Niagara Falls and Great Wolf Lodge

As soon as we found out we were coming to Canada I stopped off by the book store and picked up a copy Frommer's Canada to browse.  That's when I realized that Niagara Falls was only about a three hour drive from Sarnia.  I came home and told Jacob that we had to go!  For one reason or another, it took us two and half years to get there.  Jacob's time has been limited this summer due to work commitments, so we tried to squeeze in a short two-night trip over the July holiday weekend.

We drove down on Sunday to avoid the Canada Day crowds.  We got an early start and were in Niagara before noon.  We decided to stop off by the hotel to see if they could hold our luggage until check-in while we toured the Niagara Falls area.  We were surprised to hear that they already had a room available so we checked-in and got settled into our room.  Another benefit to the trip was this was our first stay at Great Wolf Lodge.  It definitely lived up to all it's rave reviews from friends and the trip turned out to be more about Great Wolf than Niagara.  She was so excited with the whole place and loved having her own separated little space with TV and bunk bed.  After promising that we would have time to try everything at the hotel, we convinced her to leave so we could go tour Niagara Falls.

Canada Day in Detroit

Just as American's celebrate Independence Day on the July 4th, Canadian's show their nation's pride on Canada Day on July 1st.  This year we mixed up our celebrations and spent Canada Day in the States with a fun day trip to Detroit and we celebrated Independence Day in Canada with a trip to Niagara Falls (post to coming up).

For Canada Day we decided to drive into Detroit to explore Great Lakes Crossing.  It's a large indoor outlet mall and entertainment complex.  Lots of friends had raved about what a great day trip it was. This was another item on my hit list of places I wanted to visit while we're here, and it seemed like Canada Day would offer a great chance to do it since Jacob had the day off and Brenna just got of school the day before.  We left first thing in the morning and made a short detour to Oakland University for a special treat.  We got to enjoy the only Chick-fil-A that Detroit has to offer that doesn't require a security pass (the only other one is in the McNamara terminal of the Detroit Airport).  We walked around the Student Union a little bit while we waited for the food court to open.  Brenna enjoyed the Saints and Sinners Fountain.

Rock Glen Falls Field Trip - School Wrap-Up

We finished off our school year with our 8th and final class field trip of the year.  Add in a Christmas Choir Concert, Dr. Seuss Day, and a spring musical and I would say we've had a full and busy year.  So to celebrate, this field trip wasn't associated with any study unit.  We didn't have to do a project or report on it.  It was just for fun and the kids enjoyed every minute of it!

We visited Rock Glen Falls in Arkona for the day.  Brenna and I had visited Rock Glen last year as part of our Mom and Me Day 2015, so Brenna was excited to go back and enjoy it with her friends.  The kids hunted for fossils, played in the falls, swam in the creek, and enjoyed the playground.  It was a great day of just being a kid in a fun and adventurous new place.

District Track and Field Meet

The district track and field meet began with an early morning (up around 5:30 AM) and a long drive to Windsor.  We had to be on the field by 9 AM for the opening ceremonies which were immediately followed by the first event of the day, the 800 meter race.

This year was our first experience with the 800 meter.  Brenna generally doesn't like long distance running.  Our school also offers cross-country in the fall, to which Brenna has adamantly declined saying "All they do is run, for a long ways, for a long time!"  However, the school is allowed three participants between grades 3rd - 5th in the 800 meter and three participants between grades 6th - 8th in the 1500 meter.  Brenna was surprised to find out that she was selected as one of the participants to run in the 800 meter.  However, she was disappointed to hear that it meant she wouldn't be running the 100 meter, since each participant can only compete in three track events.  She was slated for the 200 meter, 800 meter, and girls relay, along with three field events; standing long jump, running long jump, and ball throw.

Grade 2 and 3 girls ready for the day!

World Buffet

For the second half of this school year our social studies class focused on the cultures of the world.  I think that is why we did "It's a Small World" for the school's spring musical.  Our teacher also happens to be the music coordinator.  The kids were broken into groups and each group got to pick a country that they'd like to learn more about.  Brenna was paired with her buddy Leeanna and they chose China.  The social studies unit carried throughout the entire semester, moving from one project to the next.  The first project was to pick a book related to the your country and write a persuasive book report on why someone should visit.  For the next project, they were required to build a paper structure in the likeness of architecture from you country.

Both of the first two activities were completed at school.  Oh, but the next assignment, it was an all-hands-on-deck experience.  Our teacher decided that each group should chose an authentic dish from your country to prepare.  The kids were responsible for finding the recipe and making their own grocery list.  The recipes were tripled (that's right, tripled!) because our teacher decided to turn the project into a community event.  Our school is a protestant christian based school and as such we have more than 15 protestant churches that are represented within the school.  Our teacher decided to use the project to create a "World Buffet" for our area pastors, bus drivers, and school janitorial staff.

It turned into a three day adventure.  After the kids made their grocery list we had a field trip to our local farmers market to purchase all our fruits and vegetables.  The next day was a second field trip to visit the grocery store for the remaining ingredients.  Keep in mind, we braved an open market and grocery store with twenty-one eight-year olds.  It was total chaos.  I repeated the phrase "Don't touch that!" dozens of times.  Shopping carts raced down the isles and product displays were knocked over.  The only person that wanted us out of there faster than me was the store manager.

But the best was still yet to come.  With a school bus loaded with kids and groceries we left the school at 9 AM for our third field trip and made our way to a local soup kitchen downtown.  The owner had granted us use of the facilities to prepare and present our meal.  The kitchen had two ovens, two stoves, two fridges and plenty of tables and counter space.  If we thought the grocery store was challenging, it was nothing compared to 21 kids running around with knives, playing with raw meat, and frying in hot grease.  We cooked from 9:30 am until 1:00 pm that afternoon, when our first guest walked in the door.  And if all that cooking wasn't bad enough, there was no air-conditioning!  We did manage to get two floor fans set up to at least provide a flow of air through kitchen.  Also, another downer was that the kitchen was not equipped with a dish washer.  You can't imagine how many dirty dishes a group of 21 kids can produce!  I thought the pile of dishes would never end!

Brenna and Leeanna chose to make chinese chicken and vegetable spring rolls.  We also had meat pies, cheese pies, empanadas, salad, breads of all kinds, and other dishes that I couldn't even name.  When it was all over, I'm happy to report it was a great success (though extremely stressful!).  Everyone walked away with all their fingers, no burns, and to our knowledge no one ended up in the ER with food poison (it was a serious concern).  The kids could not have enjoyed it more and it was definitely an experience to remember.

Track and Field Day 2016

Track and Field has turned into one of Brenna's favorite and most anticipated sports.  This makes our third season to participate, and Brenna started asking in January when it would start.  After the long wait to March, they finally started school practices and then it was another long wait until mid-May when Track and Field Day finally arrived.  The school has a full day of events as the students compete by grade for a berth in the Christian School District Track and Field Meet.  Brenna competed in eight events this year, adding the 400 meter and 800 meter races to her resume, along with the usual 200 meter and 100 meter races, standing long jump, running long jump, high jump, and ball throw.  Jacob took the day off and helped out with managing some of the events.  I volunteered in the kitchen but was able to step away from time to time and catch most of the action.  By the end of the day she had made a clean sweep for the 3rd grade girls and came home with eight 1st place ribbons.   She was very pleased with herself!  It was a great day.

I'm so thankful that the christian school district puts such a big emphasis on their athletic programs along side education in the early years.  Other schools, both here and back home in the south, also have athletic programs, but most don't start until 5th grade.  These type of extracurricular activities builds character and experiences beyond what a "book learning" environment can provide.  It's been such a fun experience for Brenna.

It's a Small World

Every year our school puts on at least one big production show musical.  Last year, it was "Candy Cane Lane" for Christmas.  This was Brenna's first stage debut.  She auditioned and was chosen to sing a short solo performance.  This seemed to be her stepping off point.  The school does a good job of encouraging the kids to take on the spot light and use their talents.  Couple this with hand-bell performances, junior choir, and leading school chapels, and it came as no surprise when Brenna came home this past Christmas and said she had volunteered to read the scriptures in front of the entire church congregation for the Children's Christmas Program.  Stage fright is definitely not an issue for her.

This year our school decided to do "It's A Small World" for a spring musical.  Brenna raked over the audition sheets and surprised me when she decided not to audition for a speaking role, but to try out for the dancing part of the Russian ballerina.  They spent weeks on auditions, rehearsals, set design, and costumes.  It was so much fun for the kids to act out their parts.  Each country was represented with great effort for attention to detail.  We had the Mexican hat dance, the Beatles, and Highland dancers.  There was no stereotyping either.  They let the dark haired Asian kid be a Russian ballerina, the blond haired Swedish kid got to be the China woman, a Canadian kid played Uncle Sam, and our Australian kid didn't even get the Australian part!  They all did a fantastic job and we were so proud of Brenna's fearlessness.  She was beautiful on-stage doing her ballet set!

Le Chat et la Lune

Near the end of every year since 1st grade, the kids have performed a play in french to demonstrate their language skills.  Our first year, it was "Chicken Little".  The second year, it was "The Three Little Pigs".  And this year it was "The Cat and the Moon" or "Le Chat et la Lune" in french.

Brenna has done very well with her french during our time here and even I've picked up a few phrases along the way.  The kids were responsible for learning their own lines and creating a mask that was appropriate for their character.  When it was time for Brenna's group to perform, they were shy one character.  Brenna knew all the lines, so she gladly volunteered to perform the parts for both the dog (le chien) and the horse (le cheval).

3rd Grade Spring Pictures

Easter

Crystal Mountain Michigan Spring Break

We're trying to make the most out of our time up north.  We've slowing been moving through a hit-list of places that we wanted to enjoy while we were here.  These are the type of places that we might not have visited otherwise.  One big item on our list was to experience skiing.  Neither Jacob nor I have ever tried it, and considering how well Brenna has embraced the winter climate, we made it a priority for this year.

I found a great resort in north Michigan called Crystal Mountain that seemed to have everything we were looking for.  In January, I made all the arrangements for a Spring Break Ski Vacation.  It had been a mild winter, but the resort assured me there would be skiing until April.  I planned it just like I plan all our other trips; with great attention to detail.  I made reservations for snowmobiling, snow-shoeing, and ski lessons.  We also planned for spa appointments, the adventure course, and a hiking trip to the Michigan Legacy Art Park.  As the date approached, we weren't "warming-up" but we were hitting temperatures above freezing.  I was concerned that we may not see any snow on this ski vacation.  As it turns out, we did have snow.  Granted it was more man-made than natural, but it provided the slopes we needed to try our first ski adventure.  Unfortunately, because of the above-freezing temperatures, most of the other trails on the mountain were snow-free and eliminated our opportunity to try snowmobiling and snow-shoeing.  At first I was a bit disappointed, but after our first couple of days at Crystal Mountain I realized it was a better fit us.  We got the best of both worlds.  We could enjoy the all the outdoor activities with mild temperatures and still take in the winter-type skiing.  It did rain 2 out of our 5 days there, but there were plenty of activities to keep us busy and we enjoyed some down time in the cabin with board games and family movies.

We drove roughly 4 hours all the way across Michigan with the cats.  We reserved a 2-bedroom, 2-bath, pet-friendly cabin so they could join us on this vacation.  The cabin was just what you would expect from a cozy ski cabin.  It was settled on the outer edge of the mountain and backed up to a small pond.  The living area had a large window that looked out over the pond and the Canadian geese kept Pickles entertained during his stay.  He spent most of his time perched on top of the kitchen counter for the best view of the backyard.  Moose preferred the solitude of the master bedroom which had a very large sky window that gave him views of the tall maple trees outside.

Dr. Seuss Day

Usually, only the lower elementary takes part in Dr. Seuss Day.  So, it's alittle heart breaking that this is probably the last year that I get to celebrate it with Brenna's as an elementary student.  It's a program that I've worked with for a long time and to finally get to take part in it with Brenna these last 4 years has been a real joy.

This year the lower elementary teachers banded together with parent volunteers and made it an all-day event for the kids.  Everyone dressed up as their favorite Dr. Seuss character and we rotated through centers throughout the day.  At each center we read a Dr. Seuss favorite and then participated in a corresponding activity.  Brenna chose Sam I Am, since "Green Eggs and Ham" is her favorite.

We started the day with "Ten Apples Up on Top".  Then the kids broke into groups to build a tower foundation that was at least 4 feet high from a limited amount of blocks that would support 10 apples.

Next, we moved on to a double feature.  In case you hadn't heard, Dr. Seuss's wife discovered the nearly completed project of "What Pet Should I Get" along with 16 original black and white sketches while cleaning out his desk fifteen years after he passed away.  The book was published in 2015 and now stands as the last complete Dr. Seuss work.  The kids really enjoyed the book, along with the story of how it came to be.  We coupled it with "If I Ran the Zoo".  Then we made our own zoo from graham crackers and frosting, on which we stuck our favorite animal crackers that were caged with twizzler sticks.  Afterward, we all had lunch together with "Green Eggs and Ham" and cupcakes.

Finally, we finished with one of my favorites "Bartholomew and the Oobleck".  What better way to celebrate that book, than to make oobleck!  It was messy and gross and the kids loved it!

It was all a lot of work, a long day, and very tiring, but it made for a great last Dr. Seuss Day for me and Brenna!

The Run Down

Here's the fall and winter run down.  Fall held on through November, which allowed for a much milder winter this year.  Thank goodness, because winter didn't want to leave.  Our last snow was last week, but we've finally seen some sunshine and warmer temperatures this week that feel like spring.  We baked a lot this winter.  It was Brenna's favorite activity.  Now we're gearing up for spring and summer sports!

Family Day Sledding

It's been a tough couple of weeks.  Thanks to all that have prayed, called, and messaged.  It is greatly appreciated.  I haven't felt much like blogging lately, but one of the many things that come out of tragic events is just how precious memories are.  So, with that in mind, I didn't want February to slip by without posting something.

Earlier in the month, we celebrated Family Day, which is a national holiday in Canada.  I guess we're officially making it a tradition to spend it sledding as a family, since that's what we've chosen to do the last two years.  Brenna was especially excited to hit the snow hill so she could try out her new snowboard.  She started strong and caught on quick.  She quickly learned to manage her balance and was flying down the hill after only a few tries.  We only had one major wipe out and she didn't let it scare her.  She bounced back from it and kept trying.

Jacob helping to get her strapped in and ready to go.

Christmas 2015

The Christmas season begins especially early here.  Since Canadian Thanksgiving is in October, Christmas celebrations begin immediately following Remembrance Day (Canadian version of Veterans Day) which is mid-November.  Our holiday celebration started at the Imperial Theater with Mary Poppins.  One of the mom's planned a Mom and Daughter day for Brenna, Jenna, and Sofi.  It turned out to be an all day event since it happened on a Sunday.  The girls had Christmas Choir practice together that morning, followed by church, then lunch, and next we were off to see Mary Poppins.  The girls had a great time.  They enjoyed a taste of Perfect Punch, a Spoon Full of Sugar, and we all learned to spell Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!  That same weekend was the Winter Wonderland Festival at Degroots.  Brenna made lots of crafts, got her face painted, took a horse-drawn carriage ride, saw a magic show, and got to pet real reindeer.  Christmas was already off to a strong start!