SURPRISE BABY SHOWER

On April 3rd, 2009 the Women of AE put together a surprise party for Dione who is expecting a beautiful baby girl named Devyn Taylor Quinn sometime within the next month. It was a complete surprise and she was certainly fooled when she pulled into the driveway. The night consisted of a 15 pound roast, potatoes, green beans, broccoli, an amazing ice cream sandwich desert and thanks to the list Jan made, plenty of Soda. Of course, she won't admit this but the Cherry Pepsi that didn't make her list was the hit of the party!! (sorry, inside joke) Dione got some wonderful gifts from baby clothes and diapers to a rose bush she can plant in her back yard...(when the snow disappears...sorry another inside joke). The party was just a great time that the whole AE family could get together and be a part of this wonderful time in Dione's life. I know she's in pain right now but she's handling it like an absolute super hero and the end of the beginning is in sight. So, again, we love you Dione and we wish you nothing but happiness in your upcoming adventure and we are all right here for you if you need anything!! Dione, Chad, and Caleb and Devyn. Has a nice ring to it doesn't it? :)

ps- My pick is April 24th, I know it's early but Devyn and D if you could help me out a little bit that would be great :)

( SURPRISE!!! It worked...she had no idea)
(Jan, Chad, Matt, Mia, Annette, Jesse, Bob, Josh, Kaysie, John, Sheron, Karen, Nick, Caleb, Aaron, and Greg)

(The happy Momma and the Tattooed Brother)

(The happy expecting Parents) :)

(Creativity at it's finest..haha...this is the first thing she saw when she pulled in an hour and a half later than we expected!!) So worth it!!

SPRING IS COMING!!

HAHA told ya Spring was coming :)

The weather might toy with us back and forth over the next couple weeks but there is no doubt that spring is indeed on it's way. The last couple months have been fun. Two boys cycles, a girls cycle, a St. Lawrence county Cycle, and a Visually Impaired reunion all since the first of the year have kept us all here at AE very busy. The groups went very well though and we have had reports of of grades improving in several kids, another few have completely stopped smoking, and many are reporting great changes in their lives. It has been a successful start to the year for all of us here. The staff might get a little goofy sometimes but we always seem to find just enough humor in everything to keep on keeping on :) Matt's new baby Mia is beautiful and getting very big. Matt's son Jesse will be turning 2 this summer and he is also doing well. Dione is due for her second child in about a month, but I think I speak for her when I say she wouldn't care if it came out today!! She is healthy though and we are throwing a surpise shower for her in about 2 hours!! I will post pics on a later blog posting. Her other son Caleb is also doing very well and is always a energy boost when he comes to see us!! :) John is getting anxious to get out on the golf course and is counting down the days. His other grand-children are also doing very well minus a golf club to Levi's head courtesy of his older brother Noah (he's a champ though and was only left with a nice shiner). Kaysie is just about done with her EMT class which will be a huge weight off her shoulders I'm sure. As for myself (Aaron), I have not been up to much at all besides work. I will graduate with my Master's Degree in Special Education on August 14th of this year. Kaysie and I have no kids to discuss!! Finally, we recently had a meeting with both Jefferson County and the Fort Drum Army base to discuss possible contracts and both places are very excited about working further with us. There is a contract pending with Jefferson county and Fort Drum is a positive work in progress. So, here's to the upcoming spring and summer!

(Told ya we get goofy sometimes!!)

(She loves orienteering!)


(Matt on Cascade Lake)

(Aaron on Cascade Lake)

(Beautiful View from the top of Mt. Jo)

Golf Tourny!!!

GOLF TOURNAMENT!!!!

Ladies and gentlemen, the Adirondack Experience is proud to announce that we will be holding the 2nd annual AE golf tournament August 17th of this year. The tournament was very successful last year and we raised over $5000 to benefit the youth of the Northern New York. We are hoping to go bigger and better this year with more great prizes, great raffles, and just as much fun!! Thank you so much to our sponsors last year and we will be in contact soon about this years tournament. So...save the date, August 17th. Look for a flyer in the mail if you participated last year or give us a call at 518-523-1718 if you have any questions. Thanks Again! Cya on the course :)

(Last years tournament participants)

Thank You ORDA and VI Kids

The Olympic Authority has been awesome lately in helping us to provide our participants with new and fun activities. Most recently they have offered us a trip to whiteface mountain and they allowed our visually impaired group to skate for free on the olympic oval under the lights. The generous workers at the bobsled run allowed us access for free to their park as well. Having these opportunities made the week long event with these kids simply amazing. Students left with such comments as "memories for a lifetime", "I can't wait to take these friendships further", and "I love this place so much, I can't believe I have to wait so long to come back again". It's because of the time and the awesome experiences we have with them that they feel loved and in return we feel the same. As tears fell from their eyes leaving us today, we look forward to this summer when they return and we look forward to new and exciting ways to build strong relationships with both the Visually Impaired kids as well as the community. Thank You again ORDA for playing a big role in that. Also, we would like to thank Bowlwinkles for allowing us to go bowling at an extremely low cost and the Toboggan Chute on Mirror Lake for letting us go sledding for the low price of a plate of brownies :) The kids had the time of their lives this week and so did the staff :) Below you can see a few pictures of the kids doing a few activities as well as a short video clip of the first ever Visually Impaired/Blind Broomball game!!! Blaise is also playing his violin for us in the picture below. In a related note, he raised over 200 dollars for our program just by simply playing. Great Job Blaise! The group of four below is the chair activity and the boys held on to this for a new record of 3 mins and 4 secs!!! Yeah Boys!!! All in all it was a fantastic week and these young men and women will be missed. Remember Olivia and the rest of you, "It's not goodbye, it's only until next time".

(Off to the right you can see some of our kids watching or listening to the bobsled fly by)

(Chair Activity...Blaise, Olivia ;) hahaha, Matt, and Rachel)

(The ladies man himself (Blaise) and his instrument of choice)

(First ever Visually Impaired/Blind Broomball Game)

*This game was extremely successful and so much fun. It ended with some bumps and bruises but I think everyone would agree that they were well worth it*

December Newsletter

Hey all, here is our newsletter for December. Hope this finds everyone happy and healthy. And before we know it, it will be 2009, Happy New Year!

First 46er

For the first time in over 8 years, a girl's group here at the Adirondack Experience made it up a 46er. On a day where the temperatures were in the teens at the base of the mountain, and the trail was covered in ice, the girls slowly made their way all the way to the summit. The top of Cascade mountain was bitter and extremely cold but each girl literally crawled to the top. We left the house at 10am, started the climb at about 10:15am, reached the top at about 1:15. We then left and came down to the van at about 4:20. It was a long day of hiking but the girls just kept on going. It was a great day for us all and the view was fantastic on top. The following day left a few of the girls sore and tired but I'm sure the experience of being over 4000 feet up will stay with them forever. All in all a great day of hiking. We made it to the top and back to the bottom on a chilly day with only a few minor slips and zero injuries! :)

(This is the summit of Cascade, John is just coming off the top)
(View of the Great Range)

(Junction for Porter and Cascade Mtn.)

(Each girl standing around the dial on the very top of Cascade)

Fall Fun :)

Sooooo.....got a little tricky with the tape and decided that kaysie needed to be locked in the "jail". Just part of the fun we have here even when the kids aren't here :) There was a pair of little blue spandex you cant see that made their way on to kaysie in order for her to get out...and she eventually freed herself from her office! The girls group who left last week was great and was certainly a success. That girls group were also the unwilling participants in the greatest scare ever by John, Matt, and myself. Kaysie and Christina helped from the inside of the cabin! Coyote calls are a wonderful thing!! Friday is a good day today and monday we have a boys group coming in for two weeks. Also, the electric company and village water hooked us up with several dump truck loads of free wood chips to place on our facility so a big thank you to them. We had snow on the ropes course yesterday so it looks like winter is just around the corner. Stay warm everyone, have a great weekend, and enjoy the end of fall!!

I think this might be fake, but still funny...sorry girls...we love you :)