On a glorious Sunday in September, we loaded up the Ham Fam, put on Team JOE shirts and headed down to City Park to support the fight to find a cure for PH (Pulmonary Hypertension).
Our dear friend Jennie was diagnosed with PH when her son Owen was only two years old. We are very blessed to have Jennie and her family as friends. We love them dearly. We do not love that Jennie has to fight this terrible disease, one that we knew nothing about before Owen and Oliver brought our families together. What we do know is that Jennie has taught us to cherish every day, make the most of them and give lots of hugs. Plus... to seize the day. More often than not, we find ourselves on impromptu adventures that Jennie encourages us to take. We love them!
Team JOE (Jennie Owen Eric) were all dressed in Broncos Orange on top and our walking/running shoes on the bottom.
Jennie's sister Nancy came to town from Boston and lit up the event with her contagious smile.
Owen, Mark and Oliver conspired about something. No one really knows what the details were. They were likely solving world peace.
THIS is Team JOE!.
All 100+ people in Broncos Orange.
Team JOE was by far the largest team at the PHun Run and we were so glad to be a part of this great team and event.
The big kids weren't the only one solving world problems. Kellan and Cole were up to something as well.
Regardless of what they were up to, they weren't too busy to stop for a cheesy photo.
We attempted a kid photos. It tended to come in phases.
Do you see the biggest kid of them all?
No.. it's not Mark.
Hey, look, Eric is right down there in the middle!
All 6 feet and 9 inches of him.
Jennie with all of the kids who want to surround her with nothing but love and hugs.
As the photo formalities were winding down, we all wound our way to the starting line.
What we didn't expect was that as they sounded the alarm to begin, the big kids would take off running. Literally, they took off, running.
Keith looked at me, I looked at Keith and Keith started running too. It was the unspoken agreement that he would hang with Oliver and I would hang with Kellan.
What came next could have never been predicted. Kellan ran! Our youngest boy who tends to stroll to the beat of his own imagination. He took off running!
He ran and ran and ran... for over a mile!
Sometime after the one mile mark, we met up with Eric of Team JOE (Jennie Owen Eric). The big kid that he is, he encouraged Kellan to cool him off.
All of that running and watering, Kellan needed to water the bushes in City Park. After seeing numerous port-a-potties earlier in the day, there was not one to be found. So... we took action like any Mom of a four-year old with tiny tanks would do, we jumped behind the bushes. Surely this isn't the first time that these bushes have been watered unconventionally.
After the 1+ mile run and the tiny tank drain, Kellan had lost his steam. I was SO surprised and impressed with his stamina that we called it a race and found a place to cut back toward the finish line. Shhh... don't tell.
We arrived at the finish line just in time to cheer on the other half of the Ham Fam.
Oliver was quite excited and surprised to see us.
We cheered him on all and ran with him across the finish line. He ran nearly the entire 5K.
Kellan came across the finish line in his own personal style, strolling.
We met up with our team JOE family where Kellan and Evan went to battle.
Some of the Team JOE ladies:
Kristen, Jennie, Carrie and Jennie's friend who's name I can't recall. Don't be shocked, this is a common fault.
Jennie and Carrie
The Ham Fam at the PHun Run
It is so cute to see our boys talk with their friends. Owen and Oliver chatting it up on our way back to the car is no exception.
What a fantastic morning we had, surrounded with friends and friends who are family. We loved being there and we love Team JOE!
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