July 9, 2013

Whew! Summer is flying by WAY too fast for me. It's been such a weird weather summer for sure, cold and rainy. With that being said you can well imagine what happened at our Benton County Relay For Life on June 28th...you guessed it, RAIN!!!

At 7pm sharp driving rain and fierce wind kicked off our Relay experience. The fellas at our campsite really "took one for the team" by standing in the rain to hold down tents and keep us girls relatively dry. Team Camping Out For a Cure managed to fair pretty well. We had almost an hour delay but God rewarded our patience with a gorgeous double rainbow. A fellow survivor Tracey said it best, "A perfect way to signify the cancer journey. Learning to dance in the rain and then be able to see the rainbow that it produces. God is good!!! Relay for Life Benton County."

Family and friends stuck it out and helped us walk up through closing ceremonies at 7am. Our team did s'mores as survivor gifts and sold s'mores at our campsite as our fundraiser. It's hard to tell but a friend made a cool box that held sterno cans so marshmallows could be roasted and s'mores made right at our campsite. Our team was awarded most creative fundraiser!!! Whoot! Whoot!

Our decorations took a hit but ended up cute none the less. Unfortunately I don't have a good picture of our completed campfire. We got tons of compliments. Thanks to the brainstorming of some of the after prom gals we had great ideas for decorating.

Dani, one of my other daughters :)

It's important to add humor somewhere to the event so one of the favorite festivities of the evening is the Miss Relay contest. Each team is encouraged to choose a fella who will dress up as a queen contestant and spend one hour strutting his stuff to raise money for his team. My brother-in-law Joe was recruited to represent Camping Out For A Cure as "Josephina". As you can see he took his role very seriously!  Kinsey and his wife Cara outfitted him in a very figure flattering gown, fish net stockings, and high heels. Besides the dress my main contribution...well ya just never know when those old prosthesis will come in handy!!! 

"Josephina" and Grandpa Deno

"Josephina" wins the title of Miss Relay 2013 by raising $1295!!!! And yes, this earned her a front page photo in our local Benton Review! 

My two favorite parts of Relay are the survivor lap and the luminaria ceremony/slide show. The first lap of the event is walked by survivors and the second by survivors and their caretakers/family members. It is so awesome to honor those who have fought and won!!! Of course it has extra special meaning now that I am a third generation survivor. 

Dad, me, and Deb a friend from church

Dad, Monica (my cousin or AKA my "big sister") and my sister Kristin-just a few of my faithful supporters.

Two of my best friends Kathy and Lana

Happy Campers!

We couldn't be happier with our first year as a team. Our fundraising goal was $1000 and at last total we had raised over $3100! A HUGE thank you to all who supported our team with creative ideas, props, financial donations, and by coming out to walk. Because of your generosity team Camping Out For A Cure is able to help in

See ya next year!!!