Relay for Life 2011

For the last 4 years I have participated in the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life with my mom. My mom is a cancer survivor herself so it's always been a special time for me to get to celebrate with her that she's one of the lucky ones who has overcome the disease (20+ year survivor!!). The relay lasts from 7:00 p.m. - 7:00 a.m. (we've never made it until 7 - the latest we've stayed was 5:30!) Three out of the last four years, Michel has gotten to join in with us. This year was really pretty chilly for the month of May so we bundled up and got ready to spend much of the night outside. Unfortunately, we didn't last as long as we normally do - we only made it until about 1:00, and the relay wasn't as big as what it normally is, but it was still a great time! 

The relay always kicks off with a survivor lap. It always makes me tear up to see my mom in that lap. 

I had to take a picture of Michel and I in our team t-shirts. The rest of the team wore pink shirts with a panther on it (my mom's school, whose team we were apart of, is called the Johnson Panthers, so our team was the Pink Panthers), but they didn't think Michel would love wearing a pink t-shirt, so they got him a gray shirt with a panther on it instead :)

Around the track were bags with candles in it, and our team had paid for a bag with my mom's name on it: 

My grandmother died in December 2002 from cancer, so my mom bought a candle-filled bag for her.

Sadly, cancer has touched many people in my family, so it's so important to me to do these walks/relays/races to raise money for cancer research. I had such a great time out there supporting not only my mom, but also anybody's life who has been effected by cancer. I love you, Mom!