Wrap Up on Basketball

We finally wrapped up basketball last week after 25 straight weeks.  That would be 3 back-to-back-to-back seasons.  That is by far the longest straight run that we've ever committed to a sport.  One reason being, it was our only viable option through the winter.  Brenna's not steady enough on the ice for hockey.

On the plus side of this experience, she really upped her game.  Coming from Houston, she already started off with a better base than most of the others in her age group.  As the sessions went on, she continued to improve.  She scored in 23 of the 25 games and hit 12 points in her highest scoring game.  As she grew, so did her companions.  By the end of season the group made for a fast-paced and interesting game.  I'm so proud of the work she's put in and how she's been able to see that effort leads to results.

There aren't a lot of pictures this season because the double gymnasium with two games going simultaneously didn't lend itself to a lot of photo opportunities.  Instead, I've got a great highlights reel!

The Run Down

Wrapping up winter with the Run Down!

The End of Winter

This post marks the end of winter!  The snow tires are off, the snow boots are stored away, and I've replaced parkas with regular jackets.  Surviving our first Canadian winter should come with an award.  This February was officially the coldest on record for Sarnia, with our lowest temperature reaching -29F.  It was brutal at times and seemed to go on forever, with our last snowfall on Easter morning.

Some things I learned this winter:

1. Once you hit sub-zero temperatures, the air stings your face and your fingers will go numb in a matter of seconds.
2. Frost bite happens fast, just ask Brenna.
3. My iPhone battery can not tolerate temperatures below 15F.
4. Snow salt is gross, road snow is grosser, and my car has been a disaster inside and out.
5. I fished-tailed through my neighborhood all winter; eventually it just becomes part of driving.
6. Snow squalls are bad!  Avoid them at all cost!
7. There are many different kinds of snow; glittery snow, fat-flake snow, wet snow, snow/ice mix, snow/rain mix, really I could go on and on.
8. Sometimes even when its not snowing, it still is because of blowing snow.
9. Lake Huron in winter might as well be Antartica as far as I'm concerned. 
10. Snow shoveling is not fun.
11. Half-way through winter I abandoned all efforts of snow shoveling the back porch.  Why do it?  Nobodies going out there!
12. I wore the same pair of shoes for three months straight.  Snow boots are the only form of footwear in winter.
13. What I would call a toboggan (winter hat), they call a toque (french term).  Here a toboggan is a sled.
14. Don't stand under the eave of the building when someone else shuts the door.
15. Our favorite winter game while driving in the car is to find the house with the longest icicles.  They actually touched the ground at one house.
16. Ice skating is not like roller skating!
17. And most all, I had to adjustment my previously conceived ideas of dealing with snow, because life goes on no matter how cold it gets!

Snowy Easter

Toronto Spring Break with Disney Frozen

This year, we did Spring Break alittle different.  Usually we stay close to home and enjoy the company of friends and all the activities that Houston had to offer.  Not surprisingly, there's nothing going on here and everyone leaves to get away from the cold weather.  While we didn't travel south to Florida like every other Canadian in the country (almost literally!), we did have an action packed Spring Break with some traveling.

Our school gets a week and a half off for Spring Break, so we had a nice long break.  We kicked off Spring Break early with our first family hockey game.  The Sarnia Sting is a member of the Western Conference Junior Hockey League, which is basically the minors leagues of the NHL.  We went to see them play the Guelph Storm.  We were fortunate, because Imperial has a luxury box and Jacob hosted a game for his team where they could bring along their families.  The box definitely made it a more pleasant for the kids, since they had room to move around both in the row seats and in the box and there was an endless supply of popcorn.  The game was fun and I enjoyed getting to met Jacob's team and their families.

In true hockey fashion, there was one fight that I found amusing.  While I won't deny there is their fair share of fights on the football field, it's handled a bit differently in hockey.  In football, the first punch is usually quickly followed by a separation of parties by the refs and everyone is pushed to their appropriate sidelines.  In hockey, the first punch is followed by a beat down.  The refs circle the participants, preventing anyone else from joining in, but allow the parties involved to duke it out until they’re too tired to continue or blood is spilled on the ice.  You can image how fun it was to explain that to Brenna!

Buzz and Baby Buzz, the official Sarnia Sting mascots visited the kids in the box.  At halftime the kids got to Chuck the Puck onto the rink.  If your puck made it onto the targets at center rink, then you won tickets to the next Sting game.  We were alittle high and I feared for the safety of the people below us, but Brenna did mange to chuck it all the way onto the ice from our box.  All around it was a great experience and I look forward to making another game next season.

Career Day

This year our school held Career Day.  Kids were encouraged to explore their options, pick a career, and dress the part.  Lately, anything involving a choice for Brenna is a long, thought-out process.  Whether its something as simple as the socks she should wear for the day, or her future career.  About a week ahead of the Career Day, Brenna made a very comprehensive list of about 20 possible careers.  This included an array of choices ranging from artist, engineer, car salesman, archeologist, the coffee maker at Tim Hortons, a ballerina, geologist, explorer, etc.  You get the point.  It was all over the map.  Each day she eliminated options based on her reasoning until we were finally left with engineer, marine biologist, and zoologist.  After a great debate and my assurance that she would indeed have an opportunity to change her mind later in life, she settled on zoologist.  So, with her safari hat, binoculars, and butterfly net (I have no idea how a zoologist dresses) she set out to be a zoologist for a day.