Relay for Life, 2014

Just a couple of things before we get to the title topic...

Sometimes when I get pictures off the camera I find some selfies and other oddities. I think this one falls in the "seflie" category.

Julia and I participated again in the Daddy Daughter Dance last month. We did a little photo shoot at home before heading out for the evening.

Amanda has taken up crocheting and she finished this brightly colored blanket for Julia. It's been fun watching the slow but steady progression of the growing rainbow.

I couldn't help but smile at the kids playing a quiet game of chess one weekend morning.

It was our 3rd year actively participating in Relay for Life (see here for 2013 and 2012). We had planned to get creative this year with some fundraisers, but we never found the time to expand on those good intentions. We did end up raising $752.55 which was a small part in the Pierce County total of $150,000 raised.

Seeing the survivors walk in together and the subsequent survivor's walk is always emotional. We're proud of Julia for putting herself out there.

Finn and Amanda were going to stay the whole night too. The plan was derailed slightly when Amanda wasn't feeling well. Both kids and I stayed all night and had a lot of fun. While we were all there though, we did some things together. Our little tent was made into our home for one night.

The ladies posed by our team's pennant - Relay had a sports theme this year.

While walking the track, we spotted a picture of Julia on the wall from last year.

Luminaria bags are put out by people in honor of or in remembrance of lost loved one. We found one with Julia's name on it that someone had made in honor of her.

Julia made a luminaria in remembrance of her friend Carina.

Julia was thrilled to see her teacher in attendance and I was glad to get a nice picture of the two of them together.

At one point while walking the track, I looked down and noticed Finn having quite a long conversation with three middle-school girls. I'm not sure what he would have been holding their attention with and I'm not sure if I should be worried. (He did know one of them from day care.)

Finn had a good time and was a good sport. He participated in Dude Looks Like a Cheerleader. Julia was content to help him hold his purse while we walked around and collected donations.

I had to get a picture of the biggest and littlest cheerleaders around!

There were only five brave guys who participated in the event.

Finn collected over $69 and that was good for a 3rd place finish.

Finn also participated in a number of very late night activities. It was mostly college-aged folks and Finn. He did scooter races, tug of war, and musical chairs. There were close to 30 participants in musical chairs and Finn made it to the top ten.


You can hear the people watching let out a big groan when Finn lost.


I had been able to talk the kids into laying down around 3:00 am so they did get a couple hours of sleep. The evening that started with a spaghetti dinner ended with a hot, but tired breakfast. Amanda came back in the morning to have breakfast with us and pack up things to head home.