Family Retreat part 2

DAY 4

Breakfast again.....have I mentioned how good the food is?  ;)  They had this baked oatmeal that was like heaven.  I've never even heard of baked oatmeal before this weekend but my first thought on our first morning back home was "Oh man...I don't get to have baked oatmeal!" 

Same routine in the morning.  Split up, worship, teaching, small groups.

We came back together for lunch and then had free time.  This is the day Oksana had been waiting for.  The one thing she wanted to do was go horseback riding.  It rained all morning and I thought for sure it would be cancelled but the skies cleared and 5 minutes before she was to ride they made the decision to move forward!  Anya rode a horse once about a year ago and hated it so I didn't even sign her up.  They encouraged us to give it a try anyway.  Her STM rode with her and she LOVED it!  They let both girls go twice since they were having so much fun!

After horses we went to do boats.  There were many choices.  You could kayak, canoe, go tubing, ride a pontoon boat, etc.  Evan and I went kayaking while everyone waited for the pontoon boat and then we all went for a beautiful ride.  The kids all got to take a turn driving the boat!

I'll point out here that we had hardly seen our boys until Evan decided to join us for boats.  They were off having a blast with the sibs.  They pretty much spent as much time with them as they could.  Evan would pop in to do some activities with us but Clayton found a group of kids that he really clicked with and he had so much fun.  The sib group leader would often meet up with them and sometimes they would discuss the challenges of living with a sibling with a disability or just hang out and play games together.

After dinner the night time activity was date night :).  Moms and dads were given a wonderful dinner and then sat by the pool, went on a boat ride, or just enjoyed the beautiful scenery together.  While we had date night the kids were bouncing in bounce houses, watching movies, and having a blast!

DAY 5

This was our last full day.  After our usual morning routine we met up for lunch and realized that Oksana could barely keep her eyes open.  Lack of sleep is a big trigger for her behaviors and she was having so much fun that she was doing surprisingly well but it was starting to hit her.  We made the decision to go back to our apartment after lunch and take an hour or so to rest.  We didn't make her sleep but she just hung out on the couch with me and relaxed for awhile.  That seemed to perk her up.  Now it was a rather chilly day this day but Oksana still had something on her to do list....swimming.  Oh boy.  It was a heated pool so I agreed to go with her.  Larry thought we were insane!  The pool wasn't extremely warm but at least we weren't freezing; however, when it was time to get out it was absolutely miserable!  Oh well.  We warmed up well and then went to play on the beach for awhile.  Clayton hung out with the sibs, Evan decided to go kayaking again, and then after baths we all went to dinner. 

The evening event on this day was a talent show!  I debated skipping it to put Oksana to bed early but everyone encouraged us to go and I'm so glad we did!  It was really fun.  The girls sang a song with all of the kids that they had been practicing throughout the week.  While all of the kids nicely stood and sang Oksana broke out into interpretive dance and Anya wandered around making her STM chase her :). We also got to see a beautiful girl with DS play the piano, a boy with DS do an awesome dance routine, a sibling sing a song from Frozen, and tons more.  It was a blast. 

After the talent show we put the girls to bed but the boys went to sing karaoke with the sibs.  No, they didn't sing, they just watched but it was fun.


You can see Oksana in the back dancing.
 

DAY 6 - Last day :(

No one in our family wanted to leave!  Truthfully it was time.  Oksana was still exhausted.  She could barely keep her eyes open.  I think it really was the perfect amount of time.  Much more and we would have been all "funned" out :).  Instead we left anxious to go back the next year.  On this day we all had breakfast and then the STMs took the girls to play while we went with the boys to pack up.  We all met up after that for closing ceremony.  At the closing ceremony people could come up and share something about the week that impacted them.  It was so sweet.  Many people came forward but I will always remember the man with DS who cried and thanked his STM over and over and over again, telling him how much he will miss him.  Then there was the young lady who cried and said that so many people here have a disability and it isn't strange.  It was really cool.  After a quick video montage of the week (you could purchase these and, of course, we had to have one) it was time to say good bye.  The boys begged for 10 more minutes to get contact info for the sibs and we loaded the girls up and then cried and cried when we said goodbye to our STMs.  Those young ladies were incredible and they were a big reason we had such a great time. 

The sibs sitting together at closing ceremony.

We were home that night and it definitely felt good to sleep in our own beds.  Now we have started counting down to family retreat 2015 :).