Carson's big day....

What a fun weekend, only wish it could’ve lasted longer! On Saturday my nephew Carson got baptized, so I flew out to Folsom for the baptism and to be with my fam. It was such a great baptism! All of the kids: McCall, Parker, Gracie and Bayden prayed, sang and gave talks, and it was so sweet how excited they all were for him. Seeing how excited Carson was about it was a good reminder to me of how fortunate we are to be able to be baptized and to know why we’re here. Seriously, because I think I take it for granted sometimes. Mark and Beck had a little dinner at their house after which was so fun to just be together and get all caught up. We had such a great time playing games, talking, eating, laughing, jumping on the tramp, etc… , etc…

On a side note, I know I always share my work stories here, but sometimes they're just too funny to not keep track and this way I'll remember them. So, today I was working with this really cute little boy who's 9. He has Asperger's and would seriously talk your ear off if he could and all about the most random topics. Anyway, I had pulled out this puzzle game to work with him and this is the conversation that followed:

Kim: "sorry, looks like I'm missing a piece of this puzzle. bummer, don't know where it could've gone"

Tommy (fictional name): "do you have any brothers?"

Kim: "yes"

Tommy: "do you have any little brothers?"

Kim: "yes I do"

Tommy: "Well, maybe he was playing with it and lost it"

Moral of the story: Guess I better call my "little" 30 year old brother and ask if he's been playing with my toys

Pretty cool...

A couple of nights ago some friends and I had the chance to go and hear Temple Grandin speak at UCLA. For those who don't know, she is an animal science expert who has worked to promote more humane treatment of animals within the slaughterhouses, etc... (kind of a contradiction I know) and she happens to have high functioning Autism. Since a lot of the kids I work with have Autism, I always think it's interesting to hear what's happening in the Autism world, especially first hand. There was recently a movie made about her starring Claire Danes and let me just say the portrayal was spot on....cowboy shirt, belt buckle and all. She is quirky as she readily admits and funny without even trying to be, but I just loved what she had to say. When she was younger, they didn't have a lot of the therapies and treatment readily available as they do today. She talked about how important the influence of her Mom and other teachers in her life were to her and being exposed to many different things so that she could develop these talents into a career. Pretty impressive considering the doctors told her mother to put her into an institution, that she would most likely be non verbal and dependent on others. She definitely proved them wrong!

At one point she was talking about how she wishes that Autism wasn't the first thing people thought about a person when they met them, but instead focused on their interests and what makes each individual special. At one point she said "The world needs all different kinds of minds to work together to achieve great things". It's funny, I don't think I ever set out to work with kids with disabilities, but felt like I just kind of arrived at it, but as I have worked with them, they have taught me more about breaking through stereotypes: each one is so different-some are affectionate, feisty, playful, literal, stubborn, happy, full of random facts, etc..., but more than anything I've seen that they are just kids. Every Friday when I get to work, there is one kiddo who I just adore who is 5 and constantly has a smile on his face, no matter what happens. He always comes up and gives me the biggest hug ever, pressing his cheek to mine. Those are the times when I think, I'm pretty lucky to do what I do.

Tango Time

On Saturday night a group of friends and I went to see this tango show in Orange County. It was so awesome, they had free tango instruction the hour before and then the show was right after. Kind of made me laugh because I don't think some of the guys who came had any idea what to expect and halfway through the show I looked over and one looked like he was practically asleep. But, I thought they were amazing! Seriously, the musicians and dancers were so incredibly talented! I'm thinking I might need to add tango lessons to the list of New Year's Resolutions.

Happy Holidays 2010!!

Just got back from a great 3 weeks at home and am missing everyone already!!

Pow wows and Hannukah....

So, last weekend I was feeling a little sick and was taking it easy (o.k., basically in bed for a big chunk of the day). I had to finish prepping my lesson for church on Sunday, so I set out to start reading when all of a sudden I heard a drum thumping: "pum, pum, pum, pum...pum, pum, pum, pum" and then again and then voices chanting...and it continued the whole day long!! I neglected to mention we live right next to a park that has a site that is supposedly a natural spring that was inhabited by some of the first Californian Indians. Don't know how I've missed it in past years, but I guess they have this pow wow to celebrate the site once a year. A cool tradition and all, but not when you're right next door.

and....Today I was working with this group of kiddos with high functioning Autism, they are such cuties, totally bright, affectionate and with the funniest outlook on things. In this group, there's a mix of kids who celebrate Hannukah and Christmas. So, I was working with them on a little fine motor craft of a Christmas tree and one of the kids says to me as were finishing up: "Miss Kim, after I'm done being Jewish, I'm going to buy a Christmas tree".

Beantown!!!

This weekend I was able to go to Boston and visit some really great friends of mine, John and Diane. Some funny background on our friendship: we met a little over a year ago when my friend Tonnette and I were getting ready to board on a Scandinavian cruise. As we arrived in Amsterdam, we ended up meeting John and Diane in the shuttle bus to our hotel. They saw I had a travel book on Amsterdam, and mistakenly took this to mean that I knew the city, after getting lost an entire day together, we became close friends and on the cruise spent tons of time together. They are an amazing couple, are fairly newlyweds, have been married a little over 5 years and are in their early 60's. Just goes to show that friends can be made in the unlikeliest of places and that age is just a number. They were the most awesome hosts and showed me the best time in Boston. Diane is Italian and grew up right in Boston and knows all the inside details of the city. Wish I could include a quick little snippet of video b/c her accent alone would crack you up. She is constantly trying to find me a man in Boston and was so disappointed that she couldn't find someone for me in the 3 days I was there :) In short, I am now in love....with Boston!! I had been there once before forever ago and remembered bits and pieces, but it is such a cool place with so much history, beauty and fun.

Some of the places/things we did were:

Plymouth Plantation/Mayflower
Salem: House of Seven Gables, Birthplace of Nathaniel Hawthorne, Site of witch trials
Harvard Square/Cambridge
North End: Little Italy
Quincy Market and Faneuil Hall

Wedding bells are ringing.....

I'm a little belated in posting this but I had the best trip home in August! It's always so great to be home again with family and all the fun that includes. I swear it gets harder and harder to leave them each time I come back to L.A. Here are just a some of the fun things we did:

-road trip to St. George w/my Mom, Dad, Am and the Jones' to see Tarzan at
Tuacahn....one word "amazing", can't
recommend it highly enough
-hiked Donut Falls
-participated in the 2nd annual Pulley "homemade" triathalon...thanks for the fun
idea Ky and Am
-lots of fun walks w/the sisters and nieces and a beginning Yoga class w/Jen
that wasn't so beginner :)
-of course it wouldn't be a complete trip home without a little Great Harvest,
Apollo, Rocky Mtn. and Cafe Rio
-hit up a bagpipe concert w/Mom, Dad, Ky and Livvy at Brigham Park downtown

Oh and for the greatest news of all....Mindy and Mike got married Aug. 28th in the Mt. Timpanogas temple: such a great day! They looked so incredibly in love and just excited for their future, I'm so happy for them!! To make things even better Beck and Mitch flew in the morning of and surprised us all at the temple! Definitely a cool feeling to be with the whole family at the temple. And.... in more exciting news, Ky and Hales announced they are pregnant with their 3rd!! Of course, they announced it in the most creative, adorable way possible, that's just them, with a pseudo US weekly cover w/pics and all. I can't wait to see what their next little cutie will look like.