BTFC Christmas Party

One of our favorite events every year is the Brain Tumor Foundation for Children Christmas Party.  It is a huge, fun event with so much to do.   Meeting Santa is always one of the first things they like to do:

 Because Santa means ... gifts!

Sabrina squealed with delight when she got a Princess Sofia & Family figurine set:

Catherine was disappointed (and actually cried) when she opened her Shrinky Dink maker.  But, the next day, when we showed her how it worked, she decided she loves it.  She wants to make more shrink dinks every day & now we will have to buy some more replacement cartridges.

 Catherine, with a tiara, feather boa and parasol, taking pictures with some foxes:

 The girls taking silly pictures, including an inflatable saxophone:

 Sabrina and Elmo:

 The girls & princesses:

 There are tons of games for the kids to play:

 My kids do not care for these characters, but they are a hit:

 They also made a bunch of crafts:

 This party is a lot of fun and a wonderful way to celebrate the season.  Thank you BTFC!!

Chatting With Santa

Recently we went to "Milk and Cookies with Santa," hosted by the Rally Foundation (which raises money to fun research for a cure for pediatric cancer).  It was a fabulous event.  I love that it is small enough that the girls got to chat, I mean really chat, with Santa:

 They talked for a LONG time on his lap:

Catherine told me that Santa assured her that she was on the Nice List.  I wondered why I was not consulted about that determination.  But, Catherine did seem quite relieved.

 I love these shots so much more than the posed ones we normally get!

 Catherine's folded arms ... which we see all the time:

 No surprise, but Sabrina was her smily, giggly self:

I think they were chatting about how dirty Sabrina's arm was from the crafts she had been doing:

 Sabrina is so excited!  I have no idea why, but it is great to see the joy on her face:

 Santa brought a special treat ... his dog!

 It was an eight week old Poodle - Labrador mix:

 Sabrina worked up the courage to actually pet the dog:

And then freaked out when the dog stood up:

 Santa's wife, Mrs. Claus, also came.  Catherine had lots of questions for her:

The event had several stations for making crafts.  In addition, there was a wrapping station.  So, the kids made crafts, had them wrapped, and gave them to Santa:

 This was our fourth party of the day, so Catherine decided to lay down in her party dress:

Thank you Rally for a fabulous time!

Make a Wish Walk - 2013

Every year the Make a Wish organization of Georgia holds a 5K run in Marietta to raise money to fund local, Cobb County, wishes.  We love this organization and are forever grateful for the wonderful trip they gave us when Catherine was just ending her cancer treatments.  So, any time they ask us to help we say YES!

To start the race the announcer asked the three little girls (Catherine, Sabrina, and another Wish child named Lilla) to tell the runners GO!

Then we wandered through the farmer's market in the Marietta Square.  One of the vendors had a goat (on a leash), which frightened Sabrina.  Hiding behind my leg seemed safe:

 Now Sabrina is getting braver:

After just over 16 minutes, the first runner crossed the finish line:

About 5 minutes later, other runners came by, cheered on by the girls:

 The girls were shocked when one runner crossed the line with his dog:

 Catherine's Sunday School teacher and her children ran the race.  Here are the girls with Rachel:

 Catherine with the race announcer:

 After the race the three little girls took turns handing out awards:

Each runner took a picture with the girl which handed out the award.  I have no idea where Sabrina learned to "photo bomb," but she would jump in with a huge smile to add herself into pictures:

When it was Sabrina's turn to take a picture with a runner, she took the opportunity to "strike a pose."  Catherine and Lilla grew bored handing out the awards (there were three winners in each of about 18 categories), but Sabrina hammed it up:

 The runners found Sabrina hysterical:

Catherine was mildly amused by the time we got to the older runners:

 But Sabrina simply used her imagination to strike different poses:

Catherine might me calm and collected, but her sister photo bombed with a goofy grin:

 She's so excited!

 Should we rename her "Silly?"

This is a great event and we love helping Make a Wish out anyway we can.