Right To Play

The springtime in the Midwest has been beautiful. I alway enjoy playing outside but the warm sun of spring is hard to beat.

Get off the computer and play outside

The last few weeks I have had the chance to be at the Club everyday. It is great to be with the kids at the Boys and Girls Club regularly. My main goals are to get them active, preferably outside. This spring we have enjoyed all of our favorite games and a few new ones.

Last Man Standing- A form of kickball. The game starts with one pitcher (usually me) against everyone else. The pitcher works to get everyone out by tagging a base or hitting them with the ball. When a player gets tagged out they join the outfield until there is one person left standing.

Worlds Fastest Game of Tag*- everyone is it. If you tag someone they must freeze. If one or more people tag each other at the same time, they both freeze. If you tag a person who is frozen, they are unfrozen.

*I learned this game from Warren Elementary in VT. Thanks guys, everyone really likes it.

Soccer- Right to Play donated a mini-soccer ball for every kid. In addition to playing games, we are enjoying working on our juggling and passing skills.

Shana, Coral, and Zoe happy with their new soccer balls

Right to Play is an Organization working with volunteers and partners to use sport and play to enhance child development in areas of disadvantage. Learn more about Right to Play and how you can help atwww.RightToPlay.com

Shana found the most clues in the Treasure Hunt. She won the Right to Play Ball signed by Beckie Scott

Gabe

Victor, Bahi, Joe and Koons

First Day of the 6-week Spring Run Series

Each Wednesday the Boys and Girls Club hosts the Spring Run Series. Over the next 6 weeks the community will build from running/walking 1 mile to 5km. It is great to see everyone out running. The top 15 in both the short and the long run won baseball caps donated by the Madison Winter Festival. Additionally, the winners of each race won a soccer ball signed by Olympic Gold Medalist Beckie Scott

Winner of Short Run- Steven

Winner of Long Run- Brandon

Thank You to Right to Play, Madison Winter Fest and Becky Scott for your support of the LCO Boys and Girls Club.

Durian

Walking through China Town, I saw a spiky fruit I had never seen before.

What better way to experience a new piece of fruit than to buy it and bring it back to the LCO Boys and Girls Club.

The Treasure Hunt is on!

The Next Clue is... 'Let's play basketball outside'

What is it?

Durian Fruit

Together we goggled ’spiky fruit’ and were able to find images and information about the Durian. The fruit doesn’t smell very good. One article mentioned that in some places the fruit is banned in public places. The taste is described as delightful, but our fruit might have gone bad. It was all I could do not to throw up. Still, we did enjoy learning about a new fruit and it was fun to play with the spiky husk and slimy insides.

See if you can find out more about the Durian. You can start by reading this article http://asiancuisine.suite101.com/article.cfm/durian__the_king_of_fruit

NYC

I spent the past weekend in the Big Apple. I really have never lived in a big city so everything was pretty new to me. Experiencing such a different lifestyle was fun and a great way to mentally recover and relax after the race season.

Enjoying some $1.99 pineapple on the 8hr train ride

The train was a great way to arrive into the city. The final part of the journey is underground and it was really quite the entrance to finally pop above ground at see daylight at Penn Station.

Time Square (for Chad)

Running around Central Park

An 843 acre park in the middle of such a metropolis is really quite incredible. There were thousands of people out enjoying the park. It is my understanding the the park is entirely landscaped including the rocks, streams and lakes. Read more at http://www.centralpark.com/pages/history.html

Fantastic Fruit, the best deal we found were strawberries for $1

I think I may have been the only one in the City wearing a Toko drink belt, or fanny pack.

I have always wanted to see a Broadway musical

Broadway shows are expensive, even at 40% off from the discount booth at Time Square. A tough decision for those living on a budge but an incredible experience to have at least once.

Didn't make it to the Empire State Building to see this guy swatting planes. Maybe next time...

New York is indeed the city that never sleeps. The trip was great mental recovery but it feels good to be back in Hayward, get plenty of sleep, and eat oatmeal. Visiting the big city was fun but it is good to be home.[caption id="attachment_167" align="aligncenter" width="480" caption="Running around Central Park"][/caption]

An 843 acre park in the middle of such a metropolis is really quite incredible. There were thousands of people out enjoying the park. It is my understanding the the park is entirely landscaped including the rocks, streams and lakes. Read more at http://www.centralpark.com/pages/history.html

[caption id="attachment_168" align="aligncenter" width="480" caption="Fantastic Fruit, the best deal we found were strawberries for $1"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_166" align="aligncenter" width="480" caption="I think I may have been the only one in the City wearing a Toko drink belt, or fanny pack."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_170" align="aligncenter" width="375" caption="I have always wanted to see a Broadway musical"][/caption]

Broadway shows are expensive, even at 40% off from the discount booth at Time Square. A tough decision for those living on a budge but an incredible experience to have at least once.

[caption id="attachment_171" align="aligncenter" width="480" caption="Didn't make it to the Empire State Building to see this guy swatting planes. Maybe next time..."][/caption]

New York is indeed the city that never sleeps. The trip was great mental recovery but it feels good to be back in Hayward, get plenty of sleep, and eat oatmeal. Visiting the big city was fun but it is good to be home.