"Twinkle Like the Stars" Mardi Gras Gala

Jake and I went to the "Twinkle Like the Stars" Mardi Gras Gala Dinnar and Auction last weekend and we had such a memorable night! This was the Tears Foundation's 5th Annual Gala and we were so happy to be invited. That night, the Tears Foundation raised over $50,000 to help bereaved families with funeral costs for their babies (the twinkling stars)! We love this foundation and are big supporters. We go to the walks at Safeco field during the summer and now have started this new fun tradition in the fall.

When we arrived at the Marriott Hotel in Tacoma, it was such a sight to see. A live band was playing, and the whole banquet room was decorated to look like we were on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans! The band playing was called File Gumbo and Jake and I fell in love with the music! The tables were so beautifully decorated with beads, purple napkins, black table cloths and beautiful dinnerware. People were dancing in the middle of the room and a silent auction went around the perimeter. We were happy to donate towards the cause by offering services from the Tracy Castle up for auction. At the end of the night the winning bid for it was $250! We were happy about that. The live auction as we ate our incredibly delicious dinner was amazing, trips to Disneyland, cruises, hot air balloon rides, sailing, the list goes on! Jake and I were close to blowing some of our savings on a 6 night trip to New Orleans just for the food, Jake looooves gumbo. So many people donated their time, services and money to this wonderful cause. At the end of the night each table got to bid on a dessert, there was a huge dessert table filled with an array of different types of desserts. The highest bidding table got to pick from it first for their table. It was fun and Jake was selected to be the "runner." We had a fun table and when our table number was called Jake ran and picked up a very yummy berry crumble for our dessert that night :)

We are grateful for the Tears Foundation because we personally were helped with a beautiful head stone for Ryan. Sarah slack is the founder and she is an amazing woman. Everything that happened that night was because of her. She lost a baby boy several years ago and she and her husband couldn't afford much for a funeral for him. There was a slide show presentation during the live auction that was really touching and was very emotional for me. Different families gave brief stories of how the foundation helped them and how touched they were. It brought back memories of the difficult time for us and I can't put it better than Sarah did as she opened the night. She said that, "although we are having fun at this mardi gras gala, the reason we're here is because the worst thing that someone can go through is to lose a baby, and the second worse thing is to worry about how you can't afford to give them a proper funeral at the same time of dealing with loss." Luckily, we had our family to support us in the funeral, but the headstone was upon us months after everyone had gone home and we wanted the best for Ryan, we were able to get the most beautiful one, one that we will always go to as we think and honor him for the rest of our lives, because of this foundation.

All ready to head over to our Mardi Gras party!

Sarah slack and I

I love date nights with him, he makes everything fun! :)

The menu was so neat, all New Orleans food and sooo good!

We had such a fun night and are so thankful for causes such as this one and we are even more excited to create something as helpful in the future of our own together! Happy Mardi Gras!