To honor a fallen soldier

Zander ran in the .42 mile Kids run, very cute :)

I have gotten quite a bit of negative comments from ignorant people about the Pat Tillman Foundation which we have been supporting. People are angry that he gets so much publicity, and I agree that every fallen soldier is just as important as Pat was, but his family happened to have the money to build a foundation, and advertise, and put on events, so his name just keeps popping up.

Pat Tillman was a football player for ASU and was offered a spot on the AZ Cardinals. He turned down that shot at pro football to go and fight in Iraq, for what he believed in..... just for that I think he deserves a ton of respect. While over there he was killed, they think by friendly fire.... it was a injust thing to happen to anyone, every soldier that dies, or has died fighting for our country should have the same admiration, and I think they do, most are just not quite as "out there" in the media as Pat is.

My whole family when down and ran in the 3rd annual Pat's run last week. It is an amazingly fun event. It is 4.2 miles (as 42 was his # with the ASU football team) the race ends on the 42 yard line of the ASU staduim, and the energy is just amazing. I am not usually a patriotic or emotional person, but this will get to just about anyone! As I was running, pushing Zander in his jogging stroller, I was passed by the Tempe police force, singing some song about Pat, and then what really got me was his army troop, running in Phoenix in full combat gear, also singing as they ran. There were quotes and pictures of Pat all along the race course, I found myself crying a few times in the hour it took me to run it, but it was a good crying, more of an admiration for the man that he was, and what the world lost out on.

Here are our official times, this year we suffered no major mishaps like last year, when sweet little Aidan Wolfe ran through the finish line, and kept on going, all the way across ASU campus, and up to the top of the parking garage before he relized something was not right..... all this time his mom was in a major state of panic, with 12,000 people there, about 500 of them little blonde boys with the exact same shirt on I thougth we would never find him... we had a better plan in place this year!
Adam Staley 31:09
Aidan Wolfe Staley 1:22:02
Aiden Staley 50:51
Dylan Staley 37:13
Jen Staley 1:00:26
Lyndsay Staley 50:45

Here is a video for your enjoyment

http://s111.photobucket.com/albums/n157/jenstaley/?action=view&current=PatsRunVideo01.flv

Time to let the cat out of the bag......

We are moving, there I said it, now it is real. I am not sure if I want it to be real, but it is.... I am scared to death, I have lived in this tiny little town my entire life, my parents are here, Adam's parents are here, my kids have been raised here, I have friends..... But online law school is not working out for Adam, he recently found out that only 16% of people who graduate from the school he has been going to go on to practice law. He is really dissapointed that he spent a year and a half going to school here, but has now decided to go on to a university. The big thing is that we don't know where we are moving to... that just gives me such anxiety! He will apply to a few different schools, and we will just go to where school takes us. Our kids are being huge champs about this, they all have such great attitudes, and have said "dad, we don't care where we live as long as we have you" I am concerned about the potential of lost time with my stepkids, I hope their mom is able to work with us and not take our time and rights away, but it is such an unknown. Fortunatly for me Ryan has said he is going to do the same thing , and apply to schools all over also, and he will be moving as well. We are going to list our house soon, which scares me, FInding a new job and possibly a new carreer scares me, but we will prevail. I am lucky to have a fabulous family, and as long as I have them that is all I need in the long run.

Here is my new favorite picture of Zander, he is truely the light of our lives, we thank god for him every day, what a joy, even if he is a terrible 2!