Race for a Cure

This past Saturday, we participated in the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation's Race for a Cure.  This event has been a staple in our calendar for several years (even before Eric and I knew each other), and it's truly an amazing experience.  It gives me chills seeing all the women in pink tee shirts (pink tee shirts mean they've survived breast cancer).  It's even more uplifting to see how MANY people turn out for it.

walkers doing YMCA as they round the corner to the start line.  hilarious...especially when you put pom poms with it.

The finish line was a pretty exciting place to be.  There were a million people standing on the "sidelines" cheering the runners on, and when Eric rounded the corner, Anna went NUTS.

yup, that's him behind the guy in the kilt with the red mohawk.

As we did last year, we ran in memory of Barbara Commins, our friend Mellanie's mom and the lady that left Anna that adorable rocking chair that she ADORES.

sorry, but if Barbara's name was going to end up on my derriere, the snapshot deserved a modicum of sass.

I'm sorry, but seriously.....how do you run in a kilt?  I would think the possibility of a wardrobe malfunction would be enough of a deterrent.

I had a ring-side seat at the finish line -- Eric ran in with our fave weather man, Andrew Freiden.  I snapped this picture to "Send to 12" (you can send in photos of your kids dressed for the day's forecast or of snow mountains in your front yard or tornadoes in your backyard....some of the them are pretty cool).  However, I didn't realize what I'd captured until after I got home and uploaded the images.

Andrew was interviewing this group of students.  These kid go to Manchester High School -- the school from which Mom retired.  This past week, they lost one of their students to a car accident.  As you see on the pink tag, they were running in memory of Avery.  She had signed up to run the race, and had been really excited about it.  Over 100 students came out and ran in her memory.  It was a really touching moment.

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To close, some priceless pics of the princess.  This is what happens when you combine cupcakes with sunglasses.

And, yes, the rumor is true....when you give a kid sugar, eventually they're going to crash from the high....and crash HARD.

15 Years Ago....

Fifteen years ago, two ladies ventured to New York City, each for the first time.  They were mesmerized by all the things they saw -- the guy with the green mohawk on the subway who was probably the nicest stranger they'd ever met, identifying the two as tourists and offering to take their picture (and didn't steal their camera); the Irish pub where they had lunch with the rest of the high school group they were traveling with where the waiter brought everyone free dessert (green ice cream...okay, it was vanilla with green food coloring, but still a festive treat on St. Patrick's Day); the magnificence of St. Patrick's Cathedral and St. John the Divine (the LARGEST cathedral in the world.....I.N.C.R.E.D.I.B.L.E.); and their first Broadway show -- Beauty and the Beast.

Fifteen years later, I was tickled to return to the theatre with my Mom to see it again.  What sweetened the deal was being able to introduce my niece to the wonderful world of Broadway (okay, not the real thing, but still spectacular).  Carrie, Natalie, and Danny made the trek down here on Friday and we headed to the Landmark on Saturday afternoon.  It was a GORGEOUS day.

Since it *was* such a beautiful day, we decided to make the most of it.  Before heading out for a trip to the neighborhood playground, we had some nice pajama/breakfast/story time.

that kid cracks me up.

After getting dressed, we loaded up strollers and headed down to the playground.

how cute are the two of them staring at each other?  it rather became a fun little game.....see below.

Anna and Danny had fun playing on the seesaw.  Okay, they didn't quite use it properly, but come on....admit it.....this is pretty P.S. Precious, wouldn't you say?

Now....Natalie, on the other hand, was an old pro at the seesaw.

And, speaking of old pros, Daredevil Danny was a master slider on the massive jungle gym.  Anna, however, chose to spectate. She's a little leery of playground apparatus.

We headed home for lunch and prettying-up.  (as always, click on bold, underlined words here and above for videos)

Silly girl.....

We had a GREAT time at the show, and it melted my heart to see Natalie so excited to see it.  Between Carrie and I, there were a lot of happy tears!

And, Eric?  He got to try his hand at having twins.  The kids got along G.R.E.A.T.

Finally, some more shots from Easter Sunday when Grandma (Yaya?  Grandma?  It still remains to be seen.  She calls her both) and Grumpy brought over the Easter basket that the Easter Bunny brought by their house.  Hmmmm.....I don't recall her being THAT good this year.

this happens to be a very special couple of pictures for me.  I have practically an identical shot of me around this age with my Grumpy (Dad's dad).  Once I figure out the scanner, I'll post it up.