Relay for Life 2018

Relay for Life "season" is always one of my favorite times of the year! Being together with thousands of others who are just as passionate about fighting cancer as I am is such an amazing feeling!

Our event was held a couple of Friday nights ago and I can't believe I'm just getting around to sharing about it! We had a ton of fun, an awesome band, and lots of great food!

Our committee is so much fun!

A lot of local businesses take part in our relay. Even Chick Fil A came out to provide tea, lemonade, and chicken sandwiches to our caregivers! So awesome!

Our band for the evening was The Flamethrowers. They are a very popular local band and did an AMAZING job! One of their band members even joined me on the local morning show to discuss our event!

Along with being on the event committee, I am also a member of our local hospital team. The theme this year was "Wild About A Cure", and teams went all different ways with the idea - some chose a safari theme and some went with a wild west theme while others went with a hunting/outdoor theme.

I was also luckily chosen to participate in the dessert contest! Oh my gosh I know you can't see it, but there was a brownie in the mix and holy cow that thing was amazing! I'm a sucker for brownies with icing! YUM!

As the sun began to set, our festivities were just beginning!

We changed our survivor lap just a bit this year. We started with the less than one year survivors at the beginning and lined them up in groups according to how long ago they were diagnosed. It was a really awesome visual, especially to see those in the very back with greater than 15 years! (A person is defined as a cancer survivor from the moment of diagnosis, regardless of their type of cancer or stage.) We all have our own reasons for being out there and doing what we do for Relay, but this survivor lap defines it for me. To see the "sea of purple" walking the track is so amazing!

My parents even stopped by to say hello for a few minutes!

Funny story - three of my seven bridesmaids were in the same place at the same time and it wasn't because I orchestrated it! We HAD to have a picture, obviously.

After "perusing" the food options, I decided to go with a cheeseburger and a lemonade. Both were AMAZING! Oh yes, and a local spin business was out there with their cold pressed juice, so I bought a couple to save for later.

Around 9 p.m., the luminaria ceremony began. These bags completely lined the track and were created in honor and memory of cancer patients.

We also had a slideshow but we had a few hiccups this year. We left the slideshow with a definite  plan for next year, so hopefully all will work out ok.

Another favorite part for me is the "HOPE" luminarias! So cool how it looks all spelled out on the steps!

And that was a wrap! We ended kind of early for us this year which means I was home and in bed by 12:30! My goal was to be asleep before 1 a.m. because I had a 5 miler to run the following morning. If you read my 5 miler recap, now you know why my legs felt like lead blocks for the race!

I had so much fun with relay this year and can't wait for another exciting year next year! I always love Relay season and seeing all of the fun each event brings!