Picture This

Picture a whole family dressed in yellow, standing along a busy bike path with a table full of ice cold lemonade and warm freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. No really, picture it, because that's as close your going to get since my camera battery was dead this afternoon and I didn't get a single, solitary picture of our lemonade stand.

As a family we sponsored a mini-fundraiser for pediatric cancer research and treatment through the Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation. We picked lemons from a friend's orchard, made fresh lemonade and cookies, and then peddled them to unsuspecting freshmen on their way home to the dorms. Few could resist the childhood nostalgia of a lemonade stand coupled with the cuteness of our kids. We sold over 50 cups of lemonade and about as many cookies. All told we raised $92.06! Marielle and I had a great time working together in the kitchen all morning and she said at the dinner table tonight that we needed "a good night's rest because we worked hard today!" I agree, but I'm staying up just a little later so I can post about our event in the case that you may like to help us break $100. Our fundraising goal was $50, so we are thrilled with our results already, but if you do want to chip in for a "virtual cup of lemonade" you can donate online by visiting our sponsor page.

My favorite part of the experience was watching Marielle tell our patrons that "we are helping kids with cancer." Meeting and talking with strangers is hard for Marielle and initially we were struggling to get her to make eye contact or smile at anyone. When we started prompting her, "tell them why we are selling lemonade" she found her confidence and spoke out. It was awesome to see her catch the vision of giving to others. Oh, and Jenna did her part too. She didn't request, sneak, whine or beg for cookies though a whole plateful was clearly within arms length for two hours. If you know Jenna, that's saying a lot.