It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's 1,000 Superheros!

This past weekend, we had one of our most fun days ever.  Well, the boys did!  I would certainly prefer a later wake up time, but that's race life I suppose.

There was a Superhero 5K and Kids Fun Run, about 40 minutes away.  Kaden was all in.

We didn't pre-register (I have a lot of ideas but rarely commit in advance!).  So we showed up by 7:30 am- and then had two hours between registering and race start.  Thankfully, there was a good bit to do!

Kaden had fun trying his spidey-strength out.  And of course, we were checking out everyone's outfits. There was no official count, but we saw ONE adult Robin (guy), two adult "Robin Girls", and one wee Robin.  Yes, we were counting.

 Every single Robin came with a Batman.  The life of a sidekick, I suppose.  In the photo above, check out their socks- with capes!

Our guy started running around as soon as he got his number- and cape.  That's right, part of the kid racer's goodie bag was an actual cape.  Genius.

Above, you can see a bit of the outfits.  Most involved t shirts.  Some involved masks.  Some were full blown costumes (The Incredibles with muscles, for instance).

There was also this huge inflatable obstacle course.  Kaden was begging to go on, even though I wasn't sure he was big/old enough.  I finally let him, though- and WHAM- he flew through it.  I'm not sure, in the pic above, if he can even see through his mask.  But below, look at Spidey climb!

Usually, he was racing against a bigger kid, who would finish and run off before he came down the slide.  But since he didn't see it, he claimed victory every time.

Below, he's getting warmed up.  By posing, not stretching.  Apparently, that's how superheroes roll.

Have you seen anything cuter than this?  The youngest boy division lining up for their race.  It was 40 yards, I think.  Notice - Kaden is standing next to Robin.

Unfortunately, when they took off, I failed to get a good photo.  Between all that red and blue, and actually cheering, I only have photos of the sky or other people's kids!  He did really well- and earned another race ribbon.

On the way home, we passed an Amish buggy.  I still get a kick out of seeing them.  (But visiting Chocolate World is wearing thin!)

We headed home and took a much deserved nap- then headed up to 'the cousins' for a pig roast. Never mind that his grandparents and aunts and uncles live up there too- it's always referred to as 'the cousins'. Kaden had a blast.  Swimming in Uncle Dave's pool...

Roasting marshmallows on the fire...

He didn't actually eat though, until we started to leave around 8:30 pm.  Then he claimed he was hungry, so we grabbed some fruit and a quick pork sandwich.  Made him happy enough to fall asleep on the way home, but not before seeing the moon rise over the river.

Good days, my friends.  Tiring, but good.

the THINGS this Kid does (and says)

Earlier this week, it was a wee bit nice out, so I took Kaden to a nature center for a rockin' storytime about frogs.  It actually was quite cool:  stories, poems, songs, a little craft.  All in 45 minutes.  Afterward, we explored the actual nature center, which was like a mini-kids museum.  All sorts of cool displays (microscopes with feathers or hedgehog barbs) and a life size tree/cave with all sorts of local, ah, taxidermied animals.  And the kids could climb on/thru the tree and cave part, but not touch the "stuffed" animals.  Such a neat place.   I remembered the camera- but forgot the memory card.  Next time you'll have photos.

ANYWAY, besides being one of my new favorite places, what struck me the most was how Kaden used this very cool play area as a backdrop for some elaborate superhero/police/criminal scene.  He pretty much involved every kid there - one was his batman (because as the leader, he of course got to be Robin, lol), and the "baby girls" (toddlers) who didn't want to play were innocent bystanders, aka "city people."   

Also this week, we've been at home and at one store.  All these places were just locations to play superheroes.  Seriously.

***

Today, we found Robin's kryptonite.  I was trying to decide on potting soil (as in, will spending $3 more on this bag prevent me from wasting time by planting seeds that won't grow in the cheapo dirt)... when Boy Wonder called me over with a trembling voice.  "It hurts, Mom," he said- holding out his hands.  I didn't see any blood.  What happened?  "I tried to hold the cactus," he said.  WHY?  "It looked soft and fluffy, like a rose."  When I took his hand to look closer, he immediately started wailing: "Dooooooon't toooouch iiiiiittt"

Fifteen or twenty minutes later, we had gotten most out via tweezers.  Thanks to some texts with a good friend and JimDad, we also had options to remove the rest of the barbs:  elmers glue, duct tape, aloe wash or epsom salt soak.  Hmmm, still in the middle of the store, we opted for duct tape.  The tears were gone- apparently black duct tape gloves are a way cool addition to Robin's costume... 

Later this summer, JimDad turns 40.  Today I was trying to brainstorm what to do, since our first three options were postponed due to move issues (nothing bad, just normal re-focusing).  I asked Kaden what he thought.  "A toy?" he said.   No, I replied, it has to be something big for this year.  "I know!  Shh, don't tell him, but we'll all go to..."  he actually paused for dramatic effect, people!  And then jumped up to stand on his seat and finish  "... we'll all go to FLORIDA!"  Big smile all around.   Well, sure that's a great idea, but we don't have a lot of money saved, I started to explain.  "I have money.  I'll give it to him.  I have $13."  Generous heart, that boy.

***

Tonight, Kaden also told his Dad that he didn't want to go to church anymore, and he wasn't going to school either, because you had to be still and quiet.

Earlier this week, he overheard a comment about me looking for papers I need to register him for the public school.  "I'm not going to public school," he adamantly declared.  Really? What kind of school are you going to?  "Superhero school."   Later I asked him to tell his dad what kind of school he wanted to go to, and he replied "Police school."   So, we're right back where we started...