Kellisa
really started to thrive with her newfound medical stability. She started
taking dance lessons and it was obvious from the start that Kellisa has the
heart of a dancer. Kellisa danced in her first recital, and she garnered the
loudest cheers from the audience during the encore.
We
expanded our outdoor adventures beyond trails as Kellisa started kayaking. Her favorite part was helping
to paddle and splashing her hands in the water.
Our big
summer trip for the year was to the Four Corners region of the American
Southwest. We hiked to the rim of Bandera Volcano, deep inside an Ice Cave, the
Four Corners Marker, Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, Monument Valley,
and Canyon de Chelly. This was the first trip where we really started pushing
the boundaries of what’s possible with a new jog stroller manufactured for
larger disabled kids.
The hike that really pushed out limits was the
White House Trail in Canyon de Chelly National Monument. At the trailhead, we
were told by multiple people, “you can’t do the trail with that (referring to
Kellisa’s jog stroller)”. The well-meaning folks were almost correct. It wasn’t
easy and it can’t be denied that the trail was not created for a jog stroller,
but we made it all the way to the bottom and back up again. We had to navigate
a section where one of the back tires hung over the edge of the trail because
it was so narrow.
At the end of summer, we broke the jog stroller
frame on the steep, rocky trail to Grotto Falls in Great Smoky Mountains
National Park. We called the manufacturer when we got home to discuss our
options and we were told that we were the first family to break a frame on this
chair in over 20 years of production. The frame wasn't covered by warranty, but
they sent a replacement at no charge since it was the first ever break. (We
would also break the replacement frame...we didn't call the manufacturer.) Kellisa
also enjoyed her first go-cart race just outside the national park in
Gatlinburg, TN.
Kellisa got her face painted like a vampire bat at
Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge on National Wildlife Refuge Day. A
couple of weeks later, Lisa had Kellisa already to be a bat for Halloween.
Like just about every other eight-year-old girl by
the end of 2007, Kellisa was obsessed with all things Hannah Montana. Kellisa
still loved The Wiggles, and we saw them in concert for a third time, but we
were glad she was expanding her interests.
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