Relay For Life 2008

Relay For Life has been a very important event in my life for over 10 years now. I got involved in this all night walk to raise money for the American Cancer Society in college. My sorority always had a team at the walk in Carrollton. Back then my reason "To Relay" was to simply raise money to help with cancer research. Now my reasons are a lot more personal. So many people in my family have been personally affected by cancer and have fought valiant battles with this ugly "C" word. Relay For Life is a way for our family to raise awareness and to give money to this cause so that our boys will hopefully never know how horrible this disease is. This year Relay
was a little different. Miles For Michala is the team that we usually walk with. This year, Michala and her mommy and sisters were in Iowa with their new baby, Abe. He was born with club feet and is currently undergoing treatment from Dr. Ponseti himself to correct them. There was certainly a void this year and we missed them very much. Everything went well but things just weren't the same without them!

We also helped out with our church's team, which was a lot of work but was lots of fun as well! This year each team had to incorporate a movie theme into their campsites. Miles For Michala chose Sleepless in Covington (a take off from Sleepless In Seattle). We always do a coffee shop so this movie was the perfect choice as there were coffee scenes in it. Our church chose Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. We had a chocolate fountain and had marshmallows and fruit for people to dip in the chocolate. We also sold baked goods and large boxes of movie candy. In all, the Relay event in Covington raised almost $300,000.00 (at last check)! Here are some pictures of our great night!

With the help of Daddy's shoulders, Cooper takes his first lap at Relay this year. Mack Daddy walks closely beside them in his Survivor shirt. We are very proud of him!

What a crew!

One of the fun events at our Relay is the "Bouncing Baby Buggy Contest". Each team can have a baby representative that will go around to the different campsites to collect money. The baby with the most money at the end of the contest, wins. Our church's representatives won this year! Here is a picture of our little cuties! The Oompa Loompas (Will and Walker Myhand) and Violet (Emma Tucker Myhand) are actually brothers and sister. There is only 12 months between Emma Tucker and the twins! I so admire their mother!! In this picture, Walker is catching a cat nap while Emma Tucker tries to eat all of the candy off of her shirt! Will just wants the contest to begin!


Here are some of the luminaries that we bought for Relay. These are our "Reasons To Relay":

This one was bought in memory of Todd's grandfather, Bill Beeler by all of his great-grandchildren

This one was purchased by our family for my "niece" Michala.

Our boys got this luminary for their Mack Daddy!

This luminary was purchased in loving memory of Todd's mother, Judy Zittrouer. My boys call her their Grammy, and, although she is in heaven, her memory will live on in my boys forever!

This luminary is in loving memory of George Robert Zittrouer, Mack's father. He passed away a month or so after Todd and I were married. I am so honored that I had the opportunity to know this wonderful man.

This luminary is for my grandmother, Virginia Caines, who passed away two years ago from brain cancer. She was an extraordinary woman and I only wish that Cooper could have met her!

This luminary was given by my boys in loving memory of their Aunt Diane. In the picture on the luminary, Aunt Diane is holding Jackson. I wish that Cooper could have met her as well!

We got this luminary in memory of my aunt, Bonnie Hattaway. Her granddaughter, Addie, called her Granby, so that is what is on this bag. She passed away a week before her daughter, Holly gave birth to twin girls, Molly Margaret and Bonnie Kay.
Another luminary for our "Aunt Bon-Bon". This time it's from all of mine and Brooke's boys.

Cooper gives a big smile for the camera!

Tonya Coe, Sharon Corbett and I stop for a quick picture before resuming our roles in the candy factory! I am very proud to say that Sharon is a 4 year survivor of Breast Cancer!
Each year at dark there is a luminary ceremony. During this time, the lights are turned off as the luminaries that align the track are lit. This is a picture of the luminaries that were lit in the stands. If you look closely, you will see that the bags spell out the word HOPE-something that we all have!


2-4-6-8-Who Do We Appreciate? Randy, Randy, yea Randy! Thanks Randy for dressing up as a cheerleader for the Mr. Relay pageant! Although he didn't actually go through with the pageant, he was still a wonderful sport!