See Aidan run. Run, Aidan, run!

Aidan was invited to participate in the Baldwinsville Elementary Schools Cross Country Championships, which were held yesterday afternoon at Durgee Junior High. Four races were run - 5th grade boys, 5th grade girls, 4th grade boys, and 4th grade girls - and each race was 3/4 mile long. Each elementary school group was designated by a different color and Aidan's school wore yellow:

(team photo courtesy of Van Buren Elementary)

There were 76 runners in Aidan's category, the 4th grade boys. They gathered at the starting line...


...and then they were off and running!


I snapped the photo just a millisecond too soon and missed getting Aidan in the photo.

As Aidan neared the finish line, he still looked strong:


I was so excited that I jostled the camera, hence the blurred photo. Or perhaps he was moving that fast!

Aidan placed 24th out of the 76 runners with a time of 5:26.18, and he had a great time. We were proud that he finished the race, finished strong, and that he was pleased with his performance, even though he did not win. When I asked him if he could hear me cheering, he said, "No, but I felt you cheering in my heart."

Love, love, LOVE that boy.

Halloween 2011

The Star Wars theme from the past two years continued this year, but with a change of character: Aidan chose to be a Jawa instead of Luke Skywalker. Don't know what a Jawa is? Neither did I until James and Aidan reminded me, so here is the definition from Wookieepedia: "...typically short rodent-like natives of Tatooine. They were passionate scavengers, seeking out technology for sale or trade in the deep deserts in their huge sandcrawler transports." So much for the days when my child dressed as cute, cuddly creatures.

Aidan as a Jawa:


Who knew that Jawas wear Skechers? Must have scavenged them...

Our friends Kelly, Mike and Ryan came over on Halloween night to share in the village trick or treating. Ryan was dressed as the Grim Reaper, another cute and cuddly creature:


James and Mike walked with the boys around the village while Kelly and I stayed to hand out candy. On a night with no rain, little wind and fairly mild temps, the turnout was great, and Halloween 2011 was all treats and no tricks.