Buddy Walk

Today was the Buddy Walk. First of all, THANK YOU to those of you who donated!!! You helped us raise $100! Thank you, thank you! That means so much to me.

The Buddy Walk was a very emotional experience for me. I can't quite express it the way I would like to, but just seeing so many people with Down Syndrome in one place, their lives being celebrated.....was just a beautiful experience. It was especially meaningful that Ava was more than a picture pinned to our shirts this year. I couldn't help but think of all the other kids like her in Ukraine and other countries that would never see an opportunity such as this. Here she is getting her Buddy Walk t-shirt....
My good friend and former roommate got to be a part of it too. Thank you Jennifer for coming.
The whole fam.....
The walk....Jennifer (walking next to the stroller) never misses an opportunity to see the humor in a situation. She pointed out the comedy in the people passing out gatorades halfway around the track, as if we were running a marathon instead of walking once VERY SLOWLY around the track.
I wish I knew what was going through Jude's mind as I was taking this photo......
There was lots to do and each kid had their favorite. Here's a Corvette that I never would have noticed had it not been for my son pointing it out to me:
My animal lover enjoyed petting the ponies
My snake lover (Jude) enjoyed petting the snakes
My little nurturer enjoyed holding a baby kangaroo (and yes that kangaroo is wearing a diaper!)
Ava loved riding on her daddy's shoulders....Watch out for those sharp fingernails, Dad.
And my 2 personal favorites of the day: Ava signing "horsie" and having the opportunity to ride one in real life....
And all the mini Snickers and Hershey bars won for me by my kids while playing "toss the toilet paper roll in the toilet". Let's hope they don't get any ideas for home.