Happy Hollow

Lara and Bodhi drove down and met us at Happy Hollow for the afternoon. As would be expected, we had a lot of fun!

The merry-go-round continues to be one of Akemi's favorite rides.

Today she was lucky enough to ride the dragon.




I finally had my chance to ride the roller coaster with Keira.
She insisted we have our hands up the whole time!

After such a fast roller coaster ride, Keira didn't want to ride Danny the Dragon so she went off with Naveen but Akemi and Bodhi had fun.
 

Akemi even wanted to give Danny a hug and kiss when we were done with the ride.


 Snow cones are always fun...

... almost as good as spending time with a good friend...

The ladybug ride was a hit with all three kiddos

 These cars were tricky for Keira but she didn't give up!



And the Putt Putt Cars were just a fun end to the day



That and a final Frog Hop with mom!

We closed down the park today. :)

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Together We Have Started Something

You brought some GOOD into the world.

It was over 3 years ago that we began an uncertain and uphill journey to fund research for OMS. This debilitating autoimmune disease was what Keira had to tackle after overcoming cancer. It remains one of the rarest diseases known, and afflicts only a handful of children a year.

Being diagnosed with such a rare disease makes you feel like you’re part of the forgotten few: no headlines, no celebrity endorsements, no drug companies funding research, constant uncertainty about flare-ups, cognitive issues, physical impairments, and struggles with insurance companies, schools, and counselors to get support. Family, friends and a small community of dedicated parents and doctors grinding it out every day looking for glimmers of light here and there as we help our kids.

Thanks to YOU, the glimmer of light is shining brighter :)  

This year we are happy to fund not one, but TWO OMS research grants!

2 years ago when Crystal and I first thought about OMS research, we had no playbook, we didn’t know how to fundraise, we didn’t know the first thing about research grants, and had no clue how we would get there or if we ever would.

Your contributions of time, money, encouragement, love and support, no matter how large or small, has made this happen. There is a part of you now connected to this milestone...thank you for being part of our journey, thank you for caring, and thank you for believing that something could be done.

For more information about the research research grants, see the links below:

• Award video announcing the OMS grants (video)
• Bethan Lang, MD, Oxford University, Detection of Novel Autoantibodies (pdf)
• Dr. Gregory Owens, University of Colorado, Targets of the Intrathecal B-Cell Response (pdf)

Together we have started something, and you've given us hope, along with families around the globe. Thank you for what you've done

Crystal, Naveen, Keira, Akemi

Angelina Ballerina Dance Camp

Keira and her good friend Madison signed up for the Angelina Ballerina Dance Camp this summer.  It was hard to contain Keira's excitement each day until 12:30pm when the camp started.  She was up and ready to go after breakfast.  :)

We were lucky that the camp was super small this week.  There was only one other little girl, Rachel, who signed up so it was almost like having a private lesson with Miss Natalie each day for three hours.

Today the girls put on an adorable show for us to see what they have been working on all week.

We were all quite impressed!

Flower Dance



 Tambourine Dance

 

 We Can Fly

 

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Little Artist

This was the first summer that Keira was old enough to go to camps by herself, which means that Akemi and I are driving her all all around!

I felt bad for Akemi because she really wanted to go with her big sister and didn't like hearing she wasn't old enough yet. I did my best to find some special activities for us to do together while we were waiting for Keira.

Akemi really enjoyed painting the little bear she picked out at Color Me Mine.

It was cute to see how carefully she painted it and she knew when she was done (I thought she was done long before she did!)

 









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