Alexander News 1.31.2015

One of the things the boys love to do is give news updates. We have created a few of these, and they are always fun to make. Well, our news broadcasts got a lot more hi-tech this week when I bought a green screen (a huge green sheet, really). This allows us to layer images and video clips with our video, creating a kind of special effect. Here are two clips: their news broadcast, and a test we did with the green screen just for fun. Enjoy! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5maxZMQkqXs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGitMGUqm3Y

Future Professors

 

Sam and Nate had the day off school today (all week actually), but I still had to teach two classes. When Gina asked them what they wanted to do on their first day of vacation, their answer was unanimous: go watch Daddy teach.

Based on previous visits to my class by the boys, I was a little nervous about how this would turn out. The boys tend to act silly when they get nervous, and what else would make a kid nervous than a room full of college students staring at you.

Well, it turns out I was half right. Sam was definitely silly, running around, playing on the computer, writing on the white board, and sliding on the floor. It was quite the display, trust me. Nate, however, stayed composed and talked with the students. He asked them some questions and finally dismissed them to leave.

When they went to meet my second class, things went a little better. We talked to Sam about what is appropriate and what is (cough) obnoxious (cough) ... not. Sam read the class his report on Slingin' Sammy Baugh while Nate controlled the slideshow from the iPad.

After they met the students, they walked around TCU for awhile then we all met for lunch. It was a fun time and a good lesson on how to behave in the future. We all need those reminders from time to time. 

History Day 2014

Yesterday, the boys finished their National History Day project, and we are quite proud of how it turned out. The theme this year is Legends and Legacy, and the boys chose to do their project on Slingin' Sammy Baugh, a TCU and Washington Redskins football player. I realize this may not exactly be the kind of "impact on our country's history" that History Day folks are looking for, but we gave the boys a choice and this is who they chose. No matter what, they had a great time researching, reading, and learning about this fascinating man. You can read the essay we wrote together below:

Sammy Baugh was an All American football player at TCU. He played quarterback, and helped the Horned Frogs win the 1936 Sugar Bowl and 1937 Cotton Bowl.

He also played third base for the TCU baseball team. He played for the St. Louis Cardinals, but thought he would be better at football.

Sammy Baugh was drafted by the Washington Redskins in 1937. He was paid $4,000 his first year as a professional football player.

Known for his ability to pass the ball, Sammy Baugh led the NFL in passing 6 seasons. Most teams liked to run the football, but Slingin’ Sammy Baugh liked to throw it.

Many people believe this changed the way football was played forever.

Besides playing quarterback, he played defense and punter. In 1943, he got 4 interceptions and 4 touchdowns in one game.

Sammy Baugh played in the NFL for 16 seasons. He set 13 NFL records. Some people think he was the best football player who ever lived.

After playing football, he tried to be an actor in Hollywood. He lived on a ranch with his wife and 5 children.

Sammy Baugh was entered into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on September 7, 1963. He was one of the first 17 in all football history.

UPDATE!! As Gina and I entered their hallway at school today to see a performance in Sam's class, we noticed a blue ribbon on the boys' poster. Yes that's right, their poster won FIRST PLACE! We are very proud of them for working on this project and doing such a great job on it. The victory photo is below.

Halloween 2014

This year may have been our most eventful October on record. Since the beginning of the month, we have attended 2 TCU football games, played 5 soccer games, gone to 3 fall festivals, been trick-or-treating, visited a pumpkin patch, and gone to the State Fair of Texas. And this is in addition to our jobs and school. We are exhausted! Thanks to GiGi, the boys had some amazing ninja costumes to wear this year. Because of all the events we went to, they had plenty of opportunities to wear their ninja gear this year. I think these rank up there with their favorite costumes of all time. They also got a lot of compliments on Friday as went from house to house.

Another really fun happening in October is that our friend Flo came to visit from Tennessee. We have not seen her in awhile, and we were so glad she could take some time away from her busy job to come see us. We got to show her all around Fort Worth (which she kept noticing, covers a lot of ground). We went to Joe T. Garcia's to eat, a pumpkin patch, and the boys even got to show her Frozen for the first time. We hope to visit her again sometime soon, and maybe we will invade her place in Tennessee!

I know November will be busy and fun as well, but this October has been one to remember. You can see more photos of our happenings in our family photo album.

Soccer 2014

Anyone who knows me well is aware of my strange relationship with soccer. It is, by far, my favorite game, yet I really do not follow any of the major leagues. I played it for years growing up. I was good enough to make the local traveling and high school team, but not good enough to actually play. I played in the adult league in my 20's and 30's and really learned the game for the first time in my life. I must be a late bloomer.  I coached with a friend at the high school level and managed to win 3 state championships in 4 years. Go figure. Now Sam and Nate play, and they are really starting to get good. After a brief hiatus from the game last spring in order to try their hand at baseball, the boys wanted to return to soccer this fall. My philosophy as a soccer dad has always been to let them play as long as they want, but not to push too hard and let them develop on their own. Well, this year the game of soccer finally seemed to click for both boys. For the first time, they were eager to jump right into the game and challenge the other players. Both boys scored goals, and they were both really good defenders. Sam has always been pretty good at soccer, but Nate showed a lot of improvement. He was more focused and assertive, and he discovered something about himself in the process: he's fast. Very fast! Gina and I were proud of they way they played this season, and the games were a lot of fun to watch.

Here are some pictures from the season. We are looking forward to another season this spring, when the boys will join a different league closer to our house.

First first

 

Sam and Nate started First grade at their new school this week. The summer has been a mixed bag of moving, playing, vacationing, and doing work on the new house. Some fun, some not so much. We have been prepping the boys for their new school all summer, and the big day finally arrived this Monday. We were thrilled to find out who their teachers are for this year, and things are shaping up to be a wonderful year. We are grateful for their wonderful Kindergarten teachers at Oakmont Elementary for helping prepare them for 1st grade, and I know they will learn a bunch this year as well. My favorite quote of the week came from Sam:

Sam: Daddy, today at school a girl got in trouble and the teacher made her go sit at her desk and put her head down.

Me: Oh, no! That is really sad. Did she cry?

Sam: No, she didn't! She just kept on teaching!

You can see a few more pictures below from the big day. Go Mustangs!

Wyoming 2014

This summer the Alexanders made their usual pilgrimage to Wyoming as a way to escape the Texas heat. This summer has been a little more stressful than usual (buying a house, teaching a summer course, moving), so we were in desperate need of a break. As usual, this trip was packed with so many activities, I had to categorize them below so I didn't forget anything (which I will do anyway).

The Big Texan

This is where we had dinner the first night of our trip. If you have not been to The Big Texan in Amarillo, you are missing out! This is place is larger than life, and has a 72 oz. steak to prove it. None of us actually took that challenge, but we did watch one unfortunate soul try his luck with the big ol' slab of meat ... and fail. The food was good, the atmosphere was pure Texas, and this is a stop we will definitely make again.

Casa Bonita

Our second day on the road was highlighted by Casa Bonita, a unique Mexican restaurant in Denver. I have been to this restaurant several times, and this is one of those places I wanted to the boys to see before it's gone. I had very few memories of the food, and all I seemed to remember was the waterfall and video games. Well, every single aspect of the restaurant has not changed at all, even to a fault. There were some areas of the building that look like they had not been updated since it opened in 1974. Casa Bonita could definitely use a facelift, but the boys still had a lot of fun. OK, Gina and I did too ... just a little.

Cam and Kit

The highlight of our trip was getting see our cousins Cameron and Kit. They decided to come visit us from North Carolina, and the boys were thrilled to get to spend time with the cool older relatives. In fact, they were so thrilled that Sam and Nate pretty much did not leave them alone the entire time they were in Casper. We had fun hiking in Elk Horn Canyon, exploring western stores, visiting museums, and taking photos. The boys are already asking when they get to see Cam and Kit again.

The River

One of our frequent stops in Casper is the North Platte River. This has everything a kid could want: water, a bike trail, rocks to throw, lots of dogs (not our own, by the way) and even minnows to catch. I like to go there to run on the trail, and the boys usually bring their bikes. We went down there several times on this trip and had a great time. Nate and I even caught some minnows to investigate while Sam, Gina and PaPa rode bikes. Yes, we put them back in the river so they could grow to be big, healthy trout that someone can catch and eat for dinner. We didn't get to go canoeing this time, but that is on our list for the next visit.

The Cabin

Of course, no trip to Wyoming would be complete without several visits to the cabin on Casper Mountain. This year we got to explore Elk Horn Canyon a couple of times, went hiking on the Braille Trail, and climbed around Garden Creek Falls. The boys got an extra special adventure this year they got to hike down to the big waterfall in Elk Horn Canyon. This is quite a technical hike and I was a nervous wreck the whole time. I was also worried that they would start to complain when they got tired, and on this particular hike there is nowhere to go but straight up the canyon when you want to go home. I reluctantly let them join Cam, Kit, Gina and I on this excursion, and they performed like champions. I guess it just proves that where there's a will, there's a way ... and no whining.

In addition to our many hikes, we also spent a night at the cabin. This is not quite the same as camping, but it's more comfortable. We met GiGi, PaPa, and Maw Maw at the restaurant at the top of the canyon, then proceeded to hike down and for the night after dinner. I can't remember the new name of the restaurant, but the food was pretty good. I was actually surprised at how many people were there, but this place can never seem to stay open for very long. The new owners did add on a little General Store, so maybe that will generate some business from cross country skiers and snowmobilers.

Tobin Ranch

Another special excursion that was out of the ordinary was going to Tobin Ranch on Tisdale Mountain. This ranch is owned and operated by Mike and Chris Tobin, and we have known them for 30+ years. I used to work with Mike in Midwest when I was in college, and dad lifted weights with Mike for years at the YMCA. Our visit included getting to ride around the ranch on ATVs, see the bison jump (where Native Americans hunted bison by running them off a cliff), and feeding calves with a bottle. The Tobin's two adult children, J.D. and Brianne, even came out to get in on the action. Nothing makes you feel like an old man like seeing two adults who you knew as babies. We spent the last half of our visit feasting on a steak dinner and remembering old times. This was one of the highlights of the trip for me, and I hope we get to see this family again on a future visit.

Other Adventures

We did many other fun things on this trip, but I want to keep this post under 10 pages. The boys got to go fishing at Yesness Pond, went to see Planes: Fire and Rescue, built with life-sized Legos, and spent a lot of time playing at GiGi and PaPa's house. I should also add, each of us had a run-in with a nasty GI bug, but thankfully we are all healed up now.

As always, we are thankful to be able to visit Wyoming every summer when the sun is scorching here in Texas. It's great to spend so much quality time with GiGi, PaPa, and Maw Maw, which makes it hard to leave. We can't wait for our next visit so we can see what adventures are waiting for us around the next bend in the river.

You can see more photos of our trip in our Photo Album.

Another trip around the sun

This July we got to celebrate another birthday for Gina. The boys and I always look forward to doing something special for Gina's birthday. Last year we went bike riding in the cool weather then went to a hibachi grill for dinner. We made Gina a special plaster cast of the boys' hands, which was not quite as difficult to do as you would think. This year I asked the boys what they thought Mommy would like to do on her birthday, and their unanimous vote was for bowling. We started the day with presents, which included silhouettes of the boys faces. We then went to Sundance Square for lunch with Granddad, and made a stop by the chocolate factory. We then went over to Granny's for dinner and got to have birthday cake and ice cream.

We are so very thankful to have Gina in our lives, and we love getting to do things that make her day special. This birthday came in the middle of some very chaotic new home, unpacking, remodeling stuff, so it was nice to take a break and not think about that for a day. More than anything, we are just glad to be able to show Gina how much we love her.

New Address, New Beginning

10 years. 5 moves. 6 houses. 2 boys. 1 dog. 4 cars. 1 Master's. 2 Ph.D.'s. 4 universities. 1 community college. 2 preschools. 1 elementary school. 4 people. Infinite possibilities.

This past week, we moved into a new home. We have been looking for a new house since November, and this has been quite the challenging experience. We made a total of 5 offers, and went under contract on 4. Three of those contracts fell through for one reason or another, but we finally found what we believe is the best house of all those we looked at. It has plenty of room, a lot of space for the boys to spread out their stuff, and the back yard it totally massive. Sam and Nate have already spent a lot of time out there playing and exploring.

We feel blessed by God for our new home, and we hope to use it to host and reach out to many people. You can see some images of the house before we moved in, and we hope to have some photos posted soon of its current state. If you would like to come visit, our address is ... wait, this is the Internet! You can e-mail us and we will give you our new address.

Kindergarten Graduation

When Gina and I dropped the boys off for their first day of Kindergarten, we were full of questions. How would they do with a whole new group of new kids? Would they be able to understand what their teachers were saying ((Sam and Nate were enrolled in the Dual Language Kindergarten, in which the instruction was in Spanish for half the day))? Would they be able to keep up with the work in Kindergarten?

Well, Sam and Nate exceeded our expectations and had a wonderful year at Oakmont Elementary. They made good friends, did very well with meeting their academic benchmarks, and they actually learned quite a bit of Spanish. On June 5, we got to celebrate their successful conclusion of Kindergarten with a graduation celebration (video posted below). We are very proud of our rising first graders and can't wait to see how they learn and grow during the upcoming year.

[embedplusvideo height="315" width="560" editlink="http://bit.ly/1lR8HrV" standard="http://www.youtube.com/v/Mp9TZgUUpPo?fs=1&vq=hd720" vars="ytid=Mp9TZgUUpPo&width=560&height=315&start=&stop=&rs=w&hd=1&autoplay=0&react=1&chapters=¬es=" id="ep8902" /]

Play Ball!

We recently embarked on a new adventure in the Alexander family: baseball. To be exact, it's modified t-ball. The players get three pitches from the coach, and if they don't get a hit they get to hit off the tee. We've had two practices and their first game, and so far the boys really love it. This has been so different than soccer, with kids set up at different stations that they rotate through. I have already bought a tee for us to practice batting at home, so hopefully we will see some improvement in the coming weeks. Just to be clear, they are both doing pretty good so far and have already improved in their catching, throwing, batting. The game tonight was very low key and fun for the kids, so this will be a fun season. You can see some photos and video from the game in our photo album.

Land of the Lost

After four years in Fort Worth, we finally had the chance to venture down to the land of dinosaurs in Glen Rose, TX. We have heard great things about Dinosaur Valley State Park, and we finally found an open weekend to go down there. On Saturday morning, we packed up the car with our camping gear, play clothes, and delicious food. It takes a little over an hour to get down there, so we were all set up and ready to camp by early afternoon. The state park has a lot of great features, including hiking trails, a river for swimming, and even some life-sized (we took the scientist's word for it) dinosaurs. Just about everywhere you go, you can see footprints from actual dinosaurs, which is pretty cool. Apparently, dinosaur tracks were so commonplace in Glen Rose that people used to cut them out of the riverbank and sell them as souvenirs. Of course, the reality of camping also has its challenges. We all crammed into our 4-person tent to sleep, which was not as magical as seeing authentic dinosaur footprints. We bumped and banged into each other all night, and there were some VERY loud birds that made a point of screeching. All. Night. Long. There were also some loud homo sapiens that wanted to stay up late and yell at each other. That's always entertaining. Other than those few issues that tend to arise when you sleep outside in nature around other people, the weekend was a lot of fun. The boys both liked swimming in the river the most, and I can't say I blame them. There isn't a much better way to spend a hot day after you've been hiking around. I am pretty sure we will go back to Glen Rose again to see some of the other sites. When we do, we will keep an eye and ear out for any strange sounds or rumblings. You never know when there might be a giant lizard looking over your shoulder. You can see more pics from our weekend below.

Career Day 2014

Sam and Nate recently had career day at school. They were allowed to dress up as the profession they hope to have someday. Sam decided to be an animal explorer, and Nate wants to be a commercial airline pilot. Earlier in the week, Gina and I spoke to several classes about our careers. It was a lot of fun hearing their questions and talking about college. Oddly, the kids kept asking how tall you have to be to attend college. Obviously, not very tall, if I am any indication of the height requirement.

Kids Who Care: Deep in the Heart

There is only so much kids' soccer a guy can watch. I mean, I love this game, but we have sat through a lot of soccer the last three years. So when Gina suggested putting the boys in the  Kids Who Care musical theatre program, I voted twice with an emphatic YES! As I've written before, I love theatre and wanted Sam and Nate to experience it at some level. Just to be clear, Gina and I are not those parents who want our boys to be famous or overachievers or even better than the next kid. More than anything, we want them to be kind, respectful, and confident in their own abilities. So, my motive was not to manufacture the next child star, but rather for them to learn to love and appreciate the great feeling that comes when we selflessly share our talents with others. I used to get this feeling as a performer, knowing that beyond the approval and atta-boys, it felt good to know I was brightening someone else's day by sharing what God had blessed me with. With a name like "Kids Who Care," this seemed like a good place to nurture that trait in my children.

Each week I would drop the boys off at the theatre, and each week we would talk about the games and songs and dances in the car on the way home. They would talk about their friends and recount some of the activities they would do in class. I would ask them questions from the newsletter that came home each week, and I was always entertained by their responses.

When it came time for the big production of Deep in the Heart, I was not sure what to expect. Just a couple of weeks earlier, I had just watched their Kindergarten program at school, and it was uninspired to say the very least (but the kids were still pretty darn cute). The parents were clearly more interested in capturing the moment with their phones than the kids were about participating in it. I knew there were some older actors in the KWC show who were serious about performing, so it had to be of higher quality than the Kindergarten program but I still had no idea what to expect.

The rehearsals leading up to the show brought back a lot of memories from my days of  being involved in theatre productions. The fine-tuning by the director, the reminders, the starts and stops. I had forgotten this aspect of performing. Of course, anyone who knows will tell you this is necessary and is the only way to get performers to do their best. We all need people to push us and give suggestions for things to do better, all the while encouraging us that we have what it takes to be more than just good enough.

The night of the performance surpassed all of my expectations and left me in absolute amazement of what just happened. The performers were fantastic, and the production seemed to just fly by. The boys did a great job with the songs they were in, and I still have the picture branded into my memory of them on stage in their cowboy gear. The songs, the dialogue, the dances, the message ... they were funny, poignant, personal, and more than anything, all about Texas. It was a great night.

I know I have gone on and on about this, but it really was a fantastic experience for Sam and Nate. I don't think they are old enough to truly appreciate the blessing that comes with being involved in something that people care enough about to go the extra mile to make amazing. To perform with purpose and passion, and to be vulnerable enough to share it with others. They remember the songs and dances and fun, but we (the parents) will remember that they got to be part of something great and wonderful. As was written in the program, Kids Who Care is a "culture that expects extraordinary things to happen, and then goes about the business of making it true." We are glad to have been part of this culture, and we hope to be involved again.

Mother's Day 2014

Another school year is nearly behind us, which means we get to take a day to celebrate Gina and show her how special she is to us. Of course, we try to do this everyday, but Mother's Day is a special excuse to spoil Mommy. She truly is a wonderful mother and wife and friend to everyone who knows her. We love her very much and are glad she's ours. We are blessed that we got to experience another year with Gina and see her amazing Mommy skills in action. We can't wait to see what the next year has in store for us.

Easter 2014

 

Easter is one of our favorite times of year. The weather is starting to get warmer, the semester is coming to a close (and consequently more chaotic), and we get to spend time reflecting on what really matters to us. This year for Easter, we got to spend quality time with family and relax a little before the mad flurry of activities comes to an apex.

Gina was out of town for part of the break, so the boys and I spent our day off on Good Friday doing some work in the yard and around the house. We slept late, watched cartoons in the morning, and generally just enjoyed hanging out with each other. That evening we went to the Good Friday service at church, which had a really good message and gave us plenty of time to reflect on the meaning of Easter. On Saturday we picked Gina up at the airport and drove over to have an early Easter dinner with Tommy, Carol, Zach, Kendall, and Granny. We had a great time visiting and watching movies, and we stayed up WAAAYYY too late.

Easter was the big day to dress up in the shirt and tie (for Sam and Nate at least) from GiGi and PaPa and celebrate the risen Savior at church. The service was great (and packed!) and we were reminded once again why we love our church and how blessed we are. Later that day we had a delicious lunch with Granny at our house, then the boys got to hunt for Easter eggs in the courtyard of Granny's apartment. I'm pretty sure they would tell you, that was the highlight of Easter for them. The eggs were hidden well enough that it took them some time to find all of them, but they were still able to be successful.

I have included some more photos below, and as you can see, it was a wonderful way to celebrate Jesus and his victory over sin and death, and remind us of the hope we have in Him.

Sun and Earth

I took Sam and Nate to Wendy's after school on Thursday for a snack. While they ate, they began having a VERY animated conversation about the solar system. I was so amazed that I had to stop them, pull out my phone, and record the rest of their explanation. Leave it to Sam to refer to this as a lesson by the time it's over. He is such a little teacher. Enjoy their conversation. [embedplusvideo height="315" width="420" editlink="http://bit.ly/1hq81mK" standard="http://www.youtube.com/v/TscGOdpaQAA?fs=1&vq=hd720" vars="ytid=TscGOdpaQAA&width=420&height=315&start=&stop=&rs=w&hd=1&autoplay=0&react=1&chapters=¬es=" id="ep2523" /]

Passing the Torch

I have always loved endurance sports. From the time I was a kid, I have enjoyed biking, skiing, hiking, and yes, running. I always had one of the best mile times in P.E., and once I finally dropped soccer for cross country and track, I did pretty well and really liked it. My enthusiasm continued through college with mountain bike racing, and once I moved to Texas after college I really got into running again. All that to say, I have looked forward to introducing Sam and Nate to the wonderful world of running.

Well, I finally got to the do that this weekend at the 17th Annual Fort Worth Zoo Run. I had hoped the boys could run with me for the Cowtown Marathon (well, not the actual marathon, but the kids fun run). Unfortunately, the fun run was a 5K, which is a little much for my 6-year olds. Sam was adamant he needed to do a run to raise money for something, so when this came up we all jumped at it. In Sam's words, we were running to raise money for God's world. I guess that was because the money was going to support the zoo animals.

So, on the morning of the race, we all got on our running clothes, laced up our sneakers and left the house before the sun was even up. The boys did great in their 1K race, which was not really a race but they don't know that. They had a unique strategy, where they would run at a full sprint, slow down when they got tired, and take off sprinting again when someone tried to pass. It was more like interval training, but it seemed to work. We ran right through the middle of the zoo and saw the rhino, zebras, elephant, meerkats, and giraffes. Gina even managed to snap a few photos of the animals during the race. Both boys finished strong and were rewarded with a "medal" (ribbon and button) and snacks.

You can count on a race to bring out someone's true personality. Sam's comment when he finished: "Did I win?" And Nate? All he said was, "I'm never doing this again!" When questioned a little more, he did admit he wanted to do it again when he is a little older. I'm already thinking ahead to this summer to see if I can find another 1K, and it won't be long before they are running 5K races with me. I don't know if they will ever develop a love of racing, but I do hope they will enjoy running as much as I have.

Here are some more pictures from the event.

Alexander News for March 23

Another installment of our (very sporadic and random) news cast. Enjoy! [embedplusvideo height="315" width="560" editlink="http://bit.ly/1fSL8rP" standard="http://www.youtube.com/v/wX71PfoAD4M?fs=1" vars="ytid=wX71PfoAD4M&width=560&height=315&start=&stop=&rs=w&hd=0&autoplay=0&react=1&chapters=¬es=" id="ep5047" /]

Running with purpose

Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive. ~Howard Thurman

Over a year ago, I had the idea of running the NYC Marathon as a way to raise awareness and money for EB research. DEBRA already had a team and was looking or new runners. This seemed like a perfect opportunity, except there were two problems. The marathon was in 4 months, and I had not been running seriously for several years. I had dabbled in it now and again, but my training was never consistent or sustained. This is not a problem when it comes to gutting out a 5 or 10K, but a marathon is totally different. Despite my intentions, I had to table this dream.

A few months later, after some serendipitous events, I found out a group of runners was putting together a team to run for EB awareness and fundraising right here in Fort Worth. There are two families in this area with EB children, and they decided to use the Cowtown marathon as a platform to raise awareness. I was already following one of the families on Facebook, and when I saw the first announcement I jumped in with both feet.

In addition to being able to run for a good cause, I wanted to include Sam and Nate in something meaningful. Gina and I had talked for awhile about the importance of doing things for other people, and this was a perfect opportunity. Some friends of ours planted the seed, and we decided to follow along and have the boys ask for donations toward EB research for their birthday instead of presents. For one, we already have enough stuff to last a lifetime. We also want the boys to appreciate the things they do receive from others and not come to expect it.

So, we had a cause, and now we needed a plan. I put together a page on our family blog and posted it to Facebook. I also got my act together and started running more consistently (though nothing like the glory days). As the event got closer, I recruited my co-workers to run with us or make a contribution. I kept running and the donations kept coming in. The goal for our team was to raise $8,012.13 (Whitney Williams, the team organizer, derived this amount based on her son Colt's birthday), and the final tally was $9,600.00! Our family was able to contribute to this total through the generosity of our friends and colleagues.

The day of the big race finally arrived, and the experience was amazing. It was a lot of fun seeing the EB running shirts in the crowd and getting to know each of the families. Gina, Sam, Nate, GiGi (my mom) and PaPa (my dad) were all there cheering the runners on and taking pictures. In fact, most of the pictures below were taken by my mom. Some of the runners, like us, had an EB child in their family. Other people were friends. Some folks had heard about this disease through blogs or news stories and just wanted to be involved. This is the humbling thing about going beyond yourself on behalf of others: you meet incredible people along the way with whom you have a common bond. Some of the runners did the 5K, the 10K and the half marathon like me. I don't know if anyone ran the full marathon, but I'm sure that will happen before long. Everything from the weather to the new friendships was just perfect, and I can't wait to do it again next year.

I don't know what interests you or makes you come alive, but I encourage you to do it on behalf others who can't. Whether it's running or writing or something else, you will be amazed at the generosity of others. Some people are just looking for a cause to be involved in and don't know where to get started. Others already know how great it is to give to others and are eager for more opportunities. You never know who is willing to get involved until you give them the chance. So, find your passion and pursue it with purpose. You'll be amazed at what you discover along the way.