The Early Show on CBS

Yesterday, we had the fabulous opportunity to be on The Early Show on CBS. We were asked by Children's Miracle Network, a little over a week ago, if we wanted to appear to help support Dairy Queen, one of the largest sponsors that CMN has. Dairy Queen was promoting the 25th Birthday of the Blizzard, while traveling to 25 different cities in the US & Canada to give away free Blizzard treats and create awareness for Children's Miracle Network. The tour leads up to August 5th, which is Miracle Treat Day, a day where with a donation to CMN, you get a free Blizzard! It is the largest fundraiser that Dairy Queen has for CMN.

We all went to sleep as early as possible here in NJ on Thursday night, because we knew that we were going to have to get up VERY early for the ride to NYC. My father was nice enough to drive us there, as I am not too good about driving in the city.

At about 4am, my husband got the kids out of bed, and Michael jumped up and shouted "ICE CREAM!". He knew that today was DQ day! We dressed our sleepy heads and headed out into the dark of the early morning for what proved to be an easy ride to New York.

Of course, with our luck being what it is, we wound up being in the city on the ONLY day of the week where there was rain! But, we all smiled anyway, because we knew we were there for a good cause!

The show starts at 7am, but the first pan of the crowd does not happen until 7:30am. The great thing was, at exactly 7:31am, the rain stopped! We were all so happy! It was only a bit chilly, and we hung in there! We were surrounded by some Dairy Queen Franchise Owners, who were the greatest people. We met, Chad, the driver of the Blizzardmobile, who told us his stories of life in L.A. We spoke to Maria, who was one of the P.R. people for Dairy Queen, and she really made things happen.

Mackenzie wound up being on TV for most of the time that they took video outside with the crowd. She was in a great spot. When Dave Price, the weatherman and reporter for CBS & The Early Show came out and directed the news to the local weather, they zoomed right in on Michael and we got a great shot. It was a fantastic experience for them and for me & my Dad. Dave was so kind, and even came back out after the show so that he could get in a picture with Michael. I was really impressed with what a nice person he was.

We were asked if we wanted to go to Children's Specialized Hospital in New Brunswick, NJ to see the Blizzardmobile in person from 1130-1pm, but truthfully, I was just SO tired that we decided to go home and take the rest of the day to relax. The kids were given free t-shirts and we hung around in them all day and had a nice time as a family.

Next up is the Dance Marathon in Ramapo College on April 23rd! CMN has even put us up at the Courtyard Marriott Hotel in Mahwah, NJ for the night to make us more comfortable. It is going to be a fantastic time!!!!!

(In photo: Dave Price from CBS & The Early Show, alongside Mackenzie, Michael, Caitlin (NJ Champion 2009) Chad, and Dairy Queen Franchise Owners)