Relay for LIfe

Relay for life was AMAZING!  The Maumelle Mommy and Me group raised over $6600 for the American cancer society.  Raising that much money put us in first place for the most money raised.  We also set a new record for the most money raised by an individual group.  I came in 2nd for individuals who raised the most money.  We worked our butts off to do all of this.  Garage sales, Baggo tournaments, cookouts in the park, ice cream parties... you name it, we did it.  I hosted a fundraiser at Noggins where I worked Fridays and donated all of my proceeds to to relay for life.  It was a great way to raise money! 

For the actual relay we decided to decorate our booth as Dollywood.  The theme for Relay was "Giddy up for a cure".  We thought Dollywood would be a fun alternative to bandanas and plaid.  We thought right!  It was so much fun.  I made 6 of these costumes (in my spare time - aka midnight the night before) for some of us to wear.  We looked hilarious!

The Maumelle Relay is 18 hours.  They have little contests throughout the night to keep you entertained.  for one of the contests we had to make a dress out of duct tape and newspaper.  I took newspaper strips and curled them with my chi iron.  I used Gold and pink duct tape to make a top.  I cut stars out of duct tape and put them on the top of the dress.  I also made a giant cowboy hat out of newspaper.  It was pretty awesome.  Unfortunately the contest was judged on crowd applause and those darn teenagers were so loud.  I got beat out by a kid wrapped in newspaper with duct tape holding it together.  Whatever!  Mine was WAY better than that :-)  Molly and Avery had fun helping me make the dress so it was worth it. 

Angie Verstraete (our team captain) hosted a Baggo tournament.  Several of the husbands played and had a great time.

 

I hosted "Rollin' for Relay" at my house.  About 30-40 people came.  We played LRC and had vendors there for shopping.  It was a great time and a great fundraiser!  

The woman on the far right of this picture was AMAZING... She ran for 12 hours... YES... RAN for 12 hours.  She completed 50 miles.  After her 50 mile run, she walked for at least another hour.  It was pretty cool to watch her do it. 

The best part about Relay was the opportunity to show my family how important it is to give back.  The girls watched and helped me paint, glue, glitter, sew, clean, etc for this event.  Each time I was able to explain the importance of helping others.  I hope that they will grow up to be generous with their time, money, and skills.   A friend posted this quote on facebook and it's been one of my favorites ever since. "Do all the good you can. By all the means you can.  In all the ways you can. To all the people you can. As long as you ever can" - John Wesley  I get discouraged when watching others do so much for themselves and never looking around to see how they could help others.  Relay for Life was a good reminder that doing for others really is worth it!

    

I joke that this should be our Christmas card for 2012

 

The girls thought my costume was hilarious!  I would have to agree with them.  :-)