Loud and Wonderful rEcess Time

It's been two months, and that's too long!  The national organization sponsors this only 8 times a year, but i really think it should be every month.  Parents of special needs kids should be able to get out more often, and these kids are so much fun, we all love to be with them.

Two months since our last rEcess, so parents and volunteers were all ready.  There were parades only a few blocks away, so parking was at a premium, and one of our pastors forgot we had rEcess scheduled and rented out our parking lot, but we made it work.

Nothing was going to stop us, not even the fact that the gym was set up for the congregational meeting coming up this weekend, so we couldn't go play in the gym, and it was too cold to be out on the playground.

They ran and played in the rooms and halls, and we were loud and wonderful.

Wheel chairs cast aside, we were all over the room!

Only the bigger kids wanted to sit down!

Look at me, I'm a blur!

Linda didn't slow down all evening.

Actually, none of them slowed down all evening.  Emmy walked for two hours, Jack and Peggy rolled on the floor chasing each other and the other kids, and we had a princess with us.

Our very own princess, at the keyboard.

She called herself Elsa, even though it was a Cinderella dress. 

It was a typical night in that it was wild and fun, although i missed Gracie, who wasn't well.  She had been looking forward to it, but i'm sure she will be there next time.


Today is:

Arizona Renaissance Festival -- Apache Junction, AZ, US (the official sister event to the Robin Hood Festival in Sherwood Forest, England; Saturdays, Sundays, and President's Day through Mar. 29)

Charles Dickens Day -- read a chapter or two of his work, in honor of his birth

Daniel Boone Escape Day -- he escaped from the Shawnee tribe which had captured him

Dump Your Significant Jerk Day -- beginning of Dump Your Significant Jerk Week; make a resolve and do it now, before Valentine's Day

Feast of Mulk (Dominion) -- Baha'i

Homstrom -- Scuol, Switzerland (burning of the straw man effigy of Old Man Winter, signaling the coming spring and winter's demise)

Ice Cream for Breakfast Day -- because you have to do it at least once a year

Ice Fishing Derby at Hell Creek -- Fort Peck, MT, US (subject to cancellation if there is no ice, so Hell has to freeze over for them to have this tournament!)

Independence Day -- Grenada(1974)

Laura Ingalls Wilder Gingerbread Sociable -- Pomona, CA, US (Pomona Public Library has on permanent display many of her original manuscripts)

Marriage Week -- UK (part of the Futureway Trusthttp://marriage-week.org.uk/, and now observed around the world, celebrating the diversity and vibrancy of marriage as the heart of family life)

National Fettucini Alfredo Day

National Hangover Awareness Day -- internet generated and shouldn't it be on Jan.1?

Orchid Festival/Tropical Extravaganza -- Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, London (through March 8)

Royal Hobart Regatta -- Queens Domain Hobart and Derwent River, Tasmania, Australia (Australia's largest aquatic event, includes an Australian Wooden Boat Festival; through Monday)

Scout Sabbath -- BSA (Boy Scouts are encouraged to wear their uniforms to synagogue and represent scouting to their congregations)

Send a Card to a Friend Day -- wonder which card company created this one

Saint Theodore Stratelates' Day (Patron of soldiers; Brindisi, Italy; for finding lost objects)

Twin Cities' Krewe of Janus Mardi Gras Parade -- Monroe and West Monroe, LA, US (If you are looking for more family friendly fun than downtown NOLA, stick to parades is the smaller cities, like here!)

Wave All you Fingers at Your Neighbor Day -- sponsored by Wellcat Holidays; wave to your neighbors, let them know you like them

Yukon Quest International 1,000 Mile Sled Dog Race -- Whitehorse, YT, Canada to Fairbanks, AK, US (two week international competition for the best mushers and dogs from around the world)


Birthdays Today:

Tina Majorino, 1985
Ashton Kutcher, 1978
Chris Rock, 1965
Garth Brooks, 1962
Eddie Izzard, 1962
James Spader, 1960
Miguel Ferrer, 1954
Hector Babenco, 1946
Pete Postlethwaite, 1945
Gay Talese, 1932
Keefe Brasselle, 1923
Eddie Bracken, 1920
Oscar Brand, 1920
Larry "Buster" Crabbe, 1908
Sinclair Lewis, 1885
James Hubert “Eubie” Blake, 1883
Alfred Adler, 1870
Laura Ingalls Wilder, 1867
Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev, 1834
Charles Dickens, 1812
John Deere, 1804
Sir Thomas More, 1478


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"America's Most Wanted"(TV), 1988
Blazing Saddles(Film), 1974
Pinocchio(Disney animated Film), 1940
"The Cat and the Canary"(Play), 1922
Kid Auto Races at Venice(first Charlie Chaplin "Little Tramp" Film), 1914
"Chantecler"(Rostand Play), 1910
"The Deserter"(first ballet performed in US), 1827
"Il Matrimonio Segreto" (Comarosa Opera), 1792


Today in History:

The Mongols burn the Russian city of Vladimir, 1238
Edward of Carnarvon,later Edward II, becomes the first English prince to hold the title Prince of Wales, 1301
The bonfire of the vanities occurs in which supporters of Girolamo Savonarola burn thousands of objects like cosmetics, art, and books in Florence, Italy, 1497
King Philip II forms an inquistion in South America, 1569
Academie Francaise begins a Dictionary of the French Language, 1639
An 8.2 magnitude earthquake shakes New Madrid, Missouri, 1812
The colonial Tasmanian Parliament passes the Electoral Act of 1856, the first piece of legislation anywhere in the world providing for elections by way of a secret ballot, 1856
The Battle at Ingogo, Transvaal: the Boers defeat superior British forces, 1881
The Great Blizzard of 1891 begins, 1891
Émile Zola is brought to trial for libel for publishing J'Accuse, 1898
Baltimore catches fire; 1500 buildings are destroyed in 80 blocks, 1904
The Mud March, the first large procession organized by the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS), 1907
Charlie Chaplin debuts "The Tramp" in "Kid Auto Races at Venice," 1914
The first wireless message sent from a moving train to a station is received, 1915
Bert Hinkler begins the first solo flight from England to Australia, 1928
Pluto moves inside Neptune's orbit for the first time since either was discovered, 1979
Astronauts Bruce McCandless II and Robert L. Stewart make the first untethered space walk using the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU), 1984
The Central Committee of the Soviet Communist Party agrees to give up its monopoly on power, 1990
Haiti's first democratically-elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, is sworn in, 1991
The Maastricht Treaty is signed, leading to the creation of the European Union, 1992
Crown Prince Abdullah becomes the King of Jordan on the death of his father, King Hussein, 1999
Bushfires in Victoria left 173 dead in the worst natural disaster in Australia's history, 2009
In Europe, ready-meal manufacturer, Findus, withdrew its beef lasagne meals from supermarkets after confirming beef supplied by French manufacturer, Comigel contained horsemeat, 2013