New Farmer's Market and End of another school year

Yesterday our city finally started it's very own weekly Farmer's Market. It was great fun! Besides some very yummy fresh vegetables, there was a Kids Art Corner, many artisans and lots of people we knew there. Mark and Freckle face (who doesn't like his picture being taken) found a new use for Kettle Corn.

Today was the very last day of the school year. Yesterday was the last day for students, and it was sad to say good-bye to the wonderful teachers my children had; and also say good-bye to my own students down at the Middle School.

I went back to my school today for our annual "Cry and Bye" luncheon. It is always sad to say good-bye to staff at the end of a year. I was especially sad to see my principal leave (best administrator ever) AND our amazing counsellor is leaving too.

One bright light today was finding a note a student left in my mailbox. He was in my 7th grade class last year, and has just finished grade 8. One of the brightest students I've ever taught, and very kind too. Here's some of what he wrote in my card:
"The memories have left a scar in me; I can't ever forget Quebec (7th grade annual trip), the stories you tell us like your crazy aunt, the Ancient Greece unit, the Poetry Cafe and many little bits of memories more precious than diamonds."

Wow! As much as I appreciate the Starbucks gift cards and flowers, there is nothing like a hand-written note from a student telling me what impression I have left on them! And that what he (or she) learned is more precious than diamonds!

And if any of my aunts are reading this, you are NOT the crazy aunt I tell stories about! (smile).

Griffin reads the Bible: HELLO Gorgeous!

Our very cute 4 year old nephew, Griff, reads from his children's Bible.
This kid is full of personality!
I tried to embed the video in the blog, but it won't... follow this link:

http://gcvids.com/watch_video.php?v=a08d6fa36c8215f

Happy Father's Day

Watch for our favourite Dad and his Cinderella at 1:40.

Happy Father's Day!

Wonderful Whistler

The last weekend of May, our little family went up to Whistler for a mini-vacation, a few days after Mark's sister's family was there. We did one of those time-share deals: 3 days, 2 nights for $149 + a 90 minute time share presentation. We had sat through one before, and were pretty confident in our ability to say no... but we ended up sitting there for 3 hours and almost said yes! Yikes! The 1 bedroom condo we rented at Creekside was very nice though - great facility!

Besides that, we took our bikes and very much enjoyed cycling along the Fantastic Valley Park Trail. We spent time at Alpha Lake - (great playground), Nita Lake, Alta Lake, Meadow park (fun water park) and Green Lake. We also enjoyed watching some people paddle along the River of Golden Dreams. It was the perfect spot to bike with kids. Next time we hope to spend some time canoeing too.

On our last morning we went for a hike up Cougar Mountain (tip: bring Bug Spray!), which was fun, and then spent lots of time lounging by the pool!

We only spent a little bit of time in the Village - heading to Sushi Village for supper one night, where our children devoured sushi, enjoyed their "cheater chopsticks" and knocked over a full glass of water. The waiter commented that we seemed like such a nice, respectable family when we first arrived! Ha!

It was only after ice cream cones (which somehow must cover the kids faces and t-shirts) that we ran into people we know. "Yes - hello, nice to see you. Yes, our eight year old now sports a chocolate moustache and goatee!"

WE will definitely be planning more summer time fun in Whistler!

Here's the kids demo-ing the chopsticks with "cheaters" attached. Brilliant idea!

Passing the torch?

This beautiful woman is Kelli. I taught Kelli 5th grade, 12 years ago. She was in my very first class.

This year I had the delight of having her volunteer in my classroom every Wednesday morning. It was so much fun! She will be entering the Teacher Development program this September, and will be an excellent French teacher!

On her last day volunteering, one of my sweet 6th graders made these beautiful cupcakes.

I can't help but wonder which of my current students will follow her footsteps...

Brief visit with fun cousins

We had the pleasure of hosting Gracie and Griffin and their beloved parents for one night on Memorial Day weekend.

The kids were so excited to have them here for one night only!
The adults hired babysitters and went to ShabuSan for dinner (lots of fun!).

The girl cried when her cousins left the next morning for their trip up to Whistler.

We are looking forward to more time together in the summer!

Wisdom and Wonder Launch Party

If you've noticed that I haven't posted here in the past month, it's because I was busy preparing for last night.
Last night was a great night of celebration: we officially "Launched" our new curriculum that we're writing. I've been leading a team of people to write a new, 3 year curriculum for birth - 13 years for our church and Foursquare Canada. Ingrid, our children's pastor and resident cheerleader, planned a launch party that was a great success! I don't have many pictures - although there were many cameras...

It was exciting to have so many from our church come out to be introduced to this project that is near and dear to my heart - and still a work in progress!

We will begin teaching it in September, and are still working on years 2 and 3.
(I'm pictured here with my dear friend Lori, an amazing woman.)

Don't kiss me in front of my classmates... and other changes

This delightful young man is known as "Freckle Face". He does not want to have his picture taken.

He is working at calling me "Mom" instead of "mommy".

I am not allowed to kiss him on the face for fear of lipstick marks. I also may not kiss him good-bye in front of classmates. As soon as we step on the school grounds - 200m from his door, he bows his head to me reverently (Not!) so that I kiss the top of his head instead of his face.

And I may not plan "playdates" for him, he just wants to invite his friends to "come over", but it is definitely NOT a date! Ahhh... the joys of mothering an 8 year old!