This year's team was expanded. My sister-in-law DJ and my husband's cousin TK joined our team. My husband's niece Nicole, Nicole's boyfriend, my husband's nephew Jackson and his wife were returning team members from last year. I was a little concerned. My sister-in-law had to work on the day of the walk, so we were sad that she wouldn't be able to join us. Then, I got word that Nicole was moving into her new apartment that day, so I didn't think they would be able to make it. Thankfully, she was able to get everything moved in before they joined us at the stadium.
Since we did so well with getting donations, our team was able to become Grand Club members. We got to go to a special area where they had refreshments, gift basket raffles and free tickets to our local baseball team. We all put in our tickets in a basket of our choice. I wasn't very hopeful that any of us would win (Nicole won a basket last year) and we don't tend to be very lucky people.
While we were waiting for the walk to begin, I was looking around at all the people who come out for this event. It always amazes me to see the volume of people that support kids like SJ. There were fun things for the kids to do (bounce house, obstacle course, ball toss, Smiley cookie decorating), many informational booths and movie characters greeting the participants. I love seeing all the creative t-shirts. My favorite didn't win the contest, but the group who won shirts were pretty nice. I designed our shirts this year again. I tweaked them just a little. I changed the color to yellow, added this blog's website and used two tone lettering. Even though we didn't win the t-shirt contest, I think they turned out great!
The walk started around 11:00. We did one complete loop around the football stadium. After we were finished, I wanted to get a team picture. Last year, I just grabbed a lady that was walking by. She had a little trouble using my camera, so I was looking for someone who looked more tech savvy.
I happened to see the emcee, who is a local radio sportscaster. I asked him if he would take our picture. "Do you want me to take 'your' picture?" he asked me. Then, it occurred to me that he is probably used to people asking to take his picture. I didn't want to bother him in that way, though. I said, "Yes. Can you take our picture?" He replied with a smile, "I certainly can." He took two pictures for us and then we talked to him for a couple of minutes. He was a very nice guy.
As we were walking to our car, Jackson's wife got a text that she didn't recognize. It said she was a winner. She had won one of the baskets. (Maybe our luck is changing?) She had put her ticket in the Go Ape basket. It was for a zip line tour through a local park. That was the one I was hoping for too. Good for her!
I am going to strive for a goal of $2000 for next year's walk. Hopefully, you will be able to join us or support us. Remember typical is boring!
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