Marchin' for Babies!

I was happy to be able to walk this year for the March of Dimes. Thanks to everyone who donated to this great cause!! We thought it would be a good idea to make it a family event. Mondo and I got up at 0645 on Saturday morning to get everything ready. Then we woke the kids up...out of a DEAD sleep...and got them ready. The walk was at White Rock Lake but we couldn't park there. So we parked at Valley View Mall and took a shuttle (grey hound bus) to the lake. It was quite the experience to make it there by 0900. The walk was supposed to start at 0900...it really started at 0930. But we were so far back that we didn't actually move until 0945. The kids were getting a little antsy so I was glad to get moving! We weren't sure if it was a 5K (3 miles) or a 5 mile walk. Of course we were hoping for 3 miles but it turns out that it was 5! That's a long way pushing a double stroller. Mondo and I had to take turns. Ethan did walk a lot of it but that's just way too long for a 5 year old to walk!

Don't they look super excited to be up so early on a Saturday morning?

Group photo of some of my coworkers.

A good close-up of us. That guy behind me is the only guy working in the NICU...poor John. He didn't know what he was getting himself into!

Me and the boys before the walk.

Here is us waiting to walk. That's a lot of people marching for babies!!

Here's what we were pushing most of the time. 3 kids on a 2 kid stroller...pretty heavy! We walked with my manager and her grandson. He is the same age as Ethan. They had a good time chasing each other and playing but got tired pretty quick.

I don't know this little girl but she is a cute example of some of the kids and shirts out there. She was walking with her twin sister who had her name on her shirt. Very cute!

There were tons of posts along the way that were either "in memory of" or "in honor of". It was really sad to walk by the ones who were too tiny or too sick to survive. But it was also really neat to see the ones who did make it...standing next to their sign having their picture taken with it! I will admit I teared up several times that day. It made walking 5 miles with 3 kids worth it.

Caleb was actually the best one of the bunch! We were so suprised that he never tried to get out of his stroller. He had his "guys" (Buzz & Zurg), apple juice, and chips. What else could a boy want?

At least there was some nice scenery.

Mondo and my manager Molly.

Mondo, Ethan, and Blake taking a little sprint. Mondo was really itching to run it!

Ethan needed a little help from Daddy at the end to finish.

...almost there!

Family photo at the finish line. Don't the boys look so excited to be done? And it was actually raining by this time.

Mommy and Caleb on the bus ride back to the mall. We went to Cheddars for lunch then went home and all four of us took a much needed nap! Then it was off to work for me. That was a long night!