This was Josh's last physical therapy session. She gave him the green light for his mission. We still had to have an appointment with the surgeon to get the official paperwork. Josh was VERY, VERY happy!
Katie had her first Jr. High choir concert. She is on the second from the top row, 5th girl from the left.
We try to go to Gardner Village every fall for their "Witches Festival". They have quite the assortment of witches around all the fun shops. Its always fun to get out with my sister and mom. My niece, Savannah, joined us this year.
I took Caleb to his Saturday bocce practice. They ended early because they were all headed to BYU's homecoming parade. I wasn't aware but when I found out the Special Olympics team he is on was part of the "Y Serve" group, I decided he should walk in the parade.
We had to wait a long time in the parking lot while waiting for our turn. It was loud and packed with super energy filled college students. He had a rough time and I spent a lot of time on the ground with him. Luckily, they gave out free donuts. That helped for a few minutes.
They gave him handfuls of candy to pass out to the crowd.
He even gave a few of the crowd high fives.
Caleb competed in the state competition of bocce. We drove to Rose Park to watch him. Grandma and Grandpa Clark joined us (we planned a zoo day with them later that day). Dad was out of town but was happy to see pictures.
I prepped Caleb for a couple of days. He was even excited about it early that morning. When we got there, he sat on the ground and wouldn't move. He got louder and louder with his protests. I tried setting a timer for when he needed to be ready. That usually works so well. It DID NOT work this time. Because he had a partner depending on him, I carried him kicking and screaming to his court. Even though it was the Special Olympics, I still felt a gaggle of judgmental eyes on me.
The time to start came. He was still resisting. I tried everything in my wheelhouse. I even promised him a small Lego set. He finally admitted that he was upset that he didn't have his uniform. Duh, Mom! They told us he'd have a BYU uniform. I told him about it the night before which made him quite happy. The young college volunteer realized she forgot to get them out of her car. She bolted to the parking lot and gave Caleb his shirt.
Whew!
He still wasn't very happy but I was able to get him to play when it was his turn.
We found out that it was a double elimination tournament. We knew his team didn't have a chance of winning so I determined I could keep working with him to finish out two games.
Most of his turns he would enter the court, pick up the ball, throw it as quickly as he could (sometimes sideways), run back to me, and plop back on the grass.
When the ball would hit the court wall, it would make a loud cracking sound. He was quite entertained by that and it was refreshing to hear a few giggles out of him.
Thank heavens for that Jersey!
Here he is with his partner, Landon. Special Olympics is for anyone 8 years or older. Every other athlete there was at least 5 years older than Caleb. It was hard to see him try to compete with adults who had much more arm strength. I have inquired as to why he is matched up with adults. I'm pretty sure it's because they hardly have any kids his age. I am waiting for a response from the Utah administration to see what can be done. I have also tried to recruit more athletes from a few of the support groups we are a part of.
If he keeps being paired up with the older athletes, I might not sign him up for the competitions. Practices are very good for him and that might be enough.
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