isaac, referencing his own, "big spoon".
jacob, with his oma. thanks for helping out, oma!
lucas loves vanilla. the wide eyes prove it.
we've been fortunate enough that big spoon has hosted two fundraising and awareness events for our walk (definition below).
"the walk" refers to the sacramento walk now for autism speaks, formerly just sacramento walk now for autism. this walk is part of a national walk program. it raises money for autism research. it is a fun, family event complete with costumed characters, kid activities, entertainment, and most importantly, a resource fair featuring providers of autism-related services. i was there when this walk was born. and i feel all the affection that one can feel for something that is, while not a real-human-baby-or-anything, a thing that requires a great deal time and attention. it is, also, a thing that can frustrate, exhilarate, make you laugh, make you cry, hurt, and fill your heart all in one minute, in the same way a small child can. the walk is in its third year, and it looks a lot different than it did two years ago. there have been some growing pains. year two was as hard as most bouts of "terrible twos" and has been followed up by the suspiciously more challenging, year three. at its heart, though, is a group of people... parents, grandparents, aunties, uncles, friends, teachers, and tutors, who are touched by autism. very simply, it is obvious why i am involved in this. all three of my sweet, sweet boys are on the autism spectrum. there is no known cause or cure. resources and treatments are disappearing or slipping further and further out of reach every day. i am fortunate. while i might struggle, i have a dedicated and loving family. i have an exquisite group of friends. and i have the example of the parents and caregivers who i volunteer alongside. also, did i mention that my boys are precious and do not fail to make me smile? this is a longer description than i had intended. the bullet points are: sacramento walk now for autism speaks is awesome (you'll come, won't you? raley field, 10-10-10), walk planning can be tricky but is redeemed by the amazing feeling of volunteering and the friendship of some of the compassionate people in the world.
the 2009 walk chairs at the close of last year's walk. we were officially delirious at this point.
the starting point of the 2009 walk at raley field. i accidentally called the start of this walk without geoffrey the giraffe in his contractual position. remind me to tell you about it sometime.
back to big spoon. on april 29th, all the local big spoon stores (10 total) gave our walk 30% of the proceeds from all sales made with our fundraiser card. frozen yogurt that gives back to our walk is a no-brainer at our house.
isaac and jacob mostly love the topping portion of the store, but haven't quite figured out what tastes really go together... on the other hand, maybe you can't really go wrong? i'm going to say, though, that jacob might have been disappointed with his choice of lemon yogurt and chocolatey candies. after the first bite, the subsequent bites seemed far less enthusiastic. he might come by it honestly, i remember always getting jelly bellies on my chocolate frozen yogurt (at penguin's. tell me you remember it!!!!) and somehow there would always be that spearmint or cinnamon bean that would make me really question my decision making skills.
lucas got plain vanilla and seemed to enjoy it. my enjoyment was slightly hampered by another instance of poor decision making where i thought it would be JUST FINE to allow lucas to bring in the animal book that he'd swiped from isaac's classroom earlier in the day. nothing happened to it. but the fear that something might, was a little oppressive and may have furthered the progress of my crow's feet. why crow's feet, why??
our cups full of yogurty-delight were only matched by the little band of friends who came to the roseville location. we got to tickle a sweet baby's feet, make silly faces for the camera, and befriend (terrify) a tiny dog. oh, and our walk total swelled a bit. a very good evening.
want to check out our baby? i mean, walk? maybe register for it or become a fan of it on facebook? please do.
sacramento walk now for autism speaks
No comments:
Post a Comment