Great Strides 2011

On Saturday May 21st our family participated in our first Great Strides event to raise money for Cystic Fibrosis.  We were blessed to have over 30 people from our ward come out to support us in our walk.  I was also touched by the people that donated to the cause and helped us raise money.  We were by no means even in the neighborhood of the top fundraisers, but we really didn't put that much effort into it, and we were greatly blessed by friends and family that care.

One of the first things I noticed when we got there was just how many people had turned out.  The official count they gave was 745 people, but I think that was based on the people that officially checked-in and I know not everyone on our team did that.  My guess is that we were much closer to 900 people or so.  There were 50 teams represented.  That's a whole lot of people per team! 

The walk took us on a nice scenic route through a downtown area of the Springs.  It really was a beautiful day and a beautiful walk.  And for the most part, the boys did pretty well with the walk.  Kai loved that all of his friends from church were there and he walked a ways with them.  After a while he joined Finn in the double stroller.  Finn wanted to get out of the stroller but he didn't get the concept of walking with the group.  He thought it would be more fun to just run the other direction.  So, unfortunately, he had to go back in the stroller.

Kai before the race with our hometeacher's children--Cassidy and Max
Kai LOVED having all of the teenager's attenetion!

Finn and Momma waiting for the race to start.
I'm SO glad I got a haircut.  Look at that hair!

Kai and the Chick-Fil-A cow.

What a wonderful ward we have!  This is most of our team.  Another family showed up right after we took the picture.

Walking for a cure!

Finn, Kai, and Reid crossing the finish line.

Waiting in line for lunch from Quizno's and Chick-Fil-A.  The rose sticker indicates that Finn has CF.

Eating lunch.

There was a fire truck for the kids.  Of course, Kai enjoyed that!

Kai got to try a firefighter's helmet.

Before the walk began there were free bagels and pastries.  And after the walk there were sandwhiches from Chick-Fil-A and Quiznos, as well as cookies.  I was also impressed by the constantly full drink coolers that were there the entire day.  After the walk, people ate lunch, mingled, and listened to the band and announcements.  Our family played at the playground for a bit.  It was a good day for everyone.

The Great Strides walk in Colorado Springs raised an amount just shy of $133,000 this year.  What an awesome site!  It was amazing to see the lines at the pavillion.  The longest one by far was the donation line where people just waited in line to pay money and write checks.  What a wonderful thing for everyone!