Grand SLAM at the ballpark!

It was amazing to see the other families affected by food allergies here in Eastern Iowa come out to the ball game last night. I want to say thank you to the Kernel's for pulling this event together! Jessica and I were in close contact all night and niether of us heard of anyone having an reaction while at the game. I also want to say thank you to FAAN for providing pencils, bracelets and documentation to had out to everyone who attended!

Three things that I learned last night were
1. That we really need a FAAN support group chapter here in Iowa.
2. That there is a product called Sun Butter at Wal-Mart for only $3.00. It is a peanut butter substitute. It is made out of sunflower seeds. I will be stopping at Wal-Mart sometime today to read the ingredients to see if this Sun Butter is safe for Lynda to eat.
3.There is one school who is not working with the family as a team to keep their daughter safe.

Lynda had a great time. She wore gloves during the game to protect her from her other allergens. I have already checked out her skin this morning and there does not appear to be any signs of a delayed reaction. Thank you God!

Many people hope that the Kernel's will do this event again next year. We sure hope they do too. I suggested to Jessica to make the Food Allergy Awareness Day the first game of the season. That way the stadium will be still be clean from last game played and from all of the winter snow and spring rains.

Drop Jesssica Fergesen a letter or an e-mail letting her know that you want to see another Food Allergy Awareness Day at the ballpark.

Here is Jessica's contact information:
Community Relations Director
Cedar Rapids Kernels
950 Rockford Rd. SW
Cedar Rapids, IA 52404
jfergesen@kernels.com

Thank you to all the families that stopped by to share their stories about their children, friends and co-workers and the challenges. So many said this was the first opportunity for their families to go to a ballgame together. So often we hear that many parents say they feel like they are on an island when dealing with this affliction. Well last night gave us an opportunity to be on the same island for a while!

Have a great (and safe) day. Knowledge is power, so help is keep people informed about food allergies.

The Taylor's

PS Yes the Kernel's did WIN last night :)

Two Great Articles

Hello all ! I hope you are making plans to head out to the Kernels game in Cedar Rapids tomorrow night. Minor League and Major League teams a like are join in this great event to educate and allow children that do not normally get to enjoy our national past time see a professional baseball game! There was a great article today in our local paper (Thanks Cindy) and one recently in Newsweek regarding food allergies. See both articles here:

Cedar Rapids Kernels Article

Newsweek Article

Come enjoy tomorrow nights game! Hopefully we can sell the place out! Let's enjoy a nut free experience at the ball park! See you all there!

The Taylor's

....and the Rockets Red Glare!

I hope you all had a great 4th! We were able to get up early on Friday morning and head to Independence Iowa for their parade (with a name like that how can it not be totally awesome!). We had a blast, the parade was over an hour long and they had fire trucks, squirt gun fights, water balloons and cool stuff to have. Callie got a lot of candy, I got a Pioneer hat, UNI t-shirt and a 4H t-shirt. Callie & I got necklaces too! Then we went to the riverside park and had lunch. Matt had a pulled pork sandwich with hot bbq sauce and Callie and I went to the kids fun zone. We did not stay too long cause Matt had to get back to work. All in all really fun time. Then that night we went to grandma & grandpa meyer's house. They live really close to where the fire works are shot off and we got to fall asleep in our bed there, got woke up for the fire works (which were awesome) and then crash back again. We also spent time in the afternoon swimming in their pool where they live. Callie and I both jumped off the side into daddy and mommy's arms. We also both went under the water. I can't wait to go back. Mom was sick most of the weekend with the flood flu so we got to spend a bunch of time with Dad! Hope all is well. God bless and pray for all the kids with food allergies.

Lynda Dee

PS don't forget allergy night at the ball park for the CR Kernels July 29th!