Update 11/21/11

Thank you everyone for supporting my mom and I on our ½ marathon fundraiser for the Ronald McDonald house!  We exceeded our goal and we also crossed the finish line!! 
It was an absolutely amazing and beautiful run.  We couldn’t help but stop and look at the scenery (while also catching our breath and stretching out our rather tight hamstrings).  We had a lot of fun on our 13.1 mile journey and met some pretty cool people along the way.
Our adventure started on Saturday when we packed up and headed down to Monterey.  However, not everything got packed, I forgot one key essential thing a runner needs during a ½ marathon, MY SHOES!  We ended up buying a new pair on the way down.  Not a good idea to run in brand new shoes by the way!
On Saturday night we had a team RMH pasta party.  At the party we were all reminded why we were there.  One of our team members was a guest at the Ronald McDonald House a couple of years ago while her daughter was in the hospital.   It was a very emotional presentation.  Momma and I ended up sitting a table with the director of the RMH and several of the board members.  It was a really great experience.  Awards were also given at the dinner.  Momma won the “most dedicated runner” award and “can’t run without an iPod” award.  I got the “meet you guys at the finish line 2 hrs later” award and “the most likely to drop a 100 lb weight on your toe” award. 
All in all, mission accomplished!  We achieved our fundraising goal thanks to all of you!!  We also finished the race (although I seriously had to confront the prospects of carrying mom part of the way).  The last mile was some the best running mom has done all year, whether it was because the finish line was so close or because she wanted to escape the torrential downpour is still unknown. 
We had a ton of fun and it feels great to have completed a 13.1 mile run while also raising money to support all the wonderful families at the Ronald McDonald House.  To think it was all started with mom spotting a flyer in a bagel shop and ended with such a positive and memorable experience.
Thanks you for all your support!
Love,
Josie, Angela and all of the families at the RMH!

Update 11/19/11

 Hi Everyone!

Tomorrow is our big race!  We are going to have some nasty weather tomorrow, but Josie and I are ready to go!

Thank you so much for supporting the Ronald McDonald House!   We are at 91% of our fundraising goal! 

If you have been thinking about donating to this great cause you still have time!  Our fundraising page will be available for donations even after the race. 

Thank You! Thank You!

Angela and Josie

 

Update 11/7/11

Thank you everyone who donated to Josie's Birthday Fundraiser!!  We are now at 89% of our goal!!  Thank you, Thank you!!

Today is Josie's Birthday!

She is asking all her friends to donate a $1 to the Ronald McDonald House in honor of her birthday!  She’ll be walking around all day with a $1 pinned to her shirt!  If you would like to participate you can donate your $1 to the RMH right here!

Thank you so much for all of your support!! 

Update 1/2/11

Congratulations to Diane Kahler for winning the gift basket drawing!! 

We want to thank everyone who has donated to the Ronald McDonald House and have supported us on this running adventure so far!!  We are now at 82% of our goal!!!

Update 10/30/2011

I’m back to update the progress of our running in preparation for the half marathon coming up on Nov 20th. Momma and I have been working hard, running all over the Bay Area to places we didn’t even know existed! But due to an unfortunate accident involving a 100 pound weight and my toe, I was not able to run a couple weekends ago. Not to fear, I’m doing much better now and I’m once again running.

During my injury I had the pleasure of helping make breakfast for the residents at the Ronald McDonald House while everyone was out running 9 miles. Let’s just say I had the better end of the deal! It was a lot of fun to see all of the people we are supporting when we go out and run every weekend and fundraise every day. They are some of the sweetest people I’ve ever met and they are extremely appreciative of your donations.
The spread of food was amazing. The whole team contributed different breakfast dishes and the end result left my mouth watering! Many of the residents were excited for the food and a morning off from cooking.

The experience was very fun and I can’t wait to run on the 20th in order to support this great cause and these amazing people! Please help us in reaching our goal by donating! We have yet to reach our goal and we are really hoping that with your support we can get there!

Thanks,
Josie  

Update 10/13/2011

If you have thought about donating to our Ronald McDonald House run, now is the time!   

Make a donation between now and Oct 31st and your name will be entered in a raffle to win a gourmet food and coffee gift basket mailed directly to you!

I am happy to say that I finally made it over the speed bump!  I am now faster than a turtle.  I am also running 8 miles at a time!!  Not bad considering 7 weeks ago I couldn’t even run a mile.  Josie on the other hand is still WAY faster than me.  On our last run she did a little sightseeing detour and still caught up with me before the finish line!

Thank you for your support!

Angela and Josie

Update 9/25/2011

Thank you to everyone who has donated to our marathon fundraiser!   We are now at the half way mark!

I have spent the past five Saturday mornings pushing momma along on our runs. We are now officially running six miles at a time at the pace of a turtle, but momma has been running the whole way! She has been working very hard and has been completing all her runs, all thanks to me, her faithful drill sergeant!

So, ten gallons of muscle pain relief cream later and mom’s still in one piece! The other day she tried to bend down to pick up a quarter that this old man dropped and couldn’t quite bend down far enough to pick it up. She had to be aided by the old man who dropped it in the first place! But other than soreness, momma has kept up with the exercise and is getting closer and closer to reaching her goal every week!

We are also half way there with our goal of raising $3,600.  If you are planning on donating, now is the time!  Momma and I need to reach our goal by Oct 12th in order for both of us to run in the race!  If we don’t reach it, momma will be running the race without me, and I’m not quite sure she will make it without my support (threatening) and encouragement (yelling)!

So please, please don’t wait, donate now!  Support the Ronald McDonald House!
 

Update 9/2/2011

Thank you so much for your generous donations to the Stanford Ronald McDonald house and supporting Josie and I on our marathon journey!  We are two weeks into training and we are at 23% of our goal!! 

Josie and I have met the nicest people while we have been training.  Some of them are families who are using the Ronald McDonald House right now.  Last night I ran with a mom who has an ill 16 year old daughter (Josie’s age) from Hawaii.  Her family has been using the House on and off for the last couple of years while their daughter is in the hospital.   The house has been a huge support for them during this difficult time.  The more I spend with the Ronald McDonald House community, the more I’ve realized how important it is to reach our fundraising goal!

Our Story
This year my mom and I decided to do something a little different. It was my mom's goal to get in shape, and we wanted to get more involved in our community. Although it's already half way through the year, we realized it still isn't too late!

While sitting and eating bagels one morning, my mom spotted a flyer for Team Ronald McDonald House. The team's primary goal is to raise money for the Ronald McDonald House who has over 85% of their annual budget coming from donations by people like you and me. My mom told me that when she was growing up she had a family friend that used the Ronald McDonald House. She told me how much the House helped that family through a very difficult time. My mom also helped my grandma raise money for the House when she was about my age. Now, I am teaming up with my mom.

The team trains three days a week for three months. All of this training will culminate with our completion of the Big Sur Half Marathon in Monterey on November 20th. I am helping my mom to get motivated to get into shape. Our hope is that we will be able to jog the whole 13.1 miles! Although my family jokes that I might have to carry my mom through parts of it, I think we will do amazing, but we can't do it without your help!

So, my mom and I are putting on our running shoes in order to rally support for the Ronald McDonald House, and we could really use your help. You don't have to do anything crazy, (like run a half marathon) all you have to do is donate money on our page. Your generosity will help provide a home- away- from- home for families of children with life threatening illnesses who are receiving specialized treatment at local hospitals. For such an incredible facility, the House only charges $10 a night for these families to stay, and no one is ever turned away. The families here are an amazing group of people who are incredibly grateful and strong. They have gone through so much and the Ronald McDonald House makes their struggles much easier to bear.

Donating through this website is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to support our fundraising efforts.

Thank you so much for your help and support! We will keep you posted on our training and fundraising success!

Sincerely,
Josie and Angela Butler
Thank you for visiting our fundraising page!