Nathanael's Knock Out Cancer Challenge - Update 1

Mom here.  Nathanael issued his challenge on Monday of this week.  We decided that we would check the P.O. Box once a week, and chose Saturdays because it would be on our way home from karate.

The entire family went to the post office, almost as if it were a Griswold Family Vacation.  The kids knew right where the box is, and I couldn't unlock it quickly enough.  We were getting lots of stares for taking pictures in the post office, but we didn't care.  We were all surprised to find 3 envelopes in the box!  One was sent to both Nathanael and Savannah, one to just Nathanael, and one to just Savannah.  I knew who one of the envelopes was from, and R., I thank you from the bottom of my heart.  You know what this is like, and the fact that you thought of my family has touched my heart.  Sender of the other two envelopes, you chose to stay anonymous, you sneaky devil, but you made the kids' day including a note to each of them.  They were so excited to receive your dollars, and *I* appreciate it with my whole heart.


In the end, on our first day of checking the box, a total of $14 was received as part of the challenge.


So the challenge has been officially accepted.  I think we're all looking forward to next Saturday!


For those of you who haven't read the challenge yet, take a look at Nathanael's Knock Out Cancer Challenge.  He's challenging all of our readers to send just $1 to the post office box listed below because, in his words, "One dollar is a small amount of money...but imagine how much it could help in our fight against cancer."  Are *you* up for a challenge?


Thank you again to those of you who have sent donations so far.  You have a special place in my heart.


If you'd like to accept Nathanael's challenge, please send your donation to:


Nathanael and Savannah Haskell
P.O. Box 506
Buffalo, NY 14226


We will be logging all donations onto the team website once a week.

Nathanael's Knock Out Cancer Challenge

Nathanael is challenging all readers of the blog (who have not already donated) to give just $1 (or more) to our family's Relay For Life team. Nathanael is just 5 years old, with a heart of gold and a strong desire to raise funds in honor of his Gran who is battling stage 4 lung cancer.

To accept his challenge,  please send any donation, big or small, to:
Nathanael and Savannah Haskell
P.O. Box 506
Buffalo, NY 14226

All donations received will be immediately logged on our team's website with your name unless you prefer to remain anonymous.

You may also visit our Relay For Life team page at The Cave Crashers.

Our first fundraiser

Nathanael:
We had a lemonade and brownie stand yesterday. We started at 10 a.m. and ended at 4:30 p.m. We hung signs at the end of our street. We charged 25 cents for a cup of lemonade and 25 cents for each brownie. It took a while for our first customer to show up, but when she did she told us to keep the change!

Pretty soon more people came. Some neighbors, some strangers, and Daddy even came home on his lunch and ordered one cup of lemonade and one brownie. A few people even came and said they wanted to donate to the walk but didn't want a brownie or lemonade! Everyone who came either told us to keep the change or gave us a tip.

Mom here. Normally, at this time of year where we live, it's still snowing and we're all wearing our woolies. However, the last week has been in the high 70s and 80s. Yesterday was 81 degrees and full sun. Six and a half hours in the sun. Six and a half hours. The dedication these kids showed (they DID NOT want to quit) and the high spirits they maintained was so admirable, and I am incredibly proud of them. Their manners were impeccable, and it was obvious that they were truly grateful for every customer who came, for every cent they earned.

Nathanael: By the end of our sale we earned $40! Mom added it to our team's website and we got to see the purple line go up just a little bit.

Mom: Hey guys, do you think we'll reach our goal of $1000?

Nathanael: Yes! We will! I know it!
Savannah: Yes! Yes!

Our Team Logo and Relay For Life Information

Nathanael: This is logo for our team. Our team name is The Cave Crashers. Mom said she might want to tweak it but I don't want her to because I helped to design it. The only thing she can change is the ribbon because the ribbon for Gran's sickness is white, not black. The yellow in the back in supposed to look like a big CRASH!

Mom here. This is where I'll include a link to our team's Relay page where you can obtain more information about the event.

The Cave Crashers Relay For Life Team

Meet Savannah

Hi! I'm Savannah. I'm 3 years old but I'm going to be 4 in May.

I like to play with my stuffed animals. I LOVE my ballet class, and I've even been to a real ballet before. I can do good ballet leaps and I'm also good at plies.

I love Disney princesses, and my favorite princess is Ariel. I like to pretend to be all of the princesses, and I have a few dresses just like the real princesses. My favorite princess dress is the Rapunzel dress.

Mom: Why do you want to help raise money for our team?

Savannah: Because I love Gran.

Mom: Is there anything else you want to tell the readers about yourself?

Savannah: I'm learning how to read. I just got a new bike with kittens on it and I like to ride it up and down the sidewalk. I like ponies and I would really like to have one in our backyard. My favorite books to read are Disney princess books, Pinkalicious books, and Berenstain Bear books. I always ask mom and dad to read The Berenstain Bears and the Slumber Party book because I think it's funny.

I like to watch movies on family movie night. My favorite movie is The Little Mermaid. Mom, can we watch a movie right now?

Mom: Maybe in a little while.

Savannah: Okay.

Mom: Is there anything else you want to tell the readers?

Savannah: I like to do math with Natty. I like to find pictures of bush babies to scare mama because she gets creeped out by their big eyes. I like bush babies. Mom likes bush babies.

Mom: No way. They scare me almost as much as clowns do. Are you done for now?

Savannah: Mom loves clowns. Now I'm done.

Meet Nathanael

Hi! I'm Nathanael. I'm 5 years old. We are going to do a walk for our Gran in July. Our team name is The Cave Crashers and I helped design the logo for our team.

Mom: Can you tell the readers a little bit about why you want to raise money?

Nathanael: Because I love Gran and I want to send the money somewhere so that people can stop getting the kind of sickness that Gran has.

Mom: Why don't you tell the readers a little bit about yourself.

Nathanael: I like starfish and snakes. I have a yellow belt in karate. The type of karate I take is called Kempo. I like to play with my stuffed guys. I LOVE to build with Legos. The thing I love the most is my family. I'm homeschooled and I love it. Right now I'm in kindergarten. My favorite thing to learn is math. I'm really good at reading already! I think I'm even ready for a level 3 reader! I just got a new bike that says "RATTLESNAKE" on it. It's green, which is one of my favorite colors. I also like the color blue. I love riding my new bike.

That's all I want to say for now.