School's Out For Summer!

Here I sit waiting for supper to be served. I should be getting ready for Ball hockey but I dont feel like going tonight, so I sit here instead dragging my feet and not getting ready to go, like I can avoid it if I just pretend it isnt happening. lol Im just so very tired, and cough cough cough etc etc.

So So So thrilled that school is finished for the summer. Really I am. If Just if Only, my children's behavior had not terrified me. I cannot spend the summer like this! I spend 10 months looking forward to summer break, and I so dont want their behavior to make me dread it like so many other people I have overheard.

Anyway, an overview of the End of the Year celebrations at the kid's schools :)

Annika had her Pre-Primary (pre-maternelle) graduation at Ecole Acadienne de Truro. Her class is so awesome and I am very glad they are moving on to the next year mostly together. They and the parents are generally super nice.

Their class did presentations for us for their last day, things they have been working on very hard during the last little while.

They danced in the gym first, it was so incredibly cute and not all that easy looking, coordinating that many children :)

They moved to their classroom and we all gathered around the Tapis for their songs, piano recital, and other presentations and demonstrations.

One of their songs had them clapping hands together, so cute! Annika and one of her best friends Chloe were partners and had a lot of fun during this song!

They did the Hokey Pokey in French and at the end of each verse did a little Saute Saute!


There were a lot of demonstrations and piano songs, Before each one the kids introduced themselves and gave their age. Annika and Chloe did a piano song together, Girlfriend :)

They were too cute and did a really awesome job on their song :)


Singing a song as a group; no idea which song but it was also very well done, all in french with no mistakes :)

Annika receiving her report card, it was all very sweet with some personal comments from Madame Wanda and lots of clapping :)


The Three Moosekittens, best friends always (I hope :))

Last day with teacher :)

SO that was Annika's big last day of School. She didnt have to go back to school after that.
The other 2, on the other hand, had to return to school for one silly hour on Friday. SIGH I get that sometimes they need marking days but I hate having to hang out all week just to go back to school for one little hour.

It thundered a little and rained a lot while we were still sleeping; we all woke up Friday morning to a very wet and grey day. After we got the two older girls off to school and Annika and I were getting ready to join them, it started thundering again for real :)
the lightning was bright and the thunder loud :) I could only imagine what the kids at school were thinking...they arent terribly brave :)
Annika watched the storm in the window for quite some time, I left the room at one point and there was a loud thunder, and she came out with big eyes and said that was Scawy!!!

So the big girls spent an hour in their classrooms, waiting to get their report cards. I really dont understand why they do this, make them go there and sit for an hour, hand the report out, and send them off..
Holly's class played this game which I didnt see her actually participate in the whole time I was watching; pointless to me to play a game in which only part of the class gets to play and who depends on who is the best friend de jour.
anyway
she seems to have had fun anyway :)

Taylor's classroom was extremely quiet as the teacher and gym teacher read a book...trying to finish it up before the end of the year but they only had an hour anyway thats what they did ;)
Holly and her teacher, not the teacher she started out with but they finished with and seem to have done well :)

Taylor and her teacher :) she wasnt sure at the start of the year that Madame liked her but by the end she decided she did :)

After we picked up the kids from school we went to walmart for a few minutes and while looking for a few summer items for Taylor, Holly and Annika found a few things they wanted too :) Holly LOVES this shirt and says she is going to wear it every single day this summer. Hahhaa
This is so Annika's style, she wants to wear this dress every day. As much as that would save on laundry, it cant really happen SIGH.

Before the end of the last day of school we took the report cards off to Dairy Queen for an icecream cone :) Luckily the rain stopped and they were able to have some fun on their last day :)

The Summer Grading Gift

Ok although I know its not exactly in "voque" right now to give a reward to the kids for grading, we still do. We naturally expect that they are going to grade, knowing none of them are going to fail, but we always have gotten grading gifts and the kids are going to continue to get them as well. We call it all sorts of things, a summer gift, an end of year gift, a grading gift. Either way, its something to look forward to after a long year of school and usually is something to be used outside.

This year despite the warnings against we got the kids a trampoline.

Ive wanted them to have one since we lived in MB and everyone had one. Taylor used to call them Jumpolines and I thought it was so cute! They have loved every one they have ever been on, and I wanted to have one. For them. Not me. Hahahah OK yes for all of us.

So when we found a good kit on sale, which included the safety net and all, Scott went and got one. He brought it home and our clueless children had no idea what we were doing in the back yard, building this massive thing!
It came in a surprisingly small box, tonnes of bits and pieces to be put together! lol We had pieces everywhere, the instructions were absolutely awful, but we worked at it and got it together. Actually Scott did most of the frame himself and I helped put on the bouncing part.
But this part went up shockingly fast. I bounced on it while Scott was starting to figure out the nets.
Hehehe
Who had the better option here?

Part way through the net building, Holly came wandering out to see what we were doing. The other 2 were firmly placed in front of the TV. Oblivious.Holly was very happy to see what we were doing and not too patient about waiting to get on the beast.


So she tested it while we were building the net. With warnings to stay right in the middle and not go out.

The net took a long time to build with terrible photos and vaque instructions. But we got it done eventually and the trampoline was safe.
Relatively I suppose lol.


getting the other 2 kids outta the house to see what we got was a bit tricky. Scott went in and started barging around, telling them to get outside and pile wood. It was time for the TV to be off and some wood to be piled. lol they were so mad! He booted Annika out the door without her coat and she was furious. Then she kinda spotted the trampoline and almost couldnt stop the smile. lol it was kinda funny. She kept frowning and pointed and said What is That??
Then Taylor came stomping out and saw where she was pointing...her reaction time was better! She was off the steps and running across the lawn in seconds!

lots of excitement and yelling followed! The kids claimed to be very happy about their gift!
lol




So I hope the kids will spend the summer bouncing rather than watching television. I am turning off the cable lol so they will have very little choice! We arent putting up the pool this year, its size has limited the usefulness and the kids hardly used it last year. We will go to the park pool for swimming. Its all good lol!

Soccer 08

Yup the season has started again! I feel like it almost just ended!

This year there are two changes!
Annika is playing again, but rather than one night a week, she is now playing 2 nights a week, and on the same night as Holly.

Holly is playing under 8 again.

And Taylor is playing Under 10. Yes, get off the floor, Taylor is playing soccer again. She swore she never would again, but there it is, she is playing.

Now you can imagine this is going to present quite a challenge. Three girls having practices and games on the same night, on different fields and at different times :)
Challenging, but not impossible.

I am again coaching Holly`s team. Annika is somewhat put out by this, but really Holly is the only one I can coach. Taylor and Annika dont really have the personality to BE coached by me. Holly does what I ask without bugging or acting all weird. The other two, it wouldnt work.

I didnt actually think Annika would play. She kinda had a rough year last summer, not really wanting to play the games, being rather difficult about it. In fact, I had to go on the field with her most nights just to get her to play. Lucky it was little kid soccer. We asked her if she wanted to play this year and she said she did. After we sighed her up she got all weird. She would outta the blue say momma I wish you had not signed me up then she would cry. I actually wrote a letter asking for her to be withdrawn and get our money back; but I didnt send it because I said I would ask her one more time if she wanted to play. And she decided yesterday that she Would play. So I never sent the note. And Scott said Practice went fine. They were near us but not tooooo close, so I only saw a little.




Holly`s on team Russia (U8):) Green is a colour we have never had :)
She looks very comfortable on the team although it seems a little strange for her to be one of the Big Kids, she is older but still very tiny. Our team, actually, is very young. We only have 3 older kids, and the young ones are very young. And silly.


LOL Annika is also on Team Russia (U6) with a very young coach. I have concerns lol but she seems keen and can at least play the game lol.

They did lots of fun things which Annika thought was great.

And they did lots of stretches. Annika has never had trouble with the practices; its the games she hates. We will see this year :)

Dirty looks ;) Taylor played photographer for me ;)

Taylor was pleased to find loads of her friends on the team she is on, Brazil (U10). She will have a wonderful social year, if nothing else. I hope to give her some pointers on the side so that she can catch up as she has not played in 4 years and most of these kids have played in the last 4 years :)



I think she is going to be pleasantly surprised how much fun it is to play.
Now if only I could play too!

Some Silly Photos

Of the dogs playing in the back yard :)
Zoey is ball obsessed. She stares at this ball willing it to fly on its own. She puts it in my lap, on my hand, bangs it on my leg, pokes it at me all the time, trying to make me throw it. She stares at it all the time.

She gets irritated and tears all the grass around it out, thinking this will get my attention maybe...She does love grass!!!

Dylan all handsome after his bath, he is the patient one, just sits there and waits for the ball to be thrown.

If Zoey gets the ball she brings it right back to me to be thrown. She is faster than he is. But if He gets the ball, its time for a game of chase which is what he loves the best. He runs around the swing set trying to get her to chase him. Which she used to do.

Then she got smart and just started cutting him off. That works ok for him too because he also loves tug of war. Once she gets the ball she comes back to me to throw it again.

She has the ball and all is good.



Waiting intently for the ball to go
This nut grazes...she doesnt nibble grass, she takes big mouthfulls and chews it like she`s a cow! Crazy!