Getting Involved Early

Last weekend a long time friend Tracy Dart, and her team of walkers, set out on the Susan G. Komen 3 Day walk here in Seattle in support of Breast Cancer research.  Their team collectively raised over 40K dollars through dontations, sponsorships, etc!  Tracy is a 2-time survivor of Breast Cancer at just the age of 35.  Being a long time friend, and someone our age, this has hit home as we have see her attack this head on and be a huge advocate for a cure.

So, when the opportunity came up to support Tracy and her team, we decided to help..and we being the entire family.  During the fundraising phase over the summer, Maddie and Kenzie overheard details about the situation and wanted to lend a hand.  They used their skills and interest in making beaded bracelets to make a slew of pink bracelets to sell at our family garage sale.  Using materials we bought for them they, along with some friends, spent the time to make the bracelets for the sale.  The first go around generated over $100!  Later, at another fundraising event, they raised another $100.  It might not seem like a lot, but for these girls it was a fortune.  More importantly they felt like they were really helping and contributing.

Fast forward to last Saturday while Team Tracy was pounding the pavement on Day 2 of their walk.  We made the drive up to Everett to be at a cheering station for the team.  However, the station wasnt just for them, it was for the thousands of people walking.  Walker after walker came by, with smiles on their face (despite the pain of being on mile 30 of 60), genuinely appreciative that we would take the time to be there.  Right in the mix were our two girls, cheering, clapping and encouraging them to keep going.  It was right after I took this picutre that it hit me...

Here are our two little girls, cheering on these people that are raising money for a cure to one of the worst diseases out there facing women, breast cancer...this is for THEM.  It is because of what these walkers are doing TODAY that will give our two girls hope for a cure in the future.  While I am hopeful that a cure will be found a lot sooner, the reality is it that it likely wont be for sometime, and who will benefit from the things happening now? ...these two little girls!

Clearly I hope they can avoid this all together, but I know by getting them exposed this now, they will continue to aware...they will continue to support...the will continue to have hope.  Plus, if at some point in their life they become directly impacted by this disease, they will know that they can fight through it.  So, we are excited that they are getting involved at this early age and taking an interest in supporting the efforts that they will benefit from in the future.

Time flies when you're having fun!

Hard to believe that the last post here was "Goodbye June, Hello July"...and next week Oct will be here.  Where does the time go?  It has been a busy few months, and we will do our best to recap all the highlights from the last few months.

July - Friends and Family
Like we have the last few years, we headed to Maggie Lake for the 4th of July.  We are always amazed at the amount of fireworks that this community puts together...the show goes on for hours, both on the 4th as well as the 3rd.  We had visits from The Lakewood Jensens (technicall that was June, but oh well) as well as the Willow Glen Perrys.  Always enjoy hanging out with family, and getting the cousins together.  Lastly we had the chance to spend a few days with our friends the Landskovs at their cabin.  Unfortunately, they moved back to Colorado in June, but made a trip back this way for some time at their cabin.  We had an awesome time!  Maddie found a new hobby...Kayaking!

August - Travel Adventures
In August we had a handful of trips.  Mike joined two friends on a fishing adventure to Vancouver Island.  It was a kind of fishing that he had never really done before, out on the open ocean.  They caught Salmon, and our favorite Halibut.  The "catch" filled the freezer and we are experimenting with all kinds of fish receipes.  After coming back from that trip he then headed down to San Francisco for a conference.  With his job situation it was a great networking opportunity.  Only regret was that Steph didnt come down with him as he got to stay at the Ritz Carlton at Half Moon bay...right on the ocean..right on the golf course.  However as a family we wrapped up summer by heading down to Disneyland for 5 days.  It was a spur of the moment trip as we found great airfare.  The weather was awesome, there were hardly any crowds, and we did EVERYTHING while we were there.  It was a great way to wrap things up.

September - Back to School
After a busy labor day weekend, and celebrating birthdays, the kids headed back to school.  Kenzie started Kindergarten, while Maddie is now a big 4th grader.  Both at Hope, and both now full time..and both wearing uniforms!  Kenzie loves every part of school, and Maddie is as sharp as a tack. 

We also just wrapped up a visit from our relatives from Nebraska who came out to Seattle for the UW vs Nebrasksa football game.  We had an awesome time with her cousins and their kids, all who stayed at our house.  Little crazy, but the girls loved playing together, and we loved catching up.  A tradition we always have is to go on the Duck boats...the kids love..and we love it.  Always seem to learn something new about the town we live in!

Aside from all of this, we continue to fill our days with Soccer, School and Work.  Mike updated his blog about his new opportunity with MangoSpring.  It is part time right now, but we hope that with some of his help it will move forward and become full time by the end of the year.  Steph is working part time doing recruiting/interviewing for AnotherSource.  She loves the flexibilty, the opportunity to engage with people, and the team she is on.  He boss, Marcie was just honored as one of the "40 under 40" by the Puget Sound Business Journal.

Well, that's it in a nutshell..Time flies when you're having fun, and we have been having a lot of fun for sure!