Remembering Matt

All of the guys with Dean.
Baylor loved taking Miss Gigi on a ride.
Don't Joe and Jessica look ready for a baby?

Gabrielle is such a sweetie.

Caylee is so cute.

Coop thinks Gigi is great!

Having fun on the swings.

It was hard to eat with so many kids to play with tonight.

Lynley and Eli are the newest additions. I was so lucky to hold both of them.

Guest Blogger - Tom Hurst

Matt Folkening was one of my close friends in high school. Matt died in a tragic accident when we were 21. Growing up, Matt was larger than life - you couldn't be around Matt and not have a good time. Every year since his death, his family has put on "The Matt Folkening Memorial Golf Outing" to help fund scholarships in his name. The outing is a great event to support the scholarships, but more importantly a time for everyone to get together, have a good time and remember our friend - just the way Matt would have wanted it. One of the highlights of the outing is the "hole-in-one" contest to win a Harley Davidson motorcycle. Believe it or not, the very first year of the outing a guy named Larry Lewis hit a hole-in-one.....he took the cash option - $12,000.

Growing up together, our group of friends is atypically still close today - I still routinely see many of my high school friends, including my best friend since I was 8 years old - Carl. Tonight we had this group and their families over and surprised Matt's parents, Dean and Debbie. Given the recent economy, the sponsorships for the outing have been a bit more sparse this year. As a group, we decided this year and for years to come, we will sponsor the "hole-in-one" contest for the golf outing. We had a great time remembering Matt and celebrating with his parents - although the memories do bring a flood of emotions.

In loving memory of Matt Folkening - a great son, brother and friend...