Bio: Kelsie

About Kelsie:

Most important thing to me:  Do I have to pick one???  Well I can’t, so here it goes.  Dominic, my son, is the most important of the important things to me.  He is three years old, loves animals, frog hunting, hats, playing in puddles, music, curious George, and riding his strider bike.  Dominic is my reason to pursue dreams in life and now I am back in school (the third most important thing to me).  I am studying to become a Biologist but have not decided on what field. I have been so blessed with amazing mentors and opportunities through school and will be spending my summer at Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve where I plan to hike and get a good suntan in preparation of WW weekend.  The second most important thing to me is my family; I am the baby of 5 kids and now the proud auntie to four nephews and three dogs.  Although we are spread throughout all of the US my family has remained close and forever tied through the loss of my brother at age 16.  Kasey did not pass from cancer but I did learn at an early age what it is like to lose someone you are close to and to desire to do whatever you can to help others.

Things I like:  Listening to calling frogs, feeling my horses breath on my face, my mom’s: fruit pizza, special K bars, rice crispy bars, strawberry cake…ok so any dessert my mom makes, slippers, naps, overcoming trials in my life, getting done with a workout, and freshly made beds (especially if I didn’t make it)

Things I dislike:  Starting a workout, needles, wet shoes, the sound of ice crystals scraping in a freezer, mushrooms, and getting my eyebrows waxed

Favorite quote: “Every sinner has a future and every saint has a past.” -Anonymous

Most Joyful Moment:  My heaven moment (the moment if I had to live only one for the rest of my life) would be one day when I was riding my horse at sunset on a trail that bordered a meadow and there was a cool breeze and the scent of wildflowers in the air.  We galloped for that stretch of trail and I remember thinking I could feel God.  I have never felt so close to nature and to understanding the meaning of life as I had at that moment, my heaven moment.

Why I am part of >cancer: I am part of the wilderness warriors hike against cancer because:

• My son’s future>cancer
• Jim who loved me like a daughter when I was an awkward terrible teenager >cancer
• Riding off into the sunset >cancer
• A good cup of coffee >cancer
• Just about anything I can think of >cancer

Bio: Joan

About Joan:

I had this quote taped to my desk at my first job after college. I still have it. I don’t know where I first saw it, but it has been the reminder of how I want to live my life:

To laugh often and much;

To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;

To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;

To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others;

To leave the world a little bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;

To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.

This is to have succeeded.  

-Unknown

I grew up in a family of six girls. My family was close, and we spent a lot of time outside recreating, including spending three weeks each summer in the Quetico wilderness. Not only did this time bring us closer together as a family, it brought us all reverence and appreciation for the natural world and the simpler things in life. We spent a lot of time rock hunting, berry picking, swimming, exploring, reading, playing word games, sunrise, sunset, and star gazing... I am fortunate that my husband shares the same passion for backcountry camping and we have spent weeks (twice we went for a month!) doing the same things with our children. 

I am passionate about my family, reading, hiking and canoeing, learning new things, traveling, and meeting new people.

When my youngest was three years old, I had to have a melanoma removed. It is a terrible thing to wonder if you will see your children grow up, but there is no reality check greater than sitting in an oncologist's office seeing people of all ages and backgrounds, along with their loved ones, fight this disease.  I am one of the fortunate ones, having caught the skin cancer at an early treatable stage. I am part of this group, > cancer, in order to support all the people who have battled this disease, including the ones I met in that office,  and to honor the lives of my father-in-law, my godfather,  and my two cousins that I have lost to cancer.

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.

-Leo Buscaglia

Our act of caring >cancer

In Training: Belly Dancing

As a group we take our training program for our >cancer challenge very seriously. As Benjamin Franklin said, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” Therefore, when one of our members suggested a series of six belly dancing classes, most of us jumped at the chance!

We were all vaguely familiar with images of beautiful curvaceous women from far flung lands, where the climate is hot and the dancing even hotter, undulating in glittering costumes and seductive veils to Middle Eastern rhythms in Bedouin tents. Sort of ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ meets ‘Sex and the City 2’ – we were excited!!!

Surely after six weeks this is what we would look like?

Hmmmm... If I quote Albert Einstein at this point maybe it will set the scene for what actually took place, “Only those who attempt the absurd can achieve the impossible.”

This is what we actually looked like:

Eight of us started classes on April 10 – sadly not in a Bedouin tent in the Middle East, but in the gym at Rogers’s Middle School. Not too different, except instead of sand on our bare feet we picked up the remnants of 6th, 7th & 8th grade lunch. And instead of an audience of attractive Maharajas, there were a couple of workmen in overalls who seemed to pass the open door more frequently than their work necessitated. Nevertheless they seemed appreciative of our efforts.

Our teacher, glamorous and flexible and patient, did her best to evoke the atmosphere required for authentic belly dancing. However, by the sixth lesson our numbers were down a little due to injury, prior commitments and travel plans. Despite this, those that managed to hip thrust, chest pop and shimmy their way to the finish line did a sterling job and made the whole group extremely proud.

Watch their final performance here!

Bio: Britney

About Britney:

Most important thing to me: my faith in Jesus. I am one blessed girl, and I intend to spend my life doing whatever He tells me to do, and loving everyone I come in contact with because He loves them even more. Second is my husband, David, whom I've been married to for 5 years and we have a dog named Titus. David is my best friend and favorite person to be with. My family is very dear to me, and I'm super lucky to have come from AND be married into incredible families. We laugh a ton, which means we're all going to live a really long time.

Things I like - summer, running & rollerblading, the color green (especially when it's green leaves/grass set against a perfect blue summer sky), reading (aka listening to audiobooks), quiet time, singing, certain reality shows: American Idol, The Voice, SYTYCD & Survivor, food-most specifically: chocolate, BBQ & pizza, when people mix up their words (ie-quick & fast turns into quack & fist), acoustic/piano-driven mellow songs

Things I dislike - rudeness, too many cloudy days in a row, spiders, my house being messy, bad smells, grumpiness, when I drop something and it takes more than 2 tries to pick it back up, lying, winter lasting too long

Favorite quote - "I can believable" because this YouTube video makes me laugh a lot

Happiest moments - cliche but also true: The day we were married. Good moments but maybe not thee "happiest" ever because new ones are made all the time: any experience with God, tubing down the river and drinking a margarita, being on the trails in the park reserve, trips to Barcelo Maya, being a part of someone finding healing & freedom, buying our house

Why I am a part of >cancer, Wilderness Warriors Hike Against Cancer - because I love my friends and I want to support them in any way I can. I also hate cancer, and think it's totally unnecessary, and would LOVE to be a part of seeing its demise. I do it in celebration of Gramma Sherry & my mom's good friend, Julie, because they truly are >cancer!

Bio: Vicky

About Vicky:

Most important thing to me: That’s easy – my family – one loving husband, Per still hugely attractive after all these years (26 years to be exact, he points out that if he had killed someone he could have been out by now!) Two beautiful daughters, Arcadia and Arianna, five wonderful sons, Nikita, Keanu, Finian, Etienne and Artem, one son in law Grant and a Grandson Elian. Collectively they are my rock, they keep me grounded and allow me to fly and I love them with all my heart.

I was born in England and lived there until August 2010. Things I love and miss about England:

• My English friends
• The history
• The culture
• The bacon
• The tea
• Marks and Spencer’s underwear
• The walking (not the “we are planning a hike walking” but the “walking to the shops, bank, dentist, school” walking)

I trained to be a teacher and then a midwife and then moved half way across the world because it seemed like a good idea at the time!

Things I love about America:

• My American friends
• Book club
• The space
• Super friendly shop assistants
• Ghirardelli raspberry chocolate
• A really good burger
• Snow tubing

Things I love – my family, my friends, my profession, chocolate, tea, wine, Champaigne, people who say YES even when it’s not easy, positivity, kind hearts.

Things I dislike – negativity, closed minds, Wonder bread, the expression ‘fanny pack’ (that is something very different in England) birds on the trampoline, being let down.

Favorite quote – “Be the change you want to see” - Gandhi. I try hard to apply it to my life.

Happiest moments – the birth of my children, my wedding day, laughing with friends, helping women achieve the birth experience they want.

Saddest moment – watching my mother die of cancer.

About my mum:

Cherry Ann Carter was my mother. I am not going to tell her life story but just share some of the things that were very special about her.

She loved to read, particularly Agatha Christie and PD James and Ruth Rendell. I think she would have made a good detective she had an eye for detail and a good sense of people, she was not easily fooled.

My mum had sensible arms. Her sleeves were always rolled up and she was always doing something, nursing her patients, holding a child, gardening, cooking.

She had a beautiful voice and would fill the house every Sunday morning while she did her chores, with the hymns on the radio which she sang along to.

My mum often said “Words are cheap.” She felt that one should show love through actions, that anyone can say I love you, but to show those feelings by doing something meant more. I remember during the conflict in the former Yugoslavia occurred and the news was filled with stories of mothers carrying babies and toddlers for miles trying to escape she would say – "that’s love."

My mum was 59 when she lost her 18 month battle with cancer and I miss her every single day. She was the person I turned to because she was my mum and I knew that she would always be on my side and now she is no longer there and it breaks my heart

My mum made a difference in 59 years to many people and that is why

My mum’s life > cancer

Share your >cancer!

The heart behind our hike against cancer is from our love of our close family and friends that have been affected by cancer. We believe that they are greater than cancer and we want to celebrate them!

As supporters of our efforts, we'd love to include anyone (or anything) YOU believe is >cancer! You can include yours in one of three ways and we'll add it to this post:

• Post a comment, stating "______ >cancer"
• Email us your "______>cancer" at cfladiesclub@gmail.com 
• Send an email or a Facebook message to your Wilderness Warrior with your "______>cancer" and they'll make sure it gets added

Who/What is >cancer?

• Vicky: Cherry's life >cancer 
• Britney: Julie K >cancer, Gramma Sherry >cancer & beautiful summer days >cancer 
• Liz: My mom's life >cancer
• Finian: grannys mash potatoes >cancer 
• Keanu: my precious ten dollars that were supposed to fund my future >cancer 
• Etienne: friends >cancer 
• Arianna: puppies >cancer 
• Kyle Becklin: a day on the water >cancer 
• Emily: Living life >cancer 
• Kelsie: My son's future >cancer, Jim who loved me like a daughter when I was an awkward terrible teenager >cancer, Riding off into the sunset >cancer, A good cup of coffee >cancer, Just about anything I can think of >cancer 
• Angela: My Grandpa Haala >cancer, Julie >cancer, Tami >cancer, Charlie >cancer, Melissa >cancer, Kate >cancer, Tom >cancer, Paul >cancer, Ken >cancer, Mickey >cancer
• Levi: Mommies and Daddies >cancer
• Rory: Animals >cancer
• Julian: Transformers and Legos >cancer
• Campbell: Friends >cancer
• Sawyer: Cat, Puffy and Dog, Flash >cancer
• Quinn: Friends >cancer
• Ally: Cat, Pumpkin and Monster High >cancer
• Jenny and Ryan: children, family, friends, the future, our friend and teacher, Josie S, co-worker Diane D, family friend Diane S, Grandma Evie's sister, Bernice, and all our furry animals friends we've lost along the way >cancer
• Time with my children >cancer

Who do we think we are?

Well what can I say? How do you summarise a person, a life in one or two words? Apparently with difficulty. For those of you around in 1985 you will hopefully recognise this post as a nod to the iconic film 'The Breakfast Club', when I tell you that.........

each one of us is:

A Tribe Builder

An Advocate

A Canvas

An Enforcer

An Innovator

A Writer

An Optimist

A Nurturer

An Adventurer

A Thinker

A Scientist
and
A Learner

Does that answer your question?

Sincerely yours,

The Wilderness Warriors