Don’t Stop Believin’!

So several weeks ago (June 7) I went to the 24th Annual Extravaganza put on by Turning Point (www.turningpointnation.org) in Dallas. Several other organizations collaborated with Turning Point to put on this awesome event! There were tons of adaptive activities for those with physical disabilities despite their age or the level of disability. I had an absolute blast spending time with friends and trying sporting events. Of course, this event would not even be possible without the coordinators and staff at Turning Point! Thought I would share this lovely picture with one of the main coordinators who put on the event! Nance Powers, thank you for all of the hard work to make this event possible!

CAPTION: Nance Powers, and Ms. Wheelchair Texas 2014, Laura Halvorson.

I shall first mention my favorite organization: Camp Craig Allen, http://www.campcraigallen.org! Dawn Cruzan along with a crew of volunteers not only gave out information about the organization, but also had a wheelchair hockey challenge with the Motor Mavs Wheelchair Hockey team! Go Miles!

CAPTION: Miles getting prepared to take the steal!

Like what you see, want to see more, or quite candidly participate! Camp Craig Allen has the first-ever North Texas Wheelchair Hockey League and they are having practice every Sunday 3-5 PM, at The Edge Skate Park in Allen, Texas. Next, there will be a sports clinic (bocce ball, wheelchair hockey, and power soccer) all using your wheelchair. July 19 at UTA in Arlington Texas (I will go more into detail about this power clinic in the next post).  For more info you can go to www.campcraigallen.org.

Minis and Friends of North Texas was also there. It is always a joy to get to pet and play with the Minis. Www.minisandfriendsntx.org. Thanks Sharon Fuller and volunteers!

 CAPTION: I am so liking this shirt!

CAPTION: Is this not the cutest thing ever? Her and her chair is taller than the horse!

HANDBIKE’S!! Www.turningpointnation.org, they are always going on bike trails. Looks like so much fun.

CAPTION: If you could see my face I was totally struggling! A friend of mine has two handbike’s and wants me to come see him and we go riding together! I am not too sure after this, however I probably will go because I love a challenge. The more I do it the easier it will be, but during this picture I was ready to get in the water and cool off.

So that is what I did! Waterskiing was a highlight for me! I want to get a big thank you to Blaine Bridgford and all of his volunteers with the You Can Ski program, http://www.youcanski.org.

CAPTION: I was so ready to get in for the second time. I thought this was a really good picture of how the skis were engineered. Using the seat and the side skis made me feel comfortable with no worries of losing my balance.

CAPTION: Ready for takeoff!

CAPTION: I look like I was just chillin! The ride wasn’t as bumpy as I remember it being the first time! You cannot see but there are jet skis besides me if needed. The rope did come loose that was attached to the skis from the boat, and the cute men on jet skis were right there to help!

. A couple of my favorite friends also enjoyed the coolness of water skiing as well!

CAPTION: This was Lauren Taylor’s first time to waterski.  “Water skiing was definitely a freeing experience for me,” Lauren said.  “I had complete trust in the people around me, and I had just met them!”

This is actually Laura Halvorson’s, Ms. Wheelchair Texas 2014 third time to waterski. While she said she had an absolute blast, “On the way back to dry land I heard the song Don’t Stop Believin’!” Laura said. (The inspiration for the title of of this blog post!)

Who can ski?? You can ski! Even this little guy is saying, bring it on! September 7 will be another opportunity to have fun in the sun! Camp Craig Allen along with the folks at You Can Ski will be at Marine Creek in Fort Worth for a End Of The Summer Bash. Whether it is your first time to water ski or your 50th time come out and be one in the majority with a physical disability that ski’s!

This was a day that I will not soon forget! There were so many more things there to do, and of course I did not have time to fit them all in! Even though I know that there were some people that did.  I did not get there when the day began.

Rolling on for now, Stephanie

 

The world is adapting, and so can you!

Wanted to remind everyone that there will be an advanced waterski clinic for those with physical disabilities Saturday, June 21 at Pecan Cove in Waxahachie Texas. This is a clinic for advanced waterskiers who have skied at least four times with Blaine from You Can Ski. If this sounds like something that is up your alley you need to register with Blaine@youcanski.org! For more information you can check out their website www.youcanski.org! Do not worry if you are not at that advanced level (like me) there is going to be a waterski clinic for every level with a physical disability on September 7 at Marine Creek in Fort Worth.

HimDuring the next post I will share about my experience water skiing a couple of weeks ago. A friend of mine named Lauren Taylor waterskied as well and for the first time! I will have pictures and stories… To be continued!

Everything is adaptable!!

Join us all day this Saturday, June 7th for Turning Point Nation‘s Annual Extravaganza at Bachman Rec Center in Dallas!!! So many activities for all levels and ages of those with disabilities and their families!!! Camp Craig Allen will have a Hockey Shoot Out, as well Ms. Wheelchair Texas 2014 will be there…and so many other collaborative organizations to make this year SPECTACULAR for everyone!!!

All adaptive sports…including boating, sailing, water skiing, kayaking, zip line, shooting, horses, fishing, basketball, hockey, rugby, and just about all you can imagine in a fun filled day of pure LOVE and EMPOWERMENT!!! Please check out www.turningpointnation.org and let’s get out and participate IN LIFE!!! 

For three years I was able to make out to this event, and am hoping to make it this coming Saturday. It is indescribable to be able to try all of these activities, and I have attempted just about every one of them! Almost everything I have tried I have said, “I never even knew that it was possible for me to do it!” I will share with you some of my pictures with you:

Preparing to water ski! They just set me on a chair attached to the skis. They also had little skis on the side of them to keep me from getting off balance. For extra security they had individuals riding beside me on jet skis. I had no worries, and never even got my hair wet!!

That is me kayaking, can you believe it? Just another activity I did not think was possible. My friend who came with me was holding down the fort to make sure that we did not tip over!  There was someone else who was waiting in the pool to make sure that all was safe. The kayaking and scuba diving are done at the pool in the rec center.

Scuba diving!! I may not have been able to try this for very long, but at least I tried it. Wearing the mask made me feel claustrophobic.

I am saving my most favorite activity that I tried for last! Sailing!! I know it is hard to see, but I am sitting in a chair that is attached onto the sailboat. OMG, filling the wind with splashes of water… I was in heaven! For 2 of the years I was able to do this 4 different times! Would have done it more if there was more time. I feel like such a hog, but I shared I promise.

I highly encourage anyone out there with a physical disability to do this. I know that people come from all around. It is a good way to become involved in the disability community. All of the activities are also done through Turning Point on an individual basis. So try everything, and if there is something that you particularly like let them know.  Also, try everything you can because you will get a ticket that goes into a drawing for some really good prizes!! They also have a really nice lunch, and if you have a physical disability. It is all no charge to you! Check their website for details http://www.turningpointnation.org!

Rolling on for now, Stephanie

You might be a redneck if…

You might be a redneck if… You went to camp during May 9-11th. The weather was perfect, but it was windy which caused me to get a redneck!! It has since started peeling which is a first for me. Thanks to my grandfather who was Indian if I ever get red it just turns to tan. So I was surprised when I got home of the effects. And all I have been hearing is redneck jokes!!

About camp, it was a blast! We started out by getting our bellies full of pizza. Some went fishing while I stayed in the cabin, and had a good visit with others who decided to stay behind. Then it was off to the camp fire! We ended up celebrating with cupcakes for Laura Halvorson’s, Ms. Wheelchair Texas 2014, 30th birthday!! I remember when I was 30 seemed like yesterday, LOL!! Saturday was full of activities. After breakfast we went outside to be with Minis and Friends of North Texas!

For those of you who do not know what Minis and Friends are they are a group of caring people and horse lovers Dedicated to sharing the love and Spirit of miniature horses to all ages with physical and mental disabilities. These horses are the cutest, and just my size! The ever so sweet founder of this organization, Sharon Fuller, and a couple other volunteers brought these wonderful horses for us to be able to guide them through an obstacle course, pet, and love on them!

For more information about them for you can go to their website http://minisandfriendsntx.org or you can like them on their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/MinisandFriendsNorthTexas.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from there:

 

Thank you again, Sharon Fuller for giving us the opportunity to enjoy the company of Minis and Friends!

Then we got into four teams to play The Amazing Race: Wheelchair Style!! This was the first time it was played at camp. Big props goes to Jason Roberts for planning and working out details for this game. He wasn’t able to make it to camp, but we were all sending him good vibes and many thanks! There were not many pictures taken during this game, because EVERYONE was on a mission to be first! We had 7 pitstops and challenges we had to do in order to get to the final pit stop.

CAPTION: Chris and I were strategically planning how to win first place for Team BOHICA!

Team Queen (we all had team names) got first place. Guess who is on their team? My team, Team BOHICA came in third. Hey, at least we did not get last. Team Awesomeness came in second. Team Crazy Legs came in last (I like their name). We did get a picture of us all. I will send 2 of the best photos I have. It was hard to fit in everyone in, and the glare from the Windows did not help!

I will leave you for now, but I know if for some reason you missed camp this session be sure to take time August 22-24th for the next session Camp Craig Allen will be having. It is called the “MD, Reunion Camp,” but anyone with a physical disability can attend.

Rolling on for now, Stephanie