sunday wrap up

Well hello there! It's Sunday night and life is great here in 14b. Everyone is pretty tired from an amazing weekend. I came home to the guys hyper from the fun. Joel's sister Kate came to visit on Friday night, and they had a great time. They went out to eat and then went and got some doughnuts after. He was so excited when I asked him about it. Joel LOVES his sisters. Ben's father came to go to the football game on Saturday... and they had a great time (even though it rained a whole bunch). Justin hung around most of the weekend. He went onto campus some and caught up on some rest.

Camp was great for me. I helped out in the kitchen where we served 530 college students 4 meals. It was hectic and a lot of work, but it was great. It rained on us too. I feel Ben's pain. I had to catch a possum this weekend too!!! That was fun. He was stuck on the porch of one of the families at camp. We had a time getting that thing out.

Today was WONDERFUL though. The weather was perfect. The sun was shining. It was not too hot. A perfect day to be outside. The guys seem to be bonding much more lately. They are talking a lot more with each other. They are hanging out more often. I knew it would take a while for them to get comfortable and start to branch out of their own little bubble... they are doing so great though.

Some things we are excited about tonight:

1) visits from family

2) grocery shopping (we have a lot of fun doing this)

3) fall break

4) Star Wars clone wars - evidently there are new episodes coming on Friday night?!?

5) football games (this was from Joel)

6) Yoga (new favorite class)

7) TOPS soccer on Tuesday

Busy week! Maybe we'll find some time to call home...

Meet 14B

This is the first installment of "Meet 14B." Our first contestant is our good friend Ben.

What is your name?

Ben Sanders

Where are you from?

Charlotte, NC

Do you have any brothers or sisters?

Yes; One brother and one sister. Alex and Alina

Who is your best friend?

Caitlyn (another ClemsonLIFE-er)

What do you like to do for fun?

Read books, play video games, go see movies, take walks

What is your favorite type of food?

Chinese and Mexican

What is your favorite type of music to listen to?

Techno music

What is your favorite TV show?

Friends

What is your favorite color?

Purple

Do you like sports?

Yes; I like football, basketball and soccer

What is your favorite book?

Harry Potter... all of them

What is your favorite thing about Clemson?

Meeting new friends and going to sporting events.

What is the most important thing you have learned so far?

How to do math better, keeping your room clean, and fire safety.

rain rain go away

It's been rainy the past few days. So we've been hanging around inside. Ben, Caitlyn and I went to see "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" on Friday night. It was really good. Funny movie. We all loved it. Justin hung around the apartment and watched a few movies while we were gone. Joel hung out with his parents at the lake. Needless to say, Friday was a good start to the weekend.

On Saturday morning, Ben and Justin slept in while I got ready for the big game. My friend Sean got me an extra ticket to the game so I brought our resident sports expert Joel along for the game. We went to tailgate and had breakfast burritos and monkey bread. It was soooo good. Then we headed into the game. We sat towards the west end zone, on the 10 yard line, about 15 rows up. Great seats. It looked like it was going to rain but at the start of the game no sign of rain yet. The Tigers were up at half time... but the skies looked a little more grey. Rain was on its way. Around the 2nd minute into the third quarter we felt a few drops, which turned into a light mist, which turning into a steady rain. Then we had a lightning delay. We waited it out. 30 minutes later the game started back and then the rain came again. This time it rained a lot harder. 5 minutes later... another lighting delay. By this time we were soaking we and decided to call it quits. We held out as long as possible. Here's a picture when we got home.

We were just a little wet. This was our "we want to be dry and warm" faces.

Joel couldn't keep the face for long though...

The tigers won and all is good here in TigerTown. Saturday night we got together with the girls next door and had a pizza party (yum), watched some football and then turned in for bed.

Today, Ben got to go see his sister play soccer in Greenville. He was so excited to go but got a great rain experience as well. It just wasn't our luck this weekend. Now we are making some lasagna and veggies, cleaning up our rooms, and finishing up some homework. Should be a nice end to a great weekend.

Clemson Life

The ClemsonLIFE program is an amazing program that is brand new here. They had a trial run last Spring, and we are now in our first full year. We have 11 students: 3 guys, 8 girls. There are 4 LifeCoaches (Amy, Jason, McKenzie, and Tiffany). We are living in two different places. My group and Amy's group reside on campus in the Lightsey Bridge II apartments. The other two groups live off-campus (but not too far from campus) in the Tillman Place apartments. The LIFEcoaches simply help out in daily tasks, are around in case of emergencies, and help coordinate with volunteers.

The LIFE in ClemsonLIFE stands for Learning Is For Everyone. And it's true. The mission of the ClemsonLIFE Program is to provide a coordinated course of study that includes career exploration and preparation along with self-awareness, discovery, and personal improvement through a framework of courses, job internships, and community participation.

It is a great program geared towards individuals with Intellectual disabilities. From my first-hand experience, everyone involved in the program truly has a desire to see these students grow and gain some experience in hopes that they will one day be able to succeed as adults in everyday society. Most every student in the program has learned a TON so far.

You may be thinking that these students can just live at home and take some classes on independent living, life skills, etc. and learn just as much. I will tell you no. Not at all. The amount of time spent with others and the number of people met while living on campus is tremendous. This has the greatest impact and really makes the whole experience worth while. Every day my guys come home talking about the volunteers (buddies as they call them) they hung out with at lunch or dinner. They will mention what homework is due the next day, but most of the conversations deal with the people they meet.

It truly is a great program. As someone who is going into teaching, I can see how this program will succeed and have a lasting impact. I am loving hanging out with my guys. It truly is a blessing and I am looking forward to the rest of the semester and year.

well well well....

Sorry people. My computer has been in the shop and therefore it is not as easy for me to get to this blog. I have been running from my Ipod touch (amazing) but it won't let me update the blog from there. Something about this site won't pull up correctly on there. So sorry. Forgive me?

Things have been great in the past week or so. The guys are in the groove of classes, busy with homework and enjoying the weekends. This past weekend Trey (an alternate) stayed with the guys. They had a great time. It's raining right now and looks like it will rain for the next few days, but Ben and I have started to go out and walk around the apartment complex a little more. It really has been great to get out and just walk around. Ben is so outgoing and is always ready to go do something fun. We're planning to go across the street to the SC Botanical Gardens soon. Ben went last year and said it was wonderful. I'm excited.

The guys started up the TOPS soccer league last week. Tonight's may be rained out though. They are helping out with the younger kids. They seem to LOVE it. Ben is giving a presentation tonight along with the two girls from last year. I guess Joel and Justin will just have a night to catch up on homework and such.

I promised a write up on each guy and the program. That's what I'll do the next few days. So look forward to that.

Joel is so, so, so excited to see him family this weekend. I thought this was neat (and so did Joel)... but Joel and his parents are staying at a family friend's house on Lake Keowee. Evidently that family has a son that has Downs Syndrome just like Joel. I thought that was great. Ben's sister has a soccer tournament in Greenville this weekend. He is rather excited as well to see his sister play. I may try to round up the guys and go watch the Championship on Sunday. Yes... they will make it to the Championship. No pressure though.

Clemson had a heart-break last Thursday. All the guys were glued to the TV watching the game. We almost turned it off after the first quarter but we were faithful and watched it until the end. We lost to a good team. We looked pretty bad the first quarter... but the last three gave us some hope. Game against Boston College should be a good one. More to come.

Thanks for reading. Should be more consistent now that my lovely computer is back up.

Jason

week 3

It's the start of week 3. Ben's mom took this picture yesterday, and I thought it was a good one. Ben's mom came and took Ben for a little shopping trip. He got the movie Transformers (amazing) and we watched it last night. Good times. Justin's mom came and got us a cover for our futon... so now we have a Clemson orange futon. Very appropriate. Joel's parents live a little further away so they haven't stopped by yet... but... it's ok. Joel still "almost" misses them. We'll be excited when they do make the journey though. I think they are coming soon though...

This weekend was a crazy one. The parade was so much fun. This just got us pumped up for the game on Saturday. And it was a good one. We started off the day by a wonderful pancake breakfast. I think this may become a game day tradition. Then we hung around, did a little laundry, and headed over towards the stadium around 3:00. We went to the "Tiger Walk." Coach Dabo started this last year when he took over. From what I understand, he wanted the players to see how much support they had outside the stadium. So they ride on the buses and get off in the west end zone tailgate area. There was a ton of people there. It was packed 10 or 15 deep for a good 200 yards or so to the stadium. There were cheers and chants and the guys jumped right in... not always remembering the words... but we made some noise. Then we went to a tailgate with the letterman's club. It was sooo good. Barbecue sandwiches, chicken fingers and some good ole South Carolina sweet tea. We hung around there for a good while and then headed over to the stadium.

I was anxious to see the reactions from the guys about their first big college football experience. We sat about 15 rows up on the side of the west end zone. Great seats. Right in the action. The stadium was buzzing with excitement. I was explaining to the guys about Clemson's famous entrance to the stadium, and I just felt like I could not put it into words. Five minutes later... they were living it. And it did not disappoint. The players walked to rub the rock and our guys went nuts. They were all jumping up and down and screaming. The Clemson band started that familar tune of "Tiger Rag" and the players ran down the hill. We screamed some more. The lined up for the kickoff and ,CJ Spiller ran it all the way back... touchdown. The place went nuts. Our guys went nuts. It was a great moment. You can check it out here.

It started to rain in the second quarter... but we weren't tired yet. We were a pretty roudy bunch. Definitely a memory for us all. After the 3rd quarter and a 20-something point lead, we walked back in the rain... which was more fun than imagined. Long, but memorable day. Sunday we all caught up on some rest. Joel went to church at Crosspoint. I joined some of the girls at Clemson Pres. Ben and Justin got ready for their family to drop in.

We cooked some hamburger helper, corn, and veggies for dinner last night. They all pitched in and did great... I'll post some cooking pictures soon. It's been a great 3 weeks and we're looking forward to more of it. Thanks for stopping by to read...

GAME DAY!

Quick post. Got to go get ready for the game. Computer is still under the weather. It should be fixed early next week! Last night was the First Friday parade. It was amazing. Everyone had a great time. Definitely an anticipation builder. The guys are so excited about the game. I'll try to get a picture of us all in our orange gear.

Here are a few pictures from last night and of our pancake spread this morning...

More to come!