St. Joseph's Heart Day at the Park

Today we had the fun opportunity to attend the St. Joseph's Hospital Heart/Lung Institute "Heart Day at the Park" at Encanto Park in Phoenix. It was so wonderful to see the many DR's and Nurses and Staff that cared for Brynlyn while she was in the hospital. They feel just like family to us and this is like one big family reunion. And we were so excited to see wonderful friends that we have made during this process, as well as meet new friends that we've only known through Blogs (gotta love blogging!!!) And Mike and I even had the chance to be interviewed by Channel 15 news about our experiences with Brynlyn and St. Joe's. I've posted some of the pics that we took, but we didn't get everyone on camera and there were so many people there that we love and we were so happy to see again. We had a fantastic time and we can't wait until next year's party. Thanks to everyone for throwing such a fun event.

Molly Wright holding her baby Mark Wright while Brynlyn tries to give him a big bear hug. She fell in love with Mark and insisted she hang out for most of the time sitting right next to him. She was such a "big helper" to Molly with the binkie and the bottle! ha ha (Molly, thanks for letting Brynlyn "help out!" =)

Brynlyn, Me and Jenni from Child Life. She was the one who got to show Matt Leinart around the PICU when we had the fun chance to meet him. Love Jenni!

Rhonda (one of our wonderful nurses), Molly and Mark Wright, Mike, Brynlyn and Ashlyn just chillin' out.

Molly and oh-so-adorable Mark Wright. He's such a doll and such a great baby!!!

Rhonda, Brynlyn and Me. Rhonda works at night and she took care of Brynlyn many, many times during the first few weeks of life. Rhonda gets to take care of the really critical babies and she took great care of Brynlyn, even when Brynlyn was "misbehaving" in the night. Love Rhonda!!!

Mark Wright and the oh-so-sweet Bela Milne. Mark and Bela are both HLHS babies and they are both complete miracles in their own right. It was absolutely our joy and privilege to get to meet both of these families. They are awesome!!! Bela is such a sweet natured and gorgeous little gal and a true fighter. She keeps defying the odds and is rockin' and rollin'. She and Brynlyn now have their "feeding buttons" in common. Welcome to this new club Bela and Avery! =)

Our family with our hero, Dr. David Cleveland. He is the surgeon that operated on Brynlyn's heart both times. He's an incredible doctor and we are so grateful for him. We had such a great privilege meeting his darling wife, Lee, today. They are truly wonderful people.

Molly, Mark, Kristi (one of Bryn's nurses), Brynlyn, and Stacy Grohall. Kristi was in training when we had Brynlyn, but it was always wonderful to see her beautiful smile. She has such a fun personality and she always made me laugh and smile during this experience. And Stacy became such a great friend during this process. She was ALWAYS available and ready to answer my millions of questions, sit and have great chats with me to calm my nerves, put me in check when I was freaking out, and just became one of my absolute favorites. We could not have gone through that experience without her. Thanks Stacy!!! You are awesome.