On Sat June 18 I was lucky enough to have loving family and friends who wanted to come out and participate with us to spread awareness about spina bifida!
Our team was renamed Nick's Cheering Squad, because we do more than just love him (last year it was Nickolas' Loved Ones) - we cheer him on every step of the way! Who is lucky enough to have their very own cheering squad at 19 months old?!
This year I was blown away by the amount of people who wanted to come out and walk with us! I had almost 40 people registered to walk! Unfortunately sometimes life comes up, and we had a nice and sweet group of walkers!
Including not just one (Nick) but two kids with spina bifida! (His girlfriend Alejandra!)
We were also lucky to have a photographer for SNAP media to come and take some photographs of us getting ready for the walk (a more than a little disorganized!).
So after feeling a little like stars (with our professional photographer) we decided to head off! (The above 3 pictures are thanks to Kim Lowes and SNAP media! - even if I did photoshop the family a little)
Amanda Ridding
Kyle Ridding
Katheryn Ridding
Nickolas Ridding
Gord Bartley
Michael Bartley
Laura Bartley
Jamie Mack
Norma Cobb
Lisa Aubertin
Emily Aubertin
Hannah Aubertin
Ashley Hunt
Kristine B (and S)
Heather Radford
Ryleigh Radford
and Arnie (dog)
Followed by our second SB family!
Antonella Masabo
Alejandra Masabo
Frances Logan
Dee Logan
Dee Logan
Micheline Spencer
and other family
And some cheerers who came out, but were not able to walk:
Marie Ridding
Marty Ridding
Gwenda Bartley
Penny Radford
Some last minute posing from uncle Mike!
And some cheerers who came out, but were not able to walk:
Marie Ridding
Marty Ridding
Gwenda Bartley
Penny Radford
Some last minute posing from uncle Mike!
And we are off!
This year's t-shirts had the slogan 'ask me' to try to get people to duh! ask us about spina bifida.
And it worked! I had a couple of people stop and ask me about what we were walking for, and proudly told them all about Nickolas and what we were cheering for!
We even had an on-the-spot donation!
This year we all stayed pretty close together.
We had walking, running, biking, wagoning and strollering!
And some 4-legged walking as well!
We walked along the Pickering Waterfront (same route as last year). From Millennium Square in Pickering to Rotary Park in Ajax.
This was a last minute change - we had originally planned to walk from Rotary Park and through the Ajax waterfront, but the city informed us we would need a $110 permit to walk or picnic in Ajax as we were a group of more than 15 people. I was less than impressed and super stressed as I scrambled to find a nice path that didn't go along the public road and provided some shade (unlike half of the Pickering walk). OK done complaining!
Kyle with Katheryn and Nickolas
Walking through the 'fairy dust'
We walked, and played music, ran around!
(Katheryn is wearing last years shirt)
We stopped at some picturesque spots for some cute pictures!
And we posed for some!
Heather and Ryleigh
Movie star Lisa - always ready with a pose!
And me!
We finally made it to Rotary Park for some refreshments, bathroom breaks and a little R&R!
And then we headed back.
Hot, sweaty and happy that we raised awareness and did our best to show what spina bifida looks like!
At the end of our walk we were rewarded with some pool time!
Nick even got some time with Alejandra!
But at the end of the day, this is the guy we were walking for!
Can't wait for next year!
And thanks to the amazing fundraising of family and friends (including $500 raised by Nick's great aunt Norma Cobb!) we raised over $2200!!!
