Angelman Syndrome Walk-a-thon Washington DC 2008

Every year the Angelman Syndrome Foundation and hundreds of volunteers organize ASF Walk-a-thons in cities all around the country. This year, for the first time, we participated in the Washington DC location. The walkers for Team 2nd Chance were myself, Rob, Grandmom Hunsicker, Cannon, Colin (who rode) and of course... CHANCE! There were at least 400 people there and probably 50 or so angels. It was really special to be a part of it. Team "2nd Chance" raised over $2000 for the ASF. We're still waiting to hear if the ASF hit their 1 million dollar goal throughout the country. Let's pray!
Thank you so much to all of our family and friends who sponsored Chance. He had a GREAT time. We did the long 2.5 mile walk and Chance walked probably close to half of it, if not more. If we didn't make him sit and ride for a rest, he probably would have walked the whole thing! The best part was watching his face light up when he realized everyone was clapping for him as he crossed the finish line. I had to fight back the water works (go figure!)
Afterwards, there was a catered lunch of BBQ that was out of this world! The weather was PERFECT! Thanks for all the prayers!
It was really great to meet Susan, Kassidy, Katrina, Justin, Sean, Jenna, Jule, Niko and all the other angels and their families. Today was just what we needed to remind us that this long journey isn't one we do alone. We have a super Angelman Family and we're so grateful. We're already looking forward to the next walk and the next conference!

Aaaaarrrrghhh Matie!

Cannon turned 4 in pirate fashion at Chick-fil-a. Cannon's fourth birthday party was a lot of fun. He invited several of his friends and Grandmom and Pop Pop made the trip all the way out to celebrate too. The boys and girls played in the play zone for a bit while dinner was being organized. After dinner we had cupcakes, icecream, presents and more playing in the play zone. Chick-fil-a was very accomodating and we really appreciated all they did for us to make his party such a good time for all!

With an Oink Oink Here, and an Moo Moo There

My baby is TWO! Good grief it's hard to believe. We celebrated Colin's 2nd birthday with a Barnyard theme since he just LOVES his barn animals. It was just a small family gathering since so many of us were sick, we decided to spare our potential party guests from our germs! The animal caps were really cute and all of us got into the spirit... including Pop Pop, who we all know hates to mess up his hair! hee hee

Take Me Out to the Ball Game!

Chance earned a free ticket to the Hagerstown Suns minor league baseball game for good behavior throughout the school year. Several students in other classes did too. So Rob and I made arrangements to both go with Chance. We loaded up the busses and head to the game. It was a beautiful sunny day and we thoroughly enjoyed our time just with Chance. Robin and Pastor Curt were here to watch Cannon and Colin. Also, Ron our neighbor took Cannon to and from school for us. Here are some pics of Chance and some of his friends at school and a cool video. Chance really loved all the clapping, stomping and music! It was a great day for all of us.

Look Out Spiderman, There's a NEW Superhero... CANNONBALL!

Cannon was recently invited to Thomas' birthday party and the special guest, besides the birthday boy... was SPIDERMAN! Well, Cannon was beside himself. He just loved seeing Spiderman and wanted to follow him around telling him all about himself. I just got a big kick out of it and had to share some pics of Cannon and Spiderman slinging webs. The party also had pony rides, and of course, Cannon was all over that. He even hammed it up for the camera! Thanks Thomas for the invite! We had a GREAT time.

Family Fun Day at the Mall

Each year our little local mall (I call it little because I grew up 2 miles from King of Prussia mall) holds a Family Fun Day. Grandmom came up to enjoy the fun with us. The boys rode ponies, saw a great puppet show, ate pizza, did crafts, played games, and had lots of fun. It's all free and I seriously can't think of anything I look forward to more with my kids. There was a man there with a remote control miniature school bus. Cannon seemed to really like the dragon thing on top of it and Colin had no idea how it was moving on it's own. It was really cute.

Angelman Syndrome Walk-a-thon

As many of you already know, May 17th is the 10th annual Angelman Syndrome Walk-a-thon and this year, Chance, myself, Rob and Grandmom Hunsicker will all be walking for "Team 2nd Chance". For more information or to sponsor Chance please visit www.firstgiving.com/chanceevans. Please pray for good weather, good turnout, lots of awareness generated, and that we meet our overall million dollar goal. Dr. Weeber is embarking on some very significant AS research and I'm sure the ASF would like to offer funding support for his and others' research.

Check out this very encouraging article on research that could chance Chance's life and the lives of thousands of other angels.
http://spectrumpublications.com/index.php/April/May-2008/Spectrum-Magazine-Category/a-long-shot-pays-off.html