Hip Hip Hoorayyyy!

Hello Everyone! Well, Hip Hip Hooray was a complete success and we had a really great time. Hannah, Hayden and I had to be out there at 8:00am to help set up our stall we were watching, and it was bucketing rain, so it did not look to start off well. But there was a free pancake breakfast for the volunteers and we were under shelter, so it wasn't too bad. I had never been to Queen's Park in New Westminster before, and was suprised by its size. The area where we set up had a bandshell, where they proceeded to have continual entertainment; music, dancing and singing. There was also, a covered barbecue area (where they made and served breakfast), a playground, waterpark and petting zoo. Free parking, too - unheard of in Vancouver. There was a candy necklace making station, a face painting station and the stall that Hannah and I manned was the "Scott Paper Toilet Paper Toss Game", where basically you threw a roll of toilet paper through a toilet seat and got the cutest "Scotties Little Softie Puppet Doll" for free. There were multiple raffles, a silent auction and a table set up to show some of the paraphernalia involved in orthopaedics, such as the brace that Hayden wears, lots of metal hips and shoulders, etc. The Tim Hortons van also showed up with free coffee and doughnuts. There were also really cool "goodie" bags for all of the kids who participated in the walk. Hayden's got passed onto Kes, who was delighted!

Hayden won two awards; one for being the "youngest walker" (he got a book!) and thanks to the support of those we know and love, he got a medal for being the child who raised the most money, which in total amounted to about $1,500.00! Thank you so MUCH to all who helped out! The total amount raised is over $42,000 and will be distributed between the participating hospitals for that area. This is a Canadian wide event, so I am excited to see how much was raised for the country altogether.

The blanket that my Mom and I knitted as a donation was also a hit. I had indicated that maybe it should be a prize or something, but it ended up being put in the silent auction. I was skeptical about how appealing it might be as an auction item, but of course when I got to the event, there were more than enough elderly ladies with hip replacements there who were interested in it! I understand it sold for at least $35, which was excellent! Here are some photos of it, which I miraculously remembered to take:

The Hip Hip Hooray Balloons, top left corner

"Hip Hip"

"Hoo Ray"

The Balloons Again, top right corner

The Whole Thing

Here is a photo of me and the kids. Take special notice of Hayden's medal that he won!

Again, a big thanks to all of you who helped out!