Race for the Cure - 2010 - Richmond, VA

Mi madre, mi padre, Sister Fantanimal, AriCaVa (& kiddos), FlyRunner & youngest son, ChildPilot (with 2 sons & hubby), Uncle Tom & wife, Kris and CycleCaster all converged on downtown Richmond, VA to take part in the 2010 Susan G Komen Race for the Cure.

We were "Jean's Team"! Walking for my aunt, Jean, we did it to celebrate her life, to raise awareness & do something in her memory as a family. It was a fitting weekend to get together - Mother's Day weekend! The weather was beautiful - sunny, warm, even a nice WIND!

There are lots of others with the same thoughts - celebrating life & walking for a cure. It was inspiring to see so many people in their pink, with the loved ones, living life.

The smallest of the team (Jelly & Otoño Poco) rode the 3.1 miles, but were alert & definitely enjoying the hustle & bustle of people passing them by.

At times we walked together, other times we were separated as walkers sped up & slowed down throughout the race. But in the end, we crossed the finish line together.

A little warn out from the excitement of the day, we left the race with plans to meet up at mi madre's house for lunch. What a spread to feed the hungry masses! With full bellies and lots of family in the vicinity, it was a nice afternoon to share with loved ones.

We survived this year's event & it was mentioned we should do it again next year...

I think i might just do it! See ya in 2011~

40 Years never looked so good

Yesterday we (me, Sister Fantanimal, Sister KidEduc8r, FlyRunner and ChildPilot [my other cousin, Cyndi]) threw a surprise party for mi madre and mi padre's 40th Anniversary.

(If you don't know whether I typed that correctly, yes, I said 40 years)

Mi padre knew about the party b/c we needed him to confirm his time off. He wasn't scheduled to be off this weekend, but mi madre requested for him to take the day so they could celebrate their anniversary.

Mi madre didn't want a party, didn't want us to spend the money (though we did offer to do so!), so she opted for a family vacation (still under construction). We didn't want thee big accomplishment to go by without recognition, so that's when we decided to plan a smaller party without her knowledge.

This sounds like an easy task. If any of your have trying to coordinate all the details of a surprise gathering before, you'll know what i'm talking about. With the guest(s) of honor in the dark, they inevitably throw up road blocks and detours that you could not have seen coming. I'd say the biggest one we had to deal with was when mi madre decided she would invite all her oldest friends and family (aka all the guests for the surprise party) to a brunch at the famous Jefferson Hotel.

I can not even begin to tell you how the (already confirmed party guests) felt about having to turn mi madre & mi padre down for a celebration at the hotel. They didn't want to hurt her feeling, but they secretly knew she's see them later. Luckily, they took it well & a couple of their oldest friends even went along for the event and still showed up later for the party. Talk about dedication!

We decorated with flowers & spring-colored items since their anniversary happened to fall on the first weekend of Spring - and what a glorious Spring weekend it was!

Mi madre & mi padre arrived at the ChildPilot's house (where the party was hosted) just in time. The first words we heard were "Why are all these cars we know here?" followed by the whole group yelling "Happy Anniversary". While mi padre had the "I knew all along" (which he did) face, mi madre reflected her surprise as her eyes flew open wide and started to tear a little.

Don't you love it when a surprise goes off without a hitch????

The usual amount of "did you know?", "were there clues?", "did he spill the beans?" could be overheard through the afternoon. Lots of camera flashes, lots of laughs & lots of love keep the guests on the surprise party high.

Now, I don't want anyone to think this party was a 'piece of cake' to put together - there was lots of sweat & effort involved! We made all the food ourselves, with the exception of the super duper cake from the bakery, and that was a nice opportunity to spend time with my family. That time had its own kind of fun!

These shots should give you an idea of the memorable time we had!

Here's hopin' for another 40 years together... though don't be expecting another party!

Cast of Characters

It's come to my attention that I am introducing more & more "characters" to my blogs & maybe it's time to do a little synopsis of these people & where they fit into the Grayzeee Life.

Cop'er = my husband, Aaron. We met on match.com & were married 4 yrs again. He's 'from' Missouri, though he's lived in many places since his dad was in the military. Cop'er is... a cop. He's also got a great retirement & pension! Hmm. Is that info only important to the woman who will be retiring with him???

Sister Fantanimal = my sister, Candice. She's the 'forgotten/overlooked/stepped over/pushed aside' (did i forget any of the words you told me to use?) middle sister. MEN - She's single!!! Sister F is an animal lover. I'd like to say 'dog lover', but I'm just not sure it matters what kind of animal it is! Her house is a menagerie with animals coming & going.

Sister KidEduc8r = my sister, Heather. She's the 'parents' favorite/baby/always got her way' (Sister F - did forget any of the words you told me to use for her?) youngest sister. (Yes, you guessed it - no boys in this family. Defective sperm?) KidEduc8r is a teacher of America's future. You know the kind - looking for snow days & school holidays. She's mommy to Ry-Guy & Caidelcake with another on the way.

Mi Madre = pretty obvious that this is my mother, mom, mama, Ellen. She's... hmmm... well, she's RETIRED! That's right. She now keeps a pretty mean house, cooks a wicked dinner & watches my nephews in her massive amount of free time. Sometimes she's just too tired to do all though, especially after a long battle with her computer!

Mi Padre = this is my pops, pox. dad, Ted. He's a pharma-father. We like that & enjoy having our own personal pharmacist 'on staff' at home. He's a collector of things too - coins, baseball cards, a few Civil War odds & ends (well, what did you expect - we live in VA!). Mi Padre also gave me a love for thunderstorms (something Mi Madre curses every summer)!

FlyRunner = my cousin, Angel. FlyRunner is a swimmer (from VT [scholarship] days) and mommy to Austin & Carter; wife to Collins (look for their character names in a future posting). She's a writer and photographer too - perhaps this runs on Mi Madre's side!? She is also a wonderful friend, soft-spoken and ballsy.

AriCaVA = you met her here. She's Betsy, the BFF, the big cheese, my 'go to' person. We met at Circuit City in 1994. After her west coast adventures, I am THRILLED that she calls VA home again. She's a landscape architect by trade, but I believe she likes "partner in crime to her BFF" as a better title. AriCaVa is mommy to Jelly and Otoño Poco; mistress wife to Mr. AriCaVA, who I have decided to introduce by another name later in this episode.

Cattails = I mentioned her lack of surprise about me in this post. She's Ashley, my lunch buddy, bridesmaid, DD, Saturday afternoon playdate. I met Cattails through Sister F. They were friends; now we are friends. Big ole happy family. She's a number cruncher and works for the state. (Possibly a State of Confusion?). She's wifey to DragonSlayer & mommy to Sweet Pea and soon-to-be Little Pea.

Ry-guy = my oldest nephew, Rylan. He loves to call Cop'er, "Snickelfritz" and play in our 'pirate ship' (swingset outside). He's a smart cookie, is in his first year of 'big kid school', loves drawing and is very sweet. Ry-guy is into being best buds with Cop'er and stirring up trouble when the 2 are together. I have to admit, Cop'er is VERY impressionable!

Caidelcake = my younger nephew, Caiden. He's 'the man' - much more rough & tumble than Ry-guy was, but loves him some fruits & veggies! He could put most adults to shame! Caidelcake loves being involved in anything Ry-guy is into and makes faces that will keep you laughing for hours. He also has a great sad face -- pretty convincing when he needs it! I totally fall for it!

Jelly = my honorary nephew, Jeffery (who I call Jeff), Since our first meeting when he was a mere 2 months old, we've been compadres. I'm Aunt Amie to him - even if he won't let ME read bedtime stories. We always have a great time eating pancakes & checking out everything in Michaels! 

Otoño Poco = my honorary niece, Katie. Katie & I are still feeling each other out. She's new to my world, so I understand it takes a little getting used to. I also know sometimes you just have to let it all out - just scream until it's out! You gotta be heard! I think she's starting to like me though. Just this past weekend I got a SMILE & A CRY out of her! Talk about progress!

Sweet Pea = Cattails' daughter, Sarah, who is 5. She's a character! I have this recent memory of her walking right into my house for a pool party. She just opened the door, walked in ahead of her parents & said 'hi Amie'... then walked right past me to where the action was. I was amazed by her seemingly fearless side! She's a talker & a questioner & I think someone is going to have their hands full when she gets older! Time to lock her into the bedroom!

DragonSlayer = Cattails' hubby, Kev... or as I like to call him Kevey and my 2nd husband. Since he was with Cattails before I got to know her, he came with that package. It's a good thing I think he's pretty cool! He's currently best known as director of "daddy daycare", but he also does a good interpretation of mechanic, computer repairman, mover, painter, gamer, friend. He's gearing up for the arrival of Little Pea... hoping for a repeat performance of pink.

DuJour = AriCaVa's hubby, Josh. DuJour is a chef! Calm your tastebuds down! He's taken! Well, I suspect for the right price he could be yours! Wait. I mean, for catering, cheffing, those food things. Not the other thing you were thinking about! He's quietly witty & one of the (if not THE) biggest Star Wars lovers I have ever met! DuJour is also outdoorsy &, from what I hear, might just be someone's Prince Charming.

Until our next casting call...

5K... it's not about the money

My cousin, Angel (we'll call her "FlyRunner"), has done the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in Charlotte for as long as I can remember. I have always been in awe of that probably b/c I am the farthest thing from a runner there can be. I think I might even RUN FROM RUNNING.

She signs up & straps on that race number every year and finishes at a time about 12 years ahead of what I might do. Not only does she run the race, she also raises money for it too! Talk about great multi-tasking!

Recently, after a bit of research on her part, FlyRunner discovered The Breast Cancer Research Foundation has a larger portion of its donations going to ACTUAL research. She has since suggested that all those generous donors out there send their funds to an organization that uses those donations in a way she felt would better serve the future for curing breast cancer... and she still runs the Komen race.

The race in Charlotte is usually in October. Last year, FlyRunner wasn't able to do the race for scheduling challenges, so she's making up for it by doing two races this year - the Richmond & the Charlotte races.

The Race for the Cure in Richmond is one Saturday in May. Since just about all of FlyRunner's family lives in the area (or close enough to drive), it's a great opportunity for everyone to take part in it. When I was approached with the idea to walk (yes, we are WALKING this race. FlyRunner will run the Charlotte race later in the year), I didn't hesitate. I have wanted to do something like this for a long time & this was perfect!

So started "Jean's team"... Named in memory of my aunt, FlyRunner's mother, the women (ok, mi padre too and assorted kids of male variety) in my family will be getting together to walk in her honor. I have to admit, I am really looking forward to it! I want to finish the walk/race with new inspiration within me; having been through an experience that not everyone has done; and completed for reasons that are imporantant to me and my family.

I have a while to prepare for it... Looks like it's about time to lace up those shoes & get outside!