Sophie’s first sponsored walk

Halo Children’s Foundation is a charity that helps support bereaved children. Sophie has enjoyed going along to some of their sessions and days out over the past year. At the start of half-term she took part in her first sponsored walk, walking 5km to help fundraise for Halo and support the wonderful work they do.

 

 

 

The sponsored walk took place at Barra Hall Park in Hayes. We arrived at the bandstand nice and early ready to register for the walk. Sophie soon spotted the sweet cones on the Halo stand! A little treat to help encourage her on and give her some energy to keep going along the way.

 

 

Before we set off on the sponsored walk, there was a dove release in memory of all the loved ones that the children have lost. The children were quite fascinated by the basket of doves. Sophie enjoyed getting to stroke one of the doves before the dove release took place.

 

 

The children were given the opportunity to hold a dove before they were all released at the same time. Sophie’s hands were a little too small for her to be able to hold the dove so Daddy held it for her. I felt quite tearful as the doves flew up into the air, thinking of my beautiful big girl.

 

 

After the dove release, the mayor cut the yellow ribbon and we were off on the walk. The route for the walk took us from the bandstand and around one side of the park. Each lap of the park was 1km and so we had to do five laps in total. Each time we returned to the bandstand, we received a sticker until the end of the fifth lap when we were given our medal instead.

 

 

Sophie is a good walker and I knew that she would be able to manage 5km without too much difficulty. I had snacks and water in my bag to help keep up her energy and hydration and encourage her on. Most of the time she was quite happy to walk alongside us, holding my hand, or Daddy’s hand. Every now and then, she would run ahead of us.

 

Thomas was very happy in the wrap throughout the walk. He fell asleep on the second lap and slept through until the end!

 

We walked at a fairly leisurely pace. Sophie only has little legs and I don’t walk very quickly with Thomas in the wrap. We were one of the last to finish the walk – taking just over an hour and a quarter to walk the full distance. I was proud of my little girl though – she kept going and enjoyed herself throughout.

 

 

Hubby, Sophie and Thomas stopped on the grass by the bandstand for a while for a rest and some snacks. I headed off for another lap – I’d set myself a challenge on my Fitbit and was keen to get some more steps in. It was quite a lot easier without carrying Thomas in the wrap! I did also have a quick look for a geocache along the way too but it was in a busy area and I didn’t want to be too conspicuous.

 

When I returned, we headed over to the play area for a while. Sophie still had plenty of energy to burn in spite of her long walk! I stopped and fed Thomas while she and Daddy had fun exploring the play area and outdoor gym.

 

 

It was lovely to spend a morning just going for a walk as a family in the sunshine, whilst also helping to raise money for a wonderful local charity. We finished off by going out for ice-cream as a treat. Jessica would have certainly approved of that!