The Big Day Trip

It was something we had talked about for several summers, taking all of the boys to a nearby amusement park (that also has its own water park inside of it). Connor has actually been there before with Grammy, but the twins had never been there before. We weren't sure how the day would go, but we were determined to try.

We left early on a Sunday morning. Grammy, Pappy and Aunt Kelly all joined us on the adventure. We arrived about an hour after the park opened, and decided to hit the water park first. It took a while to get everyone inside and organized (buying tickets, finding a park map, locating and purchasing locker rentals, lining up our first area to try). Connor wanted to do EVERYTHING at one time. The twins just wanted to do SOMETHING besides wait. It took a little while, but we finally got organized and got started.

We spent most of the day at the water park. Our first stop was popular with Xander, an enclosed area with several tubular slides. Our next stop was the wave pool, which made Sawyer pretty happy (once he got over his anger at having to walk past to food area).

We eventually ordered some pizza and french fries for everyone.

And then we made our way to some of the amusement park. We divided and conquered here. Pappy, Josh and Aunt Kelly took Connor on some of the bigger rides. Grammy and I took the twins on some of the smaller ones. We all met up at the end to do a few of the water rides (still on the amusement park side, just the kind that get you wet).

We made our way back to the water park. We all tried the lazy river, and then we took the boys to their favorite areas. Xander went back to the slides and Sawyer went back to the wave pool. Connor tried a little bit of everything.

Once the water park closed, we went back for a few other small rides. We did the kiddie coaster several times. And then the tall swings. And one last ride on the carousel before we called it a day.

All in all, it was a good trip. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the twins did. They protested a bit when we had to wait in a few lines (though they really were not bad, as we never had to wait through more than one group going in front of us). Connor had a blast and wanted to know how long before we could go back again.

It was a long day. Nearly two hours in the car each way, plus the whole day in the park. We were all ready for bed when we finally made it back to our beds after midnight. Even the boys fell asleep on the ride home. And that's saying something.

More Summer That Was ...

As far as Connor is concerned, there is really only one sport. And that's baseball. Here is another one of his summer adventures, in pictures. Have I mentioned the "Hard Life Club" around here before? I'm pretty sure I have.

The Summer That Was ...

After baseball season ended, Connor went a little bit AWOL. He came home for a weekend or two, but spent the majority of his summer at the lake with Grandma and Grandpa.

 

Here is the summer that was ...

Clothes drying outside on the deck is a good day ... it means you made it onto the water.

Another good sign ... the rainbow is the bonus, the good sign is the boat out in the sun, trying to dry after a good day in and on the water. 

Happy water boy ...

Big boy on the tube.

Fun with Cousin Austin.

Deep into the cave system.

Visiting a national park with Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Brian, Austin and Kyndal.

A little more fun on the water.

Some front of the boat fishing.

Catching a little fish ... and letting him go again.

More tubing fun.

Too cool for his own good.

More water fun.

Finishing up a long day on the water.

More front of the boat fishing.

And more fun with cousins.

Welcome to the "Hard Life Club," or what we call Connor's world.

And this was just one summer.

Learning to Play

One of the things I've always said about our journey is that I wanted to try to find balance. Among the autism community, there are different schools of thought on the levels and amounts of therapy that you should do. While I want to offer the boys as much therapy as they need, I also didn't want them to spend their entire childhood in therapy (hello, ABA, I'm looking at you).

Beyond the time consideration, there is also the financial consideration. We are fortunate to have pretty good health insurance through Josh's job with the local fire department. Since we started private speech therapy a little over a year ago, it's covered the majority of it. This summer we decided to add occupational therapy. Insurance, unfortunately, doesn't cover all of that. Mostly because the practice we found (and love) is out-of-network. But for now, it's working out.

So every Wednesday afternoon, I pick the twins up early from school. We head across town for their afternoon appointment, spend an hour in therapy, and then head back across town to pick up Connor as he finishes school at the end of the day.

We considered adding an after-school session, but we already do that with speech on Tuesday afternoons. And the boys have trouble sometimes focusing during that half-hour session right after a full-day of school. We weren't sure they could handle a second after school therapy, certainly not one that is an hour-long and also pretty intense. So we opted to pull them out, which makes for a busy Wednesday afternoon for me, but so far it works.

We also opted for two therapists instead of one, which means that the sessions happen simultaneously. I spend the bulk of my time with Sawyer, who needs a little more help and interpretation as we get started. I finish up the sessions by checking in with Xander.

There have been some pretty significant improvements since we began this summer.

Xander's patience level is so much better than it's ever been before. He's learning the concept of "wait" as well as "first, then," though he might be taking that second one a bit far in terms of wanting to bargain for EVERYTHING. Usually it's "first X, then computer!" or "first X, then myPad!"

Sawyer's ability to sit still and focus continues to improve. And his willingness to work on new things, and to work on those skills that come hardest for him (fine motor, using his hands), is definitely getting better.

Both boys have different OT goals, but some of them are also the same. The one that kind of runs through all of it, and which makes OT so much fun, is that the boys are constantly learning how to play.

Snapshot Sunday (Tuesday)

Night View, a photo by here we wander on Flickr.