1st Anniversary Post # 1- Walk for the Mind

Hey hey everyone! Anniversary weekend is going fabulously so far! I have to make this blog fast, because we’re just making a quick stop at where we’re staying between festivities and dinner. So I will hereby name this post anniversary weekend part 1.

This morning Shane and I woke up bright and early to drive to Peoria to join my family for the Walk for the Mind. The Walk for the Mind is for brain cancer research, and the hubski and I went in support of my awesome cousin, Beth.

Beth was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2004, and has handled it astonishingly. She’s pretty much the best. She was also my bridesmaid at this exact weekend last year! She’s beautiful, inspiring, and just astounding.

The walk started off with some celebratory speeches commemorating those who have lost their battle with brain cancer:

And those who are SURVIVORS!!! Yea!!! 😀

And ended with a balloon launch

Then, was the 1 mile walk, in which all of the survivors and their family, friends, and supporters (and Niko!) walked.

It was so touching to be there. Last year, we were all in Florida for Shane and my beach wedding at this time, so we missed it, but I’m so glad we made it this year.

Plus, there were super cool goodies! We got a really neat canvas bag, along with a slew of food goodies:

Shane had planned an anniversary trip to: Starved Rock and August Hill Winery for the rest of the day, so we had to leave asap!

I’ll bet you can guess what part two of the anniversary re-cap will be! Hint: expect breath taking pictures followed by shenanigans 😉

Also…I wanted to make sure to say thank you, thank you, thank you for all of the happy anniversary wishes. It’s so great to be a part of this blogging community, and each and every well-wishes touches the heart!

Have a great Saturday! See you all tomorrow morning for a re-cap of my weekend of nature sights at Starved Rock, wineries, and a quaint, romantic Italian restaurant!

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