Sunday, May 24, 2009

But officer....



This weekend J was able to spend some hands-on time with her Bellingham Police Explorer program. She's been involved in this program for the past year but has so far only been to meetings where they learn different aspects of the police program (search & seizure, citizen/officer rights, drugs, taser use). She absolutely loves it. Yesterday we dropped her off at the police station and after being briefed on their task she was paired up with an officer. Their task was to patrol an area of the Ski to Sea Parade. Although this was definitely the least exciting task they could be assigned she thought the experience was fun. Here she is in full uniform.

Jr. Ski to Sea




Last weekend Alec was on a team for our local Jr. Ski to Sea event. His leg was to run 1.5 miles, with others on his team were biking, three-legged racing, moving a soccer ball, and doing an obstacle course. The middle picture shows him thinking about what he's got to do - very serious business. There were around 75 teams and their team came in at 12th place - not bad!

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Surprise!



This week L was scheduled to play in the Abbotsford Music Festival. She's been so busy with school work that's she didn't feel she was prepared and badly wanted to just not show up. Her teacher (as always) encouraged her to practice a certain way throughout the weekend and just try. So, on Monday she went - all nerves - complaining all the way. I was not able to sit in and listen since I had committed to driving H's class to a Government Convention in Bellingham. So, Grandma and Grandpa came from Chilliwack (thanks!!) and supported her. I saw her later at school and she showed me the adjudication paperwork & she had been awarded First Place. Even her teacher was surprised!! So she goes on to play in the "playoff's" this Friday morning. I'm looking forward to being there with her this time.

Here's just a sneak preview of the beautiful photos Lisa took last weekend. She's definitely talented with the camera!!

Saturday, May 02, 2009

What's up?

So I'm finally sitting down after a busy Saturday morning. We had a friend over for breakfast with her kids. After a fine breakfast she went out with L to take her senior photos and I stayed with the kids. You'll probably see some examples of what she took posted here in the future. I managed to make a big pot of chicken soup and banana muffins for tomorrow. You've got to love the Day of Rest - so necessary to stop and reflect on God's blessings during the previous week.

So what's kept us all so busy? H has been working to prepare for a speech competition. Each year our school decides on three best speeches/speakers and they go on to compete in the Quad School Competition in the valley. H was chose as one of the three from CCS. She gave a winner of a speech on the lost Roanoke colony but the competition was very stiff this year and she didn't place. This was her second (and final) year in this competition with last year bringing home the fourth place trophy. Today she also completed (graduated) from her babysitting class. It's held over three Saturdays at the Fire Station and is largely funded by the Lions Club. It's an excellent class - first aid, cpr, babysitting as a business, fire safety, etc. Her only serious babysitting job is for a neighbor who is planning to move to Australia.

L has been practicing with renewed energy for her upcoming piano festival and her 8th grade RCM piano exam. So much so that her wrists began to hurt badly and she couldn't play her scheduled volleyball game. She wasn't happy with the results and as wise parents we tried to explain that going from 0 to 100 mph in the matter of a few days just isn't good for any part of the body. She's taking it a bit easier but is feeling a bit of pressure as the dates are nearing quickly.

J has been practicing a lot on her violin as she is accompanying a musical performance of Fiddler on the Roof. She's having a lot of fun with it. I'm so happy sometimes when I push my kids into doing something they don't want to do... :) She will be accompanying 6 different performances and I'm sure she'll be tired of it at the end.

A tries not to be bored - but it is sometimes tough when your sisters are all busy with things and you don't have a brother to play with. He points that out quite often and we do try to keep him happy. He loves lego - especially castle lego. You should see his medieval setup - keeps him busy for hours. He also loves his ripstick. He's got tons of energy and is often found ripsticking on the driveway and sidewalk. Of course, he also loves his dog Carman - not sure what he'd do without him. His latest interest is chess and he is happy if anyone would come over to play him a game.