Cowboy Day

In my four years at MEI there had never yet been a cowboy day! 

But today was the day and it was fun to rustle up some spiffy cowboy attire.

 

Marci is leaving MEI Middle after this school year so it was our last dress up day together.  I cannot even begin to tell you how much I'll miss this girl!  She's a very one-of-a-kind gal. 

Jennie Days

Today marked the last time Liam would need daycare on Thursdays.  Ever since fall, my friend Jennie has been looking after Liam one day a week.  She's been a lifesaver!  I would meet her in the morning at the front door of the school and she would take him to her place just five minutes away for the day.  Liam loved going there and playing with her 2 year old son.  She also babysat another little girl on occasion which became (according to Liam) his best friend!  Liam had to learn what it's like to not be the baby which I think was very valuable.  I'm sure Jennie wanted to pull out her hair over  Liam attempting to get along with her very busy 2 year old but today as we left they hugged.  Progress!

Liam was thrilled to receive this little gift from Jennie and if the weather would just warm up he could actually use them!

Preschool Days

Liam's year at pre-school comes to an end next week.  It's been a good year for Liam.  He has enjoyed it very much even though we had to pry information from him about his time there.  Each preschool morning he was excited to go to class!  The teachers put together a photo disc with pictures taken throughout the year so here are some (okay, a lot) of highlights....

 

 First day!

 Birthday Boy!

 Popcorn class reward for filling up the kindness/helping jar!

 Pumpkin patch field trip

 Making apple sauce

 Riding trikes was his favorite activity

 Apparently painting was pretty popular too.

 Story time

 Future fire fighter??

 Mother's Day tea

 Pajama and pancake day

 Making footprints for Father's Day cards

 Having chocolate milk at Aldor Acres

Father's Day party

 

Way to go Liam...you had a great year.  Next stop, Kindergarten!

My Fourth Secretaries Day Adventure

Once again our admin completely bamboozled us with a very unexpected abduction.  We were whisked away from the office last Thursday morning for an all day adventure!

Our husbands were forewarned to have a change of clothes for us in our car trunks that day. 

 

 

After driving about 30 minutes with lots of guesses as to what was going to happen we ended up at Deer Lake in Burnaby.

 

 

We started with a lovely stroll along the board walk.  It was the first time here for most of us.

 

The weather was perfect!

 

 

We stopped at this early 1900's house that has been converted to a restaurant for a delicious lunch.

 

 

 

 

This turkey club on sour dough with brie and arugula aioli was a popular choice and was worth every single calorie-laden bite.  Yum!

 

 

After that scrumptious lunch we headed to the boat rental place and chose our mode of transport. 

 

Heather and I shared a kayak, Jessica decided to do a solo kayak run, while Jeff and Marci got a canoe.

 

 This was a troublesome duo.  What started as a peaceful paddle, turned into an all out water war! 

 

Poor Jessica got soaked to the skin.

 

 

Heather and I were pretty wet too but we had revenge on our minds.  We ambushed Jeff and Marci with a huge bucket of water as they exited the lake (thanks to some help by the rental staff who were greatly entertained by our antics)!

 

 

 And then they tried to toss me in the lake.  No one came to my rescue, my screams for help went unheeded!

 They did show mercy and I managed to not get tossed in that nasty water.  It was a wonderful afternoon and we had so much fun.  Have I mentioned how much I love my job?! 



Kiwis

I vaguely recall Nate having a similar school project in 6th grade...so it must be BC Curriculum.  The kids had to choose a country and do up an info board along with either food or 'artifcats' from their country.  Our little keeners, Chad and Scott did both for their country of New Zealand.  All students had their displays set up for an open house today.  Liam and I went and I should not have had lunch beforehand.  All the delicious international samples...oh my!  The kids really out-did themselves!
I made a pavlova for their display and Scott's mom had kiwi samples.  I think they deserve an 'A'!

Parent Involvement

Chad's band teacher gave an assignment that was most unique.  All his grade six band students are to teach their parents to play their current instrument over the next three weeks.  At this point there is a 'Show and Share' night where the kids and parents get to do some playing together at the school.  Of course, since Keith played a brass instrument back in the day, he was the chosen one.  I played the flute so I can't even read bass clef notes!  Funny thing is Keith picked up that trumpet and played it just like he'd always been playing it.  I was pretty impressed.  Maybe Mr. Joiner will ask Keith to join the school band?!

Above and Beyond

Nate walked into my office on Friday afternoon and presented me with three lovely roses.  I was rendered speechless!
After I found my voice, I interrogated him....of course.  I can't really enjoy a 'moment' until all the details are explained!
I found out that his English/French teacher offered to help Nate and a group of his friends buy roses for their moms.  The boys thought this was a grand idea and a plan was hatched.  Needless to say I love this teacher.  It's not the first time she has proved to be a teacher that goes way above and beyond typical teacher duties.  BTW, she was the teacher that pulled the 'kissing' prank on Nate last fall!
Nate even gave me a hug and kiss in front of everyone in the office.  That boy is so confident in himself and rarely embarrassed.  I love him to bits!

Back to What Works Best

Last summer our gas mower died and we had decided to replace it with an electric mower.  There were a few reasons.  I hated the pull cord of a gas plus the inconvenience of making sure you always had gas on hand to fill the tank.  I grew up using an electric so I was comfortable mowing around an extension cord and it was always ready to go!  No gas needed.
Well, we used an electric for a year and found that it was not suited to our yard at all.  The engine simply was not powerful enough to cut through our thick grass (okay, I am a over-generous with the fertilizer!) so you had to walk r-e-a-l-l-y slow so the engine wouldn't bog down.  Our yard is huge so I didn't like the time it took to mow it.
Now we are back to a gas mower.  We got a great deal on a Craftsman with a Honda motor at Sears.  You will think us weird but we 'fought' over who was going to try it out first this morning.  Me, I just like mowing and Keith just likes machines.  So, I graciously let Keith have the privilege because I know for sure the novelty will wear off for him and it'll be back to me and the boys mowing regularly.  Instead I attacked my ever growing patch of chickweed with a vengeance and re-seeded some bare patches.
My parents bought our electric off of us as theirs was decrepit and falling apart.  Dad just happened to stop by to pick up the mower as I was baking so he was the lucky winner today of a fresh cinnamon bun!

We Love Cows!

Since we are pretty big fans of dairy products and beef, we love cows!  Liam's preschool class took a field trip yesterday to Aldor Acres farm in Langley.

I have to say it was quite the set-up and I was really impressed.  The owners/farmers were very organized, the barns were neat and tidy and the hands-on experience was exciting.

Liam really enjoyed himself but proved to be a city boy because he complained about the smell the entire time!

 

 It was a chilly morning...hence the vest.  Certainly doesn't feel like late May!

 

 The viewing theatre was quite impressive. 

 

 Shake, shake, shake that cream into butter!

 

 Some of the kids were freaked out by this gentle Jersey cow but Liam had no problem walking right up to her.  He was able to pet her and then milk her!  I was also given a chance to do the same.  A first for me!

 Then the kids were taken outside to feed the cows some hay and silage.

 This little calf was two days old and the kids were welcome to pet her too.

After they had their 'dairy experience' we were all given a sample of ice cold chocolate milk and then each child received an ice cream cone of their choice.  Vanilla, strawberry or chocolate. 
Liam and I had a great time and I think we BOTH learned lots too.