A glorious day on Saturday, and it provided a perfect backdrop for our annual outing to support the March of Dimes March for Babies, an annual event we enjoy participating in to help support one of our buddies, Ryan Fennell, son to Craig and Jessica Fennell.
In Jessica's own words: "as you all know, Ryan was born early. He came because I had a horrible disease, pre-eclampsia. I wish they knew more and could prevent this disease from taking over pregnancies. We with that no other family had to experience this and no other babies had to spend months in the hospital before they could be with their mommy and daddy. We are walking for Ryan and the strength he had to survive."
To donate to Jessica's fund-raising efforts in Ryan's name, you can visit her page at Racing for Ryan
Speaking of the Super-Soldier himself. With Sippy-Cup in tow, he's ready to walk (or ride) the three-plus mile course
From the website for March of Dimes March for Babies, the money raised in walks like Saturday's in Lowell supports community programs that help moms have healthy, full-term pregnancies, and funds research to find answers to the problems that threaten babies. The walks have been going on since 1970, and have raised $2.3 billion to benefit babies. For more information about the great work done by March of Dimes, visit http://marchforbabies.org/default.aspx?si=Meanwhile, back at the ballpark, Addy leads the Fennell team on their victory lap around the warning track.
The second wave of Team Ryan gets ready to head out onto the course
Papa Bear, Polar Bear, and Haley Bear
An impressive crew. Ryan seemed rather non-plussed by all the attention
Haley was working all the angles. She must have been tired from maintaining that level of cuteness throughout the mileage. (Even more impressive, behind her in the double-tandem is Brook, who slept through the whole outing.)
Even Brady logged the miles, though truth-be-told, he was dogging it by the end, and was saved by a last-minute carry from mom
Papa needed a hand getting through the last mile
Apparently, so did Uncle Chris
Brady was too pooped to pose for the family pic
The champion himself, storming across the finish line
And finally, we get the thumbs-up after the walk was done. Time for another Sippy-Cup!
Great day, with inspirational stories, and yet another reminder for all of us to be thankful we have our health, family, and friends, around us for days like these.
Rock on, Ryan!