An Olivia Weekend

I tried to post this Sunday night and Monday morning, but was having technical difficulties.  This past weekend was very filled with Olivia related events.  On Saturday we went to our first Heart Institute picnic where we ran into some families that had been hospitalized at the same time that we were as well as greeting some of our favorite doctors.  We have our very first picture of Olivia with Dr. Ilbawi which I must admit is a little overwhelming.  There are few people out there that can look at a picture of themselves with the person that is responsible for saving their lives.  Yes, Brian and I gave her life, but Dr. Ilbawi and the staff at Hope are saving her life and the lives of other children each and every day.  The picnic was flooded with kids and their families and I took a look around to take it all in.  At least one child from each family had some sort of heart procedure at Hope and obviously there are many children that were either too sick to attend or sadly didn't survive.  In spite of that sobering fact, it was quite hot out and Miss Olivia earned her first little tan.  I will certainly have to make a note to lather on the sunscreen in the future.  Happily she does turn brown instead of red like her daddy.

Sunday was the 5K walk for Hope.  The proceeds of the event went to Hope Hospital and the Hope Ronald McDonald House.  There were many large teams there remembering those lives lost and those that continue to fight their illness daily.  Team Olivia as we informally dubbed ourselves was no slouch either, she had most of her grandparents, lots of Aunts and an Uncle all in attendence for the cause.  An extra round of applause to her Tia's that are somewhat known for showing up in a less than timely fashion.  They were all out there well before the start of the walk, so cheers to them!  Next year we're going to try and recruit more walkers/runners and have team shirts created for the event.  Below is our team picture, I think the most rested person is Livvy since she snoozed during most of it while I pushed her along!