Pound the Pavement for Parenthood

As most of you know we have been trying to start our family. It's been a long road, and we've hit quite a few bumps a long the way. One of my teammates from the Ragnar has also struggled with infertility.  She suggested we check out Pound the Pavement for Parenthood. They are an organization that organize 5k races for couples who are trying to come up with the financial means to adopt or do IVF. (Invitrofertilization) um, what an awesome idea! I looked into it a little more and we signed up for their next race. It was in Ogden Utah. The money for registration goes towards the "sponsor" couple, but the great thing is several doctors got together and donated a free round of IVF and a couple cycles at half off. That is a HUGE deal. IVF is not cheap, we are talking anywhere from 10-20 thousand dollars not cheap. (Too bad we learned that by paying for it a few times already.) We decided to enter the race and cross our fingers we won the drawing. We had some family and friends come down to Utah to help us out by putting our name in the drawing when they registered. The cool part was that they offered not only the 5k but a one mile fun run for people who wanted to walk and the kids. Unfortunately we did not win the drawing. But I would do it again in a heart beat, even knowing we wouldn't win. It was awesome to see the group of people that were there, supporting friends, coworkers or family. Sometimes it's easy to feel alone when you are struggling with infertility. How hard is it to make a baby right? (Pretty dang hard for some of us.) And it's awkward to talk to someone who is struggling when you don't know what to say. During the race I was reminded of how many people do struggle with this and it was good to know I'm not alone. We are so lucky to have friends and family gunning for us. We love and thank all of you, whether you could come to the race today or not. 

 Me and the cutest pregnant person ever! She's also my gorgeous cousin :) 

     Our good friends from Rexburg came and brought their kids. 

My nephew was so excited to be in a "race". Grandpa gave them bears for being good.

Here's the group! Thanks guys we love you! 

 We decided to make the trip to Utah count, we visited Lagoon! 

Our nephew getting to ride his first roller coaster ever! He was a little nervous.

As soon as we got off he said, "Lets do that again."

Our first date outside of our hometown was to Lagoon. It's been awhile since we've been back.

 One of the best rides is the train, great for the kids and the adults. Plus you get to rest those tired feet from standing in line and walking all day. 

Who knew I was so good at the arcade games? First toy I have ever one, my nephew loved it. 

The best place to fall asleep. Tyler has great shoulders for that, it seems all the nephews/ nieces  have fallen asleep there a time or too. 

If any of you are interested in finding out more on races like the one we did today check out their website. They have upcoming races, maybe one will be close to you. If any of you live in St. George there's one coming in September. If you don't know who to run for we have some cousins that are racing and they would love the support! Their names are David and Kara Peterson, we wish them the best of luck! 

www.poundthepavementforparenthood.com 

Check them out on Facebook too for news of upcoming events!

There's also another group that raises money for infertility. Their name is Footsteps for Fertility. Check out their Facebook page for upcoming races and information. They have an upcoming race in Pocatello, Idaho. It will be September 14. We will be participating in this race too, maybe we will have better luck winning the raffle this time. ;)  We will be crossing our fingers!