Adaptive Paddling The Launch

*turn DOWN your sound to avoid our annoying chatter in the background!*

This is a really cool video of HOW they launch the kayaks at the Adaptive Paddling program.

For some reason Blogger was being a bugger about loading it in the post, so I had to do it this way.

But I hope that those of you who are interested enjoy it!

Adaptive Paddling Day 2

Day 2 of Adaptive Paddling

On this day the group was going out on the back bay to paddle in the ocean!

We met at the launch ramp bright and early to get the group together.

At first it was a bit hard for  Nathaniel, as he had to wait patiently for his friends to get launched, but he did good!

There were kayaks to get ready.

And some participants took a village to get ready.

But that smile as he headed in?

That made it TOTALLY worth it!

Others had been doing this for years and were great at at!

Finally (in Nathaniel's mind) it was his turn!!!

The launch!

Oh man... look at that BIG boy....

Yup...

 it's official...

I take too many pictures...

 so get over it already :)

And they are off.....

Notice anything here????

The boy is in the bay kayaking and momma is standing on dry land!!!!

Yes, I let him go with the volunteers!

It was a bit hard

I am totally used to being RIGHT there with him, but all went well.

They went for awhile down the bay.

But the weather was a bit tricky, so they turned back early.

Not that I mind, I think it says a great deal about their commitment to the participants. The instructors prepared all term for this, only to have bad weather the actual weekend. But they were more concerned about safety, which is awesome!

Here is Nathaniel racing Dr. Taylor again...

It was so cute how everyone indulged his desire to race!

All too soon the adventure was over and it was time to pull the kayaks out.

And get everyone settled on dry land.

This was a GREAT experience and I am looking forward to hearing when they offer it again so Nathaniel can do it again! (And they DID invite him back, so I guess he wasn't TOO much of a handful!)

This was Nathaniel and his THREE Instructors...

He loved them all and had a BLAST!

Thank you to the Cal Poly Adaptive Paddling Program!!!

Adaptive Paddling Day 1

Last weekend Nathaniel had a wonderful opportunity to participate in an adaptive paddling program.

My little water bug was VERY EXCITED to try this out. And I was excited because he has been seeing the kayakers out in the bay for years and recently been asking me A LOT to try it out!

He does not look excited at all does he??

Day 1 we met at the local college, where the program is run through, to meet everyone, have some yummy lunch and so the instructors could adapt the kayaks to the participants.

We spent lots of time (in the BLAZING hot sun!) so the instructors could adapt the kayaks. Of course this meant that Nathaniel made lots of new friends whiel everyone else was working! I LOVED that each group of instructors adapted each kayak especially for the participant that they would be working with. It was VERY individualized and neat to watch.

After the kayaks were all adapted the participants and instructors got in the pool to practice.

Everyone was very patient with Nathaniel and he had a blast.

They did make the mistake of telling Nathaniel he could get out of the pool whenever he was ready. Didn't they know he would NEVER be ready????

So around and around he went!

Taking all three of his instructors on turns with him...

And then someone gave him the idea that he could RACE other people in the pool.... and it was ALL OVER. That boy is a racing fool!

To conclude day one I will leave you with this little video...

 make sure you watch the end...

SO Funny!

Stay tuned for day two when they went out in the back bay!!!

WRAP Graduation

*Warning.... this post is WAY overloaded with pictures..... Sorry! But it is MY blog after all and if I can't choose which picture is better then I have the right to post them ALL (well, not ALL, but A LOT!!!!*

Recently we had to say Good Bye to the team that has been helping our family for the last year or so...

These wonderful folks in this picture make up our WRAP Team and they ROCK!!!

So we asked the kids what they wanted to do to say Good Bye....

And they told us they wanted a sports party, a silly string war and a picnic!

We went to a local park and had an EPIC Baseball Game!

Nathaniel was in HEAVEN with all of his favorite people playing his favorite game!

Jenny is one Nathaniel's favorite people, and a darned good baseball player!

It was so much fun to watch them all play together.

Jenny!

Reb!

And Jenn!

Really, the only time all of the workers were together was at meetings, an then the kids weren't there!

Please note the TIE with the tee shirt.....

The funny story with that is that Nat wanted to wear his FAVORITE tee shirt, but he ALSO wanted to wear a tie, because Jenny says guys look handsome in ties.... so he put them TOGETHER, no matter how many times I told him tee shirts and ties DO NOT go together... Silly Boy!

I think

This baseball game

went on

Forever!!!!!

But from that smile, I think he was VERY HAPPY,

And had a TON OF FUN!

I think he got pretty much EVERYONE playing at some point!

But he was definitely the star!

Spazzy Bri did not hurt herself....

Miraculously!

And Reb was definitely the slugger of the day.

Poor Jenn had to keep chasing his balls down!

Audrey was a our main cheerleader when she wasn't playing on the playground!

So fun to watch everyone play.

But my favorite part of the day was.....

Silly String War!!!!

EVERYONE was included and it was a blur of fun!

Please note the BIG boy hiding behind the LITTLE boy....

And who seems to be covered in silly string while the other one has barely any on him!

It was a toss up to who had the most silly string on them...

 Audrey was pretty covered...

But then so was Nat!

We did make silly string balls after we were done so that we could clean up...

The final ball was pretty darned big!

Then we had one last sit down to give out awards and presents.

I liked having so many workers together...

Look, Jenny is helping Nat and Reb is helping Audrey and I got to be FREE!!!

Amazing...

Too bad that can't happen more regularly!

Finally treasures shared....

Final Game on "Reb's Phone"

Funny story here: Reb has a cool phone that Nathaniel LOVED to play games on, and the rest of us were always wondering how we were going to survive without Reb's phone as an incentive. And I tell you, we ALL miss that darned phone! I can't tell you how tempted I am to go get a new phone, but I LOVE my BlackBerry.... I might have to get Reb to tell me what he has anyways for a back up phone... It might just be worth the investment for incentive work!!!

Look at that smile on Nat... These people really did become part of our family and we do miss them so much! My Friday dates with Amy, Nat's Jenny time, and playing ball with Reb. Audrey's fun times with Jenn and her stylish hair. And all of the encouragement and affirmations from these dear people. There are definitely holes where they once stood!

So (in order of picture) Erikka, (Bri and myself, although we are still around!), Amy Jenn, (Audrey, again still here!), Jenny and Reb, we love you guys and are so blessed that you were part of our family for so long! We wish you all the BEST in the next chapter of your work and your lives too! And don't forget to say "hi" if you stop by here to see us!