BTHOM 2011

Last weekend, we attended a fund raiser for an event called Beat the Hell Outa Melanoma.  The event was founded by the family of a woman named Julie Koch Lyons who lost her life at a young age to melanoma.  Each year the fundraiser is held to raise funds to help another family that is battling this awful form of cancer.  We didn't know Julie personally, but have heard her story from our neighbor, Wendy, who grew up knowing Julie and her family.  There was wonderful barbeque to eat, a fantastic 2 person band who could play just about anything, free skin cancer screenings, a silent auction, and lots of activities for the kids.

Brenna and Jordan got right into the action by dancing their shoes off on the dance floor.  Well, okay their shoes were off because they had been in the bounce house and once you've been in the bounce house and all that adrenaline is pumping through your veins, who has time to remember to put on shoes.

Clowning around with a dancer.

She's poetry in motion

 Next up was a little barrel racing stick pony style.  

Look at them listening intently to the instructions given by the rodeo clown.

I guess Wendy and I should paint our faces and wear crazy big shoes all the time.  

Maybe Brenna and Jordan would listen to what we have to say for a change.

 Jordan went for speed and a perfect technical score...

 ...and Brenna took a bull riding approach!

Sometimes you ride the pony...

 

...and sometimes you carry it.

Either way you're darn cute.

 We met the largest long eared bunny I've ever seen.

Too bad for Austin, he wasn't a silent auction item.

He LOVED the bunny.

 

Brenna challenged me to a jump rope race.

She won, but in my defense, the rope was too short.

'Cause you know I'm so tall and all.

Wendy, Mark, Brent and I got into a bidding war in the silent auction over this framed cross made out of a baseball.  It is one of the coolest things I've ever seen.  The crosses are sold to raise funds to impact the lives of children in the Dominican Republic as well as the Houston area by a group called Sports Fusion.  If you have a baseball fan in your life you might want to check them out.  Might make a good Christmas present.  The bidding war came down to the last minute, and I'm proud to say that Brent's bid was the highest and final bid.

 

  

It was a wonderful afternoon, and I'm glad we got to do our part to help a family going through troubling times.  Thinking about what others are going through makes you appreciate what you've got.  Even if it's just a good place to rest your head.

Photos taken by Wendy Pierce who's gonna be famous one day.