Tonight's picture was taken on March 2005. Mattie was about three years old here. That weekend we took him to Butler's Orchard in Maryland. Every spring, this farm hosts Bunnyland, which is like a spring family festival. There are all sorts of activities for children from an Easter Egg hunt to tractor rides. As you can see Mattie was intrigued by this John Deere toy tractor! Weekends with Mattie were always physically busy, as Mattie preferred activities and fresh air.
Quote of the day: You can't get there by bus, only by hard work and risk and by not quite knowing what you're doing. What you'll discover will be wonderful. What you'll discover will be yourself. ~ Alan Alda
This is another working weekend for Peter and me. As the Foundation newsletter for February had to be generated, the Mattie Miracle website needed to be updated, and we are also working on a grant request. In the midst of doing all of this, I am working hard at solidifying all of our vendors for the Mattie Miracle Walk on May 20th. For our returning vendors, I contact them in December and alert them to save the date in May. But each year, we try to add new activities to the Walk. Coming up with ideas is not always easy and even if I come up with an idea, we may not be able to afford it or be allowed to host it on the School's campus.
So far, I have secured two new vendors this year. One is a professional caricaturist and the other is Reptiles Alive. In order to find reputable vendors, I use an on-line site called Gigmasters. It is thanks to Gigmasters, that I found our DJ and face painter years ago. Gigmasters generates a contract and stands behind their recommendations, which is lovely! It makes it much easier to locate service providers for events! Gigmasters is also free of a charge to the user! No one told me about this company, as I found it doing my own research.
Last night I put a request in through Gigmasters for a caricaturist. This is not an activity we have ever had at the Walk. I read all the recommended vendors and then selected the ones that interested me. This morning I received an email from Dylan and he was moved by my request and the reason we are raising money. So much so that he is waving his fee altogether. Check out his website: http://www.dylandrawsstuff.com/
When I wrote to the Reptiles Alive folks, I told them about Mattie and the party they participated at in 2009. The company decided to provide at the Walk a free meet and greet for participants, after the animal show. Meeting the animals is the fun part, where children and parents can interact personally with the animals under the supervision of the educator. Check out their website: http://www.reptilesalive.com/
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