Team Hope Chest and the 3day Walk-Day 1

I finally got all the pictures uploaded from our 3 day Walk! It was an absolutely amazing experience. Rebecca, Shannon and I were Team Hope Chest and we had so much fun going through this journey together. Our day started at 6:00 a.m. on Friday morning of November 5. We all met at Rebecca's house and headed to opening ceremonies at Collin Creek Mall. We were so excited and nervous because we didn't know what to expect. Mom and Dad made this cute sign for us!





Everybody getting ready for the opening ceremony. There were over 2800 participants and we helped raise over 7.3 million dollars to help find a cure for breast cancer!!



It was a bit chilly in the morning!


We had to wear fanny packs to hold some things and our water bottles. We laughed at my fanny pack because it was so big, but it did the job!

My mom was an icredible supporter! She spent the night with me the night before, helped me get packed, and drove me to meet up with Rebecca and Shannon on opening morning. Cory was working so this was a big help. A big thank you to JoJo for keeping Ella!! My mom stayed for opening ceremony. She didn't want to miss a thing.....she got that trait from a great woman who I miss every day!! :)

Stretching out and getting ready to walk 19.3 miles for the first day.

Names of people who have been affected by breast cancer to help us remember why we were walking!

Survivors circle.....My friend's mom is holding the "hope" flag. These are women who have and are fighting that battle against breast cancer.

And we're off! Time to start walking!

The cheer stations were awesome! There were so many people that came out to cheer us on, pass out candy and food, and yell lots of words of encouragement. Team Hope Chest was cheered on by mom and Kristi at this station! This was at Mile 6.6. It was great to see mom and Kristi holding up the Team Hope Chest sign. They said they also had a blast watching everyone walk by.

Elementary children came out of their schools to help cheer us on as well.

Lunch time! Lunch was pretty yummy. The gave us a sandwich, fruit, chips and a cookie. It felt so good to sit down for awhile. We took off our shoes and socks so that our feet could breathe and put on fresh socks before starting up again. We kept "Glide" on our feet to help with blisters. It worked well for me....I didn't get a single blister!

We walked through great scenery. Our first day took us all through the Dallas area. We started at Collin Creek Mall and ended up at our campsite at Brookhaven College.

Ella and Cory joined Mom and Kristi at the next Cheer Station. This was at Mile 14!

Multi-tasking with chicken nuggets and a cheer stick!

My two loves! Cory even wore pink!!

Here we come!

What a great view to walk up to....family and friends cheering us on!

Kisses from my girl.

What a great friend! Kristi hung out with my mom all day and made it to every cheer station. I loved having her there! She and I are not only friends, but we are part of each other's family. That's special!

Dad came out for the last cheer station to show his support. Mile 16.2! He was super proud of us!

Camp!!!! Never thought I would be so excited to see a tent!

Walking through the flags on Day 1. The last few miles were tough. We didn't think it would be that hard to walk 19.3 miles.......WRONG. Our legs were just getting really sore by the end of the walk, but we made it!

Showers and dining.....yes please!

Everything was so organized. As we got to camp on the first day, we had to go find our luggage. You put your luggage on the truck that is marked with the same letter as your tent assignment. This happened at opening ceremony. Then the staff sets our luggage out by tent row and you go find yours.

Home sweet home.....almost.

Rebecca putting our tent poles together.

The Brookhaven baseball team came out to help.

After setting up the tent, we went to have dinner. It was really good....chicken, rice, salad, bread, and vegetables. Now that dinner was done, it was time for showers. The showers felt awesome!

Here's the sink area where you could brush you teeth, and use a mirror. No electricity, so no fixing the hair.

The showers were inside these trailers. There were about 8 showers in the trailer. Nice hot water and great water pressure.

Some of the groups were a little more "pro" at the 3 day walk with their set ups. Haha! After showers, we headed back to the main tent for the camp show. We couldn't get over how organized everything was, and how helpful and nice the staff and crew were. There were set-ups to charge your phone, coffe and hot apple cider were always available, and massage and stretching stations were available (if you wanted to wait in line). The rule was lights out at 9:00 p.m......no problem.! We settled into our sleeping bags before that and went to bed. Although the first night we were serenaded by someone who was snoring quite loudly!! Day 1 down, 2 more to go!!