Jack's first 10K

We are so proud of Jack! He finished his first 10K (well, the first one since he was like 19 and didn't even have to think about training for it...he just did it) last Saturday. He beat his goal of finishing in an hour. Our very close friend Patrick ran with him. Patrick (who recently ran a half marathon) finished before Jack but I didn't get a picture of his time as there was a VERY sick teenage girl who pretty much collapsed and started vomiting right in front of us while we were waiting for our runners. She was ok in the end and was the only "casualty" that we saw. Will found it all fascinating.

You can see how Will, Ellen Claire and I support Jack in his running (with Starbucks, of course!) Steamed vanilla milk warms a kid's body good on a frosty morning. Jack hates that they are already accustomed to Starbucks, courtesy of their mother. Can I help it if everything they have is SOOOOO good?!?!? I told my mama that I can now move home to MS as they are expecting to get a Starbucks in my home town :-)

So now I've got to find J another race to keep him motivated through the winter up here! I'm thinking that there has to be one in February in Aruba, right?!?!?

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

Happy Halloween from Oswego! We had the best weather yet to trick or treat last night. It was sunny and crisp---and then the sun went down and it was down right freezing. BUT the last 2 years that we have been here for Halloween have been awful--rain the first and frigid the last. The result was record numbers of children out and about--it was so much fun!

Ellen Claire was a green M&M. Will was some kind of creepy skeleton. We went out with our neighbors thinking that EC would make it up and down our street. Wrong. She made it completely around the circle and only came home because her pumpkin was too heavy to hold! She was loving trick or treating and was too cute about it. She would run back up to say thank you if she had forgotten, completely amazing the candy givers. Our group did a hearty "TRICK or TREAT!!!" at each door, prompting many a stunned, happy look from our neighbors. Guess many kids these days just stick out their pillowcases for the candy!

All in all, we had a blast--definitely our favorite Halloween up here yet. If it was only warm enough to do like we did in GA and MD---get pizza, lawn chairs and have mini parties in everyone's driveway! We'd all sit out and hand out the candy from the chairs--great way to visit for sure!

Meg's Confirmation

Meg's Holy Confirmation was this weekend. It was such a special time--the service was great, Meg looked adorable and Gramma Reese was able to attend as her sponsor. It was a 2 hour mass that, amazingly enough, went by really quickly. Poor Will was sick, so he got permission to sleep through most of it, which made it go by even faster for him. He felt good enough though to be able to table hop during the reception, looking for the best cookies!

Meg has worked on her confirmation program for 2 years. Not only did she attend classes, but she had to do 30 hours of community service--from wrapping gifts at Barnes and Noble for the Junior League to making rosaries for the parish, she had to earn this rite of passage. And as a result, the Holy Spirit has been confirmed in her, bringing all its gifts to her. She is one sealed forever!