athletic people.
That video was hilarious! I can’t believe you let your son engage in public urination! LOL. Just don’t let the boys know the can do it whenever. My mom found my brother and 2 of his friends on the side of the house peeing on the air conditioning unit trying to see who could get it to go the farthest. She yelled at them after the laughed!
Eating the popsicle when it was all over : )
Does that count?
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I always liked the standing broad jump because I always won that event. And for the record, public urination was an underground field day event that is not always restricted to the field. Remembering having peeing contests when I was a kid. Going for distance was usually the goal of the competition.
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Does lunch count? I loved bringing a sack lunch to field day!
Kickball!! Our principle would even play with us, he was great…hope I win the book : )
long jump or the 50 yard dash
I liked the water balloon toss! I was not much of a runner! LOL!
@DeAnna, I guess I’ll let lunch slide as an “event”.
Ok… Did Brandi (I love you my southern bell) really put on a skirt for field day? Too Funny!
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The Turtle Races. Always exhilarating.
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After having someone nearly break my finger, my favorite activity was faking sick so I didn’t have to go! But it never worked.
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Kick ball, baby! Even after I took a direct hit in the nose at a game in 7th grade …. ouch!
50 yard dash! Back in the day…I could haul it!
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The girls always won the “peeing in the field” event, mostly due to their aim & discretion in choosing a tree to stand behind.
My favorite event to watch was the Daddy Shoe Race where the kids all ran to the finish in their dad’s shoes. Kids with size 13 dads had an obvious disadvantage.
Great video, beautiful memories, Pete!
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Definitely Dizzy Bat, but only to watch other people do it!!! Kickball was my favorite to participate in.
Racing.
I can remember running through the cornfields in early spring before they had been tilled. I had 3 brothers to race against, 1 older and 2 younger. None of them were a match for my speed. Shoes were off and the rows just naturally made racing lanes for our bare feet to run along.
So, on field day, I liked to race… and jump
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Definitely the 3 legged race. It’s a classic!
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WOW! That just brought back a flood of memories for me (which is huge as I have had issues blocking out alot of my childhood)…and let me say THANK YOU as it brought me to a happy place.
My dad belonged to a rod and gun club….super hillbilly style and Field Day was an all weekend thing of camping, grilling, and games. My favorite field day game was potato sack races and climbing the greased flag pole. Somehow I used to manage to fly up that thing, no problem. One event that used to leave me troubled was a greased pig event…I always remember crying for that pig when all the kids were chasing it. I tried to set it free on more than one occasion, but always got caught. *sigh*
How awesome that you and Brandi are creating such wonderful memories with your family…..and I think it’s equally as awesome, but not surprising, that you come from a lineage of Godly men.
Peace~
*~Michelle~*
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Is it called the wheelbarrow race? If so, that’s my favorite, if that’s not what it’s called, I like the one where one person has to walk on their hands while the other person holds their feet (hopefully that is a good enough description for you).
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Why don’t I remember field days??? Hmmmm. I do remember playing games as a kid so I’ll go from there. I used to love kickball and 4-square! Those were the best!!!
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@trish i was leading not participating that’s make a skirt acceptable!
brandiandboys’s last blog post..Family Night – Field Day
water balloon toss (as opposed to eggs)…
a favor, please…pray for rain in central & eastern FL. fires are threatening & it is something that is a often a concern this time of year. thanks!
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Tug-of-war. Nothing makes you feel more like a man at 12 like pulling six other people across a field by a 100 foot rope.
kickball!
favorite field day event: definitely seeing who could pee the furthest. being a girl i never won!! if only they had the “go girl” back in the day!
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Field Day? Um, that looks more like what I call a Birthday Party!! You know, minus the cake and presents. We also played lots of these at youth retreats and we loved playing elbow tag and kickball!
I loved that you did this with your kids. Make it a tradition and they will look forward to it in the years ahead!
And Jett, way to air the ball out buddy!
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oh and just in case anyone wants one (a go girl, that is)
gogirl.com
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dodge ball. cause it was the only time we got to throw things at girls and not get in trouble….
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I signed up for every event that they would allow me to sign up for. I couldn’t get enough of field day. Getting blue ribbons was serious business.
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Shoe kick was the BEST!! We’d all line up, make sure our shoes were really really loose and then kick away. What fun.
Second best? The sunflower seed eating competition. Oh wait … that wasn’t part of the normal events? Shoot. I was always the best at that …
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Crab walking was always a favorite. Wheelbarrow race was a close second. I can’t really toss a football any further than your youngest son, so that one’s low on my list of good times, lol.
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I’m with Heather on this… I think it must be “a south thing” too. (I’m a west coast girl). I’m feeling really sad now since I’ve never had the privilege of participating in Field Day. *sniff*
I do have good memories of playing croquet in the backyard. Does that count?
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@Jan C. I’ve never heard of the “crab” race. you may have to explain this one to us!
@Brenda, Come on!!!
Would someone from the west coast step up and tell us they do “field day” out there?
we never had field day at my school growing up so i’m not sure what my favorite game would be, but honestly i would have probably rather been sitting in the shade reading a book instead of getting all dirty and sweaty. i’ve never been very athletic.
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Field Day is quickly approaching at the elementarty school I teach at … and my favorite would have to be the sack races … always, always entertaining!!
** I’m from Oregon & yes we have {field day}
** love the video that you did about HOPE… so powerful.
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It’s not just American…it is Canadian too….I have wonderful memories about field days when I was in elementary school…we used to have a race where we would have to put on dress-up clothes and then have an egg on a spoon that we carried while we raced around a pylon…when we got back to our teammates we had to strip off the dress-up clothes and hand off the spoon/egg. It was so much fun! We were always afraid to drop the egg incase it would break, but I think that maybe it was hardboiled
You should try it next year!
Laurie
PS thanks for your prayers…someone cancelled their MRI yesterday with minimal notice and I was able to get my MRI done..now I just need the doctors to find the leak and make a surgery date.
Oh yeah…when I say dress up clothes they do not have to be girly…football helmets and spiderman costumes count!
@Laurie D, Dang-it, I didn’t mean to leave out the Canadians again.
So glad to hear about the MRI. I’ll continue to pray!
OH NO!!!
OH NO!!! You were using an Oregon DUCKS football… tsk tsk. It should be an Oregon STATE football. GO BEAVERS!!!
50-yard dash. I almost always won!
Kickball!!!!! Or the three-legged race. Kickball was my favorite though. Ah, the memories…….
I’ll vouch for Field Day not just being a southern thing. I’m in NH and we had field day every year. We ran a campground growing up and we always finished field day (always on the 4th of July) at the beach doing the greased watermelon. We’d slather crisco all over a HUGE watermelon then take it out deep in the swimming area. Obviously it was slippery but it also was light when you started and got heavier and slipperier (is that really a word?) the closer it got to the beach. Then of course it was to be cut up and used in a seed spitting contest!!
CAKE WALK of course! call me the fat kid, but i will fight you for that homemade chocolate cake…i guess the active part is knocking the slow kids out of the seat…and no i have never been in a fight, but no one has ever tried to take a bite of my desserts…serious fanatic
Tug of War! Loved it! xo.
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@pwilson you don’t know crab race?!?! you know…. where you’re on your hands and feet with your back to the ground racing from one end to the other?!!? we always played crab soccer. so fun, but my body does not work that way anymore at the old age of 25.
my favorite field day event was the shuttle run. i was quite the sprinter back in my day
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What a trash talker you are!
H
whittakerwoman@yahoo’s last blog post..Field Day Live!
Field day is most definitely NOT just a “south” thing, because I have lived all my years (except for three) in Bowling Green, OH and we definitely did field day here, usually on the last day of school. My favorite event was the obstacle course.
Funny that your grandparents are from Toledo. My grandparents just came back up here from Florida as well.
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Aw, man, anything on field day was awesome – best day of the year in elementary school! Though I have to admit, the tug-o-war was definitely one of my favorites!
Your grandparents sound so wonderful! Including my “adopted” grandparents, at 24, I have one still in my life. My closest (99-year-old grandfather…*not “great”) passed away 3 years ago (graduated from Hume-Fogg!), and he was active and alert until his last 6 months!
Blessings,
~Cheryl
And after reading the comments. I KNOW i have never done field day! But at least I know what a crab race is! H
whittakerwoman@yahoo’s last blog post..Field Day Live!
My favorite field day memory was skeet shooting with my brothers and my cousins at my great-grandpa’s house in Ohio. He had the coolest house, he built by himself. And I was pretty good, not as good as my brothers but they were older than me. My shoulder always hurt later but it was worth it.
I was always the fat kid, so I hated all of it except the tug of war… I always got to be in the back and got the most high fives. hahah
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My favorite was Riding Dirtbikes with my Dad!
@Cheryl, I’m very blessed to still have 3 out of 4 of my grandparents. They’re all active and very sharp!
Pete Wilson’s last blog post..Field Day
First, let me just say, tug of war was probably my favorite.
The blog world sometimes seems like a tiny little place. I am a long time follower of LPM Blog (Beth’s blog where I also have gotten to “know” her sweet daughters Amanda and Melissa), an avid follower of Angie’s “Bring the Rain” where I once was linked to your wife’s blog. I still check on her as well. Then…sometime ago I found your blog. I started following The Whitaker’s when they went on their Compassion trip. And last but certainly not least have been reading RefineUs.org for many months. It has been a tool during a time when life has been hard on some sweet friends. Tricia has been sweet to email me personally and I praise His name for what He is doing in and through them.
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relays…any kind of relay. LOVE em!
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@Kelley, Dang girl. We might be cousins or something.
Pete Wilson’s last blog post..Field Day
f@Pete
I hope I can be as sharp as them tomorrow! I swear I’m already losing a lot of my vocabulary…
How lovely
Oh, yeah: I’m from the D.C. area – we had Field Day, and we’re definitely not southern. We’re considered “Mid-Atlantic”!
Poor, deprived Heather. A tear.
~Cheryl
@fruityspirit9
Definitely tug of war. It might as well have been gladiators. It was INTENSE. As long as you (ahem… I) was not on the end!
Of course the blisters and skinned knees from it were always healed by the ice cream sandwiches we got! Such a fun day! TOTALLY NOT a reason why I’m in college to be an elementary teacher….
I was a track and field girl.
The video was priceless….the dizzy game makes me sick. CANNOT even watch it. And, I think Jett clearly won the football throw.
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Field Day was by far my favorite day of the school year!
This boy David was always on my team and we mastered the three legged race and by the time we were in 7th grade could do it at a quick jog!
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Hmm….I don’t have good memories of school sports day…always tried to wish myself ill on that day that came around every June, without avail.
However, if I had to pick it would be tossing the welly boot (even though I sucked at it) or the Three-legged race. Perhaps because that one is more about strategy than being a fast runner (which I’m not).
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I think my favorite field day was when we would go to Starved Rock State Park in Utica, IL – has to be the best state park in Illinois…and just hung out. Got to see nature and a lot of other cool things. Hiking, fishing, etc.
Loving the podcasts…thanks for doing what you do.
@Johnathon, thanks for listening to the podcasts. Hope they continue to be helpful to you.
I’d say the softball throw.
(I’m not, nor was I ever, much of an athlete)
Loved the ball throw in elementary school, and then shotput/discus once in grade 7 & 8.
hated the running events. :-S
hula hoop for sure! 3 legged race 2nd fav!
thanks for posting the link to Justin and Trisha Davis, their video for Hope Now is awesome! just what I needed to hear!
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@ Pete: I’m shocked you don’t know what a crab race is!
As for me, I loved the sprinting events (so explain to me why I was a distance runner in track?) and kickball. My school district has Olympic Day, which is basically just a day of field-day competitions. Each school goes against the other. In 4th grade, my team beat out every other school for the blue ribbon in kickball. Strategy, I tell you, strategy.
I also loved loved LOVED just about anything we did in gym class.
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Oh, man, relay races! My OCD really kicked in on the suitcase races where you started with an empty suitcase, ran to the other side of the field, packed your suitcase (folding things was the trick to fitting it all in), zip it up and race back to the starting point. Free fun is good fun.
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I was just catching up on your blog (a recommendation of a friend) and thought that this question coincidental. I just finished a blog about my own Field Day flashback recently when I was volunteering for my 6th graders class. Here’s the post, if you’re interested:
http://lubylu.wordpress.com/2009/05/03/field-day-dawning/
The short of it? Three-legged race – definitely my favorite.
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