TeamJason Fundraiser

I posted about our friends, Jason and Geri a couple weeks ago, his need for a double-lung transplant, and pointed you to the website we all created here.

WELL, we couldn't just sit by and do nothing else, so we charged up a fundraiser for them.

WHEW! It was a lot of work!

I love planning events and parties though, so it was somewhat of a twisted love/hate relationship :)

Most of the work was a that day sorta work, but we actually prepared quite a bit and I think really well. 

THANKFULLY we had tons of help from our friends, and could not have pulled it off without them. To you, we are indefinitely grateful! You know who you are...

We are also indefinitely grateful to the local businesses we went to asking for donations/prizes/gift cards to raffle away that were so generous and eager to help. It was truly touching to see the goodness in complete strangers. (We didn't have a tax ID number, so it's not like they could even write it off!)

Last, but certainly not least, we are so amazed at those who came and were able to donate money for Jason and Geri. We raised quite a bit of money, especially for the turnout that we had. 

People are awesome.

So a couple days before the event, Steve and I go to the park that we have paid good money to reserve to check the electrical outlets and make sure they're working (one of our many trips to the park to check something). Half of them were working, which was sufficient for our needs. Fine.

Saturday comes, we're setting up the cotton candy, popcorn, and sno-cone machines we have so graciously been lent (I should have asked for more help with the set-up part, that was my poor planning!), plug them in and press the 'on' buttons to get them going.

Nothing happens.

Ummmm....what?

We rearrange some plugs and try again.

Nothing.

We all panicked and a slew of frenzied comments were flying about.

I call the city phone number, of course no one answers because it's a Saturday.

I call the police department number they left me, and it's a disconnected number.

I call the electrical number on the sticker on the outlet box, no one answers.

I look up the police department number on my phone, they tell me someone will call me back soon.

I tell them like NOW, because we have a whole lotta hungry people showing up in 45 minutes.

I have to leave to go grab balloons, frozen food, and a million other things.

I get back ten minutes before it starts, the sweetest guy ever is just packing up his things and leaving, having just given us power. (The same guy shows up at the end to donate, eat a little grub, and find out more about Jason. Tender guy.)

POWER!!!! Hallelujah!!! The man was glowing as if he were an angel!!!

At this point, a lot of our friends have popped in to help with the set-up, and I can finally breathe.

Goosh-fraba....

Rachelle and little Ethan. She freehanded those shirts for her two kids! 

(It's the logo our other friend, Julia, came up with for the fliers and website)

They're in our year, we're friends. Isn't she pretty?

 Here's Julia getting her facepainting on. Desi, thanks for your help too. The kids loved it.

This is is Callie, our friends' little girl.

 Dryw and his little Meverick (his wife, Steph, and other little guy Gavin on the left)...boys will be boys

 We had a couple tables set up for buying tickets and donating

 The only other hiccup was running out of charcoal halfway through the event.

I stalled while a friend was on a charcoal run (we were totally in the Little Mexico of our city and didn't know any of the stores around, so he had to drive kinda far away, then he got stuck behind a train) with giving away raffles. We had 23 prizes to give away, including an iTouch! They were all donated. 

So awesome.

So we get the new charcoal going, and realize we're out of lighter fluid.

Are you kidding me?

Steve runs out to grab more of that, and I'm back to giving away prizes!

 The two red-heads and guests of honor. Loving the cotton candy!

 Addi and Sydney, two of our friends' daughters. Don't they look cute?!

Brian and Naarah. Seriously one of the biggest lifesavers. Naarah watched Parker for a couple hours while we set up, then when Brian got out of clinic, they drove him to event for us, handled a ticket table, then watched him a good deal of the taking down/cleaning up portion.

LIFE. SAVERS. There's no way we could have done this if we had to watch Parker too.

They're also in our year, and we like them too :)

Thank you to Whitney and Kim for also watching P while we handle our business!

 Girls from the school, Jackie was also a huge help and loved playing with Parker for me.

Thank you girls for being so sweet and coming!

And thank you to everyone from the school who came, especially Chris who helped with the grilling, Brian who took half of these pictures (Geri took the other half, I stole them), Lindsey for bringing food and your parents who were great, Amy and Michelle for manning the tables, Dr. Munroe and Eryn Kranning for donating the silent auction items, I could go on and on.

I'm glad it's over (don't get me wrong, we enjoyed doing it), Geri's hopped up on cotton candy, and Brandon's just confused without his other half.

I'm kinda tearing up thinking about these guys leaving in the next week or two, so I won't say much about that, but I will say that Steve and I really love you two and wish we could give you the world!

We know you'll get it one day ♥