All Said And Done- Accomplished

Well the quarter of the adventure courses is over. I succeeded which was a huge accomplishment for being fresh out of surgery. The surgery ended up holding me back quite a bit. Not from the actual testing but from the practicing and performance. A lot of things I had to do left handed or with incorrect form, and a lot of it was risky. Who would of thought within two months after a shoulder surgery I would be rollerblading, rock climbing or mountain biking. It was quite the effort and I am very proud of myself and cohort. We all worked very hard to achieve what we did. One of my favorite parts of the quarter was watching others cheer each one another on and succeeding. You could tell everyone practiced very hard. One quote that came to mind while doing this was "The harder you practice; the harder it is to give up." This was definitely true because you could tell everyone worked especially hard because nobody wanted to give up or quit. Its nice to see our sense of teamwork and pride we hold within our cohort. These last two years getting to know this group of people has been amazing. I don't think I could have a better group of students to go through the program with. Everyone brings there own individuality and  personality to the table and I have had the most fun ever!

Circus Art Testing Day 2

Today was our last day of testing for Circus Arts. I had to really buckle down and try to accomplish the three activities I had left. They were the diablo, juggling and roller blading. I grew up roller blading so I wasn't too worried about that. I had never done the diablo though so I was pretty worried I would struggle. I kept on trying though and wasn't successful time after time. All I needed was six tricks and 30 seconds of performance. An hour passed and I hadn't finished yet. I was getting close. I felt like I had 20 tricks but my success rate was so low I couldn't get through my routine. As I rolled upon two hours, I tried and I finished. I got 7 tricks actually and I went for 8. My 8th trick was a toss and a 360 degree catch. I didn't get the success of the trick but I did get the Intermediate level success.

Circus Art Testing Day 1

Today was the big day. The whole quarter we have practiced for the circus arts so we could test at the end and either get advanced for intermediate status. Well since I got my shoulder surgery I didn't participate too much in the earlier classes. So this testing was going to take me by surprise. The main objective of the day was frisbee. I practiced for a bit then I went to town. I ended up using my left arm to throw and we had to get one forehand and the rest could be backhand. I have to give a lot of props to my catcher: Jason Wiley. He made me look like a professional even though I really am. I completed all of my passes then I caught five in a row to get two unexpected advanced grades.

Climb On! At Parshastin!

It was a beautiful day! Hot, no wind, and blue skies. Drew and I set out in the morning to the Wenatchee area and climb all day. The weather was extremely hot! It didn't take but a little walk up the hill and I was sweating a river. After all winter I was wishing for hot weather, and now I was looking for any shade I could. The goal for the day was to get 5 completed climbs, 3 ballets, and 1 repel done. Besides being too hot, and on the hot rock, the shoes were way to small and left blisters all over my feet. But, the day was successful and I accomplished all the climbs and got advanced in all the tests. After we got done climbing we went into Leavenworth and ate at a burger joint with all the volunteers and the movement class. After a long day of climbing, I think this might have been the most fun day of the quarter. It was the first time I actually did real rock climbing and I loved it. I definitely want to get into climbing because you don't realize how hard your working until your done climbing and off the rock.

Practicing Our Climbing

This day was extremely fun. Rock climbing is something I haven't done much of in my life but since I'm crazy and have no real fears it didn't phase me. We learned everything necessary to climbing so we would go to Pinnacle and climb. After we picked up all of our gear and learned how to correctly get ready to climb. We climbed on. I was the first climber and I was on the wall that leaned back so it was the most difficult. I made it halfway but didn't want to hurt my shoulder anymore then it already was, so I said, "Falling". As I fell I wrapped around another rope that was needed. They lowered me and the pulley at the very top of the wall had messed up. We unwrapped myself and got me all untied. Doc then came over and told us that one of us was going to have to climb to the very top and fix the pulley. As everyone went through and no one made it to the top everyone insisted I was the one that would have to go fix the pulley. Unfortunately, I got all ready to go up this rock wall. I set off climbing. I made it 3/4 the way and my hand started going numb. My forearms started cramping and I started getting worried I wouldn't make it. My group was relying on me though. I had to make it to the top. I waited for a second, gathered my composure and continued.  I made it within reasonable distance of the pulley, but not quite there and I fell. Luckily they caught me and I didn't drop at all. I was dangling from the top of a 40 foot rock wall. I was able to grab a hold of a cleat and go back on the wall, I grabbed that darn pulley and fixed it all up. I was the savior. I had done it, something I thought wouldn't be possible to do. I left the class feeling like I had conquered the world, which I had!

The Hardcore Bike Ride

At the beginning of this course, I had a hurt shoulder from surgery and was suspect to pass the class. As my physical therapy went on I took on the challenge of doing the hardcore bike ride. I knew this would be a definite challenge for me but I needed it. I set out today to accomplish this mountain we were riding up and down. Right when we started out, we went up the hardest spot of the trip. The first quarter mile was like riding on a beach with big boulders in the way. Limwell fell and my chain fell right off. Right then, I was wondering what I had gotten myself into. I kept working hard and rode even harder. I made it through this hardcore bike ride. I had a lot of fun riding bikes. After we got done I went and talk to my friend about other mountain biking we could do. I have taken bike riding up since then and am having a lot fun with it. It is a good workout and its something that when you do, you can't stop, you just gotta keep pushing yourself.

Hiking Mt Manashdash

Today we hiked Mt. Menashdash which is a few miles out of Ellensburg, Washington. The hike was to be about 3 miles long. It was a good workout and it was good time being in nature with my close classmates. We learned about the environment and learned a few different plants. This was  my first time ever hiking in an area that had rattler snakes. I am scared of snakes! We made it to the top and got some water, signed a log book and ate lunch in the beautiful weather. The view on top of this mountain was amazing. As we walked down the mountain we saw a Bull Snake. It was about ten feet in front of me and I my heart was ticking pretty fast as I started to run back up the mountain. Overall this was a great experience and I had a great time doing this!

Honors Camp, Day 3

The camp finished up and was a huge success. All the cohort had a lot of fun and got to spend quality time with each other. On Saturday night, Megan and Carli had a skit which they rocked. They did some Saturday Night Live skit where they danced around like goof balls. We also got to go swimming. Everyone dived in and the water was ICE cold. It was no joke straight glacier water. We didn't have much time to swim before we got back to camp for the next session. We had to get all packed up and clean up before our departure back to Ellensburg, Washington. I think the kids had a lot of fun and it was a good experience for everyone involved in it.

Honors Camp, Day 2

Today we set out to teach the kids a bunch of new activities and crafts. Since I didn't have a group I took mass video and am still in the making of putting it together. Some of the activities involved: dream catchers, making ice cream, frisbee golf, making shelters, and teamwork drills. We had meals, skits and songs in between and it turned out to be a successful day. Overall the whole cohort got to get to know and spend more time with each other.

Honors Camp, Day 1

It was a friday afternoon and we were done with class, we were on our way to Honors Camp in Lake Wenatchee, Washington. The only bad thing was, our group, the Tye Die Station, was not happening this weekend which was a major disappointment. Drew and I shipped out from Ellensburg, Washington on a two hour drive to the Northwest. When we got there we received our cabin assignments and got settled in. Friday was just a relaxing day for our cohort but the next two days would be rather strenuous so we were just relaxing. We went to dinner and then watched some skits which were rather funny. Jason, Vinny and Aaron had a good skit where Jason's arms were Aaron's and they messed up his face. 

Geocaching

Today we learned how to do the all mighty geocaching. The basis of geocaching is a different method of scavenger hunts using a GPS system. First we learned how to use the GPS and different methods of how to hunt for the geo's. We split into groups and every group had one geo bag they could hide anywhere on campus. Mark the location, give a hint, and record the location for the other groups.

After this and lunch was all said and done, the groups set out to find each others geo's. Some of the geo's were more obvious then others but we managed as a group to locate them all, get the prize inside the bag and record that we had found that specific geo. All in all it was a great day and got me more familiar with this teaching method. Even though walking around Central Washington Campus in 30 mile an hour wind gust isn't the most fun thing to do!

Orienteering

Last class we went over Orienteering. This was a totally new activity for me but very exciting and well worth it. The main objective, was to use a compass and figure what direction and area you were moving toward and how to find the direction. It is definitely a task that would take a lot of practice and something I couldn't see myself doing everyday. The one thing that orienteering will help me with in the future is my other lifelong skills such as hunting, fishing, hiking, and traveling generally speaking. Our second half of class, we walked around campus on a sort of treasure hunt. It was a unique way to get students out and moving. Even though the maps were a bit off, our students were out moving around and getting information. It takes a lot of teamwork and creativeness to find some of the scavenger challenges. It was a fun day, and now we'll have to see what next week brings us. GO FITNESS!

Another Day of Practice

I have been progressing in my practice of the circus arts and such. I still can't juggle, flower stick, el diablo or unicycle really well, but I'm going to be a professional when its all said and done. I see everyone in the whole cohort has been doing a lot better and I think we're all having a fun time. We were suppose to go mountain biking the other day but the weather was cold and rainy. So we decided to continue practicing other activities that will be on the skills test. I'm getting more and more excited for the Honor Camp in a few weekends, but next we'll be Orienteering.

Pains of Bike Riding

At first I would have never thought that riding bikes would have been as difficult as it was. I grew up on BMX bikes but mountain biking is a totally different story. Going down hills wasn't the issue for me but going up hills was a lot tougher then I thought it would be. Riding bikes is definitely a different type of shape rather then the typical walking and jogging. The next day, I awake and went to my first class of the day and sat down. My bottom seemed to ache and I couldn't figure out what the deal was. It didn't take long for me to put it all together. The mountain biking had really taken a toll on me the day before. Now i'll be riding bikes a lot more to get into that type of shape, and it seemed to be a pretty fun day, especially with the 80 degree weather!

My First Day

The day I entered the class and recieved the syllabus and information was a bit intimidating. I realized I had enrolled in a class that required me to practice skills I have never performed or even practiced. The content contained juggling, unicycle riding, mountain climbing and more. After covering the skills and information in the syllabus I had changed from scared to profoundly excited that I get such a fun oppurtunity. YAY