AE Blog

Pictures and Videos

2010-02-04T09:48:00.006-05:00

Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, Children of all ages....here are a bunch of pictures that update you on whats been going on here at AE. Enjoy :) We have had some great kids in the program in the past few months. The golf tournament was a great success this past summer with over $7,000 raised. Several donations have come in to help out as well in recent months. We all enjoyed our time off in December as well. All the families are doing very well and we wish you the best in the beginning of this new year.

SURPRISE BABY SHOWER

2009-04-06T14:37:00.006-04:00

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!!

2009-04-03T13:49:00.002-04:00

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!!!

2009-02-24T14:43:00.002-05:00

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

2009-02-20T14:10:00.012-05:00

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

2008-12-08T10:36:00.003-05:00

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

2008-11-20T08:48:00.005-05:00

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 :)

2008-10-24T10:30:00.008-04:00

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 :)

FIRST SNOW!! :)

2008-10-06T10:59:00.006-04:00

Leaving work on friday and returning on Sunday for a quick trip to the Loj road and was greeted both times by a beautiful view of Marcy, Grey and Colden. The road was lined with cars taking pictures of the first snow to grace the top of the peaks. The sunshine made it a breathtaking view and I couldn't help but pull over and join the tourists in taking pictures. I'm sorry the quality of the pictures are not that great but I didn't have my good camera with me and one of them was taken with my phone. I don't think they do the view justice but I tried :)

Till next time
Aaron

Festive Fall

2008-09-30T09:16:00.001-04:00

Any of you currently residing in the ADKS already know how exceptionally beautiful this fall is. (Maybe it's nature's payback for the very wet summer). Either way, all of us at AE are enjoying every morsel of the views. The above pics were taken by a friend of the staff from the top of Mt. VanHovenburg this weekend.

September 2008 Newsletter

2008-09-18T13:28:00.000-04:00

Remember, If you would like to recieve AE's newsletter 4x a year, just email christina@adkexp.com.

Staff Training :)

2008-09-16T08:40:00.006-04:00

(This is absolutely the truth!!!)

So the weekend of September 12th and 13th gave myself and Kaysie the opportunity to do a little staff training out at Bushnell falls and to hit a couple of the high peaks. Mt. Haystack and Mt. Marcy are supposed to be 2 of the most beautiful views in the entire Adirondack park...key word..."supposed" to be. After departing the garden trail and hiking in in the dark on Sept 12th, we woke up early on the 13th to start our climb. Our intent was to hit skylight and grey as well but the weather had other plans. Rain and severe winds kept us from reaching the final 2 mountains but we were able to climb Marcy and Haystack. This being my first time up Marcy I was very excited. It has always been a dream of mine to climb Marcy and now I can say I have done it, even though Kaysie hates that mountain (0-4 on views), she hiked it with me! I'll have to give it another shot sometime and after looking at the pictures (below) you'll understand why. The video posted is on top of Marcy and all I could do was laugh because at that point, I just couldnt believe how hard the wind and rain was pelting me in the face. I hope you enjoy the pics and video as much as I enjoyed taking them. The weather may have won this battle and cut our trip short, we came out a day and several peaks short of our goal, but I live in Placid now and I will most definitely be back!! Enjoy!! :)

TOP OF MT. MARCY (Kaysie and Aaron)

* This video is from the very summit of Marcy...I told ya I couldn't help but laugh :) *

Hangin Around

2008-07-07T13:35:00.003-04:00

So while the kids aren't here, different projects need to get done around the facility and while working on the leap of faith maintenence...I thought I'd just "hang around" a little bit up there. This is John's camera phone which is entertainment in itself! Just thought I'd let you know that we are always trying to improve things here at AE, but we like to have a little fun while we do it too!!! :)

June Newsletter

2008-06-16T13:44:00.001-04:00

To get involved in our Ironman fundraiser, please contact christina@adkexp.com, or visit our website www.adkexperience.com where you can donate via paypal!

Bob Forster's Retirement Dinner

2008-06-14T13:50:00.001-04:00

On Friday June 13th, Bob's closest friends, family, co-workers (past & present), and teens he has worked with at AE gathered at the Whiteface Golf Club & Resort to share a lovely meal, and to honor Bob. Many told stories, some funny, some confessions, and many heartfelt. Bob gave a "speech" as well, which was very moving to all, and put into perspective what all his (and everyone else who has been a part of AE in any capacity) hard work over the years did for him, and for others. It was great to see him happy, and healthy!!

Intern Initiation :)

2008-05-01T10:41:00.000-04:00

April 28th through the 30th was a great time to be at the Adirondack Experience because of the fact that the Adolescent Outreach girls from Potsdam were here. The girls seemed to have an awesome time when they were here and I know the staff did as well. We went through activities such as rappeling, traverse, low ropes and high ropes elements. Most of the girls tried every activity and that's really what it's all about. The girls even had two interns that they were breaking in and from what I saw, they did a pretty good job. In this post there is a video of the girls "forcing" leslie (intern #1) to go first across the poison peanut butter on a low ropes element. As you can see they wanted to make sure she didn't fall so they gave her a goood push! The others are just some pictures from the high ropes course and the Tyrolean Traverse. These girls were so much fun to work with and it's a shame we only got them for 3 days. Everyone here at AE says hello and sends their best!!! Stay in touch everyone :)

Matt's Jump Video

2008-04-04T09:29:00.005-04:00

Well the snow conditions were perfect yesterday for a little sliding down the mountain after we struggled to climb it. With the ice being so slippery the hike up was a little challenging but coming down was well worth it. The 4 boys that stayed with us couldn't get enough of it and slid down the hills till about 10pm each night. It wasnt just the boys who loved it though. The staff had a great time as well. There's a video of a "sweet" jump that Matt found and the video shows him going off it. The picture to the right is of John, Matt, and myself from the top of Mt. VanHovenburg. Good ending to the week and happy Friday to all :)

First Week...Here I Come

2008-04-02T10:45:00.003-04:00

Well according to Christina I need to introduce myself so here goes nothin! Rather than say my name is Aaron and list of bunch or boring facts i'll just tell you a lil bit about my first week here. My first week here has been awesome. A group of young boys are certainly an energetic bunch and have kept me on my toes this first week. I have had the opportunity to participate with them all week long in climbing the rock wall, the unbelievable Tyrolean Traverse, ice climbing, and x-country skiing. Being a huge fan of the outdoors, this is really an awesome opportunity for me and i'm going to take full advantage of it. I am aware that I have some pretty big shoes to fill though, I have not had the opportunity to meet Bob yet but I hear he's a hunter and an avid outdoorsman just like myself so i'm looking forward to meeting the man who's position I am now lucky enough to fill. The staff has been so supportive here and hopefully the weeks to come only get better and better!! Also, i'm hoping that I don't lose my job as quickly as I got it for "accidentally" hitting the boss right in the eye with a "hockey puck" during gym time. Sorry John!!! Well there's my first week in a nutshell, any questions?? Just ask :)
THIS IS ME :)

It's been a while...

2008-04-01T09:23:00.002-04:00

(I know I know, no new blogs as of late. I'll try to become consistent again!)

Our days since January have been busy yet fulfilling. We had a WONDERFUL group of girls from St. Lawrence county, a visually impaired boys reunion, a group of kids from the Adolescent Outreach program, as well as some staff training, all in the month of February. We began March with ANOTHER WONDERFUL group of girls, followed by a couple of reunions, and then began a 10-day cycle with a group of boys that are currently here.

It's wonderful to have the opportunity to begin new relationships with such wonderful teens, and great that we have the chance to keep in touch via the Internet, toll-free phone #, as well as monthly and bi-monthly reunions!

P.S.
Welcome our newest staff member Aaron... I am going to try to get him to introduce himself to you here, so check back!

March Newsletter

2008-03-11T09:18:00.001-04:00

We send out 4 newsletters a year. To be added or removed from our mailing list, please email: christina@adkexperience.com.

P.S.

Click on the images above to enlarge!

X-C Skiing

2008-01-22T14:29:00.000-05:00

Today was a perfect day to teach these boys to ski. It proved challenging for some, but they all persevered and didn't turn back. Falls such as the above were common, yet injury free and humorous to everyone involved (even the one on his back)!!

Boys Will Be Boys!

2008-01-21T16:54:00.000-05:00

The female staff stayed in today and the above picture shows what mischief the boys got into. They took a walk to the river and helped to clear the forest of 'excess' debris. Ah the things you do in the North Country to stay warm! Nevertheless, they all had a great time, and had many interesting stories to share when they got back.

Just Hanging Out

2008-01-18T13:24:00.000-05:00

Before the boys headed home for the weekend, they participated in the ever popular Tyrolean Traverse. All of them completed it just once, and some a couple of times. The weather ended up being quite warm (for here... I'm not comparing it to Arizona or anything!) and the following lunch of grilled cheese and tomato soup sent everyone home with a warm and full belly.

Cold Day, Cold Ice, and Determination

2008-01-17T17:46:00.000-05:00

All of the boys learned how to ice

climb

today. Everyone made it

to the top,

and gained satisfaction from their accomplishments, as well as knowledge of a new sport. I can't lie and say

it wasn't a cold day

to climb, but everyone toughed it out and worked hard, making the best of the conditions.

(Hats off to Kaysie and her photographer skills, this is a nice pic!)

In the Eyes of a Participant Take Two...

2008-01-16T19:00:00.000-05:00

The following is part of a journal entry that an at-risk boy wrote about what he did on Tuesday:

"Yesterday I woke up and had blueberry pancakes. It was really good. I ate like three of them. Then we did homework and read a book. After that we ate lunch. We had sandwiches and leftover chicken. I ate a lot. Later we all went rock climbing. It was really fun. I did it blindfolded, and we raced. The harness hurt though. Anyway then we hung out then we ate dinner and we had some kind of pasta. After that we did a group on HIV and AIDS and it was pretty cool. Before that I smoked Kaysie in Foosball, all by myself hahaha. Then we watched a movie."

Note: The part in italics unfortunately for this boy is not true. As hard as he tried to beat Kaysie, he couldn't get past her 5-man shot ;)