Tomorrow it will be a year since we brought Jalen Andrew into our home. It was actually February 29th, but that day won't roll around again for another 3 years, so we celebrated his A Day today. For those of you who don't know, we celebrate our kids' Adoption Day or Arrival Day - it is the day we first met them and welcomed them into our family. On the anniversary of that day, we go and do something together as a family. Some of the things that we have done in the past are going to see a movie, playing goofy golf at Castles and Coasters, going for a hike, going bowling, setting up the tent in the playroom and "camping out" in it, actually going camping, going to Playtime Oasis, etc. The child usually dictates what it is they want to do with the family. Whatever we end up doing, it always turns out to be fun and memorable for the kids.
For Jalen Andrew's first A Day, today, we went to EastLake Park at Jefferson and 16th St. in Phoenix to attend a free West African dance class. It was taught by the Kawambe-Omowle African Drum and Dance Theatre. They offer the class every Saturday morning. It was AMAZING! We really had a great time, and learned a lot. Jalen Andrew wasn't too interested in dancing but was enthralled with the African drums. Erik and I, and the girls, switched off holding him while we danced. Talk about a workout! The dance created quite the pull on the muscles anyway, but then trying to do the dance steps (all the while bouncing on the balls of your feet) and holding a child, gave our muscles quite the burn. I also danced quite a bit while holding James, who's even heavier. He wanted nothing to do with the dancing at all. Oh well, we can't make everyone happy. Amazingly enough we really didn't get any complaints from the older 3, and they gave it a great effort.
Ooh-da-lolly though . . . my calves, toes, the arches of my feet, and my hips/tushy are feeling the workout even still - some 12 hours later. It really was fun! I hope that we can spare another Saturday sometime to participate with them again.
We weren't allowed to take pictures in there because the instructors are also paid performers, so we took a family photo outside of the gym under a huge Arizona flag. The flag was part of a memorial built there at the park to commerate the peaceful protests and rallies that happened there in that park during the Civil Rights movement. The EastLake Park was actually created in the 1880's to give recreation to the patrons of the trolley, but it later became a place where "people of color could come together to relax and celebrate special events without violating separatist laws." Although the state and nation had upheaval during the Civil Rights Movement, EastLake Park was a place used for peaceful demonstrations.
What a history! I didn't even know anything about the park until we went there today. All in all it was a nice way to celebrate Jalen Andrew's special day, and a nice way to finish out the last day of Black History month.
Glad you're in our family, Jalen Andrew! We sure do love you!
Tomorrow it will be a year since we brought Jalen Andrew into our home. It was actually February 29th, but that day won't roll around again for another 3 years, so we celebrated his A Day today. For those of you who don't know, we celebrate our kids' Adoption Day or Arrival Day - it is the day we first met them and welcomed them into our family. On the anniversary of that day, we go and do something together as a family. Some of the things that we have done in the past are going to see a movie, playing goofy golf at Castles and Coasters, going for a hike, going bowling, setting up the tent in the playroom and "camping out" in it, actually going camping, going to Playtime Oasis, etc. The child usually dictates what it is they want to do with the family. Whatever we end up doing, it always turns out to be fun and memorable for the kids.
For Jalen Andrew's first A Day, today, we went to EastLake Park at Jefferson and 16th St. in Phoenix to attend a free West African dance class. It was taught by the Kawambe-Omowle African Drum and Dance Theatre. They offer the class every Saturday morning. It was AMAZING! We really had a great time, and learned a lot. Jalen Andrew wasn't too interested in dancing but was enthralled with the African drums. Erik and I, and the girls, switched off holding him while we danced. Talk about a workout! The dance created quite the pull on the muscles anyway, but then trying to do the dance steps (all the while bouncing on the balls of your feet) and holding a child, gave our muscles quite the burn. I also danced quite a bit while holding James, who's even heavier. He wanted nothing to do with the dancing at all. Oh well, we can't make everyone happy. Amazingly enough we really didn't get any complaints from the older 3, and they gave it a great effort.
Ooh-da-lolly though . . . my calves, toes, the arches of my feet, and my hips/tushy are feeling the workout even still - some 12 hours later. It really was fun! I hope that we can spare another Saturday sometime to participate with them again.
We weren't allowed to take pictures in there because the instructors are also paid performers, so we took a family photo outside of the gym under a huge Arizona flag. The flag was part of a memorial built there at the park to commerate the peaceful protests and rallies that happened there in that park during the Civil Rights movement. The EastLake Park was actually created in the 1880's to give recreation to the patrons of the trolley, but it later became a place where "people of color could come together to relax and celebrate special events without violating separatist laws." Although the state and nation had upheaval during the Civil Rights Movement, EastLake Park was a place used for peaceful demonstrations.
What a history! I didn't even know anything about the park until we went there today. All in all it was a nice way to celebrate Jalen Andrew's special day, and a nice way to finish out the last day of Black History month.
Glad you're in our family, Jalen Andrew! We sure do love you!
1 comment:
That sounds like a lot of fun! What a neat tradition!
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