A busy, busy weekend!

Well, Saturday was 96 degrees F. and humid -  but luckily that all blew in after Youngest Child's Big Day at the Lake Nokomis Miracle Kids Triathlon.

Hanging out on the beach before his wave is pretty much his speed. He loves the music, making friends with the other kids and doesn't have any problem with the training. That's really all you can ask of an 8 year old!

There he goes!

The sun finally came out afterward and we were glad to go home. This week? Hockey camp will be the perfect place to be to beat the heat.

As for me, I'm making waves, no stripes.

I'm not going to have enough Cascade Fixation in green to make a second hat so GFMelissa gave me some of her leftovers and I'm making a striped chemo hat for the MKG service committee.

And I'm spinning up a storm of "Mystery Fiber - probably Merino" for the Tour de Fleece. 

The only problem is that my spinning stool is killing me! I seriously need a cushion or something - there is a reason wooden stools went out of fashion!

Time to run the race - again!

Youngest Child is at it again - he's racing in the Miracle Kids Triathlon on this Saturday, July 16 at Lake Nokomis in Minneapolis, MN. 

This is a kids triathlon where he'll be swimming 100 yards, biking three miles and running 1/2 half mile. He's racing in the name of Collin, 12 year old who is in treatment for B-cell Non-Hodgkins Lymphoblastic Lymphoma.

This race (and its sister race in August at Lake Ann) is a fundraiser for the Miracles of Mitch Foundation and its theme is: Kids Racing for Kids Who Can’t. 

One proud Dad!

Because they spent a lot of time and effort describing MoMF, we took this explanation from their website:

"Daily Miracles … in the Spirit of Mitch

 The Miracles of Mitch are the daily good works inspired by 9-year-old Mitch Chepokas to help the families of children battling cancer in Minnesota. Sealed with a pinky swear between Mitch and his father, Steve, The Miracles of Mitch Foundation (MOMF) was created to honor Mitch’s desire to support these families during a stressful time in their lives.

Before he died in 2003, Mitch Chepokas used his own money to donate to other kids with cancer and convinced his parents, MOMF founders, Becky and Steve Chepokas, to continue helping these families after he was gone, easing families' financial burden so they can enjoy their time together.

MOMF assists families of pediatric cancer patients by: making mortgage/rent and car payments, purchasing groceries, hosting a five-day summer camp for current and past pediatric cancer patients and their siblings, hosting Minnesota Miracle weekend getaways, and creating specially-tailored quality-of-life initiatives for kids with an advanced stage of cancer."

My family and I hope you will visit our MOMF fundraising page here and make a donation to help this organization.  Youngest Child is  pretty excited about this hard work - if you go to http://www.miraclekidstriathlon.org  (the Miracle Kids Triathlon website), you can see what all the excitement is about!

Time to run!

The Big Day!

Today was the MiracleKids Triathlon at Lake Ann in Chanhassen. 

 

Having a great day out with some of the other almost-900 kids there!

He swam 

and biked

(That's him in the white and red shirt coming down the entrance into the transition area after his bike ride.)

and ran

and raised $535 dollars for the Miracles of Mitch Foundation. Thanks so much for all your help!

A good time was had by all!

If you'd like to see all the photos, there is a slide show here on my Flicker photograph page. Enjoy!

Knitting-wise, I'm three-fourths of the way through the waist ribbing on the MGJ cardigan and it's been very fun. I'm hoping to start some sleeves tomorrow, after my own triathlon - the Saint Paul Triathlon. 

Saturday Seven? No photos yet but it was two sweaters, a pair of shin guards, a pair of soccer socks, a mixer blade, and two tee shirts. Very dull stuff.

A great day out with the kids!

Not my kids, mind you, but the MiracleKids Triathlon at Lake Nokomis.

Bikes everywhere! 

This is a kids triathlon where kids raise money for families with children with cancer. 

It's sponsored by the Miracles of Mitch Foundation. 

"For his final wish, Mitch made his family promise they would keep helping cancer kids and he sealed it with a “pinky swear” made with his father.

The MOMF is the non-profit formed in 2003 to fulfill that pinky swear. Today it is one of the very few charities that provides direct support to families who are treating a child with cancer.

The MOMF has two major giving priorities:

To provide cost of living financial assistance to the families of children diagnosed with cancer, and

To facilitate an individually tailored quality of life initiative for that child and their family.

The MiracleKids Triathlon is by far the MOMF’s largest fundraiser of the entire year. If not for the hard work of each MiracleKid raising pledges and the generosity of each and every donor, the foundation would not have the funding needed to support cancer families across Minnesota."

There are two races - one at Lake Nokomis in July and one at Lake Ann in August.

Today I was lucky enough to be the USAT waiver volunteer at Lake Nokomis - I handed out waivers to parents who were registering their child atheletes - and then I got to cheer on all the swimmers as they exited the water and ran on to the bike transition area.

That was one long gangway from the lake to the parking lot but those kids were just flying! They were very excited and I saw that continue later at the run to the finish line! Smiles all around and lots of friends holding hands as they crossed the finish line. 

For some time there has been a "2010 Miracle Kids Triathlon" button that leads to Youngest Child's First Giving page. 

Yep, YC is racing at the Lake Ann race in August. We've been running together three times a week (for a mile at a time), biking and swimming together as well. He's progressed to Level Four in swimming lessons this summer and got his first bike with hand brakes. We've gone to the MoM swim training at the Foss Swim School and we are planning to go and bike the Lake Ann course in August.

According to YC - he's ready to rock! 

I know not everyone is able to give and that many people have already planned their giving but if you are able to make a pledge in any amount - this is an excellent cause. And if you are able to volunteer at the Lake Ann event, I'll see you there!