Grade 2 Field Trip

SCIENCE WORLD!!!

I discovered late on Wednesday afternoon that my dear son had volunteered me to be a parent supervisor on the upcoming Grade 2 (all 4 classes of 'em) field trip to Science World. So, I took a day off from work to ride a yellow school bus downtown with 40 or so hyperactive, excited children, two of whom were prone to travel sickness (and were doubled over with their faces in bags). Then there were a few other brave and/or super-committed parents, and the teachers. We did have fun and our soccer coach Bela and I supervised 4 boys - who were very excited but quite well-behaved. We participated in a program on insects - very hands-on - then went to the "Grossology" exhibit (and learned all about snot, farts, poo, pee, zits, barf, body odor etc. etc.). The kids had a blast but it went way too fast - and we had to meet at 12:45 to get on the 1:00 schoolbus for the trip home. It was a fun day!

Ridden with Guilt

As I post these photos of *LB's birthday lunch last Friday afternoon, I'm feeling just a tad guilt-ridden... You see, as I am enjoying a great meal and cold drinks with the girls at this picturesque patio setting at the Burnaby Mountain Golf Course, I couldn't help but think about my poor dear husband slaving away at home in the heat on the siding. The truth of the matter is that I may not have thought of him at all during these festivities (that's not true, really), but I am reminded of him every time I go there -- as this is where I met him 20 years ago! What do you think of the new three bears (no, not the three cranky old broads, but the eco-scuptures????). I think they're great! I think my friends are great too! P.S. My husband is still slaving away outside. His regular shift on the house (as of late) is from 6:00 a.m. to midnight! *LB is our blondie on the right!

Rednecks!

Today we trailer trashed folk are true to life "rednecks"! Yup, every one of this trailer's inhabitants now has a red neck!

Naturally, my sister D blames this on the fact that I am often neglectful in checking expiry dates of my purchases. Several family members got pretty toasted in Mexico back in January - when she couldn't figure out why, she checked my tube of sunscreen - it was dated 1996! Oops! Almost as bad as my pantry's 1992 Jamaican Jerk sauce! This was new lotion yesterday though - we obviously just didn't re-apply it soon enough after the spray park. But today we Rednecks were well "greased-up" in my Super-Duper 70 block!

House Update:
R, Cousin B, and Doc have been plugging away on the siding, building window sills, building stairs for the Workshop, and doing some stereo wiring.

PM Day Parade and Festivities

J and his good friend C participated in the PM Day Parade today. It was scorching hot out so after the parade was done the boys changed and played in the spray park and fun zone. We had a highly nutritious (NOT) lunch consisting of hamburgers and hot dogs with drinks, chips, popsicles (which both prematurely melted off the stick), and kettle corn -- but they sure had a great time for the few hours before their big "Demo Team" performance! Did I mention that my dear husband and dear father were slaving away in the heat on our construction site and unable to attend the said festivities?

Mental Health Day!

Every once in a while I decide to book a day off right smack in the middle of the week. Today was such a day! After I took J to school, I ran some errands, did some house project phone calls, paid some bills, cleaned out my bedroom closet, did 3 loads of laundry and took the dogs for a long walk (it was such a beautiful, hot, sunny day!). After school J and I headed into Vancouver (skipping baseball practice) to meet up with my good friend LK and her son JJ (who J just adores). They'd flown into town from the interior for a few appointments. We picked them up and headed down to Stamps Landing in False Creek for dinner on the Monk McQueen's patio. What a beautiful spot - we all loved watching all the sailboats and kayaks in the harbour - with the snow covered mountains behind them. Our visit with my longest childhood friend and her son was great! L & I actually can't believe we'll be attending our 30 year high school reunion this summer - do we really look it? I'd like to think not, but our kids both say "yeah, you're old".... After dinner, we headed to my sister's house to have a quick visit there - she wasn't home but my parents were - so J played with his younger cousin for a bit. Then we drove down to "de la Casa" ice cream parlour on Venables - they have the absolute widest selection of ice cream, sherbets, gelatos you have ever seen! They have this nifty system where you pay first, and then they give you these coloured tokens (not unlike a Vegas chip) which tells the "scooper" how many scoops you're entitled to - and what type of cone (yes, quite an assortment). I had licorice ice cream! It's my favorite and it's so hard to find anymore. L commented that the times have sure changed - we used to know where all the great "watering holes" and night-life haunts were in Vancouver, now we just know where to find the good ice cream! Anyway, we all had fun and certainly enjoyed the spectacular Vancouver evening!

A Reason to Celebrate

Today was a day of Celebrations!
1) Today our church celebrated 7 decades of its Ministry - it first opened its doors in the pictured building seventy years ago (1937). We had a great party today - lots of memories from over the years - several long-time members reminisced about the many changes - and one of the original founding members got up and spoke to us about the beginning years. It was a fun celebration through time - they began by playing some old hymns and transitioned us through music, pictures and stories to what we have today (a band with drums, guitars, keyboards). We no longer have pews or hymnbooks - we have comfy chairs, great music, powerpoint, etc. Not to mention the best leaders (I'm not biased!) - who share a very accepting open door/community approach. Due to its rapid growth, a new building was built in 1990 at its present location. The theme Pastor D spoke of this morning was, although the message remains unchanged, the way we reach others has - just as our world/culture continues to change. The celebration was great, lots of laughter and reflection - even we have seen some big changes (ie: the building addition in 2004) in the few years we have been attending.

CP Photo/Richard Lam

2) The Vancouver Giants won the Memorial Cup this afternoon in a 3-1 win over the Medicine Hat Tigers. Our family - especially J - has been rooting for this team all year! And, we were able to see several games (unfortunately, not this exciting one though). Way to go Giants!

Bikes on Dikes

Nona, J, and I went out for a long bike ride/walk on the dikes with the dogs. It was a perfect outing - and we were the only ones out there! We did find another new "woof" friend from a local farm though!

Scars on Ice

Although I neglected to mention it yesterday (too busy ranting about road rage), I laced up those figure skates once again last night. And although I'm feeling a tad more "balanced" this week, my feet were just killing me. Throbbing, in fact. Maybe my feet haven't grown, but the bunions sure have! The session went longer and I was thrilled to find out an old friend of mine is on the team. I'm still very shaky, but they were all still very encouraging. Hopefully this attribute will not wane in several weeks - I think it's going to take a while... After our session we headed to Boston Pizza for some refreshments - and DH treated us to some awesome "cow chips" and nachos. It was fun to be out with a group of women and I enjoyed catching up with my friend RW. So, I signed up to be a full-fledged team member! It's my personal challenge - to relearn some of the moves that came so naturally to me 30 some years ago.

Unfortunately though, I woke up this morning only to discover several nasty looking large blisters and scabs on my feet and ankles. Even on the tops of my toes and feet. I should probably look at having those skates stretched - maybe they could do the same for my summer clothes.

By the way, I have not yet managed to read even one more page of that book I started back in January. I tried, but fell asleep two nights in a row - and had to re-read the page I'd already previously started. Twice. But Lo and Behold, my friend MP gave me a book this morning. HER book! A short story written by her! And, signed by her too - with a very thoughtful note! I was thrilled.

Tonight I took J and his friend BP for our Wednesday night swim - we've been going on a pretty regular basis lately. I opted not to join them in the pool tonight - I wasn't sure if the chlorine would bother my feet and ankles - as they're pretty torn and shredded up from my new sport. I really didn't want to flaunt two legs that looked like they'd stepped into a garbarator. And, I was anxious to start my new book! I managed to read it all while they swam - it was very moving and in a few places it actually brought me to tears (which I blamed on the heavy chlorine smell of course). I really enjoyed it - it was a short story called "Love's Blessings" about a couple struggling with the challenges of infertility. I do hope she writes more - she really identifies with some of the feelings a couple going through this has. And, it was way more interesting than that book still sitting on my bed - bookmarked for weeks at page 152. Thanks MP! (aka MG Braden)

Oh, Take Me Out to the Ball Game.....

Buy me some Peanuts and cracker Jacks, (and Hot Dogs, and Popcorn and Ice Cream Bars and Slushies please Mom). Oh why didn't I think to pack J a healthy lunch? (Because it was too early in the morning to be that organized....). Anyway, we picked up his buddy C (who is on another team) en route and arrived at the ball field just after 8:00 a.m. for our big mid-season divisional tournament. Unfortunately we lost (and so did C's team), but we had a nice warm sunny day and lots of great plays. J was playing 3rd base and caught an impressive pop fly! We were at the park until after 2:00 p.m. and then to the Dairy Queen for a treat with C. Anyway, the losers of today play each other tomorrow so we are playing C's team for the first time all season. The kids are looking forward to this friendly competition!
We went to church tonight as our game is first thing Sunday morning. They were generously giving out delicious healthy sized Purdey's chocolate bars to all the moms for Mother's Day! I honestly think I should be attending all three services this weekend! My friend M says "oh, didn't you get one of those chocolate bars?" when she saw me walking out to my car empty handed - and then attempted to offer me hers (she obviously got that message it's better to give than receive). Little did she know I'd ripped the wrapper off mine within a second of receiving it in the lobby (and devoured it within a few seconds after that!). Anyway, thou shalt not tell a "little white" lie (despite the fact I'd been led into temptation, big time). I told her the truth - but she insisted I take hers anyway! Love thy sister as thyself! Those are my friends! We then briefly popped over to JH's house for ice cream and a bit of the Hockey game (J had fun with their air hockey game too). She spoils us - big time (and we never seem to leave her house empty handed!). So another busy but fun day!

My Husband - the DIY Enthusiast

R is still working around the clock on our new house. Some days the changes are incredibly noticible. Some days not so much. He has currently been "prepping" the house for siding and, to the untrained eye (ie: mine), you do not see much change. But, he is a conscientious perfectionist - which is good - at least I know our siding will not go on crooked. I too am a DIY'er - the "Dangerously Incompetent You'll-be-sorry-later" type.

J and I kept busy - another demo at the fair followed by another exciting baseball game. We also went up to the hospital with JH to visit Mr. M. - it was his 83rd birthday! J didn't want to leave but I was making a special Sunday dinner since we seem to eat on the run so much during the week. And, we'd finally finished our '4 nights in a row' batch of chili which my good friend MB kindly made for us when she dropped by the other night. I saw this as an opportunity to abandoned them to run an errand - and R was still not home at that point. By the time I'd returned - voila, a big pot of chili had been made in my absence and R had returned from his out of town stint (what a surprise for him to see another woman cooking dinner in our kitchen!). I did appreciate the remarkable nanny service (one could quickly get used to that!). Funny, she hasn't been back for another visit though.... Anyway, dinner tonight was good even though my Yorkshire puddings closely resembled (and tasted like) hockey pucks. My mother-in-law definately makes the best ones - I obviously don't have any Yorkshire or British in me (oh, but MB does - I'll just have to extend another invitation!)...

Take My Advice, I'm Not Using It.....

Knowing that J was probably feeling sick last night because he's just been sooooo busy didn't stop us from continuing on in the same fashion....... We justified it as it was our last day of our extended spring break - it's back to school tomorrow after a month off! And who wants to clean a trailer on a sunny day anyway?

-J, his buddy A, & I met up with friends at the Timberline Ranch Annual Open House after church - it was a lot of fun!

-J had a baseball game later in the afternoon - he was thrilled that he was asked to play catcher. He's been playing quite well this season and he's really enjoying it (nice slide, J!).

-Stopped by the hospital to visit Mr. M. J loves to visit him, and for the second day in a row, we went on a little "field trip" - we (myself, J, and J.H.) wheeled Mr. M up to the 3rd floor of another building so he could see the mountains - which are just spectacular from the hospital's 3rd floor windows!

-Had dessert at Swiss Chalet (hockey game is also on here) to support the Make-A-Wish foundation. It is "Sweet Dreams Dessert Day" and all proceeds of dessert sales go to support the charity. We actually met the Wish Child "Casey" who was having dessert with his family in the same Swiss Chalet! J went up to meet him and had him sign the brochure for us. We were both very moved at this little boy's courage.

J went to bed early - he's very excited about school tomorrow. His Daddy has been working out of town so we're also counting down the "sleeps" until he returns!

The "Too Social" Seven Year Old

Today is Saturday and my son J had a sleep-over last night at his cousin M's house. They are the greatest pals - and she is only a year younger than him. This play-date gave me an opportunity to look for more "house" things although I was only successful in finding one light fixture. No sooner than I picked him up, he was to be dropped off at his next event - a party at an indoor play centre. It was obviously too much for him, because I received a call to pick him up as he'd been sick. Home to the trailer we went, with bucket on lap..... Hopefully a good night's sleep and he'll be feeling much better!