Chatham-Kent District Track and Field Meet

On the big day, we woke up to a perfect 65 degree day with clear sunny skies.  We were up bright and early, since the meet was roughly a 2.5 hour drive to Windsor and Brenna's first event kicked off at 9 AM.  Sarnia Christian, along with 6 other area Christian schools came together for the annual Chatham-Kent District Track and Field Meet.  Brenna qualified to compete in 5 events.  She participated in the 100 meter, 200 meter, standing long jump, running long jump, and the girls relay team.  Due to safety concerns, no age groups were allowed to complete in the high jump this year.  Brenna was a bit disappointed over that.

She worked hard and practiced hard, but Jacob and I knew this would be a different level of competition that Brenna was not accustomed to.  My little competitor likes to win!  We coached her for weeks leading into the meet, that just being able to go was a reward, and as long as she tried her best, that's all that mattered.  She understood this clearly.  But what her head knows and what her heart feels can be two very different things.  I was worried that she'd get discouraged if she didn't earn a ribbon.  Only 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places are recognized.

She was tested immediately on her first event, the 100 meter.  She gave a valiant effort and came in a close 4th.  She handled it well!  She walked off the track sucking wind and told me, "Those girls are fast!"  We moved on to 200 meters, where she again came in 4th.  Silently, I was thankful that she was at least competitive and not the last kid to cross the finish line.  I was holding out hope that she could come away with at least one placement ribbon.

We moved on the standing long jump.  This is a strong event for Brenna and I hoped this would be our time.  Unfortunately, she get off to rough start.  Her first jump was great..........except, she was pushing so hard for distance that she fell back instead of forward.  She got a bit upset, but she shook it off and prepared for her second jump.  Her second jump was fantastic!  So, going into her third jump she felt pretty confident.  Again, her third and finally jump was great, except she fell back again trying to stretch out the jump.  She came back to me almost in tears, but we talked it out that she had one good jump and sometimes that all you need.  Turns out, we were right.  She managed a 2nd place ribbon on her one good jump!

Next, it was on to the running long jump.  She jumped well, and walked away with another 4th place. All this took up the entire morning and we finally got a break in our events around noon.  We grabbed some lunch and watched some of the older kids compete while we waited for our final event.

Brenna ran the first leg of our girls relay team.  Our biggest concern was that someone would drop the baton.  Despite practicing for weeks, we always seemed to have issues with the hand-off.  Either the girls had to really slow down for the hand off, or they dropped the baton.  Brenna devised a plan that she would run as fast as possible to get a head start and then slap the baton into Lucy's hand!  She followed through and with the help of the Lucy, Miriam, and Emma our girls came in 3rd (very nearly 2nd)!  I was glad that she got to celebrate that victory as a team!

It was a long day, but so much fun!  I was proud of all the hard work that our athletes put in.  Thanks to their efforts, Sarnia Christian School placed 3rd overall and came home with a new Track and Field banner to add to the gym!

First thing that morning.  They said "We got this!"   

SCS Track and Field Day

As spring rolled around, Brenna began to get excited about Track and Field.  Last year was our first experience with the sport.  Brenna loved it and proved to have some natural talent for some of the events.  This year, she eagerly signed up for the Track and Field team and we began practices twice a week after school in preparation for Track and Field Day.

When Sarnia Christian School Track and Field Day finally came, it did not come with perfect weather.  It rained through most of the morning, putting a real damper on the outdoor events.  Jacob took the day off this year so he could be there.  I volunteered in the kitchen, so I was able to see nearly all the events.  Lucky for Brenna's group, they began their morning with High Jump in the gym and managed to miss most of the heavy rain.  As the day progressed, they moved through high jump, 100 meter race, 200 meter race, standing long jump, running long jump, and shot put.

Turns out, Brenna did very well for her age group.  She made a clean sweep and came home with six 1st place ribbons!  This was much more than we had anticipated!  I had spent the week praying that she would just be able to place well enough in one event to progress to the district meet later that month.

Here's some video highlights from the day.

Henry Ford Museum

While my Mom and Dad where here in May we decided to visit the Henry Ford Museum in Detroit.  We had heard from both Canadians and Americans that it was great day trip.  Jacob was in Arizona on a work trip, so it was just me, Brenna, Mom and Dad.  Originally I thought it would be a short excursion and then maybe we would do some shopping after, because how long could you really spend in a car museum.  But, based on the suggestions of friends we planned for the whole day and I'm glad that we did.  

We visited both the Henry Ford Museum as well as Greenfield Village.  The Henry Ford Museum building itself covers 8 acres with 40 foot ceilings.  It documents the genius of ordinary american people by recognizing and preserving the objects they used in the course of their everyday lives.  We saw the cot that George Washington sleep on during the war, the chair that Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in, the Presidential Limousine that JFK was assassinated in, and the Goldenrod which is the fastest car in the world.  We sat in the bus that Rosa Parks rode when she refused to give up her seat to a white gentlemen in Montgomery, Alabama.  I enjoyed reading the life timeline of George Washington and its very honest documentation of his character (not as heroic and upstanding as you may think) and his rise to power as our first president.  I also enjoyed reading life timeline of Abraham Lincoln (whose character was documented just as we've idolized him to be as Honest Ab) and the struggles he faced during the civil war with views from both the north and south sides.  Of course, along with the historical aspects of our country, there were lots of planes, trains, and cars.  

Brenna loved moving from exhibit to exhibit and even though some of this was out of her current scope of interest, the museum did an excellent job of having  kid-friendly stations that kept her entertained.  There was a paper air plane making station with a runway set up to see exactly how far you could fly your plane.  There was a hug toy train exhibit complete with streaming video from a tiny camera attached to the top of the locomotive, so you could see yourself on the big TV screen as the train made the curve coming out of the tunnel.  Finally, there was a mini-garage where Brenna learned to change a tire and replace an oil filter.  

After we finished up at Henry Ford we moved on to Greenfield Village, which is an 80 acre outdoor replication of America's colonial times.  Some building were authentic and had been removed from the previous location and resettled at Greenfield Village.  Building like Noah Webster’s home, where he wrote the first American dictionary, Thomas Edison’s laboratory where he invented the light bulb, the courthouse where Abraham Lincoln practiced law, and the bicycle shop that belonged to the Wright Brothers were just some.  We got to ride in a Ford Model-T to tour some of the grounds.  Afterward, Brenna and Mawmaw enjoyed the amazing kids playground, while Pawpaw and I toured Edison's lab.  The lab had all original equipment and materials.  After the building had been relocated to Greenfield Village, Henry Ford invited Edison to recreate his original experiment to create the lightbulb.  At the time, Edison was in his 80's so Ford had a chair provided for him at the experiment table so that he could sit rather than stand.  After the experiment was complete, Ford had the chair nailed to the floor.  Edison was the last person to sit in it and its never been moved.

Next, we made our way through the railroad junction and roundhouse, the craftworks where we watched them blow glass, and the farm lands where we saw horses plowing the fields.  Finally, after more than 6 hours, we headed home and still had not seen all there was to see.  They also offered a factory tour where you could visit the Ford assembly plant and watch the new F-150s being built, but that would have to be saved for another day.

So, it was a great visit and I'm glad we got to experience it.  I highly recommend making the time for it if you're ever in the Detroit Area.

Brenna exploring the halls, playing house, and the human hot dog!

Grand Friend's Day

Each year our school celebrates Christian Education Week with a full list of special activities for each day of the week.  There are fun competitions, dress-up days, and special lunch treats.  The week ends with Grand Friend's Day.  This year Brenna was very excited because Mawmaw and Pawpaw were able to come for the event.  Grandparents are invited into the classroom to visit and tour the school.  Brenna was able to show them all her art work and creations displaced throughout the school.  The grandparents usually come bearing gifts of candy and chocolate for the kids, so Brenna was delighted to see a bag full of M&Ms, Crunches, and Ring Pops.  Next everyone moved to the gym for an hour and a half presentation from each grade level.  Maw maw and Pawpaw won the award for longest distance traveled and were thanked by the principle for bringing the warm weather up with them.  Brenna's class gave a comedy performance and told grandparent related jokes.  She also sang in the Junior Choir.  After the presentation, lunch was served by the kids.  It's a wonderful event and we were thankful that Mawmaw and Pawpaw were able to share it with us this year.

Queen Esther for Bible Character Day

Spring School Pictures

Pet Smart and the London Children's Museum

Our school curriculum is project based learning, meaning a large portion of our daily routine is hands-on group participation.  This allows for open discussion, the development of team building strategies, and real world applications.  I would venture to say our kids spend more time out of the classroom than in it.  It's been a very hard contrast to our previous school experiences that did incorporate these initiatives in small doses, but the day-to-day learning was more individually focused in a classroom learning environment.  At first I was a bit concerned about how this method would impact Brenna and more specifically if it would cause her to lag behind in skills when this assignment is over and we return to the US.  But as time goes on, all those concerns have fallen away.  The kids are so much more engaged with the subject matter and because of that they seem to retain the information much easier.  It's been a very enlightening experience and I won't ever look at education the way same again.

That leads me to this post.  Earlier in the year while covering our Animals Unit of the curriculum, we took a field trip to Greenview Aviaries.  You can check it our here Class Field Trip to Greenview Aviaries.  Keeping with the same idea of hands-on learning, we took two more field trips a couple of weeks ago to supplement our curriculum unit.

The first trip was to Petsmart.  The kids had been pushing our teacher, Mrs. R, for a class pet.  But they couldn't come to an agreement on what to get.  So, Mrs. R decided to use this as an opportunity to incorporate some more fun into the curriculum.  First, she stretched their descriptive writing skills with an assignment to write what pet you'd like to have and why it's the best choice.  Next she tied it into their math and research skills by provided a trip to Petsmart.  The kids broke into groups based on which pet they wanted.  Then they had to research all the needs of the pet and calculate its total cost, including both one time purchases like habitats and monthly costs like food.  There were groups for guinea pigs, hamsters, fish, birds, turtles, rabbits, and lizards.

The plans are to have a fundraiser and then use the money that they make to determine which pet the class can afford based on their findings.  Brenna is certain that a hamster is best choice.  It was a quick and easy field trip that had a big impact on the kids and they had a great time!

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.

Happy Birthday

Happy birthday to me!  Snow with no wind, so it settles softly on everything!

Family Day

Canada has an official holiday for Family Day.  Most businesses close for the holiday to allow the employees time with their family.  Imperial, of course, was not one of those companies.  We did have a great day though.  The local mall held a Family Day event that kicked off with a My Little Pony Equestria Girls Live show.  Brenna was so excited and loved dancing and singing with the show.  It was a perfect fun event for her.  Next we wandered through the mall taking part in the many YMCA events; super slides, an indoor swim meet on rolling body boards, face painting, life sized jenga, and balance beams.  I've been very pleased with our mall.  Since Sarnia is such a small community, the Lambton Mall seems to be hub of happenings for the area.  So far, we celebrated Halloween, Family Day, and some of Spring Break there.

Sunset in the Backyard

It's amazing how it can be a clear bright sunny day with no clouds in the sky and still be below zero.