Making memories one day at a time.......and then I write about it.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Special Olympics Part Two. A Story Told In Photos


The Native's watching.  Cheering for Levi.  Until three games of bowling got a little long winded and Mr. J the little twerp asked The SM if he could use that swipey thing so he could go and play some games in the arcade section of the bowling alley.  A little confused at first, The SM soon realized the punk was asking for his credit card! 

 

Levi made a friend right off the bat.  Kamal.  The two were an absolute riot and entertained each other the entire three hours.  You behave Kamal would tell Levi.  No, YOU behave Levi would tell Kamal and then the two would burst into a fit of laughter pointing and laughing at each other.  

 

The SM trying to work and cheer on Levi.  Not sure he got much work done but beings as he was gone for a week and was able to get home for this special day despite cancelled flights and snow storms, we were thrilled. 

 

Cool shirt!  Thanks to the Lehi team for lending Levi a shirt so he could feel like he fit in!

 

It begins......  we take careful aim......... and hope the ball knocks the pins to oblivion!

 

This is harder than it looks.  Getting your little fingers in those holes just right..... takes concentration.

 

You got some Levi!  You knocked some pins down!

 

I love you Levi.  You're doing a great job!

 

Come to Levi!



Thumbs up!  It's a hit.  Roger that.



It's looking like.........

 

Yup!  Houston.  We made contact!


 

Sometimes things didn't go so well.  We tried using the force.  We tilted our bodies trying to get the ball to listen.  It didn't listen.



Fingers Levi.  Remember, don't shove the ball down the ramp.  Just use your fingers.  It's okay.  We'll try again.

 

Maybe if we try this technique we might have a better grip on the ball......  anything is worth a try....


 

Add sticking our tongue out and we might just come up with a secret strategy.

 

It worked!  STRRRRIIIIIIKE!



Booo YAAAA!  Levi's a rock star!

 

Rocket Levi!

 

The peanut gallery.  This is when it appears the photographer started to get bored taking photos of just bowling.

 

Curious.  I wonder who the photographer is...........  I just found it really interesting that several of these types of photos kept showing up at random throughout the almost 700 photos that were taken....

 

The awards ceremony.   Kamal!  They're calling your name!  You won the bronze!! 



What?  Doth our ears deceive us?  Nahhhh!  Of course not.  We already knew Levi is gold.  Having a gold medal to put around one's neck lets others know what we already know.

 

Sorry about the pixelated faces but I forgot to ask if these fine people were okay with me putting their photos up on my blog.  Shaking hands with Levi after putting his gold medal around his neck.

 

Did I mention Levi got the gold?  Here, he'll show you.

 

The best part of the whole experience.  Levi making a new friend.  Having friends is golden.

 

So is having family that loves and supports you.

 

Even if they are a bunch of gremlins.

19 comments:

  1. Mr. C - holy cats. Did he get a cramp in that thumb eventually? Credit card - oh, baby - come the years ahead . . .

    LEVI!! GOLD!! You know who else is gold? His coach. That one with the short dark hair? And the huge eyes and the mobile face - the one bursting with love and pride? Yeah - that one. I'm also partial to the one who made it home through wind and snow and frozen rivers.

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  2. WHOO HOO LEVI!!!!!!!!!!!!! He's such a cutie! It's so great that he got the gold!!! GOOD JOB LEVI!! (and all the family that cheered for him :) )

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  3. Thanks for sharing this; it just made my day to see such beautiful moments. You guys are the best!

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  4. I'm with the rest...Gold Medals all around! Congratulations to Levi and his TERRIFIC support team!

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  5. Way to go Levi! What a great experience for him and his support team. LOVE the photo story! And don't worry about the pixelated faces, Levi's the one I wanted to see in those pics. :D

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  6. You know what totally pierced my heart about this story in pictures?? The pictures of your other children looking on and the pride and genuine love they have for each other. I couldn't stop looking at those. So sweet. You are such a wonderful mother. Wonderful!

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  7. Congratulations, Levi!!! I'm not so good at bowling. Looks likeyou are AWESOME!!!

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  8. What a happy, happy day!

    I'm just smiling to beat the band right now.

    Congratulations to Levi and his entire support team!

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  9. Kristen, The kid is trigger happy. Good thing it's digital eh?

    YOU are a golden friend.

    Hanna, It was SO exciting!

    Elizabeth, I'm glad I made your day because you know what? IT'S THE WEEKEND! A HOLIDAY WEEKEND AT THAT!!!

    Alex, Thanks for the tips Alex. We used them. :D

    Korrie, Thank you! It was an awesome day. For all of us.

    Chastina, I should have pixelated my face too then. ;) JK

    Tami, You are wonderful. Thank you for helping me to feel like maybe I'm not quite sludge. They really are good kids. I am very blessed. I can't take credit. They came that way, and Levi has taught us all A LOT! I can't imagine our home without him.

    Lyndee, Me either! I totally stink at bowling! Scary I was helping him!

    Anaise, We're all still smiling. Levi has that effect.

    Jody, Mine too! The cool thing was when one of my teenagers called home from school. He wasn't able to come because of end of term testing. He had a break in classes, called home, and asked how Levi did. That really touched me. Maybe there's hope for these punks after all!

    Kathy, Awesome. Yup! That about sums it up.

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  10. you are all a bunch of dog gone rock stars. the whole lot of you.

    beautiful. beautiful family and beautiful friends.

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  11. You guys look like you had the best day :-)

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  12. LOVE the pictures! Good job, LEVI!

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  13. That should be made into a book.

    Way to go, Levi. Natalie/Sister Parke is so, SO proud of you!

    And Rachel, I don't think there is a better mother on earth than you.

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  14. Way cool! :D I laughed with delight as I read this. Way to go Levi (and mom! ;)!

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  15. I can't believe it took me a week to get to see this! It's so sweet it makes me cry. Gramma K

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