Happy Halloween! Today for Healthy Lifestyles we volunteered with the Downtown Bellingham Partnership! We passed out balloons to local businesses to mark which ones will be participating in the Downtown Trick-orTreating. It was such a hit that we went back for a second batch of balloons after lunch to do more volunteering! We also exercised our brains by learning some facts about Halloween and then did Halloween trivia! “Had a break from the Oompah Loompahs,” said Willy Wonka, who helped hand several balloons to friendly business owners. “I liked it,” said Halloween Jalapeño. A Happy Halloween indeed!

Today for Healthy Lifestyles, in honor of the World Series currently being played, we had a loosely themed workout, which centered less on baseball and more on the varied cultures of the international players. We talked a little about baseball, but then as we warmed up on our exercise balls we learned about where many of the players are from. Then we went to the library to find a workout video that fit our international theme. We voted and checked out a Zumba video, a Tai Chi video, and a belly dancing video. After lunch we watched and joined in the Zumba video! Then we practiced spitting sunflower seeds like baseball players. To finish off program, we worked out along with the Tai Chi video. “I helped pick out what we wanted to do,” pointed out Halloween Jalapeño. You sure did, and thanks for the input! Member input is always appreciated! Whether the Dodgers or the Astros win the World Series, we had fun today!

Today for Healthy Lifestyles, we did a unique workout: pumpkin weightlifting! We were so lucky to have tons of pumpkins donated by a community friend, Sakata Seed America, so members got to choose from a very, very wide assortment of shapes and sizes to lift and move. Before lunch we warmed up by carrying our pumpkins around the block in this beautiful weather. After lunch we got down to business and began our intense workout. We did step aerobics with our pumpkins, pumpkin passing, pumpkin push-ups, squats with pumpkins, pumpkin curls, pumpkin relay races, and much much more! All with our pumpkins, big and small, orange and otherwise! "Pumpkin party at Max Higbee," said Darth Vader 13. "I liked the relay races." Glad to hear. "I liked this. I do some of them," added Halloween Jalapeño. Good point Halloween Jalapeño. Since this workout was a bit more exhausting than some other activities, members were encouraged to take breaks. We didn't need the pumpkins smashing us, after all. "It was a hard workout," said Pumpkin, an aptly nicknamed member. It sure was. Great work everyone!

Today we tried something we'd never done before at Healthy Lifestyles! We went out to CrossFit Iron Industry to do a workout with Josh! Josh is the owner of the gym, and he was dying to have us come visit! He had a great workout prepared for us, and we all got our sweat on, big time! We learned how to do squats properly and about the importance of lifting safely. After warming up, he had us pushing a sled, jumping/stepping over bars, and lifting exercise balls! "I like that gym," said Superhero Jalapeño, adding "I liked to pick up the balls and put them over our shoulders. That's a good workout!" "Big muscles from the ball I carried," said Fred Meyer, showing off said muscles! My goodness, how big those muscles are! Josh also gave us a little tour and told us about everything they do at his gym! Thanks so much, Josh! "Let's do this again!" suggested Superhero Jalapeño. Great idea!

Today we avoided the rain by staying indoors for our monthly yoga class with Sarah at the YMCA! We started the day warming up on exercise balls at the center, watching the rain come down. After lunch we walked up to the Y and met with Sarah. Superhero Jalapeño said, "I like doing yoga." I think we all do! "That workout was very tiring," said Dumbledore 21, who added that she had fun. Lo and behold, the sun had come out by the time we left the Y. Thanks, Sarah!

Today we had a lovely hike through Whatcom Falls Park! It also was an exciting day, full of adventure. After singing Happy Birthday to Disaster Man, we ran to try to catch a bus that would take us out to the park! "We ran really fast," said Jedi Master 21. We certainly did. Everyone tried, but alas, we missed the bus. However, we all learned a valuable lesson about perseverance and also burned some calories. We only had to wait a little while before another bus came though. Once we jumped off said bus, we walked along a slightly different trail than many of us had walked before. Soon we reached the falls and took a break to enjoy the view. Then everyone wanted to walk some more! "We walked in the trees," said Fred Meyer. "It's nice to get some fresh air," added Jedi Master 21.
"The hike was really beautiful. We saw waterfalls," said the Dancing Jalapeño. "My favorite part was that I saw the water and the rapids," said Elsa, adding, "And getting to see my friends." Yay!

Today, we did fitness tests with Mary at the YMCA. There were different physical activities that we did and had our results recorded. Everyone tried really hard today. "I like get-up-and-go's," said Jalapeño Dance Party By Midnight, pointing out his favorite of the cardio workouts. "Push-ups!" said Puzzlemaster, when asked about which exercise he worked hard at. Well done! The hard work during the fitness tests were after our peaceful meditation warm-up, where we worked on our breathing atop our exercise balls! We're getting October off on the right foot!