Halloween 2021

 Everyone had different plans this Halloween. This was Homecoming weekend for Juan so he spent the weekend and Halloween at his best friend's house. Ingrid was away at a church retreat for 2 nights and then went and helped with a Trunk or Treat Event on Halloween night. She was not happy with us because we said 10:00 not midnight curfew since it was a school night but her plans changed anyways and she ended up back home at 9 pm! She looked very cute though! Our furry children also dressed up and helped us pass out candy to the neighbor kids! We sat outside and handed out lollipops. The key to Halloween candy is to not buy the kind you like so you aren't tempted to eat it!

Ingrid and West MEC

Ingrid now has the opportunity to work with real clients on Tuesday-Friday, since she is a second year hairstyling student and loves it!! If someone makes an appointment specifically with her, it is her customer. Otherwise, all the students take turns serving the customers that come into the West MEC salon based on their last name. When they are not serving customers, they continue to practice their skills on their manikin heads. This is one of Ingrid's first male hair cuts with a real customer. I love that the school gives the second year students this experience!

Juan and West MEC

Juan is doing very well in his first year of computer coding at West MEC. Although I, as Mom and Taxi driver, will be happy when Juan gets driver's license next spring and can drive himself to high school and tech school every day, I am so thankful that he has had this opportunity and is exceling at it! He was recently picked, along with a few other students, to re-design the school's website. He was super excited about this. We are really glad he is getting these opportunities!

Juan's Job

Juan started his first job at La Loma Village this past spring as a dishwasher. La Loma is an independent living community and located about ten minutes from our house. It was a great job for Juan because he could put in his air pods, do the job, not communicate with others, and just work hard. He has done very well there, and we are very proud of him! He was promoted to expeditor this summer and really enjoyed that position. The company just gave him another raise and is training him on some days now on how to cook and become a chef. I appreciate the life skills Juan has gained by being employed there. It goes so much farther than just a paycheck and has really helped his self confidence.