Relay for Life

This was Ava's second time going to the Relay for Life. It was so exciting to see her little eyes light up when she saw all of the luminaries glowing bright in the night sky. It was a great time to remember all of the people I love who lost their battle.
Uncle Spike: would always bribe me with candy to go places with him.
Papa: he is my "dad". He was the goofiest guy I have ever met. One comical memory I will never forget involved fire and the loss of hair. He just got back from the hospital getting his cataract removed. He had to wear this great big patch over his eye. He was in the kitchen and went to lite his cigarette. The next thing I heard was a yelp. I peeked into the kitchen, and I saw a burst of flames coming off of his face. He grabbed the patch from his eye and threw it into the sink. He started laughing so hard. When I looked at him to access the damage, I saw that he had burnt both of his eyebrows off and singed part of his hair. He asks, "do you think your grandma will notice?" Needless to say, she definitely did.

Miss Olivia "Liv": I truly love this girl like she is my own. I have so many great memories of her. It has been a rough road recovering from her loss. I still have a hard time talking about her except to certain people. Whenever I think of her, I smile and am warm from the inside out.

Then I got a chance to honor those who won against cancer or who are still fighting the fight.
Grammy: she has been cancer free for some time now, but she had a long battle that she almost lost. She is one of the people that I look up to the most and who I am most like- for the good and the bad :(.

My father-in - law/ ava's grandpa: he had his last chemo treatment a couple of months ago, and is doing fabulous. At first, the odds were pretty much stacked against him, but he sure is making some headway. My husband's side of the family are unfortunately not very spiritual people. I remember standing in the kitchen one day with just myself and my FIL. He was saying how excited he was to have a "second chance". I said, "isn't it amazing what prayers can do?" He started crying and said simply, "yes it is." He is a great grandpa to ava, and she loves him dearly.

Here are just a few pics from the night.


Here are all of the kids playing in the tent. Ava's relay for life shirt was huge, but cute none the less. She was trying to help my sister, Laney, with her DS game. In the back are ava's cousins Evan and her "uncle" Jack. The three older ones spent the night, but I thought Ava was a little young yet. Maybe next year, maybe :)








This next picture I'm sure goes against some sort of child labor law. Every tent at the relay had things to raise money towards the walk. Ours was "pickle on a stick". The kids in our family love them, and they are exactly what the name implies, a huge pickle on a stick. All of the kids had their own billboards that got to wear as they walked the track. Call me partial, but I thought Ava was the cutest in hers. We did sell quite a few, but Ava ate at least four that night.










Here was Liv's light. Of course it had to be decorated with Barney. Her bag really stuck out of the hundreds that were there. Hers was the only one with a picture on it. As Ava said "that's Angel Liv's light".














You can barely see, but Ava decorated this bag with her fine artistic abilities.

















Papa's favorite color was blue. Mom and I are always searching the stores for blue flowers to put on his grave. I never knew how hard it was to find blue flowers that aren't awful looking.





























It was a great night for the relay. Our family plans to be in it next year and will be there year after year until we find a cure. Sending love, hugs, and kisses to all our angels in Heaven and here on Earth.

xoxoxoxo