Once again, we hit the pavement for the Avon Breast Cancer Walk. With Ashley & Nick living in Chicago, we thought we'd give another new city a try. Chicago turned out to be a fabulous walk and weekend.
Brandon and Liz swapped their home in NYC with an amazingly generous couple (i'm talking they left us breakfast food, picked up my sister from the train, checked in and rooted us on, and were just amazing people). The house was beyond gorgeous, and easily slept our large crew. The craziest part was that it was a mere 4 blocks from the park which hosted the wellness village for all the walkers. This was my first time getting to see how most walkers spend the evening after walking day 1, it was pretty impressive really.
Everyone got into town by dinner Friday night. We walked down the street to a beer festival, which was fun, then returned home to enjoy some traditional Chicago style pizza. Umm, fat and lazy is how we all felt after that meal. Made for an early night for all.
We hit the trails around 7 am Saturday morning. Opening ceremonies are very inspiring, and as always, I cried. It feels powerful to be surrounded by thousands of people who are all supporting the same cause. There are fighters, survivors, those who lost someone, and those that just want to support the cause. It's AWESOME!!!! My message on the Chicago sign this year was....."Mom, Kit, Kiki- Our Hero!"
I am not all that familiar with the city, so it was fun to see downtown, the stadium, different neighborhoods, and landmarks. After hitting the half marathon marker, we all felt great and decided to trek on. Liz had to get back to relieve the babysitter at mile 18, then several more of us jumped on a bus at mile 20. Brandon, Justen, and Nick went hard core and walked the full marathon (plus the few blocks home) in 1 day.
DAY 1- 0 Blisters
After a dip in the hot tub.... we ordered chinese and had a rare family dinner (man I miss Sunday dinners at Grandma's house every week). Finished off the night by celebrating Matt/Justen's birthday and Jenn/Justen's engagement (yep, my little bro is finally getting hitched). Then off to bed to start day 2.
We hit the pavement at 8 on Sunday, and walked the last almost 14 miles by lunchtime. Day 2 was a bit more boring, with less to talk about, and a way uglier route for the first few hours. But we ended by walking along the water, and crossed the finish line as a team.
DAY 2- 0 Blisters
It was a gorgeous weekend, blue skies, and mid 70 degree weather. Mom was certainly there with us, walking all the way. As a team we raised nearly $20,000 this year. GO US!!!!! I am proud to be on The Whole KIT and Kaboodle Team....I am proud of my family.....and I am proud of Matt and I. Asking for money is tough, walking 34 miles is tough, and spending 3 whole days with your siblings can be tough (hehe). But in the end- we rocked Chicago and the Avon Walk!
Thank you to all that supported us!! Where will next year take us???
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