A Mommy Adventure: The Girls Just Want to Have Fun 5K

The Girls Just Want to Have Fun 5K was on March 23 in College Station. We had a blast preparing for the race and actually a ton of fun on the day of the race! There were over 1,000 women running and we had all-male volunteers in t-shirt tuxedoes at the water and food stations.

Kristy and Paxton

We ran the 5K for Miss Paxton, Kristy's 2.5 year old daughter. Paxton was diagnosed with neutropenia, a rare blood condition that causes a reduced number or complete lack of neutrophils. In the fall of 2011, Paxton went through a few bacterial infections, some viruses and even had fevers with no other symptoms before they found out she had neutropenia. On March 19, bone marrow tests came back confirming she had Autoimmune Neutropenia which means she should outgrow it. We're all praying she does so her parents don't have to worry about the little things so much!

As Paxton's Princess Posse, we raised money through Long Race 4 Tate for the Ella Jewel Foundation. The initial fundraising goal for P^3, was $500. That goal was quickly accomplished so we raised it to $1,000. I am happy to say we passed that goal and we raised $1,421!

The Ella Jewell Foundation’s mission is to “Raise awareness in the area of Neutropenia and funds to put towards research for Neutropenia and Childhood Bone Marrow Failure Disorders; to one day find a cure and make a difference.” And that $1,421 goes toward the Ella Jewell Foundation! 

Our princess poses

Race Day started bright and early for us.. 7 am isn't so early for most of the Princesses. But it was early for me! Well, it wasn't too bright, either, since a front came through that brought cooler temperatures and the threat for rain. Some of us had practiced the route a few times before and of course, our lovely Texas weather had been warmer than what we ran in on Race Day!

Every princess needs some glitter!

Every princess needs some glitter!

We were all prepped and ready to walk to the start of the race together. We crossed the Start Line together but we all ran at our own paces. I was happy with my ~35 minute 5K time and I know everyone else was happy with theirs. This was the first race for some of the Princesses and it sounded like everyone enjoyed it. I hope it's the start for them because I know I enjoyed my first 5K earlier in March. 

There were a ton of women in pink, neons and in costumes. There was a great atmosphere throughout the race itself, too. At the end of the race, there were awards for best individual and team costumes, overall best time winners and then each age group had 1st and 2nd place awards. The group costume contest winners were dressed up at old ladies. They were awesome and hilarious! The leading Old Lady blogs about her running experiences and Kristy had a chance to meet her at a meet-n-greet sponsored by the race officials in February. You can read about it on her One Tough Mother Runner blog. 

The start of the race

Paxton was there to cheer her Posse along!

Finished my 2nd official 5K at 00:35:05
Axe 'em Jacks!

As much as I wanted to give TWO enthusiastic thumbs up as I had this picture taken, I couldn't bring myself to do it. I knew I felt great and had beaten my old 5K time by almost 3.5 minutes! "Thumbs Up" has a whole new meaning once you move into "Aggieland." I don't want to be mistaken for an Aggie... I am a Lumberjack, after all!

And before I end this, I want to thank Kassi for coming out to take pictures of us! I know it was cold and dreary but our pictures turned out fantastic! Thank you so much!

Houston Children's Museum- Jan. 18

Just a little "plug" before we get to Auggie.....

This adorable little girl is Paxton! She is such a smart 2.5 year old. I met her mommy, Kristy, through the mom's group I joined here in College Station. Kristy and 8 friends (including me!) are running the "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" 5K March 23 to raise awareness and money for research of Neutropenia. In 2011, Paxton was diagnosed with neutropenia. Neutropenia (noo-troe-PEE-nee-uh) is an abnormally low count of neutrophils, a type of white blood cell that helps fight off infections, particularly those caused by bacteria and fungi. This diagnosis came after a long bout of unexplainable fevers, typical viruses and a few bacterial infections. Although they have a diagnosis of what caused Paxton to be sick, there are still a lot of "unknowns" they have to deal with. Paxton can't be around large crowds or sick people because she is at a very high risk of getting sick and not having enough white blood cells to fight it off. So this is where the 5K comes in... We're raising money to help the Ella Jewell Foundation (a nonprofit dedicated to neutropenia research) and the Long Race 4 Tate! The original goal was $500 but they met that goal quickly (I just signed up for it today;). So now they're aiming for $1,000! If you would like to donate to their cause, please click the picture above or following link: http://longrace4tate.com/paxtonsprincessposse/. 

Mommy and Auggie

Tim spent 18 days in January out in Uvalde (south Texas) guiding so Auggie and I got to spend almost a full week in La Porte. We had a great time but it was really nice once Tim was home!

My mom and I had planned on taking auggie and Drake to the Houston Children's museum the Friday we were there but Drake ended up having a swollen ear drum so he wasn't able to go. He always misses out on the fun stuff! Poor guy! I know if he would've gone, my mom and I would've been split up the whole time because there is SO much to do! Auggie had a blast and we didn't even see half the museum.

They had a cool exhibit full of vintage pedal cars in the main hallway. They had some from the 1940s to the 1970s. There were a few that were fire truck themed and it looked like Auggie liked those the best. Too bad they don't make toys like they used to!

We eventually made our way into one of the exhibits- "How Does It Work?" There were all sorts of science themed activities- magnets with washers, periscopes and telescopes, building arcs with giant blocks, rolling golf balls on a mini put-put course and curved arc. And those are just a few they had upstairs!  Auggie liked them all and had a hard time going on to each activity.

looking in the periscope

playing with the magnet

I feel like these are all I get of him smiling! :)

He's supposed to roll the ball.. but he enjoyed throwing them

Rolling golf balls on the arc

Attempting to build the arch

We went outside after the how it works exhibit to visit the "Eco Station". They had little chicks for kids to see and learn about a life cycle. They even had information on Purple Martins for their weekly native animal section. In the spring/summer time, that part would be fun because they had a little pond and plants growing. It was just green and brown because of the winter.

Signing Chicken

There was also a water exhibit in the courtyard- "Flow Works". I didn't think it would be open so I figured going outside would be ok... Don't know what I was thinking! It was January and the water exhibit was STILL running! BRRRR! Luckily it was a nice day and Auggie didn't get too wet. This one would also be fun during the summer time! Hopefully Groupon will have another sale on their tickets this spring/summer.

It was a little difficult getting auggie to go back inside but once we got to the toddler section upstairs, he changed his attitude. We spent most of our time in the "Tot Spot" the first time we went and he  liked it this time around, too. Any room full of toys definitely gets Auggie's attention. 

Auggie enjoyed being buried in the blocks

weeee

We would've stayed longer but nap time was looming over our heads. I know Auggie could've stayed the whole day if he chose to. Hopefully next time we'll be able to go with Drake!

We had to stop by the train on the way out

Gramma and Auggie

Until next time!