The Power of Purple

The 2008 Bonneville County Relay for Life held July 11 & 12. Doesn't sound like much does it? But as the the 2007 and 2008 event chair let me tell you, Relay can be, is, should be a big deal! Going home with bleary eyes, tired aching feet, a hoarse voice and having been on the track from 8:00 am Friday until 12:00 noon on Saturday you wonder... Was it worth it? We didn't reach our goals but we did better than last year. We had about 15 more teams and should reach over $60,000! So that's not too bad!

As I walked the track and seen all of the luminaria bags it made it worth it. When I saw all of the purple t-shirts on our survivors it made it worth it. When I saw tears stream down faces as memories of loved ones surfaced it made it worth it. As I listened to stories of courage and hope it made it worth it. As I watched people walking the track for hours it made it worth it. As we chanted: Celebrate. Remember. Fight Back!

It made it worth it!

My team, The American Idle's (We won't sit idle, we will fight cancer.) wasn't as active this year as we were missing many of our members and the ones who were there were all helping with committee's. But, we did come in second on fundraising!Theresa put all of the names from all of the luminaria bags on a big screen and had them scrolling during the lights out luminaria ceremony. It created a powerful emotion when so many of my family names scrolled on it. My Mom (Marie C Park), Grandma Neisess, Aunt Bev, Uncle Joe, Cathy, Sandy. Yes, it's worth it...

What a month!

It's been so hectic this past month or two that I haven't taken time to "blog"! We finally got our offices moved into Idaho Falls. When I started my job with Walker's, Keith told me that we wouldn't be in Menan very much longer, probably a year... Well, almost 8 years later we have finally made the big move. It hasn't been fun. Not that I had to carry heavy stuff or anything like that. We had so much room and beautiful offices in Menan and here in the Taylor Crossing building we each have a 12x12 office. So, making the decisions about space was important. We also had a lot of hassles with our computers, phones, etc. But, I am now settling in and love the convenience of being in town.
I helped Candace Webster with the Idaho High School Rodeo Association queen contest this year. She agreed to be the director when Jana moved but only if I would help. For the most part things went well but I was sure disappointed in who won. The former queen was allowed to compete again and even though she did not represent Idaho well she is a good competitor and won again this year. Not surprisingly, she is already causing controversy with her representation. If I were the director I would yank her crown and not put up with her and her mother! Oh well, I am not going to stay involved in queening much more other than judging and helping. I even resigned from the War Bonnet RoundUp!
Our house is almost finished! They are working on the sidewalks and driveway this week and then we can finish it up. It has turned out beautifully. I will do another blog on it alone after I take some pictures!
Relay was last weekend and so now I can relax! But, that too will be covered in another blog... Right now, I better get caught up here at work before I get fired! Oh, the golden years of rest and relaxation...