the things we did in the winter...

 ...besides sports.

When I scroll through my picture library of January, February, and March, it is stocked with photos of wrestling, volleyball, and basketball.  It appears as though we don't have anything going on outside of our kids' sports...and that is not altogether inaccurate.  I mean...there's work, but who takes picture of work?  

OnValentine's Day, we attended my nephew Josh's wedding. His bride is from the Cities, so that worked out well for us! We were even able to make it back to Reggie's wrestling competion, despite a major snow storm blowing through.

We participated in the Special Olympics Frozen 5k for the 4th time.  It was 11 degrees when we lined up at the startline. Our group is now 9 strong, and we enjoy going to breakfast afterwards.

SOMN flag football

SOMN Flag Football is so much fun and the team went undefeated this season!  Brett is an amazing quarterback, and Lydia does a great job of uplifting all the athletes on the team.  They keep it exciting and competitive!

 

Here is the link to the highlight video.

Interested in supporting the work of Special Olympics?  Make a donation to my Frozen 5K fundraiser!

Brett's Basketball and Softball Highlights

Somehow this happened.

Brett's sports:

Thunderbolt's Adapted Softball (high school)
Special Olympics Basketball
Special Olympics Softball
Thunderbolt's Adapted Soccer (high school)
Special Olympics Flag Football

Woodbury Athletic Association In-house Basketball

So I combined his SOMN basketball and softball into one highlight video.  Bryan coaches his team for both sports and it is a lot of fun.  We love Special Olympics!

oreo dunkers take the plunge

Team "Oreo Dunkers" participated in the Frozen 5K and Polar Plunge to raise money for Special Olympics Minnesota!  While we've done the Frozen 5K three times now, this was the first year that anyone took the plunge!  Also, we added another member to our team - my nephew Taylor!  

This was an extremely unusual year where the lake was actually not frozen but still very cold and the outside temperature was in the low 30's that morning!  Taylor, Bonnie, Lydia, and Reggie took the plunge. Bryan organized a group from work and did the plunge the day before.

We had a blast raising money for Special Olympics!

Brett's basketball highlights

Brett's favorite sport is basketball so he plays in two leagues.  He plays with our city youth rec league and with the Special Olympics.  I really wish the Minnesota State High School league would add adapted basketball so he could play through the high school.  The Special Olympics Minnesota unified schools program has started teams in some high schools, but unfortunately not Woodbury.

In our city league, Brett's team secured 3rd place in their bracket. The Blazing Stars clinched 1st place at the regional tournament, which led to them competing in a more challenging bracket at the State level, where they achieved 3rd place.

Bryan has taken on coaching duties for all three sports that Brett participates in with the Blazing Stars, deepening his involvement in the Special Olympics community. Our affection for the Special Olympics continues to grow!

SOMN softball and flag football highlights

Special Olympics softball is a fun but short season with only one competition - the Summer Classic Games.  We are so very spoiled that this event- and also the state flag football event- are hosted in our city!

Brett usually plays 3rd base, and Bryan is one of the coaches for his team. Brett is a good hitter, and he's looking forward to joining the high school's adapted softball team (Thunderbolt's) this spring!

Unified sports are one of my favorite things about Special Olympics.  It brings people who might not typically interact in daily life together and uses the shared enjoyment of athletics as a way to build relationships and uplift the movement of inclusion.

In unified flag football, three athletes and two non-disables "unified partners" play on the field at the same time.  There are many rules about who can do what on the field in an effort to keep the focus on building up and supporting the athletes.  The main and obvious rule is that a unified partner can't pass the ball to another unified partner.  As you watch the video, you can see how the unified partners from BOTH teams are working to create an experience where the athletes get to shine - while still enjoying the true spirit of competion.   

Brett loves being the quarterback but gets to play all the positions.  Lydia was a unified partner for a second year and we also recruited Bonnie's son, Matt.  He was a great addition to the team!   

Next weekend we will again be participating in the Frozen 5k and Polar Plunge to raise money for Special Olympics Minnesota!  We have a team - the Oreo Dunkers.  It's the five of us plus Bonnie and Taylor.  We named our team the Oreo Dunkers because Brett loves oreos so much that he named his guinea pig "Oreo" and he also has aspirations to someday dunk a basketball.  Visit our page to contribute to our fundraiser!

Brett's SOMN basketball highlights

This video shows highlights from Brett's Special Olympics basketball season, which was April-June 2023.  Life is busy and my time for video editing and blogging is limited. Better late than never and better done than perfect.  Enjoy!

flag football highlights

This was the first year since Covid that Brett managed to get in a real full season of flag football.  He decided to play with the Blazing Stars.  Lydia got recruited to be a unified partner.

Some Special Olympics sports are unified sports.  Unified sports are designed to encourage inclusion by providing opportunities for disabled and non-disabled peers to enjoy sports together. Using the avenue of sports, people of varying abilities can come together, learn from each other, and build community through relationship.  The mission is bigger than just playing games and giving people with disabilities opportunities...it's revolutionary. 

Unified Flag Football is played five-on-five on a 40 yard field.  At all times there are 3 athletes and 2 unified partners on the field.  It is the unified partners' goal to uplift the athletes.  There are lots of rules like a unified partner cannot throw the ball to the other unified partner.

We were set up in a bracket of four teams.  The first game was a good matchup. It was close, but the Blazing Stars won.  The second game was for the championship.  While our team had two unified partners who were teenagers with average athletic ability, the opponents' unified partners looked like they were college athletes!  The Blazing Stars were up against goliaths and didn't stand a chance.  But they played hard, had fun, and built community. 

Mission accomplished!

our most expensive spring break trip ever

March was a lot of wrestling, so I will cover that in a separate post.

Besides wrestling - or should I say - alongside wrestling, we had spring break. 

We started out with Bryan and Reggie going to the high school state wrestling tournament to cheer on some friends.  Brett, Lydia, and I went to the science museum. Same parking garage!

Next was the Frozen 5K, which is becoming our fundraiser tradition that we do for Special Olympics with our friend Bonnie.  Together, we raised over $1400!

We had a nice little ice shower the night before and it was 33 degrees when we started out.  Fortunately, it didn't rain during the event as forecasted, but the path was still a bit slick.

Reggie and Lydia jogged it and finished in just over a half hour.  The rest of us walked.

We checked out a remote control car hobby shop where you can rent RC cars by the battery life and drive them on their indoor track.  It was a lot of fun!

We also went to an indoor entertainment center that has laser lag, ninja course, arcade, and mini golf.

Lydia's guinea pig turned two.  Didn't Lydia do a great job on the cake?  After a proper serenade, we ate the cake and gave Violet a carrot and a pepper!

Lydia also went to her first real concert - Toby Mac - with her friend, Abigail.

So, how was this such an expensive spring break? Well, on Tuesday, the five of us took a drive seven miles south and bought a new house!  The stories are true; the market is CRAZY! But our current school district just isn't cutting it.  All of the kids would have to change schools next year anyway.  They are closing Reggie and Lydia's middle school at the end of this school year, and Brett will be starting high school in the fall.  So, now was the time to make the big move - seven miles south! ; ) 

(Reggie keeps joking that it will be warmer when we move south.)

We move in a month so I should really be packing or painting right now...

five "insider" reasons to love Special Olympics

1. It provides a competitive and supportive opportunity for people with intellectual disabilities (ID) to participate in sports.  There is a desire to win in all of us, and the Special Olympics has mastered the harmony between competition and celebrating all abilities.

2. We have three kids in sports and have encountered some pretty toxic situations.  Special Olympics has always - every time - been a positive experience where Brett felt empowered.

3. Special Olympics goes beyond sports competition to foster overall wellness.  Special Olympics offers fitness programs, education, and health screenings (vision, hearing, dentistry, general physical, and podiatry), to athletes who often have compromised access to health care.

4. Special Olympics champions the cause of inclusion. One way Special Olympics accomplishes this is through their Unified Champion Schools program. Using sport as it’s vehicle, Unified Champion Schools create a culture where students with disabilities are welcome participants and included in meaningful ways in all aspects of their school community.

5. Special Olympics provides community for families experiencing a unique world of challenges.  What started out as giving Brett an opportunity to play basketball in 4th grade became much more.  It’s not only been an avenue for networking, but also a place to work through all the feelings of being a parent (and sibling, too!) of a child with an ID.

Pass, Punt, Kick - Fall 2021

2018

2018

2018

Special Olympics Summer Games - June, 2019

Fall 2019

Gold Medal for Track, Summer Games, 2019

Frozen 5K Fundraiser, Spring 2021

As I'm looking through these older pictures and remembering all the fun opportunities we've had with Special Olympics, especial prior to Covid, I have to mention a bonus reason why we love Special Olympics.  Brett loves mascots and special events and with SOMN he has met Victor (Vikings) and played football with Vikings players, had a photo op with Chick-Fil-A's cow mascot, the Harlem Globetrotters, and more!  These are such special moments for him!

We are getting ready to do our Frozen 5K Fundraiser again this spring.  Here are the links if you would like to donate to this wonderful organization: 

Brett

Lydia

Reggie