Our First Event!

A portion of Armondo's proceeds from these two days will be donated to LLS. Stop by to enjoy some great food and company...all the while supporting cancer research!

For Directions, visit armondos.com

See you there!
- Mike and Sarah

ps If you chat with Armondo, thank him for hosting!

Saddle Mountain

Sarah and I went for a brisk 5 mile, 5,000ft total elevation hike up/down Saddle Mountain...45mins southeast of Astoria, Oregon. Annika was enjoying time with duJy and Oompa while mom and dad hiked. Under the cover of the trees it was great...then we got to the summit and it was blowing about 20 knots and pouring rain! It was a blast ;)

Event Coming Soon!

Sarah has been working tirelessly to plan a fundraising event...and we're getting close! Sarah met with one of our favorite local dining establishments, Armondo's. And we have some fun ideas in store.

Don't worry, we'll keep you posted.

Another great Hike!

This weekend was Snoqualmie Point. We hiked it out and back, chalking up 8.5 miles in the process. I and ibuprofen have gotten to be pretty good friends since then! Annika actually "hiked through the jungle" as she puts it on her own for a good 100 yards ;) Probably the biggest news is that Annika learned to, well....go potty...in the woods...YowZaa. This was huge, and Annika was rewarded handsomely with brownies and cookies afterward.

Here is a great shot of the Hauer crew, with Annika ensuring you can see her eyeball.

Thanks to everyone for your support. This continues to be an amazing experience and we are astounded be the response from friends and family. Of course, feel free to pass on to anyone and everyone you know. Together we can help spread the word about great fundraisers like this and get more folks involved in the process!

Love,

Michael, Sarah, and Annika

A little cross-training and inspiration

This past weekend we didn't have a group hike but we needed to continue keeping Annika's tolerance up for being confined so we did a little "cross-training" on the lake by my parents house. Kayaking was a great way to beat the heat.

Being in my hometown we also caught up with lots of family friends and we are continually amazed at the impact cancer has on all communities and how cancer does not discriminate against where you live or how old you are. A family friend from our church just learned that her older brother has leukemia - we will be hiking specifically for him this Saturday on a 10 mile hike at Snoqualmie Point.

Another family from my home church has a five year old daughter that is fighting a fierce battle against cancer. In a matter of 2 weeks they found out their daughter had bone cancer in her leg which spread to her lungs, they relocated their family to the Seattle area to be right next to Children's Hospital and she has started chemo. Mike helped my parents move a few of their bigger items up to a town home. Two months later she continues with her chemo treatments and family continues to live temporarily relocated in the Seattle area. A photographer came to their home and has posted an amazing photo tribute to their family. Here is the link http://amandamayphoto.com/Emma/

We are reminded all cancer cures start with cancer research.

Energized!

I know Mike already logged a little bit about our hike yesterday but I thought I'd just add a little. Great hike - Mike did most of the work carrying Annika - we figure 7 miles is really the farthest Annika has gone in the backpack. This week we hiked specifically for Courtney, a close friend of Molly Schultz and a University of Portland graduate who will be celebrating 5 years of remission this fall from Leukemia, and also Lisa McDonald's Aunty Kay!

Yesterday while hiking I got out of carrying Annika most of the way because I've been nursing a little twinge in my back. While I was taking care of my little achey back I began hiking with one of our teammates who just started his chemo in the last 2 weeks and this past week had been particularly crummy - I'm really not sure how he keeps trekking; needless to say I was humbled.

And with all of that to inspire us, Mike and I still found ourselves a little overhwhelmed this Sunday evening by the enormous commitment. We rode the valley of the rollercoaster for most of the evening. We finally sat down after Ani was in bed and talked out our reason's for being involved in raising money for LLS and the parts that are wearing us down. It was pretty cool to watch us get energized within an hour and anxious to get back to work.

-Sarah