Al's Run

Hello everyone,

--Ihope you all enjoyed the beautiful weather this weekend had to offer. If you noticed the blog title, "Al's Run," then you may have a hunch as to what today's blog will be about. If you have ever visited CHW, you may have noticed the nicely matted frames/pictures that adorn the 3rd floor hallways near the PICU. These frames all have one common denominator...they capture and hold many beautiful moments of Milwaukee's longest running tradition, "Al's Run." Throughout its history, the event has raised more than $8.5 million to help Children's Hospital of Wisconsin provide medical care, conduct research to advance pediatric medicine, advocate on behalf of children, and educate medical professionals and the community about issues related to children's health. In 2006, 15,236 participants raised more than $1 million for CHW. After finding out more about this event, I promised myself that I would attempt to run it. That would mean some serious training as my body hasn't hit the pavement running in almost 15 years...yikes! I know that if I have half the determination my son has, I can accomplish this goal. This year marks the 30th anniversary of this run (now called the "Brigg's & Al Run"). It offers a 2 mile walk, 3 mile walk, or 8k run (just short of 5 miles). If you would like to join our team to walk or run in this event on September 15th, please contact Rich or myself at: petska32@yahoo.com I know this is really close to our charity event, so I will only extend the pledge information via blog. If you would like to make a pledge, please feel free to visit our webpage: http://www.firstgiving.com/bradenp
--Now for Braden updates. On Tuesday, Braden turned 11months and took his first road trip alone with mama. We ventured to the U.P. to visit some friends and see Grandpa Greg and band play for the Music in the Park. It was a nice trip, but quick since we headed back home on Thursday. On Saturday, we had another boat adventure with Braden and some friends. Braden did great and even fell asleep a few times.

--Summer is flying by and we've been keeping busy building our bar and working on the charity. Yesterday marked only 3 weeks from our first annual golf outing. Wow, where has the summer gone? We still have lots of room for golf and dinner reservations.

--Kiddo update: Maddison was readmitted into children's this past week, but was again released. They're still not sure when her surgery will be or what kind of heart repair she will have. Gabe was sent home on Thursday, but again admitted today due to fluid build up in the lung area (pleural effusion). Thank you for your continued support and prayer for these families as well as ours.

--Have a great week,

Love the Petska's