Frozen Shamrocks

Today was the start of the 2011 three-part Wild Rover series, with a 3-mile outing in Haverhill (followed by a 4-miler next week in Lawrence, and a 5-miler the week after in Lowell.)

Sloppy, messy road conditions, snowfall through the race, and pretty frigid temps kept E Streeter participation to a minimum this year, but a few hardy Irishmen made the trek.

Here we are at race's start: The Lowell High leprechaun striking a pose in the first half mile, followed with a couple of rapid-fire action shots:

And here is on his way back in, finishing 15th overall out of 618 runners:

Sean with a very respectable 33rd overall, coming through downtown Haverhill:

Basking in their post-race finish, wanna know why Andrew's smiling (see next pic)

The REAL star of the day, the beef stew:

I Am a DJ, I Am What I Play

Wicked Good shoutout to DJ Cassidy, fresh off her 18th birthday (and apologies to David Bowie for borrowing his lyrics)! And to celebrate, DJ reminded everyone, including the elderly among us, that you can still be a kid at heart, no matter what your driver's license says! DJ (and by extension, Mike and Marcia) hosted a slew of LHS kids last night at Jump On In in Lowell, basically a king-size, big-kid friendly bounce house. Nice to see the teens and graduating seniors still remember how to have fun. College may be looming on the horizon, but there's still time to run a few obstacle courses and hit the trampolines.

Andrew, fresh off his MCC basketball outing earlier in the week, is back in mid-season dunk form:

The Old Men (who didn't wear the right clothing that would have allowed us to run the obstacle course)

All smiles from the birthday girl: DJ and Andrew getting their bells rung on the ladders:

It's not a corporate one, but Andrew's practicing his climb nonetheless:

Heather kicked her dad's @$$ at foosball, and then proceeded to do the same thing to Mike as well. (For the record, the table was tilted, but there's always time for a rematch.)

And here's the star of the night: Congrats DJ, you've grown into a remarkable young woman, and have a great future ahead of you. Don't let yourself ever think you're too old to Jump On In!

NBA All Stars Part Deux

The MCC Middle-Agers took to the basketball court last night against our annual rivals over at UML, and lo and behold, came away with the victorious bragging rights for another year!

In what was probably the all-around best basketball game of the four outings, the MCC team took the lead right out of the gate despite a pair of errant passes that had everyone sweating in the early seconds, and there was no looking back after that.

Here's some shots from the warm-ups, where there's nary a bead of sweat in sight. (The same couldn't be said mere seconds into the game):
Barry looking foul (but more on that later)

Our swarming defense prevailed:

Carlos and Andrew working the guard positions and the fashion plates:
Tommy refuses to pass to his clearly-open son after his son threw one off his foot in the first half:

Tommy getting girled:

But everything worked out well for the E Streeters and Middle-Agers combo, as the guests prevailed as the last second ticked off the clock.

And just in case you're wondering how seriously we took this game, this shot of Barry should tell it all:

Daddy's Little Girl Isn't So Little Anymore

So, last night was the 10th and *choke* final Father-Daughter dance at St. Margaret's School for Heather and I.

Starting in kindergarten and working our way up to her current 8th grade, this event has been a staple of our SMS memories, and a night out that I'll remember forever. I'm proud to say I've got a beautiful daughter who's - at least for now - still not too embarrassed to be seen dancing with her father.

It's been a treasure to watch her grow up over these years, and as you'll see from the pics to follow, she's had a great time doing it, with so many friends in tow. Unfortunately, these are just the pics from the years of digital cameras, I don't have her earliest years loaded in here.

Absolutely unforgettable memories. And it's not as if this wasn't already a difficult acknowledgement to realize my baby is getting ready to head off to high school, but what was the last song they played for daughters to dance with their dads last night? Of course, "Daddy's Little Girl."

2005 (2nd grade, 8 years old)

2006 (3th grade, 9 years old)

2007 (4th grade, 10 years old)

2008 (5th grade, 11 years old)

2009 (6th grade, 12 years old)

2010 (7th grade, 13 years old)
And last night, 2011 (8th grade, 14 years old)
And people wonder why I lug a camera around to all of these events.

Thanks Heather, for the best years and laughs!

A Sweet Skate!

There wasn't anyone skating on thin ice yesterday at Middlesex Community College's first-ever Sunday Skate behind its Bedford campus, but there were hundreds of folks - including several E Streeters - who ventured out onto the ice. The Sunday Skate was held as part of MCC's 40th Anniversary celebration, and nearly 250 people from all over turned out for few runs around the homemade rink alongside the college's fitness trail. Kudos to photog extraordinaire Kevin Harkins for the shots.

Me and my two sweeties on the Valentine's Day weekend: Andrew Cook: Keeper of the Flame
Kayla Borges: Savor of S'moresAnd apparently Queen of the Crates as well:

Donna Corbin traded in her cycle for the skates:

Here's honorary E Streeters Judy Burke and Alice Rouse keeping folks fed:

And finally, here's the brains behind the planning of the event, minus E Streeter Jonathan Crockett, who was up north skiing with some MCC students for the weekend. And yes, Scott, boots still DO work on ice, you don't need skates after all.See everyone next year!