Jennifer Ireland

August already?...

Wow, the summer is flying by...but we say that every year, don't we? Ours continues to busy, but enjoyable. Last weekend ended up being a great trip to Cape Girardeau for me, Emma, Peighton, Jan, and Bob. I'd like to thank the Kohlfeld, Jones, and Bles families for treating us to such a good time. For those of you that don't know, Jen is originally from Cape Girardeau and the majority of her family continues to live there. I can't begin to express how great these people are and how welcome they always make the girls and I feel. There were some great pictures taken, and as soon as I get my hands on them I'll share a few. Now if they would just build a highway that was a straight shot from K.C. to Cape, it would make the drive a little easier!

Last night was another productive board meeting for the Jennifer Ireland Foundation. I think I speak for everyone on the board when I say that I am always re-energized and excited about the potential this foundation has for changing lives and opening doors for those families suffering through cancer. The golf tournament was given a lot of attention. We'll be plugging away over the next eight weeks to make it a great experience for all. Please check your calenders on Saturday September 22nd and get your teams signed up ASAP. There are numerous opportunities for sponsorship, so if anyone is interested or has suggestions please let me know. We also put a lot of pressure on Brian Cole, our invaluable web developer, board member, and good friend. Stay tuned in the coming weeks for the new foundation site to be unveiled. Our vision is for it to develop into a destination and social network for cancer patients, families, friends, etc.

This weekend about three dozen of us will converge on St. Louis for the 1st annual Crawl for Cancer. It looks as if the turnout will be just under a thousand participants with the J.I. Foundation receiving 1/3 of the proceeds. Awesome response for a new event!

Here's Em and P:

Gotta love peaceful evenings...

I'm lounging on the couch with Belle curled up next to me and the girls snoozing away in their bedrooms. I love the peaceful evenings. Those that have had the opportunity to visit us around bedtime know that Emma and Peighton live for the nighttime dance party in their nightgowns. They are quite the dancers. At some point I'll try to shoot a short video so that everyone can get a good laugh.

No news to pass along here. This week will be pretty routine until a much anticipated road trip to Cape Girardeau on Friday. We have yet to visit since we lost Jen in February and I know both sides of her family would really like to see how our girls have grown in 6 months.

As several people have mentioned today, July 23rd is Shawndra Turner's birthday. Take a moment to say a quick prayer for her and her beautiful family. As we grow older, birthdays tend to lose the luster and excitement. However, in the face of cancer birthdays gain new significance. Happy Birthday Shawndra.

The girls thought it was pretty cool sitting on Nathan's motorcycle this weekend!

A lonely trip on the road...

I haven't been traveling much lately just due to the fact that home is a little harder to leave nowadays. However, business needs to be taken care of so I find myself in southwest Michigan this week. Ugh...not much to see here -- no offense to those with Michigan roots. I definitely can't complain about the weather though. K.C. is sweating out mid-90's while up here they're barely in the 80's. Back at home my usual dependable crew of nannies, friends, neighbors, and family will take good care of my girls. Emma is participating in her first Vacation Bible School this week and she is so proud. Thanks to Jan for setting it up and serving as the chauffeur each day this week. Peighton is probably enjoying the mornings to herself for a change. Big sis can get a little bossy sometimes even though she really means well and just wants to help take care of her little sister.

I'd like to thank Derrick Wilde and Scott Briley of the Crawl for Cancer for inviting me to play in the American Cancer Society Golf Tournament on Monday. The location was at one of K.C.'s finest golf courses - the Nicklaus Golf Club at Lions Gate. It was a great way to spend a Monday and i was honored to be a part of it. It got me even more excited about our tournament in September. We'll do our best to make it a memorable event so that it will be inked on everyone's calendar each year.

Finally, I'd like to ask for a suggestion from anyone that may have some ideas. I'm sure you all remember our good friend Mairtin de Cogain, the Irish actor and musician seen in the movie The Wind That Shakes The Barley. He will be returning from Cork, Ireland in a couple of weeks for a festival tour of the U.S. with his band the Fuchsia Band. For everything that he has done for the Jennifer Ireland Foundation, we would like to provide him and his band the transportation for this short tour. Does anyone know where we can find a decked out tour bus???...or maybe just a dependable passenger van will probably do the trick! While touring the middle of the U.S., I know he will be more than willing to advertise and spread the word about our foundation. It is a win-win for everyone.

TGIF...

Hey everyone. Life is good here at the Ireland household. The girls are well and continuing to have a great summer. We've squeezed a lot in the past week or two, so I have to admit I'm a little tired. So...thank God it's Friday.

As many of you already do, please stop by Shawndra Turner's blog and send her a little love. Even with what our family has been through, it is still unimaginable to me how difficult it must be to battle this disease and hold yourself together as well as Shawndra and Doug Turner do.

On a different note, the organizers of the St. Louis Crawl for Cancer asked if I could post a request on our blog. They need a T-shirt design! I don't know how many of you are graphically gifted, but this would be a great opportunity to share your talents. The event is August 4th, so there isn't a lot of time to brainstorm. Send me your ideas and I can post them for all to see and forward them on to the proper people. To get the creative juices flowing, take a look at the design from this year's KC Crawl.

As usual, I'll leave you with a couple of pictures. These happen to both be of Emma...one on the 4th of July and the other at the lake last weekend. She has gone from being a wienie in the water to a fish!


Have a great weekend.

Sign up for JI Foundation Golf Tournament...

Click here to go to the tournament website.

A good time on the 4th...

I don't have any pictures to post because I forgot my camera! But, we did have a good 4th of July. The girls are at a great age where fireworks are actually kind of cool. We had the pleasure of spending a good part of the afternoon with Doug and Shawndra Turner, their family, and friends. Their daughter Ella is adorable. I was also impressed that both Emma and Peighton swam in the lake. We headed to a second party nearby hosted by the family of Scott and Allie Briley who I met through the Crawl for Cancer. Scott is the man that made the special t-shirts for the Jennifer Ireland teams a reality. We enjoyed a few drinks, some snacks, and watched the storms roll in. Following a little relaxation time while it rained and some pizza at home, we headed to the Brown family household to blow some stuff up. It was a great display and all the girls and I had to do was sit back and watch. Sooo...thanks to everyone for making us feel welcome and making our 4th of July special.

This weekend we'll head to the lake with my family. More summertime fun on boats and Sea Doos. I hope everyone is enjoying the sunshine!

Another event for cancer...

This time last year Jen and I were counting down the days before our great trip to Hawaii. Thinking back, the prospect of the trip to Maui for Nathan and Melanie's wedding really provided a lot of energy for Jen during an exhausting stretch in her battle. Any sort of glimmer on the horizon for cancer patients in an indefinite, grueling routine of chemo has to be priceless.

I want to let you all know about a 5K run/walk coming up in early September. The race is called "Head for the Cure" and is held at Corporate Woods in Overland Park, KS. The race benefits the Head for the Cure Foundation which supports programs that research the cause and a cure for brain cancer. This Foundation also supports programs that help brain cancer patients and their families. I should mention that my father lost his mother, my grandmother, in 2005 to a very short battle with brain cancer. I plan on participating along with a friend that has recently suffered loss to this disease. If any of you are interested in participating as a team, let me know. Information on this foundation and the run can be found at www.headforthecure.org.

I'll leave you on this Monday with a picture of our girls. They are getting so big, but I don't feel any older!