Weekend Recap- October 17th, 2017

Our weekend started off pretty good with a great Sauk Rapids-Storm win against Alexandria-Cardinals . It was a fun game but also a nail biter. They pulled off a win in overtime 38-36. This week is Camdin's last regular season high school game. Very sad.

Saturday morning we got up early and headed up to Fargo, ND for Jason's niece Kylee's Birthday party. 

 Kylee wanted a county themed party so all the food and party favors was centered around that concept. 

 Jake and the boys played blocks while the girls partied. 

After the party we all headed over to our home away from home for a pool party. I've blogged about The Element in Fargo, ND before and how much we love staying here. Jason gets to watch football on the flat screen while the kids swim. Everyone is happy. 

This is always a sign that he had a good time. 

No travel plans until the end of November. Time to get caught up on home projects, blog posts and reading blog posts from my favorite peeps at PP. 

xxoo

Friday Night Lights-September 29th, 2017

As I've said before, we spend our Friday nights watching Jason's son Camdin play football. Jason is so proud of the athlete that Camdin is. Big win against Sartell. Camdin made the Saint Cloud Times. Please read the article below. Pretty cool. Sad that it's his senior year. 

Camdin Carlson-Mathies got a lot of praise from his team Friday for a big play he made.

He is going to catch some grief for another big play that did not end with him in the end zone.

Carlson-Mathies, a senior defensive back, had a 75-yard interception return for Sauk Rapids' first touchdown in a 40-14 win at Sartell. That earned him the praise.

"We expect him to because he is one of the best defensive players in our league, no question about it," Sauk Rapids coach Phillip Klaphake said. "He is very dynamic. For a kid who is 5-foot-11 and 150 pounds — he is one of the hardest hitting, most football savvy — the kid can play any position on our football team.

"He just has it. He's just one of those 'it' kids."

Carlson-Mathies said that once he got the interception, he had a lot of open field in front of him.

"I was playing cover-2 safety and (quarterback Jordan Och) just overthrew and it came right to me," he said. "I just had to out-run everyone. After I turned that corner, I was gone. There was nobody going to catch me. I needed that touchdown."

Carlson-Mathies was the team's top returning rusher going into the season, but he has not played as much on offense this season.

"We're scared to put him on offense because if he got hurt, then we wouldn't have him on 'D,'" Klaphake said.

He did, though, have a 57-yard catch on Sauk Rapids' opening drive to get the ball inside the 5. But it is a play that Klaphake is going to give Carlson-Mathies the hard time about.

"We found a way to get him down the middle of the field and I'm going to give him a hard time for not scoring on that because he got it to the 1, which is really funny," Klaphake said. "We'll pick on him for that.

"But because he's so dynamic, we put him at wide receiver for one play and he picks up almost 60 yards."

Carlson-Mathies helped Sauk Rapids to its second straight strong defensive game. A week after shutting out Brainerd, the Storm did not allow Sartell was able to jump out to a 27-7 lead by halftime.

"Beginning of the season, this was the only team I wanted to beat," he said of the Sabres, the Storm's cross-river rivals. "This was one of the funnest games."

This is the opinion of Mick Hatten. Follow @mickhatten on Twitter, Instagram @MickHatten and at Facebook.com/sctimesmick. Contact him at 259-3621 or mhatten@stcloudtimes.com.

Camp Lake Carlos for Visually Impaired Students

Last week Jake and I attended Camp Lake Carlos for Visually Impaired Students in Alexandria, MN. This was one of the best experiences I've had with Jake thus far. I can't even put into words how amazing it was for both Jake and myself. It was put together by the vision teachers in our region. 

Parents, students, vision teachers and paraprofessionals were welcome. An instructor from the North Dakota School for The Blind was there to teach life skills to the kids. The kids were taught personal hygiene, how to make their beds, money management and cooking. Not only did Jake learn a lot but so did I. They taught us tips to help our kids. So many things that I would have never thought of. 

It was not only fun but it was also educational. Who would have thought that learning how to cut a banana without cutting yourself or making a peanut butter sandwich would be so fun. I realized through this experience, that I do everything for Jake when I should be teaching him to do things for himself. It was an eye opening experience. We got home and Jake wanted to make his own lunch. 

Group Picture of all the kids

 Jake making his name tag in braille, making a key chain for his personal hygiene kit and then packing his personal hygiene kit.

Jake making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, cutting a banana and learning how to make his bed. 

 In between sessions Jake and I went off to explore the camp. It was a beautiful fall day and having this quality time with Jake is priceless. These are memories we will cherish forever. 

Each child was given a wallet and 15 dollars. They were shown how to fold money and where to put it in their wallets so that they can tell what bill it is. They also taught them how to figure out tax and tip when paying for a meal. After the money management session we all piled into a school bus where we headed to a sit down dinner so the kids could  use the skills they just learned.

Below is a picture Jake and his friend Ava on the bus ride. Jake actually knows Ava from another group we are involved it. He was super happy to see a familiar face. 

After dinner we headed back to camp for a dance and game night. The band let all the kids play with their instruments. 

All the games were tactile and had braille so all the kids could play 

Jake and his new friend Brady along with Brady's Mom Melissa. 

The last day of camp the kids got together in the woods to work on team building and listening skills. The kids did so awesome. I am in awe of these kids.

Jake, Brady and Jake's Orientation and Mobility Specialist, Kevin hanging out.  

 Jake on the way home. Let's just say, he was a little beat. 

This has been one of the best summers. We've done so many awesome things and made so many fun memories.