Mom's 65th birthday!

Last night, we had a party for Mom's 65th birthday!



It was held, of course, at Kopici's retaurant in Bloomingdale, NJ - Mom and Dad's favorite hangout. It was planned as a surprise party, and she sure was surprised! I wish I had my camera ready as she entered the room to catch the look on her face. She was truly touched and very choked up. It was so great to see her so pleasantly surprised. Here's some pictures from the party.





Here's a picture of the whole gang (well, almost all of us - some of us had to snap the pictures)



The grandchildren had a great time together, as they always do. We had a entire back room to ourselves, and there were only tables set up in half of it, so there was plenty of room for the kids to let out their energy.



My cousin, Nancy, gets the credit for all of the planning and for pulling off such a great event. Thanks for everything, Nancy! Here's a picture of her and her husband, Ken.



While socializing, I received lots of nice words of praise and encouragement from people about our efforts for the Walk for PKD. Thanks, everybody, for all of your support. It really helps keep me motivated!

The only bad part of the party is it went by way too quick!

Happy Birthday, Mom! We love you!!!

newscast on Miami walk for PKD

http://cbs4.com/video/?id=40460@wfor.dayport.com

Newspaper article on the Hudson Valley Walk for PKD

See: http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070916/NEWS02/709160334/1027/NEWS11

Walk Day

Today was the day for the 2007 Walk for PKD! Although the weather wasn't great, it wasn't too bad either. It rained a little, but never very hard, and the sun even tried to peek out a few times near the end. This year, they sold pinwheels to honor those who are either living with PKD or who have passed away due to it. We bought several in honor of Jeanne. Here's Brian blowing on them trying to make them turn:

Then, while we were waiting for the walk to start, we got our official Team Teddy Bear 2007 picture taken:

Heidi kicked things off by thanking lots of people for their participation and sponsorship. But, really, she's the one who deserves the thanks. As both the Hudson Valley Chapter Coordinator and the Coordinator of the Hudson Valley Walk for PKD, if it wasn't for her hard work and dedication, none of this would be possible. The walk got off to a great start

We managed to keep up with the crowd for a while

but then starting falling further behind

until it basically became just us, taking up the rear, with noone in sight in front of us

Then right at the end, we caught up to Sean and Josh's family, passed them and managed to NOT be the last ones back! Sean, who is 3, got the prize for youngest walker. Brian and Jason shared second prize in that category. Although, to be honest, Jason gave up for a bit about 2/3 of the way through, and Brian had a minor meltdown about 100 yards from the finish.

Posted along the route were a bunch of informational signs related to PKD.

The one I found most intruiging was this one:


It facts like this that really motivate me to do things like participate in the walk and put this blog together to try to spread the work about PKD. Why such a large disparity?

There also were a bunch of signs naming sections of the walk route in honor of last year's top fundraisers. I thought that was a nice touch.





Once back at the pavilion, we enjoyed a nice lunch provided almost exclusively by donations from local businesses. Some awards were handed out recognizing top fundraisers for this year. TJ and I were both recognized this year for our fundraising efforts - we must, however, share that honor with all of you who supported us!





















It was a really great time for all of us. It's a chance to come together for a good cause and meet people who have been dealing with PKD in one way or another and to share experiences. We're already looking forward to next year! And, to all of you who helped Team Teddy Bear raise more that $5000 this year, I leave you with this:

the weatherman doesn't know what he's talking about, does he?

Well, here's the forecast for the Walk for PKD in Bedford Hills tomorrow:



Calling for some showers right during the time of the walk. Oh, well. Last year was absolutely a gorgeous day, so I guess these things need to even out a bit. At least it won't be pouring like it did at Bridget's bike ride for MS last year. Guess we'd better bring along some rain ponchos.

But, the weatherman is always wrong, anyway.... right? We'll see....

why we walk

Found this video on youtube tonite and thought I'd share it.

first day of nursery school

Today was the first day of nursery school for Brian and Jason. Brian was super-excited. Jason was less so, but I think that may be because he's not feeling that great. Here's a picture I took of them at the beginning of class:






Turns out they are just one of three sets of twins in the class. Since there are only eleven children, that means there are more twins than "singlets" in the class.

Four more days 'til the walk!

last night of the Renegades season

Every summer, one of our family's favorite activities is attending Renegades games. The Renegades are the local minor league team and are an affiliate of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Last night was the final game of the season and even though the team lost, we all had a great time. Jeanne was out having a scrapbooking night, so I took the three boys along with TJ's friend Sasha to the game. Since it was the last game of the season, giveaways and discounts abounded. We came home with about a dozen more squishy balls. Brian and Jason, of course, enjoyed visiting the mascots.

And everyone enjoys the "hey ho" every time the Renegades score a run:

The Walk for PKD is one week from today. This time next week we'll be walking around the neighborhoods of Bedford Hills, New York (viewing the backs of all of the rest of the walkers, no doubt!). Hopefully this year, we'll get back before everyone else has finished their lunch.

Our supporters continue to grow! I'm excited to report that Team Teddy Bear has surpassed the $5000 mark in donations! The generosity of everyone has been nearly overwhelming! The Hudson Valley Walk as a whole is closing in on the $30000 mark:

As I recall from last year, this number took off the last week before the walk (and kept going even for a while after), so it'll be interesting to watch this amount grow over the next several days.