Tag Archives: fun

November 2, 2012

Our 2nd Halloween with Magpie!

By Bobbie

Hercules and his Pegasus
Halloween 2012

Magpie did much better with trick-or-treating this year than she did last year.  I’m sure it’s because she has been with us for longer than just a couple of days unlike last year when we were in the middle of training in Ohio with er.  This summer Deeds decided that he wanted to be Hercules and then proceeded to say what everyone else would also be from the movie.  Little sister was Meg, Magpie was Pegasus, mommy was a Muse and poor daddy got stuck as Hades.  By the end of the summer, thanks to ebay we had all the costumes set and it was really fun.  Granted no one really knew who we were but the kids didn’t mind explaining to them.

In Halloween’s past we have learned that Deeds loves the holiday but it can be incredibly overstimulating for him.  His favorite thing to do was to make sure people shut the door so he could then ring the door bell and even if it was obvious no one was home we couldn’t keep him from continuing to go up and ring the door bell of each and every house.  This year was a bit different.  We went with some of his cousins and soon our group got separated.  Deeds, Magpie and I headed off with the older cousins while daddy and Gwen hung back with the younger.

At first it was great, lots of fun and laughter as the boys ran from house to house but soon Deeds would lag behind and then start to melt-down when he realized the boys were already at the next house.  Even when they stopped to wait for him he was getting pretty upset.  Finally I figured out that it was because once at the door people were often letting the kids just pick out their own candy.  This became quite time consuming for Deeds because he would put a lot of thought into which piece he was going to pick and heaven forbid they then told him to take another.

At one point apparently Deeds wasn’t a fan of any of the candy in the bowl and I overheard him saying “Do you have any candies?  I just really don’t like any of these kinds in here.”  I quickly stepped in and tried to explain to him that it’s not polite to say and you should just take a piece anyway and say thank you.  We intentionally go trick-or-treating in grandma’s neighborhood where they all know Deeds and Magpie just in case situations like this arise.  Thankfully they were quite nice to my little dude and he was soon racing off to the next door.

As Deeds gets older we see some amazing progress in how he is doing but then there are times where the more autistic tenancies come to the surface.  Holidays have become a bit of a dance for us and while we never know exactly how something is going to go from year to year we are thankful for an amazing supportive family (including his fantastic cousins) that always rolls with the punches and helps us out.

All the boys were excited they were “Hero’s”

2 comments   |  tags: , , | posted in Autism, Holiday, Magpie, Service Dog

August 28, 2012

A week away

By Bobbie

A couple weeks ago we spent almost 7 full days off the grid at the family cabin up in the Uintas.  The kids are the 5th generation to be able to spend time there and it’s just fantastic.  It was perfect timing as the last hurrah before school started for everyone.  We had some friends and family with us for a couple of nights and then it was just us and grandma for the rest of the time.  We took a ton of pictures and so I’m going to let them speak for themselves.

It’s become one of Magpie and Deeds favorite places in the world.  Magpie gets to really let loose and act like the crazy lab she is and Deeds gets to throw rocks in water and watch VHS video’s to his heart’s content.  I think we played Hercules at least 4 times a day while we were there.  He got so obsessed with it that guess who is going to be our favorite hero for Halloween.  We seriously lucked out and even found the costume on ebay already.  Here is the run down for everyone’s costumes according to JD:

  • Deeds: Hercules
  • Gwen: Meg
  • Dad: Hades
  • Mom: the “middle” Muse
  • Magpie: Pegasus

We have everyone’s costumes ready now with the exception of daddy and magpie.  I just need to convince Deeds to let me make Magpie a black Pegasus and not the white one with blue hair like in the movie.

Back to the cabin…  We went on a lot of walks and little hikes with the kids.  Little sister was much more interested in the outings than Deeds was but it helped when we took a half an egg carton with us.  We put pieces of tape in the bottom of each spot and colored them each with a different color.  During the walks the kids would try to find stuff from nature to put in the spots with the corresponding color.

It was an amazing week and we made a lot of cherished family memories.  After a rough summer it was the perfect ending and way to kick off the fall.

Throwing rocks after swimming in the creek.

Magpie in the creek with an amazing view behind her.

Very wet Magpie watching Deeds play after she was done swimming.

Deeds balancing on his favorite log. We had at least one picture a day on the log, it was his favorite spot at the creek.

The doggies resting after a extra long walk.

The kids decided this fort about 10 minutes up a trail was the perfect spot for a snack and drink break.

Deeds jumping over a log on the trail.

Magpie waiting for Deeds and I while we headed out for one of our many outings.

Bundled up watching for moose during one of our night walks. Deeds is actually wearing his great great grandfather’s coat, it was pretty cute. We would take glow sticks with us, I think it was the kids favorite.

Yet another shot on our favorite log.

Deeds watching his “favorite cabin movie”. The kids would play titans and heros while together. To the best of what we could determine it was a bit like their version of cops and robbers.

Deeds and Magpie splashing around.

Deeds sitting in the creek and trying to convince little sister to try it too.

Drying off in the sun after all the splashing around in the cold water.

Deeds swinging, we found it on our first night walk and then went back every other night we were there.

Pushing dad and Gwen on the swing.

Deeds counting his 24 glow in the dark bracelets from our walk the night before.

Side note: I love that last picture for a few reasons, one is that you can clearly see the side of his face that was burned so badly on his third birthday.  It still amazes me that it healed so well and that the hair grew back in almost the entire area.  You really have to look close to see the scars on his forehead.  Such a miracle and blessing for our little guy.

1 comment   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in Burn, Family, Fun, Service Dog, Travel

April 17, 2012

Moments that Matter

By Bobbie

While taking a study break from my finals a friend shared this video clip with me.

A short while into it I was crying quite a bit.  The hardest part of school for me is being away from my children, especially while studying for finals but I have to remember that I’m sacrificing right now for them so that our future may be a bit brighter.

I was touched to be able to remember all the moments that matter most to me with my family.  We tend to treasure many moments more dearly because of adversity.  Autism, epilepsy and mommy having cardiomyopathy have all taught us to cling to those memories.  To laugh together and treasure the moments that sparkle.  To unplug and just be.

Be with each other, be attentive, be responsive, be loving.  I know we share these moments that matter the most, and because of that my heart is full of joy as I approach this hellish week of finals.

Next week it will just be us.  Our family, sharing even more moments that matter thanks to a help from our Fairy Godmother.  Even if it weren’t a trip to Disneyland I’d be so excited to be able to spend the entire week with Jeremy and the kids with no homework, or work hanging over our heads.

Here are a few pics from April that I haven’t had time to put on here from some of our moments that matter the most.

Deeds actually LET Gwen sit with him on the ride.

Captured moment with Deeds talking to Magpie.

Daddy helping the kids dress up at the museum.

The kids laughing and actually playing together!

I love the constant reminder my children give me to stop and smell the flowers.

Unbridled joy at conquering the toy at the garden.

Deeds teaching Gwen how to smell the tulips. It had me almost in tears it was so sweet.

2 comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Life

April 9, 2012

Neon Trees Love for Autism

By Bobbie

Saturday night we got the opportunity to go to a benefit concert put on by the Neon Trees for Deeds autism school.  One of the 36 students at this amazing school happens to be the son of the bass guitar player in the band.  How amazing that they would take the time out of their busy schedule to come and put on this concert, especially since they are promoting their second album that hits stores on the 17th!

You probably know them best from this hit:

I wasn’t sure how he would do with a rock concert but we decided if we were going to go we were going to give it our all.  We got there early and they had seats set aside for Deeds school.  We chose to sit in the front on the side so that if things went wrong we could quickly get out of the auditorium and it gave Magpie a place to lay down.  Before the concert Deeds and some of his other friends had a lot of fun bouncing around dancing while waiting for things to get started.  The only clean pair of jeans I had for Deeds were WAY too big for him so sadly he spent most of the time trying to hold them on.  I’m surprised he didn’t just take them off and bring them to me.  Once the bands actually started to play Deeds wasn’t so sure how he felt about it so I was glad we had the iPad and ear phones for him.

Not sure what I was thinking but after the openers when the Neon Trees got on the stage all the teenagers rushed the stage and of course it sent me scrambling to move Magpie and Deeds behind a row so they wouldn’t get stepped on.  Poor Mag’s wasn’t visible at all thanks to being a black dog.  I should have known it would happen, I just haven’t been to a concert in such a long time it slipped my mind.  It actually made it a lot of fun because then the band could feed off the excitement of the crowd.

Deeds and Magpie hanging out before the concert.

Deeds playing the iPad during all the commotion of the concert

A few songs into the Neon Trees set Deeds noticed some of his friends were dancing on the side of the stage so he headed over.  The rest of the show he had a lot of fun spinning, flapping, and dancing with the other kids with autism.  At one point I hopped up there to sit next to and block a big speaker and it was at that point I realized why the kids loved it up there.  They could feel the stage just pounding with the music.  Deeds came and snatched my phone from my hands and went to take pictures of the band.  Here is his first attempt:

One of the band’s crew that was standing there chuckled at poor Deeds trying to snap a picture and only getting his hand so he helped my little man take this shot.

Neon Trees

It was really sweet to watch this stranger help my little guy.  I guess Deeds decided he was a good guy because he then watched the band next to him for a while and then went and got his iPad and sat on the stage behind him playing.

Deeds watching the Neon Trees from just off the stage.

Just chilling during the concert

The concert ended up being sold out and I am just so happy for Deeds school!  At the very end Deeds got to go dance on stage while they played Animal.  He was SO excited, sporting his new shirt from the concert and kept bouncing around.  I got a video but since I was RIGHT in front of a speaker the sound is terrible so I suggest just muting your speakers.  He is the little guy with the buzzed head jumping around.

After the concert we got a chance to meet the band.  They were signing some of the other kids shirts but Deeds didn’t want them to draw on his new shirt so he had me give them his favorite autism one he wore before he changed.  They had a lot of fun signing the shirt and Deeds was grinning so big the entire time!  He even let Tyler, the lead singer rub his arm and talk to him.  Such a good night.  Deeds has been asking for their songs all weekend and LOVES their upbeat music.  He knows all the words to their new single already and we’ve caught him repeating it to himself multiple times.  I must admit daddy and I like the music too and we’ll be buying that new CD when it comes out in a week.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Neon Trees.

Neon Trees, thank you.  Awesome memories, and I can’t believe my little guy had so much fun at your concert.  Your fans were respectful to us and our little kiddo and you are our new hero’s!  Thank you, thank you.  Hoping the Karma train hits you with this next album, you guys deserve it.

2 comments   |  tags: , , , | posted in Autism, Fun, Fund Raising, Heros, In Public

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