Red, Mick and Kasmira on Carmel Beach

Yo! Mick Here. The one smiling with their tongue hanging out.

Mum is so happy! She picked up Red's sister, Kasmira at the airport on Sunday. Kasmira lives with Red's and her dad in Georgia - 3 time zones away! We went to the Carmel Beach on Monday and played around some. Red and I were quite happy to see her too.
Kasmira is a cutie! She's also smart and as I soon discovered, more than a match for our brother, Red. Me, I like to do just a few things on the beach, most of them involve chasing down flying objects. Sleeping is also good.

Red however missed the sport of annoying his sister. She seemed to understand the gaming activity well herself. As she demonstrates in the photo below, she is quite good with self-defense.
She and Mum took a class a couple years back and she got a reputation for hitting well. She also has some good take-down moves she's perfected over the years

Kasmira and Red were quite tireless in their game of body-checking. What I don't understand is why Red kept going back for more! She was obviously the better player in this game! Kasmira's a die-hard hockey fan - she knows body-checking.

Watching these two in action is hilarious. Mum has been trying to get Red to watch the 3 Stooges because of the slapstick. I don't know why, Red's perfected that already. Red will usually instigate or provoke Kasmira (and it doesn't take much!) and she responds in a predictable manner and takes her brother out.


Red then acts as if he's mortally wounded. If you ask me, he's mellow-dramatic! He's so mellow he looks asleep! He also gets sand in places I sure wouldn't want sand!


I was almost envious of the time they spent bantering, but then I couldn't decide who I wanted to hang with. I miss Kasmira too. She was there when I first met my boy and even helped Mum decide to introduce Red and me. She's got a grace and style that I really admire. And did I mention she gives a good scratching to the ears?

While our brother is, well, lovingly annoying! He can get carried away, especially when he's rough-housing Sometimes he just doesn't know when to quit!

Kasmira has no problem holding her own and reminding Red of his place as her "little brother" Ha! He's growing - by this time next year Red won't be her little bro (aham, that'd be me anyway!), he'll be her younger brother.

Beach, Bonfires and the eating habits of my boy with autism

Yo! Mick here. The four-legged brother.

My idea of a perfect day is one spent on the beach followed up with a small bonfire and roasted meals (which is not to say I won't scarf up a dropped hot dog before it's cooked!).

Red, like a lot of kids with autism, has quirks when it comes to food. For example, his choices at this recent beach party. He ate an entire bag of Cheetos, a soda (Mum only allows one a day - at most!), 2 hot dogs without any buns, and his marsh mellows roasted over an open flame just barely a light tan with just a few black speckles. This takes an incredible skill. He eats his graham crackers separate. Red does not like chocolate except Oreos because they don't taste like chocolate or have a chocolate texture or smell. If they'd been available at the picnic he'd have had a lot of them. Red does not eat s'mores but Mum will when he accidentally burns up his marsh mellow.

A lot of people make the mistake that food quirks are about the taste. This is not true at all. It can be the smell, the texture or color or - well you get the idea, it can be almost anything. The same goes with food combinations. There may not be an obvious reason.

Good nutrition can become a concern for people with autism - at least a concern for their families. Mum has Red take supplements but by far the best supplement of all is MonaVie. It has the omega 3s, 6s and 9s that have a huge benefit to the brain function (see our story tomorrow for the impact these nutrients made for Red), amino acids, vitamins and minerals and the highest antioxidant ORAC value that is over 10 times blueberries, fiber and much more! At the rising cost of fruit, it is actually cheaper than buying all of the daily fruits and veggies (which he wouldn't eat anyway).

Getting all of the required nutrients can be a challenge but Mum has one less worry now! Check out our story, and a few others, do your own research if you want. But do check out MonaVie or better yet, try some yourself.