Locks of Love

In honor of my three-year-old cousin, Trenton - who has leukemia - I chopped off all my long tresses and donated them to Locks of Love today. It was not only a heart-warming moment, but also a teaching opportunity for the second through fifth graders at my local elementary school.

You see, I let our elementary school's Presidential Service Committee in on the fun of getting my hair ready to be cut . . . and my own eight-year-old had the honor of wielding the scissors. Here's a fun collage of pics from this afternoon . . .

Before we began . . .

Measuring 6 1/2 inch ponytails . . .

The girls and the boys both got in on the action.
One of the boys was the photographer with my camera. He did a great job!

One last goofy shot before we pulled out the scissors!

The first cut! Go MJ!

Yep, that's definitely my hair . . . 7 inches worth!

Ponytail #2 - 8 inches! I love Laura's worried expression!

Only two more to go! Ponytail #3 - 6 1/2 inches . . .
I love the teachers' expressions in the background. There were actually several teachers who came out to share the excitement. It was actually more like they couldn't believe I was actually letting kids cut my hair! :)

This was the only oopsy of the haircut.
MJ really got into it (look at that grin!) and while she was cutting, she starting going up on a diagonal. Oopsy! Not that I was worried . . . I just sat back and smiled, telling her she was doing a great job and not to worry - it's only hair. It'll grow back.

Ponytail #4 - 7 1/2 inches!
Notice Laura holding the ponytail so MJ keeps the cut straight.

My Locks of Love . . .
A combined total of 29 inches of hair!

The after pictures . . .
When I took the bands out, it was pretty uneven which gave me a very choppy-style bob.

Partners in Crime . . .
Me & MJ

Lucky me, my girlfriend Amy came all the way out from Utah just to cut & style my hair . . .
Um, that's just wishful thinking. She actually came out as part of her vacation - but she was kind enough to cut my hair and make it look pretty again. It's not styled, but it's totally cute and I love it! Thanks to my two chicks - MJ and Amy.

I had a lot of fun donating my hair. Now I'm going to start growing it back out and do it all over again. Next time, it will be at my elementary school's 1st Annual Locks of Love event in February 2010. What an incredible tradition to start which will benefit children like my cousin who are battling horrible illnesses and losing their hair. I love the Locks of Love program and am grateful to be a small part of it!