During the week leading up to the event, the kids learned a different lesson about trike safety. Always ride with a helmet on. Never ride in the street alone, etc. They had a special coloring book and stickers every day that went with the day's lesson.
I wanted Allie to understand as best she could what she was doing. So the night before the trike-a-thon, I explained to her that there are kids who are very sick and have to stay at the doctor's, so she was riding to help them feel better. She ran to the window (where she likes to watch the neighborhood kids play) and said, "Those kids?" "Well, not really," I told her. "Those kids are healthy and not sick." So I pulled up the St. Jude website and showed her pictures of some of the children, and that seemed to help her understand a little better. Until she became obsessed with finding our cat Wem, and then the moment was over.
Allie raised $425, and the 5 kids at Happy Home Daycare raised over $800. I couldn't have been prouder of Allie and her friends.
Amber really went out of her way to make the day extra fun and special for the kids. They started out with a pizza party and promises of short naps (always a plus to toddlers).
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| Enjoying their pizza party for lunch |
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| Savannah |
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| Paxton |
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| Allie |
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| Drake |
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| Kaden |
Then after nap time, it was time to ride! Amber really outdid herself and made an AWESOME course for the kiddos to ride.
There were 'spectators' cheering on the little trike riders:
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| Pax! Team Drake! Yay Savannah! |
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| Go Allie! Kaden! |
And of course, the St. Jude hospital:
Kids playing outside and a construction site:
The course itself:
And then, the Finish line!
Each kid took their turn riding the course individually while everyone else watched and cheered from the sidelines.
Allie had such a blast and rode her trike so well!
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After they completed their ride, each kid got a special sticker, as a special momento that they had participated in the St. Jude Trike-a-thon.
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She even got her own personalized trike license!
Then they ended the day with a well-deserved dip in the pool.
The trike-a-thon was extra special for us. Allie rode in memory of her 2nd cousin, John Patrick Mullen, my cousin Amy's son, who passed away 3 years ago from a brain tumor when he was 6 months old. Allie never got the privilege of meeting John Patrick, but I know they would've been great friends.
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I couldn't have been prouder of my Little Bit. What a neat experience for her and the rest of the kids, to take a day out of their lives to do something special in their own way to help other kids who are sick. A special, heartfelt thank you from both Allie and me to everyone who sponsored her, whether financially, words of encouragement, or cheering her on. And an extra special thank you to Mrs. Amber, for organizing the event and going out of her way to make this a special memory for the kids.
