On Saturday the kids and I headed up to Philly along with Shannon and her two boys for a Picnic with a Purpose, hosted by Hebrew National and The Motherhood.
Photo Credit: Sarah
It was an absolutely gorgeous day. Perfect for the picnic. It took us a couple hours to get to the park where it was being held, but there wasn't any traffic and the kids were pretty darn good for such a long car ride so it was tolerable all around. Of course when we got there we made our entrance as Dylan opened the back of the Tahoe and everything in the trunk landed on the parking lot. Elizabeth, of course was right next to the truck when it all went down and got a kick out of it! Here we pull up and within minutes have strollers, kids toys, our donations, and who knows what else spread on the asphalt...hello Philly friends!
We got there early so I was able to help Jo-Lynne, Shannon, Sarah, and Melissa set up. Jo-Lynne was our hostess for the night and has been a busy bee getting everything prepared. While she says she doesn't like organizing events, let me tell you that she does a fantastic job! There were crafts for the kids along with sidewalk chalk, bubbles, and face painting. Check out Zoe's tiara. I only just got her to let me wash it off Sunday night.
Not to mention Jo-Lynne chose the perfect venue as we were under a covered pavilion, with bathrooms right there, and a playground right behind it. Perfect! My kids were entertained the entire time, which meant I was free to mingle and chat with all my blogging buddies like Colleen, Beth, Amy, Kim, and Whitney. There were a couple other bloggers who were there that I didn't get a chance to talk to, but if you are reading this please let me know in the comments who you were so I can add you to my Philly Blogger reader.
Oh but let me not forget the real reason for the picnic in the first place. Hebrew National along with the Motherhood was encouraging regional groups to host a Picnic for a Purpose. Hebrew National supplied the hot dogs and the Motherhood also contributed towards the cost of the picnic in exchange for the Philly moms to do a service project. We decided to make donations to Home of the Sparrow, an organization that helps women with children be successful and make it on their own. We stacked the items around a picnic table and then filled the entire back of Sarah's Suburban with our donations. Some of the kids, with guidance from Melissa and Jo-Lynne, also planted flower pots for the families to use in their homes. Zoe had a blast planting her flowers.
It was such a good feeling to be a part of a group of mommybloggers that made a difference!
So the picnic was definitely a success as a service project and as a time for mommybloggers to hang out and enjoy the company of each other. I'm happy to report the ride home was just as uneventful with traffic, however my travel companions, aka my children, were not nearly as pleasant coming home as going. We did eventually make it home and stumbled to our beds after a very full and happy day.
Here is a little video that Jo-Lynne put together using Sarah's footage.
See if you can count how many times Sarah gets in "Hebrew National Hot Dogs"....she's good, I would definitely pay her to advertise my product!
By the way I am not pregnant, but boy oh boy do I look like it as Sarah captured our arrival. Yeah, that dress will be going to the back of the closet and my butt will be shredding once again!! Oh and the toes I donated that she mentioned were courtesy of the heaviest picnic table on earth landing on them. Not a nice feeling at all!
Another great time courtesy of blogging!
Looks like you all had a good time doing good! Since Home of the Sparrow is near me...I'd say you were in my neck of the woods again! You're always welcome to stay over! Love, Aunt Steph
ReplyDelete