Relay for Life 2014 - Frisco

We participated in our second Relay for Life event last night & this time it was even more fun since it was close to the house. I helped plan the event this year & we have been working on it for the past couple of months, so I am glad it was a success. I actually got there early yesterday afternoon to help set up & then the rest of my family came when the girls woke up from their naps:

Sophie did a great job "hanging" out with her dad all night :) while Sadie made herself right at home. She kicked off her shoes as soon as she got there & she ran around barefoot all night! Every time I saw her, she was running down the football field, eating Raising Cane's, throwing a ball, eating popcorn, meeting the firemen, eating cookies, playing with other kids & did I mention that she ate? She probably would have stayed all night if Bryan would have let her.

We kicked off the event with the survivor's lap around the track after opening ceremony:

and then I joined them for the caregiver lap:

While we were walking, Sadie found the luminarias that I had made for Bryan & my dad:

Bryan's parents also came because they had never been before & they wanted to see Bryan walk:

Unfortunately, they had to leave to put the girls to bed, but the best part of the night was the luminaria ceremony which was held after it got dark. They turned off all the lights at the stadium & only the luminaria bags were lit:

Sherry also made a couple of bags. You can't really tell they are lit in these pictures, but it was really pretty. During this ceremony, they played music while a slideshow ran honoring all of the survivors who had a luminaria:

After the slide show, they had a moment of silence & then the song "Amazing Grace" played while everyone walked the track in the dark in silence. It was very powerful! It was by far my favorite part of the night!

The event was a success & I believe we raised about $35,000. I learned so much being involved this year & met a ton of people & I am already making notes on what we can do to make next year even better!