Another month has passed...

So maybe we'll make this a monthly blog? 
Summer is coming to an end pretty soon. We've had a busy summer and got some good use from the pool on hot summer days and nights but it seems to be ending. The past month the boys have been busy with the fun runs on Wednesday nights. Matthew almost had an undefeated series. He won 7 out of 8 races this summer! (see link for Press writeups) Now soccer season has officially started & his first game is on this coming Saturday. So far it looks like he's learned a few tricks from Soccer camp.
Andrew is still busy with Medicine Horse Farm where he attends dayhab and receives Equine Assisted Therapy. He's back to his favorite horse Sheba now. He's even gotten to ride Thor the newest horse on the farm. This guy is gigantic! But he still loves his firsts, Lilly & Grace. He goes two days a week for a total of 4 hours a week. He loves spending time on the farm riding, brushing, walking the trails, helping with tack and he's even learning to use the reigns so he can soon ride unassisted. He's very excited for this but he still has a lot of work to do on his proprioception. He's improving but not enough to steer independently. He also has legs like rubber bands and requires about 20 minutes of riding without stirrups to stretch out enough to ride comfortably.
Sean and I are still running when we can. We all participated at the Run For Jon this past Saturday. It takes place at an apple orchard. (see link for details). Andrew did the kids fun run & did an excellent job. He didn't even fall once and was able to successfully run through the thick grassy orchard & finished with his hands in the air like he just ran a marathon with the biggest smile ever! Sean had a great finish at 48th/214 with a time of 16:59. I finished at 168th at 22:41 and most impressively Matthew finished the race in 166th place with a time of 22:38... He did so great! He was the youngest runner again this year.

We had a pretty crazy Sunday as well. Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene passed through wreaking havok! She tested our nerves, that's for sure. The storm was not suppose to be this devastating for our are so many were unprepared. Us, on the other hand, were. We purchased a battery back up sump pump, lots of batteries, dug out the flashlights, stocked up on water and candles. We even froze containers of water in the freezer to use as ice blocks in case we lost power for any period of time. Thankfully we were spared the loss of electricity until about 11pm until 3or 4am. We didn't have to use our pump. Although we did get about 6 inches of rain in a 24 hour period, we were spared the stress of a flooded basement this time. I guess the dry summer has helped. We did, however lose a fairly large tree that blasted through our fence just grazing the pool. With the help of some neighbors they were able to guide the falling tree to a safe landing area between the pool and kids' playset.  (video Here & Here ). There's been a lot of devastation in the area. Many people are still without power 4 days later. Roads are washed out. The Adirondack Mountains are literally "Closed". Yeah, really. They are not allowing hikers to enter due to massive flooding and damage by wind. There's been major landslides on the peaks... some that are so large they can be seen from arial footage and have permanently changed the face of the mountains.  (read more here)  There is storm coverage everywhere you look. Vermont, just across the Lake from us is virtually underwater as well as the local town I grew up in. It's sad to see historic structures just disintegrate down the rivers. Things you can never get back. Hearing of friends homes and property that's been completely destroyed is so maddening.
So now the cleanup continues as we chop up that tree and repair the fence. Nothing to complain about considering the stories we hear and see. We'll go on with our summer and hope for some more warm days before Fall and winter set in.
We're also in the midst of helping organize a Monster Dash Walk/Run and Goblin Gallop Kids Fun Run to benefit Medicine Horse Farm's Equine program. Andrew benefits from this program and we were asked if we'd like to help organize it since we are "semi" experienced runners. Having participated in numerous races they though we could provide some insight on the planning of the event as well as my expertise in design and promotion of the event. I've been on quite a few planning committees so that helps too. So anyone who would like to participate in any way, feel free to contact me. See the facebook event here for more information. It's not your average race. There will be Monsters (hence, the name) and they will be out to take your lives! The monsters will be hidden throughout the course trying to steal flags that you will be given. If you finish without any flags then you will be out of lives. Without any lives your time will be recorded but you will not be eligible for prizes. Although there will be numerous other prizes to be awarded including a costume contest!  It takes place Sunday, October 23, 2011 (tentatively) at Banker Orchard, Plattsburgh, NY.   Anyone can participate, volunteer or sponsor. The more the merrier!

Where has the time gone?

Wow, again it’s been a long while since we’ve updated our blog. So much has happened since our last post in November.

Since we last posted, you can imagine the chaos our lives have taken on. The boys are doing great and still fight and try to “one up” each other on everything from how tall they are to who has the better photo album to look at.

We had a wonderful Christmas and New Year surrounded by family and friends. Sean and I competed in the Plattsburgh Half Marathon in April and we both surpassed our goals. It will be a traditional event for us as long as they keep it going. We never thought we’d say it but it’s really a lot of fun and makes you feel great to accomplish something like that.

Our winter was definitely a snow-filled one! We enjoyed a lot of sledding this winter and Matthew even got to try his hand at some snowboarding. He got an inexpensive one for Christmas but it was enough to find out that it was something he really liked. So maybe next year he can have a better one and maybe take some lessons.

Spring was filled with marathon training in snow, sleet, rain and the horrible wind. After the marathon we continued our fund-raising efforts for the March of Dimes March for Babies. We did a huge raffle and our regular fund-raising and surpassed our team goal this year.  It’s always a great event and being on the committee has it’s challenges but it’s well worth it to see such a successful event completed.

The end of the school year was an exciting one for the boys. They both did well on their report cards and progress notes show Andrew and Matthew have improved a lot this year. We had a rough start with Matthew but as soon as he got into the routine of 2nd grade, he adjusted quite well. Andrew made many gains this year at school but still falls well below average. We’re all working very hard to keep him in the regular classroom. Physically, Andrew has progressed quite nicely this year. Since having his heel cord lengthening surgery last September, his walking and strength have improved tremendously! Although we are seeing some difficulties with his other leg (toeing in and toe walking) his abilities have greatly improved. He’s been doing a great job at Aquatic therapy & it’s helped him to improve on his reciprocal motions and coordinating his right arm-left leg alternations. He still has a long way to go in increasing his strength.

Andrew recently has gone back to Medicine Horse where he receives Hippotherapy and Equine Assisted Therapy. We’re so very excited about this! He’s had almost a month of sessions and we’re already seeing some major differences. Those horses work him hard but he’s able to maintain stamina throughout his sessions and has been able to increase his riding time at each session. We’ll be adding 2x a week sessions soon. He’s also got a tutor for the summer that he sees two days a week and he really seems to enjoy it. Unfortunately Andrew’s CSE (committee on Special Education) didn’t agree to summer services due to Andrew’s lack of regression. Even though that lack of regression is because we increased therapy over school breaks, etc. But we’ve overcome our disappointment for now and we decided to continue to help him throughout the summer as much as we can with our own means. So this makes for a very busy summer. Thankfully again, we have Arihanna to nanny the boys for the summer and do homework time daily as well as making sure they get to their camps, therapy, special events, etc. We don’t know what we’d do without her!

Andrew also joined a baseball team this summer and did really well. He was able to run the bases as well as some of the other players did, brought in some runs & even had a few hits himself. He’s taken a liking to running and competes in the fun runs at our park on a weekly basis. He’s really done quite well and as compared to last year, he’s doubled his race speed and distance! Last year he could barely complete the 1/4 mile and this year he’s able to complete the 1/2 mile (although exhausting) he finishes within the middle of the pack. That and swimming were the two greatest sports recommended by his Neurosurgeon. So we thought we’d give it a try and he’s liking both of them.

Matthew has had an extremely busy spring and summer! He too joined a baseball team but was quite disappointed when we found out that he would not be able to play baseball but would have to play t-ball since he was 2 days from the age cutoff! He played really well and even though he hated the concept of “t-ball” he understood when we explained that this would be an advantage when he’s older. So to make up for it we allowed him the chance to go to baseball camp. He absolutely loved this. He did learn a lot and was proud to come home each day and tell us what he learned. Matthew has also continued to love his running. All spring he competed in fun runs and continues this summer at a different park. He’s won ever race except one. Unfortunately the one he lost was one during the week of baseball camp which really tired him out. He was sad and disappointed but I think it was something that needed to happen. Matthew was getting too confident with winning and he needed to see that even the best athletes have a bad race or game sometimes.  He also attended soccer camp this summer to help him improve his soccer for this coming fall. Another sport he thoroughly enjoys.

As a family we’ve done lots of camping and have two more trips planned already. We purchased a pop-up camper this spring and we’re getting good use out of it. The boys really enjoy camping as much as we do. It’s nice to have that uninterrupted family time together without all the technological distractions in life.  We took a hiking trip this year too. Our first ever as a family. We hiked up Rattlesnake which is a smaller mountain but still has some great views that helped the boys understand why we went through all the work of climbing the mountain. They got to experience the joy of their first climb when they reached the summit. This may be a new family day activity. We were all so impressed by Andrew’s ability to climb. He had a difficult time navigating the tree stumps and stones that were buried on the trails and ended up needing to be carried for a good portion since he was at one point crying out of frustration and skinned knees. But when we came face to face with huge boulders and trees, Andrew was able to get down on his hands and knees and climb up that way with no problem. His upper body strength helps him out a lot in this area. Soon enough he was smiling ear to ear when he accomplished this goal and marveled at the wonder of the mountains from the top. They loved to look down on the lake and see how tiny the boats looked.

We made a trip to Lake George this year and brought the boys camping and to the Six Flags Great Escape park to reward them for all their hard work this year at school and in their sports. They got to ride their first real upside-down roller coaster and they loved it! 

Sean and I have even had the chance to take some time to ourselves here and there. We went to a few concerts and out to some dinners alone and with friends. We’ve had the chance to reconnect with some old friends we haven’t seen in years. We’re looking forward to our 10 year anniversary this September and planning a trip to Las Vegas to celebrate. We plan to renew our vows... maybe even by Elvis!

This summer’s weather has been so cooperative with all our outdoor adventures and we only wish it could never end.  

Hopefully we can get some pictures added of all our great experiences so you can share a smile with us!