Thursday, March 20, 2008

Sixth set of Relay pics....

.
The HHS ROTC Color Guard
.
.
Survivors walking into the seating area after the dinner that they enjoyed...prepared by the Oviedo Women's Club.
.

.

My brother and Jackie releasing their butterflies. Every survivor got one at the dinner and they were told when to release them.

. .

Living in the moment. Taking it all in...

. .
.

Fifth set of Relay pics...

.
This is Zach Majka. He was the honorary chairperson of the Oviedo Relay event. He is holding the torch that went around the track the entire 18 hours of the Relay and was passed around each lap. He has survived cancer 3 times. What a trouper!!! His mom is following behind him. She, too, is a cancer survivor as is her mother, Zach's grandmother!
.
.
This is Zach breaking the banner (which says "Celebrate") to start the survivor lap. Both the OHS Lion mascot and the HHS Huskie mascot were pulling the banner. If you look carefully, you can see the HHS drumline in front of the banner. They led the way for the march/walk/relay against cancer.
.

.

On the survivor lap...my brother and my friend Jackie.

. .

Here they are coming up on the last curve of the lap. They look like true survivors...warriors for the rest!

. .

These gentlemen were holding up the rear. They had the Relay banner and everyone else joined in the walking behind them.

. .

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Fourth set of Relay pics...

.
Here we are walking the second lap...only the survivors walk the first lap. By his look, my brother took this very seriously. It was raining from the time the survivors came out from their nice dinner. It wasn't a hard rain and we walked on grass but it was really crowded for a while. There were a lot of people there.
. .
This pic is after our laps (we did two). Kent was taking the pics so he isn't in any but It was still a family affair!
.

.

This is my friend Jackie with me. She walked the survivor lap with my brother.

..

Another picture of my brother, sister and I along with my sister's husband and my son, KJ. He doesn't look happy but he is inside. (He's 15!)

. .

The luminaries that they set up for the 9 pm lighting. It was really nice. The rain slowed down enough for the candles to stay lit through the ceremony.

.

.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Third set of pics

.
Walking a lap around 11:00 pm. Kent stopped by after dinner to bring me some "stuff" to finish out the night and to drop KJ off. He snapped some pictures while he was with me. You can see that the lighting was really good. And the rain had stopped for a little while. It started back up after he left but stopped for good around 1 am.
.
.
The torch was passed to me while Kent was walking with me. A cool experience. It went around the track all night long. I carried it twice. (I was wearing Kent's jacket while he was with me as he got hot and I was cold.)
.

.

Kent got a glimpse of a teammate folding up one of the tents. It was near the end...I think around 10:30 am. I was still walking!!!

. .

I walked with many different people during the hours I walked. This was Mitch (Mitchell Wade Salons). What a nice guy! We had a very nice chat. His booth had Mardi Gras as their holiday, hence the beads he was wearing.

. .

Karl came with Kent to carry a few things back home (via car) that were needed for the team booth. I think he was proud of me. (At least, I hope he was.) I was tired!!!

. .

Monday, March 17, 2008

Second set of Relay pics

.
A sign in front of the high school where the Relay For Life in Oviedo was held. It was put up a couple of weeks before the event so people could see it as they passed by on Lockwood Blvd.
.
.
These cups were placed in the fence for all to see prior to the event. There's an arrow on the far right leading to the entrance where people turn in to park.
.

.

Paint The Town Purple was an incentive for local businesses to get involved. For every $100 donation to the American Cancer Society, the business received a large purple ribbon to place on their door (or in some prominent spot). There were many throughout Oviedo.
.

.

This was how my first pair of shoes looked after the walk. I wore three pairs altogether but these were worn the most hours. They were my old running shoes from back in the day (I believe it was a Wednesday!) when I could run in races. Now, my shin splints remind me of my age and limitations. The other two things are tally marks on the sleeve of my t-shirt to keep track of all the laps. I know I missed a few as I got distracted talking to new friends. The three markers were used - one for each hundred laps.

. .

A close up of my shoes. They were very good to me especially in the rain. My feet stayed dry the entire time it rained and even afterwards as the grass was drying off. New Balance are awesome!!!

.

.

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Relay For Life Pics

.
Here is the booth that the team created. Our team is "The Broken Chain Gang". Each team was to pick a holiday and theme the booth around that. Ours was Memorial Day and we were very patriotic.
.
.
The raffle area was on the side of the booth. You bought tickets and put your ticket into the bags. Winners were called the next day just before noon.
.

.

Another view of the tent. Notice all the red, white and blue.

.

.

My brother and my friend Jackie coming into the Survivor seating area for the opening ceremony.

.

.

The HHS drumline marching in with their signature cadence (my younger son is the first base drum).

. .