Walking for kids.....

Yesterday was a busy day here in the tri-state area of Cincinnati. We actually live in Northern, Ky but we are only about 10 miles south of Cinci. We met our team members for team HEALING HEARTS at Coney Island and we were ready. Cincinnati Walks for Kids 2009 was a huge success. There were over 5,000 people that walked and this was Cincinnati Children's Hospital's 4th year doing this walk. The turnout was amazing. This was our 1rst time walking and we couldn't believe the amount of people. It was so nice to see that many people caring.

A few of our team members ended up being ill at home so we had 10 people on our team that walked. Well, 2 of them rode in their strollers. Boy did they have it made? haha. The walk was scheduled to begin at 10:00 am but once the opening ceremony was done, we begin moving at 10:30. It was very cold early in the morning and Mr. Sunshine didn't decide to show up until around 12:30. At least he came though. Ryan was in her stroller with pants, a long sleeve T-shirt, her team t-shirt, and a hoodie on with a big blanket over her legs. I had gloves on because my fingers were frozen. Once we got to walking though it warmed up enough to wear we didn't feel like ice cubes. I think when we first got there it was only about 50 degrees. It warmed up to about 60 later in the afternoon.












The walk was 3 miles and it took us about an hour. Once we got to the finish line, everyone was awarded with a walkers medal and we stayed in line to eat our lunch that was provided to us. Once we were done eating, it was on to the kids carnival!!!

They had a giant slide, a tilt-a-whirl ride, a scream machine, and a carousel for the kids to ride. They also had face painting which I was very excited about because Ryan has never had her face painted before. I was curious to see how well she would do.


We made our way to the rides and Ryan got to ride the Carousel with her friend Cheyenne. I also went down the giant slide with her. She really loved them both!!!











Once we got done with the rides and the Harvest Hangout....I made sure to stop by the remembrance garden to honor a fellow heart mom and her son. Ethin Twigg received his Angel Wings on June 27, 2009. Here, we placed a flower in the garden in memory of Ethin.



Next, it was on to attempt face-painting. I figured it we got Ryan excite about it somehow it would be easier for her to go along with the idea. What better way to get her to sit still then to tell her she will get a spider painted on her cheek? I just happened to catch her reaction when she looked at herself in the mirror. PRICELESS!!



And her reaction after she realized what it was.......



Our total collected for the walk was right around $500.00 but the total of overall donations to the hospital has not yet been calculated. I'm sure it will take some time to get a total but once I do I will be sure to let you know. We had such a great time and cannot wait to do it again next year.

This is a better picture of what our shirts looked like.






I have another clue to Ryan's Halloween costume, but this one includes a picture...we did a practice run to see what it would look like.....the clue is....BRIGHT PINK HAIR. Keep guessing...I want to know what everyone thinks the answer is....here is the pic...





Ryan also has a new spider decoration thanks to her Me-Me (my mom) and she LOVES IT. It is currently hanging from our entertainment center in the living room and has yet to be given a name.





She loves this new spider.....I mean she really just loves ALL spiders. I am leaving you guys with a short video of Ryan dancing right before we crossed the finish line. She loved that they had big speakers with music just blaring out of them...so turn your sound up and ENJOY!!!









alisha