The best

I have the best friends ever. And yesterday proved it.

Yesterday morning, six of my good friends--plus nine of their kids, one sister, and two husbands--joined me for the ALR's Walk with Us to Cure Lupus. (Bobby and Maggie arrived late, thanks to a Saturday morning gymnastics class.) Our team, Moms in Motion, surpassed our goal of raising $1,000 -- we raised $1038.75, to be exact! And I surpassed my personal goal of $400, raising $495. The Funniest Donation Award goes to Nicole S., who placed her donation in the name of "Nicole, Byron, Barack, and Joe," a subtle tribute to our similar political philosophies. ;-)

Here's our team at the begininng of the race:

From left are Bill, Meghan, Cason, and Karen W.; Stephanie and Avery M.; Brett, Jessica, and Heidi M.; Donna C.; me; Anthony and Crystal C., and Evelyn K., with Kyle M. and Jonas and Nolan K. in the wagon.

And here we are after the race, mostly just the ladies and kids:

Our team brought up the rear as far as finish order, but what do you expect from a team with six strollers and a Radio Flyer wagon?

The kids had as much fun playing together as they have on any playdate. Here are Heidi and Avery:

And Jonas, Maggie, and Meghan:

They also loved climbing on the brick sculptures at the Riverpark.

As luck would have it, the Autumn Children's Festival, benefitting the Ronald McDonald House, was being held at the park at the same time as the walk. While this created a little bit of confusion early on as to who parked where, it also gave the kids another fun thing to do. After the walk was over, we headed over there with two other families to check out the fun. There were tons of activities for kids, including many inflatables for jumping, pony rides and a petting zoo, crafts, pumpkin painting, a maze (Maggie's favorite), and skill games.

Maggie tossing a ball into a jar:

Her first pony ride!

Picking out yarn to use in making a Tootsie Pop ghost:

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, to all my friends--and to those who couldn't be there but contributed--for helping raise money for a cause that's so personal to me. I appreciate it more than you all know!